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Handing guns to poor villagers to contain the Naxalites is a humanitarian crisis in itself!

As if the slaughter of around 1000 innocent villagers (since 2005) – who were handed guns in the year 2005 under the people’s vigilante movement called ‘Salwa Judum’ – was not enough, now other states like Manipur are also replicating the same. It is nothing less than outrageous that just like when the Chhattisgarh government had decided to hand over guns to innocent villagers, to ostensibly fend for themselves against the onslaught of militant Naxalites, the Manipur government too has decided to move in the same direction. It is reported that the state government has taken a decision to arm some 500 villagers with .303 rifles (300 at Heirok in Toubal and 200 at Lilong Chajing) and form a similar people’s vigilante group against the Naxals. It has also been reported that once trained, each one of these villagers would be paid a sum of Rs 3,000 per month!! This decision is no less than shocking, as instead of scrapping the entire Salwa Judum movement, various other state governments are...

LONG WILL LIVE THE NAXALITE MOVEMENT… AND IT’S NOT THEM, BUT INDIA’S CRONY CAPITALISM, WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CHHATTISGARH MASSACRE . . .

If you have been following popular media, then you must by now be of the viewpoint that Naxalites are India’s largest growing menace; and you must be pitying the 60 plus people left dead in the Chhattisgarh massacre, thanks to the Naxalites. The truth, however, is not that simple. The Naxalite movement in India is growing; that’s a truth. They are a menace to the Centre; that’s a truth. But Naxalites a menace to India? Well, perhaps this is farthest from the truth. In cities where we lead a cushy life, Naxalites are far from a menace. In the interiors where they rule, they aren’t really considered a menace either. They rule the Indian villages and backward areas – well, that’s an understatement – they are the emperors of a third of Indian districts today. Yes, 200 out of the 600 odd districts in India are today under Naxalite rule. They rule there not because they are a menace. They rule there not just by force. They rule there because people in these places support them in a majority ...