The news of Madkam Hidma and his associates being killed in Bastar had gone viral in the past few days, but in that noise the real news got buried.
Within the last three years, files to “relocate” more than 90 villages have now come out openly.
This means these villages will be vacated and large-scale mining is going to begin there. SECL (South Eastern Coalfields Limited) and NMDC have already prepared a “land bank” of thousands of hectares in that region.
The official statement of the government is that the tribals, troubled by the Naxalites, are leaving their villages on their own. This is a half-truth.
The reality is that they are being forcibly evicted. And the repression is not being done only by the Naxalites; the power of the state is descending with equal brutality.
In the name of Operation Kagar, more than 200 innocent tribals have been killed in the past few years.
Latest example – a simple cook, Mahesh Kudiyam, was shot dead after being labeled an “absconding Naxalite.”
The root of Naxalism does not lie in the fight of guns, but in the struggle for justice, land and rights.
If the government truly wants to end Naxalism, then not only bullets and camps, but these steps must be taken:
◆ The PESA Act (Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas) and
◆ The Forest Rights Act, 2006 must be implemented with full honesty.
◆ No mining or other project should be set up without the consent of the Gram Sabha.
Tribals are not asking for charity. They are the original inhabitants of this country and are demanding their constitutional rights.
The spark that erupted in 1967 from Naxalbari village of West Bengal did not spread to around 200 districts in 6 states for no reason.
Kanu Sanyal, Charu Mazumdar and many such names were not born for adventure — they were born out of compulsion.
Until the rights of tribals over land, forest and water are restored, the fire of Naxalism will never be fully extinguished — it will only continue to smolder.
Coutesy X.com
Source https://x.com/i/status/1995043449649991700
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