Anna Hazare’s movement against corruption had reached the terrains where even security personnel have failed to reach.
In the Chhattisgarh’s Naxal heartland of Bastar, people from the interior areas had come out in support of Anna Hazare’s crusade against corruption. Rallies coupled with small meetings in the interior areas of Bastar marked Anna’s agitation that finally concluded on Sunday in New Delhi.
Considered to be the last point of the Chhattisgarh state and one of the worst infested pockets of left insurgency movement, Bhopalpatnam witnessed a mammoth gathering of school children and villagers at a rally marched out two days ago. Bhopalpatnam is a tehsil headquarters in Bijapur district.
“A large number of people from different villages located in the interior areas of the Naxal infested district participated in the rally,” Afzal Khan, a social activist from Bhopalpatnam said. The villagers said that the enacted laws were not sufficient to curb corruption and hence they were supporting Anna’s movement, Khan added.
In other parts of Bastar region also, the Anna movement evoked good response. In another Naxal infested district of Dantewada, villagers from the interior areas had joined the campaign against corruption. “We have inputs that rallies in support of Anna Hazare’s campaign were held in small towns, tehsil and block headquarters in different parts of the district,” Dantewada Superintendent of Police Ankit Garg told Business Standard. The police however do not have information about the interior areas as there is communication problem, he added.
An intelligence wing official here said that they were also examining whether the Naxalites were involved in mobilising the villagers in the interior areas.
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With a major part of Bastar cut off with the mainstream of the society, corruption has been a big issue. The alleged atrocities and exploitation by the police and forest authorities had provided room for the Naxalites to enter Bastar region in early 80s and consolidate their position.
The rebels targeted the police and forest employees; checked their entry in the villages that reportedly came as a big relief for the villagers. The Naxalites strengthened their base in the interior areas by allegedly eradicating corruption.
When team Anna on Sunday thanked “everyone” for their support, the poor tribals in the Naxal heartland would miss the message. For, security personnel are secondary, even communication had failed to reach their villages.