In a bold initiative, the tribals of a village panchayat in Chhattisgarh's worst insurgency-hit Sukma districthave decided to oppose Naxal atrocities carried outin the name of people's movement and device their own efforts to prevent violence by the ultras.
Armed with bow and arrows and other traditional weapons, the youths can be seen patrolling the peripheral areas of their villages throughout the night to ban the entry of rebels at their native place.
The practice started in Kumakoleng and Nama villages falling under Kumakoleng gram panchayat, located around 22 kms from Tongpal police station on National Highway- 30 which connects Jagdalpur to Sukma, about two months back.
"We were disturbed with the Maoists' act of obstructing development which had resulted in no power supply and lack of proper road connectivity in our village. In the name of police informers, innocent villagers have been killed," Aayta Karma, a resident of Nama village, said.
"Braving Naxal threats, the youths of the two villages have decided not to allow anymore act of atrocity or violence in the area. Now we want development and peace," Karma said.
The Kanger Area Committee of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) looks after the Maoists' activities in Kumakoleng, which lies on the bordering region of Chhattisgarh-Odisha, around 400 kms from the state capital Raipur.
The committee has been instrumental in executing several major incidents in the region, including the 2013 Jiram valley attack in which Congress leaders were killed.
The distance between Kumakoleng and Nama villages, having a population of 500-550, is about 1.5 kms.
A group of 60-65 men from the two villages carry out night patrolling to prohibit entry of Naxals in their areas.
"Each and every youth has been assigned with a responsibility. They are deployed randomly at several locations in and around villages," Karma said.
Ruling out that the initiative may take an ugly turn in future, another villager, on condition of anonymity, said, "We just want peace in our village and don't want to enter in any violent clash with Maoists."
"While patrolling, youths had come face-to-face with Naxals twice, but on both the occasions the ultras fled after facing strong opposition from us," he said.
Meanwhile, police said similar initiatives against Naxals have also been reported from other places in Sukma.
"Villagers from Kumakoleng had requested us to set up a police camp in their area which is quite in the interior. We have assured them to think over it. As of now, we have stepped up patrolling in the region to ensure security to them," Sukma Additional Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh told PTI.
The villagers had also demandedthe district
administrationto provide better road connectivity which is also being considered, Singh said.
Not only from these two villages, the people from other remote patches of Sukma have also sought police camps in their region, expressing their willingness to get rid of the Maoists who had done nothing for them expect obstructing development works, the ASP said.
"Everyone has the right to peacefully protest against atrocities and violence in a democracy," he said, about the initiative in Kumakoleng.
Fighting the Maoist menace for over three decades, Chhattisgarh has witnessed protests against Naxals by the tribal populace a number a times in the past.
An anti-Maoist civil militia- Salwa Judum (meaning peaceful gathering for a hunt in 'Gondi' language)involving local people was launched in 2005 in the Bastar region.
However, itwas disarmed and disbanded in the state following a court order declaring the deployment of tribal youth as special police officers in the fight against Maoist insurgency as illegal and unconstitutional.
Several rallies by schools children and the victims of Naxal violence were also held in the past couple of years in Bastar as a mark of protest against Maoists.
