In 2005-2006, the Government of Chhattisgarh came up with a brilliant solution for the Naxalism problem. Why not give the tribals living in these areas some guns and let them fight it out with Naxals? With this Salwa Judum (Peace March) was born. Cloaking it as a socio-political movement, the government claimed that the tribals were motivated on their own to fight naxals and the government was merely supporting the movement (with guns.) Many tribals were taken up as Special Police Officers (SPOs) and others were just given weapons.
Needless to say giving guns to untrained (or partially trained) young boys with nothing better to do is not gonna end up well. I am not going to go in the gory details (you can read them here [.pdf]) but the situation became very bad. The Judum members started killing each other, sold the weapons to Naxals themselves, abused their power and recruited child soldiers. A case currently ongoing in Supreme Court accuses Judum of "over 500 murders, 99 rapes and 103 acts of arson." With all the heat generating because of this drama, the government did what it does best- locked the file and underwent a selective amnesia. Judum is currently in limbo. It hasn't exactly been disbanded but guns and money has stopped pouring in.
A few days ago, some of the leaders from Salwa Judum, launched a new political forum and held a press conference. The new forum, DKSSS is supposed to find a peaceful resolution to the Naxal strife. The communists immediately responded to this declaration for a 48-hour bandh.
I talked to a couple of very interesting and knowledgeable people in Chhattisgarh who are working on this issue and they suggested that DKSSS is probably has to do with the Judum leaders trying to remind the government of that they still exist. When Judum came up, these leaders came out openly against the Naxals. Now they have burned the bridges and constantly have to be surrounded with bodyguards. Disowned by the government they are kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. They resent the government for having left them while every Naxal in the neighbourhood is trying to tak a shot at them.
Of course, another angle to the whole issue is the money as it almost always is. While Judum continued a lot of people made a lot of money. With the government support drying up, their own pockets are getting lighter. It may be another reason to push for reviving Judum.
Whatever the reasons might be, for the time being, Judun remains an unresolved issue that may come back to haunt Chhattisgarh for a long time to come.
Of course, another angle to the whole issue is the money as it almost always is. While Judum continued a lot of people made a lot of money. With the government support drying up, their own pockets are getting lighter. It may be another reason to push for reviving Judum.
Whatever the reasons might be, for the time being, Judun remains an unresolved issue that may come back to haunt Chhattisgarh for a long time to come.
Image: Judum members being trained
Image Credit: humanrightsforum.org
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