“Being Neutral is Our Biggest Crime” - Global Coalition to Protect ...

When he was part of the bal sangam Satyam David was “on sentry duty and used to
collect rice from families for Naxalites.” 447
Subba Atish described the training he received in his bal sangam:
We [bal sangam members] also got to watch all trainings about
planting bombs, even though we weren’t given training for these
things when we were in the bal sangam. Bal sangam members are
trained to fight with sticks…. I was also trained with sticks—how to
fight with them, to attack, to take positions and so on. 448
Two former dalam members Tarrem Kosa and Sushovan Banu also stated that they
trained bal sangam children in the use of non-lethal weapons. 449 Coincidentally,
Human Rights Watch spoke to Sushovan Banu when he was with Bhushan Corin, one
of his former bal sangam pupils from a non-lethal weapons training class, 450 and
Sushovan Banu joked that Bhushan Corin was not good at these trainings and
therefore had not been inducted into a dalam. 451
Recruitment into other Naxalite wings, including armed units
Typically, after age 12, bal sangam members are sent to other Naxalite wings
depending upon their skills. Children are also recruited into sangams, CNMs, jan
militias, and dalams. Human Rights Watch spoke to four former Naxalites who were
sent to these Naxalite wings from bal sangams; 452 one of them eventually became a
Naxalite dalam commander and was part of many armed encounters with the
447 Human Rights Watch interview with Satyam David (pseudonym).
448 Human Rights Watch interview with Subba Atish (pseudonym).
449 Human Rights Watch interviews with Tarrem Kosa and Sushovan Banu (pseudonyms).
450 Human Rights Watch interviews with Bhushan Corin (pseudonyms), former Naxalite, other details withheld; Sushovan
Banu (pseudonym).
451 Ibid.
452 Human Rights Watch interviews with Subba Atish and Satyam David (pseudonyms); Veka Idma and Bhushan Corin
(pseudonyms), former Naxalites, other details withheld.
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