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

Impediments to return
The Chhattisgarh government has no policy for facilitating the safe and voluntary
return of camp residents to their villages. Almost all camp residents told Human
Rights Watch that they eventually want to return to their villages. The Dantewada
superintendent of police stated that the government was “slowly facilitating return
by creating new camps closer to the [interior] villages” from where people were
originally relocated. 244 However, another police officer stated that administering and
protecting these interior camps was extremely difficult. 245
There are several impediments to camp residents’ return to their villages. The
greatest is the danger of possible Naxalite reprisals against camp residents,
particularly sarpanches (village officials), patels (village headmen), and special
police officers or SPOs (including former SPOs). 246 NGOs, activists, and camp
residents said that Naxalites had distributed and displayed pamphlets inviting camp
residents to return to their villages to resume farming, assuring them of safe passage
and treatment. 247 Many camp residents questioned whether Naxalites would actually
abide by these statements.
In many cases, the fear caused by previous Naxalite reprisal measures against camp
residents outweighed the Naxalite promises. 248 One villager from Jailbada camp said,
“If I go to the village, they [Naxalites] will beat me, so I don’t want to go.” 249 A girl
from Jayanagar camp, speaking for a larger group of girls, said, “We prefer it in the
camp and don’t want to go back to our village now because we are scared of
Naxalites attacking the village. Naxalites did not come before, but they will now.” 250
244 Human Rights Watch interview with Rahul Sharma, first interview, December 10, 2007.
245 Human Rights Watch interview with police officer-2 (who requested anonymity), other details withheld. See above, Living
conditions in camps.
246 See above, section III, Background, for the reasons why sarpanches and patels are particularly targeted, and for more
information regarding the SPO system.
247 Human Rights Watch interviews with T-1 (who chose to remain anonymous), government teacher in Bijapur, location
withheld, December 14, 2007; Himanshu Kumar, Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, Kawalnar, December 9, 2007 (first interview);
telephone interview with Manish Kunjam, former member of Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly, Sukma, March 18, 2008.
248 See below, section VII C, Reprisals against Salwa Judum camp residents, for more details.
249 Human Rights Watch interview with Madkam Dhairya (pseudonym), camp resident, Jailbada camp, December 13, 2007.
250 Human Rights Watch group interview GR6 with camp residents (who chose to remain anonymous), Jayanagar (Nayapara)
camp, December 13, 2007.
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