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

villagers’ access to markets making it very difficult for them to survive should they
return. 259
The conflict between Naxalites, Salwa Judum, and government security forces has
forced people to take sides making them enemies. Villagers who did not relocate to
camps continue to be perceived as Naxalite sympathisers, and villagers who
voluntarily or otherwise relocated to camps are perceived as pro-Salwa Judum. This
has caused tremendous friction among villagers. One villager from Jangla camp said,
People living here [camp] have become enemies of people living there
[village]. This happened after Salwa Judum started. Before Salwa
Judum, we were living together—we used to go to the market together
and celebrate festivals together. Now we can’t do any of that. If we see
each other, we will beat or even kill each other. 260
Despite these formidable obstacles, many camp residents still wish to return home.
For instance, a group of people who were forcibly relocated said, “We have all our
land and property there [in the village]. If we die, we want to die on our land. We
don’t want to die in the camp. The last place we want to die is in the camp.” 261
B. “Double jeopardy”: Abuses against displaced persons by Andhra
Pradesh authorities
Tens of thousands of people fled from Dantewada and Bijapur districts of
Chhattisgarh to escape the conflict, and settled in the reserved forest areas of
neighboring Andhra Pradesh state. NGOs and government officials estimated that
since June 2005 around 30,000-50,000 displaced persons have settled in the
Khammam and Warangal districts of Andhra Pradesh. 262 A professor from Osmania
259 Human Rights Watch interview with Mandavi Siddharth (pseudonym), person displaced from Neeram, location withheld,
December 11, 2007.
260 Human Rights Watch interview with camp resident (who chose to remain anonymous), Jangla camp, December 14, 2007.
261 Human Rights Watch group interview GR10 with residents (who chose to remain anonymous), location confidential,
Dantewada district, December 15, 2007.
262 Human Rights Watch interviews with J. P. Rao, professor from Osmania University, location withheld, November 30, 2007
(second interview); S4 (who requested anonymity), senior police official, location withheld, December 5, 2007. National
Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), “Visit to Dantewada (Chhattisgarh) and Khammam (Andhra Pradesh) to
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