TRIBALS - 2012 - Indian Social Institute

to the Maoists, who, too, are reportedly on a recruitment drive in the area to rejuvenate their disintegrating
outfit. And the government has reasons to be optimistic, as not only tribal men but also tribal women have
responded and submitted applications for the posts of junior police constables in large numbers. The
government records reveal that 13,000 tribal women from the three districts of West Midnapore, Bankura
and Purulia have submitted applications for the post of junior constables. Currently, physical tests are
going on for recruitment of the first batch of tribal youths from the LWE region in the special police force
out of a sanctioned strength of 5,000, and another 5,000 as national volunteer force is underway.
According to official records, in 28 police stations across Bankura, West Midnapore and Purulia districts,
93,285 tribal men and women have submitted forms for the the post of special police constable. The
government in its notification issued in September announced that 5,000 youths will be recruited as
special police constables. “This is a great achievement for the state government. This recruitment drive
has led several tribal youths to withdraw their support from the CPI-Maoists. We have also received forms
from several relatives of Maoists squad members and leaders,” said a police official. Police sources said
three brothers of Maoists squad leader Jayanta, former chief of Goaltore squad Sidhu Soren’s brother
Sagen Baskey submitted application forms to West Midnapore police. Ishwar Kaibartya, brother of Karan
Kaibartya alias Sanjai, a squad leader of Purulia, has also applied for the job for a constable. (Indian
Express 2/1/12)
Woman killed in firing by forest personnel (6)
Agartala: A tribal woman was killed and another injured on Monday when Forest Protection Force
personnel opened fire at Ratrangi, a remote tribal hamlet in South Tripura district, about 75 km from here,
police sources said. A group of tribals tried to prevent two tribal youths from being arrested for cutting
down trees by attacking the personnel,who opened fire leaving a woman dead and another injured, the
sources said. The injured was admitted to hospital. (Zee News 2/1/12)
Tribals bear the brunt of Maoist violence as well as Government Operations (6)
Raipur, Jan 3 : Humanity, harmony, good governance are ideals a democratic nation aspires to. As the
world''s largest democracy, India is no exception. Her lawmakers and administrators, often the brightest of
her citizens, vow to serve the people and govern them with integrity. These lofty ideals, however, hold no
ground in the face of the harsh pressures of conflict, now spreading rapidly across the country. I searched
for and interviewed every single individual of a village during my sojourns in the Bastar region of
Chhattisgarh. I was looking for signs of optimism, revival, hope; in a region that has faced years, nay,
decades, of strife. I returned empty-handed. The tales of misery are all too common. Some of them come
to light when a ''milestone'' is achieved, such as when Koteshwar ''Kishenji'' Rao was killed in November
2011, making the entire nation sit up and take notice. The fear evoked by the killing of this top gun of
Communist Party of India (Maoist) became evident when guerrilla forces gathered together and pledged
revenge against the State. The impact of the alert and call for revenge, reflected in escalation in violence,
is limited to those who never were involved in any manner in the first place: the hapless tribes of the Red
Corridor, mute spectators bearing the brunt of the bullet from both sides. Like everything else, here too,
history bears repeating. Many cases were registered over time; some were even written about; but none
of this came near to reflecting the real picture of the remote Maoist affected villages of India. Regions,
which barely merit acknowledgement and simply don''t exist for most of us, leave alone considering the
plight of its dwellers. The isolated village in Bastar, like most of its hamlets, is situated amid lush green
Sal forests. As one walks on the muddy path of the remarkably picturesque village, long before the huts
become visible, a vast expanse of paddy fields lends a sense of prosperity. Imagining this sort of richness
in a Maoist region, it turns out, is surreal. This standing crop, unable to breathe in the suffocated air, has
been standing long, awaiting a human touch. There is none. In such places, where even a thud has the
potential to scare one to death, it is not difficult to imagine how terrifying it would be to see five