India's War in the Woods

The 78-kilometer road between Sukma and Konta is nearly deserted. Scores of villages, once bustling with tribal life, are now vacant. Across the rough orange and green terrain of the nearby forests, hundreds of other villages similarly have been abandoned. Tens of thousands of tribal people are simply gone.

This is not war-torn Afghanistan or Sudan. This is central India, where super sleek call centers and software factories have brought millions of poor into the modern middle class.

But the country's drive to become a first world power has left many of its most vulnerable behind and frozen economic development across swaths of this vast country. At its most extreme and most dangerous — in remote forested areas — a four-decade-long rebellion has erupted into violent intimidation, exploitation of the young and dozens of murders.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• India
• Chhattisgarh
• Naxal
• Naxalite
• rebel
• tribal
• salva
• judum

[breaks0]

Your passing references to "state failure" are not central enough to your film and it sounds as though the sources you are using are primarily pro-government. since you appear to be unaware to the extent of the state's role in creating, funding, organizing and supporting the SJ, as well as the greater extent of its abuses than those of the guerillas.

[bobfamous]

Thanks breaks0. I appreciate your responses.

Neil Katz

[breaks0]

This is such shit! God. Whoever produced this is treating the Salwa Judum and the state administration in Chattisgarh like some kind of heroes. Yes, the Naxalites do many aweful things. But the bulk of the 50,000 displaced in the camps have been forced their by the fucking SJ paramilitaries. What they do is probably worse than what the Maoists do. You should post something a little more balanced than this crap.

[bobfamous]

From the Producer: From interviews with people in the Salwa Judum camps, local journalists, and gov officials I felt that some people are in camps because of gov or Salwa Judum pressure. Also, local media has reported sporadic violence by SJ against Maoist supporters. However, the great majority of violence has been by the Maoists. I spoke with many whose families were murdered by Maoists when they left the camps. I felt most were in the camps because they were honestly afraid of Maoists.

[bobfamous]

From Producer: I don't feel that this piece portrays the Salva Judum or the Chhattisgarh government as doing any good. I repeatedly say the Maoists thrive because the government has failed the people. The video also notes that the Salwa Judum and government plan to train young boys as special police officers is foolish and dangerous and that the entire SJ movement has only made the tribals more of a target for the Maoists.

[markapljhj]

@chunduntouchable ... Look at your country asshole ..a failed state ....and a terrorist country where no foreigner visit ....my advice would be kill ur own people and u would be doing a good thing to this planet .....ur country will be a terrorist country forever........

[MrIndoCanadian]

Fuck U naxalite bastards u will face a situation like Gujarat

[chanduntouchable]

We are proud to our Naxal brothers. We are always ready to support u at any time and at any cost. Best wishes for our Naxal brothers from Pakistan....

[jumpnjza2]

@hindupower28

Go drink some cow piss.

[hindupower28]

fuck you bastards

we indians feed you and that is how u replay us,

you deserved t be fucked and killed by our beloved soldiers.

Any one against india deserves to die....u bastards are backed up by china and isi......

but remember we will eliminate all of you but will not give u even one feet of our land...

JAI HINDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

JAI United India................

FUCK ALL BASTERD MOTHER FUCKER TRAITORS

[cultofmao]

I saw another documentary saying the opposite that the Government troops were to terror of the villages. Also the people are being forced out mainly by police. If the Naxalites are Maoists then it is not logical that they would destroy the support of the locals, its just not what Mao tse Tung taught.

[cultofmao]

Sounds like Propaganda.

Who is this guy?

[mukhbansingh]

What i think is that the central government has to make some fund and this fund should be use only for the backward states. they have to choose one state every year and the development has to down by central govt. so that if the state govt is not doing insufficient then the central will do there. there r many state which r not using funds from many year. so central govt can use that.

[Shahidnabibullah]

Many of the villages have been targeted by the Salwa Judum, not the naxalites. The forced conscription of men by this government vigilante group has made the social problem far far worse. Unless the well-off send a strong signal that they care for the rest of India, the violent extreme left will thrive without doubt.

[ashokverma7]

It will take decades (not years) to resolve it, with the way Govt. is approaching this issue. Peace talks or fighting with them may suppress the naxalites, but as long as the root cause of there existence remains they will trouble...

[DarkAssBastard]

sounds good. How about a preview of the script?

[Tennisace7273]

hey guys, im writing a movie script regarding the naxalites. My aim is Tennisace7273, if u want me to tell you about it. Its pretty good its about a spoiled rich upper class kid from hyderabad, joining the naxalites because he thought they steal from the rich and give to the poor and that they are very self righteous. But he soon realizes the greed and corruption of it.

[TinaInManali]

An informative perspective about India and tensions related to poverty and lack of development in rural areas.

[activemedia]

The Govt says that industrialisation is the only path to progress. The NGOs says alternate livelihoods are not a failed experiment. The truth is not in black and white but a grey area. WHat is the truth? The truth is people are dying...

[activemedia]

The Naxalites are generating more news now for their vandalism than their pro-people activism. It is being said that the Salwa Judum is a Govt sponsored initiative to clear villages to make way for big factories and mining companies. The people are not ready to move out because of socio-economic-environmental reasons.

[activemedia]

Salwa Judum, the NAxalites, the Police (and Govt) are all fighting their wars but the people who are paying with their lives are farmers and forest gatherers at the end. There is no perspective of the NGOs also. The police and the adminstration in that area has been known for exploiting the tribal populace for years.

[activemedia]

Very neatly edited video there. It takes a lot of guts to take a path full of mines. I wish you had got the other side of the story. I wish you had delved into things like what exactly is development.

[breaks0]

The recent pieces in the economist, epw, the Indian People's Union for Civil Liberties, the ACHR report you cite, frontline magazine and MANY other sources present a much more balanced picture than you do.

[breaks0]

I appreciate your responses and concede I may've been a little too strong in my last post, However, I still disagree with your overall take on the situation. If you follow the media at all, you would know what many others who have been to chattisgarh (most of them Indian) talk to people and present a much ore balanced picture than you have.