The Hindu : 'PWG surveyed Malnad region in 1990s'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 23, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

'PWG surveyed Malnad region in 1990s'

By Raviprasad Kamila

MANGALORE NOV. 22. The central committee of the People's War Group (PWG) had conducted a survey in the Malnad region in the early 1990s to assess the social conditions and ascertain if the PWG could expand its base in the Western Ghats, according to sources.

The survey, named `Socoma' (Social Conditions in Malnad), was carried out as the PWG had noted that naxalite movement in North Karnataka had suffered a setback. A few members of the committee had visited the Malnad districts at that time as the committee did not have any member from Karnataka. They found that while there was no acute poverty in the region, there was a class division in society, and the poor were mainly tribal people and those from the Scheduled Castes, sources said.

But the members concluded that the PWG could expand its operations in the Western Ghats for "strategic reasons". According to sources, Sumati, who was killed in an encounter with the police at a village near Karkala recently, and Neelagudi Padmanabha, whom the police are searching for, were put in charge of spreading the naxalite ideology in the area.

They found an "issue" in the Supreme Court judgment directing the authorities to evict encroachers from the Kudremukh National Park area. At present, this is the only "issue" for naxalites in the region, sources said. However, they do not enjoy much support among the local people. So something must be done to neutralise the issue itself. Otherwise naxalites would continue to thrive in the region, sources said.

The police in the Malnad districts are not trained to tackle a revolutionary campaign. This aspect also had to be taken into account while deciding on how to implement the Rs. 60-crore development package announced by the Government recently. The rehabilitation measures should "satisfy" the tribal people, sources said.

The role of officials of the Revenue and the Forest departments was also important in finding a solution to the naxalite problem in the area. The Revenue authorities should convene meetings of tribal people and convince them about the benefits that the Government was offering them. "Revenue authorities cannot escape from their responsibilities by saying that ending the naxal menace is the headache of the police," sources said.

It had been found that there was some harassment of the tribal people by forest guards and local policemen. When the tribal people earned a pittance by selling forest produce, the forest officials and local police demanded a share of the proceeds. This should be stopped, sources said.

'Explosions'

Explosions were heard in the Hallihole forest under Shankaranarayana police station limits in Udupi District on Thursday night, highly placed sources told The Hindu today. The explosions were suspected to be grenades being used by naxalites in a training programme.

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