Karnataka - Belgaum   

Naxalites: ball is now in Centre's court

Staff Correspondent

Change sought in forest laws for rehabilitation of adivasis

BELGAUM: The ball is now in the Centre's court with the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, asking for an amendment to the forest laws to address the problems that allowed naxalites to find a foothold in the Kudremukh National Park area housing some 2,000 adivasis.

The Chief Minister has told the Centre that the forest and environmental laws are coming in the way of tackling the problem because they hamper the rehabilitation of the tribal people living in the area.

In his address to the Inter-State Council meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday, he not only urged the Centre to review these laws, but also sought a special package for the areas where naxalites are present.

Meagre resources

He said the State's experience is that "panchayat raj institutions, with their meagre resources and marginal tribal representation," are unable to do justice to these areas.

Socio-economic problem

The Chief Minister sees the naxalite problem having its roots in socio-economic issues. The State Government has formed an Anti-Naxalite Force to tackle the problem from another angle in view of the increasing encounters between the naxalites and the police.

The villagers support the naxalites because they see them as fighting for their cause.

Simple demands

The demands of the villagers are simple: roads, power supply, a school and a health centre. That apart, the villagers, a majority of whom depend on tendu leaves and other minor forest produce, oppose exploitation by traders. When reminded about this during his recent visit to the city, Mr. Dharam Singh said: "I am aware of these problems. I have been the Home Minister."

The State Government is finding it difficult to rehabilitate a tiny community of 2,000 tribal people because of certain forest and environmental laws.

Andhra Pradesh example

Andhra Pradesh, apart from imposing a ban on left extremist parties, sought to weaken the influence of naxalites by offering attractive packages.

So far, Andhra Pradesh has rehabilitated hundreds of former naxalites.

The Government has launched several programmes besides setting up self-help groups and village tribal development associations, redistributed land to poor farmers and implemented employment generation schemes to alleviate poverty in the naxalite-affected areas.

It is significant that Ajit Kusabi, who was killed in an encounter near Devarabalu in Udupi district last Thursday, was unemployed and belonged to a poor weaver's family.

Poverty

It is said that he could not study beyond seventh standard because of poverty and was forced to work to earn his livelihood. He was inspired by the Karnataka Vimochana Ranga. He left the city two years ago, his parents said. They learnt that he was working in more than one factory in Bangalore. They do not know when Ajit joined the naxalites. There are any number of instances where youth from poor families have reportedly joined the naxalites.

It remains to be seen how the Centre proposes to tackle this problem. It is implicit in the Chief Minister's request that any delay in the rehabilitation of the adivasis may drive them into the arms of naxalites.

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Naxalites: ball is now in Centre's court

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