The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : When cupid strikes in jungles

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Tuesday, Jan 15, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

When cupid strikes in jungles

S. Harpal Singh

Many naxal couples who got married underground in Adilabad district have surrendered and are leading a normal life

Farewell to arms: A naxalite couple after surrendering recently in Adilabad district.

ADILABAD: Not only marriages that are made in heaven but even those that are made in ‘jungles’ have become success stories in Adilabad district.

Barring one, all the 10 naxalite couples who surrendered in the district following marriages ‘underground’ are proving to be examples of a perfect family. The focus has shifted to marital life of former naxalites because of growing number of surrenders of extremist couples. Having stuck together through the thick and thin of life in a self-imposed exile, it is perhaps no wonder that the former extremists find it a comparatively easy to live like normal families. “In fact, the bonds are considerably stronger among naxal couples because of the tests they have to undergo before they are allowed to marry,” observed Nainagari Ravi alias Murali, former district committee member of the Adilabad unit of Communist Party of India (Maoist). He is leading a normal family life with wife Sujata, a former Dalam member.

Set of rules

The Maoists laid down a procedure for allowing cadres to get married. Before permission is granted by their controllers for entering into wedlock, willing extremists are made to spend six months together to get properly acquainted with each other. “It is these six months that actually shape up the future of the persons concerned. After the time if they still feel that they are in love, permission is accorded for their marriage,” revealed Murali. “However, pressures of a ‘homeless’ life begin to tell on the newly weds within days of getting married. Therefore, they opt for surrender and for peace found at home,” added the former naxalite. A new couple is exempted from sentry duty and is allowed to sleep at some distance from the camp of the given dalam. This causes heartburn among the other cadres on sentry duty.

Added to the opposition faced by married cadres within the ranks, is the problem of leading a satisfied life. This aspect also leads them to surrender.

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