Reality Check

Police and Bloodshed in Palnadu - Beyond the barrel of a gun

Any system needs interaction among its elements but in the conflict between the naxals and the police in Palnadu violence emerges as the only accepted means of settling disputes while the toll keeps mounting.


Palnadu: Naxalism is a hushed up word in the hamlets and hills of Palnadu. This is because "Annalu"-meaning big brother is omnipresent and has a thousand eyes and ears. So fear compels them to be discreet. It's a straightforward choice, be silent or be silenced. Development is a mirage here where the police fear to tread. Civic amenities and basic necessities are non-existent and mere survival becomes vital. In this situation either lady luck smiles on you or a gun barrel stares you down.

The authorities admit that worsening circumstances in deprived villages, poverty, unemployment and lack of health coupled with medicare, sanitation facilities and a caste setup, steeped in feudalism and factionalism, have led to the escalation of extremism in Palnadu.

The Superintendent of Police of Guntur,V Sajjanar said that the under developed regions were exploited by these extremists in the primary level which has resulted to their meteoric rise in power and present status. The hills are a perfect hiding place with the forests acting as a great camouflage. He added that the unemployed youth were attracted to name, fame (notoriety), challenge and power that an extremist commands.

This has led to a disturbing trend in the form of rising number of recruits for a violent cause. The underlying fact is that they have become organised. naxalism can no longer be treated as a mere law and order issue. A parallel government by the naxals is the current reality.

In an effort to normalize and bring law and order, Sajjanar has a plan, a three-point strategy as a counter ploy. Measures include rounding-up sympathisers, and possible informers, arrests and encounters to bring them to book and cutting their supply routes. The government has also started a propaganda war to counter the influence of the naxals trying to reach out to the masses, and also promising developmental projects. The unemployment situation is being tackled with increased recruitment in the police force.

The District Superintendent of Police of Narsaraopet,Prithvi Narayan has his own views. He claimed that those who are recruited and are leaders of this cause are mostly dropouts and it is improbable to see them as motivated, ideal, visionary and cause-driven leaders. As an answer to the ongoing armed conflict between the administration and the rebels, he was cynical in response by saying that the extremists were getting the taste of their own medicine. The last step by the authority was to bring in the Greyhounds, an elite police force set up to fight the insurgents. Their patrolling and combatting operations have forced the extremists to retreat further into the hills

For the helpless local population, trapped between two extremes, there seem to be no choices. Though a majority of them remain silent, their sympathies and loyalties are commanded by those who help and those who command respect through fear.