While the media have always sensationalised issues related to the Naxalite movement, for journalists like me, the actual happenings in the thick jungles have always been a mystery. Our attempt to get a first-hand look at what is happening at ground level succeeded after much effort (see accompanying story, ‘I don’t draw conclusions’). Eventually, we toured the dense forests of Bastar and Dantewada districts in an attempt to understand the working of the Janatana Sarkar (People’s Government).

There is an Alternative

‘‘WE welcome media friends to India’s first Liberated Zone in the making,’’ says the welcome note handed out by the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee the moment we enter the ‘base area’. We are also handed a document titled ‘Janatana Sarkar: Policy Statement’.

The Janatana Sarkar, we learn, is an alternative form of governance established by the Maoists after overthrowing the present government system. Their three concerns: local administration, development and defence.

Dandakaranya is home to various primitive tribes undivided by caste and religion. The area we visit is inhabited mostly by Gotti Koyas and Gonds, who prefer to be known as Koya Doras, after their language, Koya. Some members of the Maoist squad and a few locals who know Telugu or Hindi act as interpreters, allowing us to talk to many village elders.

‘‘Twenty years ago, when these dadas first came here, we thought they would rob us and molest our women. But they kept on visiting our villages, whether we gave them food or not. Gradually, our fears died down,’’ says one elderly villager. ‘‘In fact, harassment by village chiefs, forest and police personnel decreased after the dadas set foot here.’’

... contd.