Salwa Judum architect Mahendra Karma was high on Maoists’ hitlist

While in popular perception he gained notoriety for Salwa Judum,a movement he launched to oust Maoists from Bastar in the summer of 2005,it was not the first time he led such a movement. In the early 1990s,he had launched a similar movement though it did not gain much public space. “What have Maoists given us? They talk of justice…they destroyed our customs,culture,” he often said.

His remedy,however,backfired. He brought tribals from interior villages,gave them weapons and made them fight Maoists,a move that proved costly. Salwa Judum ended up in strengthening the rebels as his army of tribals turned into goons,brutalised women,killed people on the pretext of being Maoists or “police informers”.

In fact,the Maoist situation in Chhattisgarh would not have reached alarming level were it not for the violence he unleashed during Judum. Much credit for this,of course,goes to Chief Minister Raman Singh too,who believed that paying Maoists in the same coin would contain them and gave Karma’s army full protection.

Karma and the state government lost an ideological battle when in July 2011,the Supreme Court termed the Special Police Officers recruited by the government during the Judum illegal.

As the Maoists grew,Karma soon figured prominently in their hitlist. Over the years,the rebels made several attempts on his life and killed several of his relatives —- tombstones of which lie in a row not far from his native village in Dantewada.

The last time this reporter met him was during a Congress rally in Kondagaon,one of the seven districts in Bastar division. He was hopeful of a Congress victory,but was unable to explain if many tribals who are still apprehensive of his tactics would accept him or his party. He had no answer why he so openly sided with the BJP government. He believed the days of violence should end now. In fact,a few days ago,he made a statement,diametrically opposite to his reputation,following the killing of eight villagers in police firing in Ehadsameta. “Let Maoists grow,not a single tribal should be killed in police action,” he said.

The change in stance,though,did not soften the Maoists. Karma,eyewitness said,was among the first to be gunned down on Saturday.