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The sentry was saying ‘get up, get up’. It
was 5-30 in the morning. The time fixed for rising and moving on. We had reached
this point in the jungle at midnight. This was normal. The meeting with the
villagers normally goes late into the night. Once the villagers departed after
the meeting, we walked about half-an-hour before camping at this spot. This was
part of the regular security procedure.
Though exhausted from the previous day’s
activities, the squad of 15 (plus a few youth from the earlier village who
helped carry some excess material which is always with the squad) was on their
feet, packing kits, answering nature’s call — washing up is to be done later —
listening to the morning news on the transister, etc. By 6.00 a.m. we are in
single file and already moving towards the next village. After 5 minutes we
halt, a headcount is done, DVC member, Com. Ramanna, calls the squad to
attention, announces the R.V. (rendezvous — in case of an encounter), our
immediate destination, and that it would be a two hours walk.
We walk at a quick pace through forests, fields,
often not even along any path — the pilot team, as also Com. Ramanna (who has
been in DK for 17 years) seem to know every corner of the forest. After one
hour’s walk we halt, for a 5 minute rest. Commander Vijay explains, that this is
a rule, as the squad should at no time be too exhausted, and should be ever
alert, in case of a chance encounter with the enemy. Besides, I was told, there
are generally one or two sick comrades — malaria is rampant — and the only
concession they get is that their kit is carried by another.
As we move on, there is excitement in the air. The
point we are to reach is not merely the routine contact with another village,
but also to meet up with PL2 (Platoon 2). It is an occasion where comrades will
get to meet each other after months. Ofcourse, the contact is for some important
work, which most will come to know only once it materialises. At a few minutes
after 8.00 am, exactly two hours after departure, in the midst of the forest, we
come upon two young girls in uniform. They are members of PL2 on sentry duty.
They greet each of us with a hand shake and red salute, as we march on towards
the main camp.
As we approach, a whistle blows. We see comrades
scurring from here, there and everywhere, leaving their tasks to come and greet
us. By the time we reach, they are already standing to attention, in single
file. Our entire squad files past the platoon with each shaking hands with the
other and giving a red salute. After that there is much joviality with each
exchanging the latest information and experiences with the other. Our squad then
washes up and breakfast and tea are served. The mirthful atmosphere continues
with SZC secretariat member, Com. Latchanna, and DVC secretary, Com. Gopanna
leading in the jovialities. Both in their thirties, their casual, unpretentious
attitude made it impossible to make out that they were senior leaders. Just like
the others they queued up for their breakfast and tea.
After breakfast, it was all seriousness, with
everyone to their duties. The first task for all, was the cleaning of their guns
— which are looked after like the care given to a child. The gun is their
protection, their very life depends on it. The senior members went into
confabulations, no doubt chalking out the plans; the SAC members of the squad
planned with the villagers the food and meetings; the patrolling team went off
to survey the area; some, like me, went off to the stream for a bath and washing
clothes; the rest got down to their studies. The morning study is basically for
literacy, with all taking out their 2nd, 3rd, 4th standard books, practising
elementary reading and writing. The relatively more advanced assist newer
comrades.
Though deep in the forest, the village was some 15
minute walk from our location. This is the norm. As added precaution, meetings
are rarely held in the village itself. The leading activists of DAKMS/KAMS were
already there. And, of course, the ‘little Red Devils’, the Bala Sangham
members, were all over, excited to meet so many squad members. I noticed they
were particularly playful with Ramanna who most had seen since birth. Besides,
his warmth towards people was a natural attraction. After brief discussions with
the SAC, the DAKMS/KAMS members went off to make the food arrangements while the
children continued to play around. Ramanna, told me that the villagers will
gather grain etc from each house, and bring it here and cook it together with
the squad kitchen staff. Till then, the kitchen staff boiled the water. Drinking
only boiled water, I was told, has reduced instances of diarrhoea and dysentery
by 70%.
I, together with my guard, Com. Sitaram, went off
to the stream. A number of comrades were already there. The local population of
the region is fully tribal. While washing, we got talking of their lives and
past. I asked the 20-year-old Sitaram, what brought him to the movement. He said
he came from an extremely poor tribal family. From a very young age he worked as
a bonded labourer (Saldar) in another’s field. They treated him very badly; also
his house people did not bother about him. When the squads came he was
immediately attracted to what they said. He joined the Bala Sangham (children’s
organisation). Then he roamed one year with a central organiser. Now, he has
been three years in the squads.
Washing clothes next to me was the ever-lively,
Jithru — the very young guard of Com. Latchanna. Always laughing, he said he
came from a relatively well-off tribal family and, in fact, studied till the
third standard in his village. He came in touch with the squad three years back.
Since he was ‘educated’, the first task given him by the party was as a teacher
in one of the primary schools started. But after six months it closed, and he
was absorbed into the squads.
Then there was Venkatesh, very serious, relatively
quiet, and his fellow villager Nandu. Venkatesh, in the squads since 1991, is
now a section commander in the platoon. Nandu, in the squads since 1995, now
wields the platoon LMG, a prized possession, got from one of the raids on a
police station. Their backgrounds were two contrasts. Venkatesh, from a very
poor family, came through the Bala Sangam at a very young age. His elder brother
is an active member of the DAKMS. Nandu too came through the Bala Sangham, but
his father is one of the Mukhyias of the village. He vehemently opposed Nandu’s
association with the movement and tried every trick to prevent it, including
getting him ‘married’. Chandu, in the squads since a decade, and now a section
deputy commander of the platoon, also came through the Bala Sangam. Coming from
a rich peasant background, he said the party has, in fact, re-distributed part
of his parent’s land. His sister is an active KAMS member. Then there was the
ever-bright, Madan, a long-time participant in the movement, but in the squads
since 1995. Responsible for building DAKMS since 1985 as a Range Committee
member and then as a DAKMS organiser, he had been arrested three times. On the
second occasion he was kept in the lock-up and badly beaten every day by the
police, in their attempt to try and get information on the squads. He then
served three months in jail before being released on bail. On the third occasion
he escaped from the lock-up. All these comrades gained literacy in the squads.
Then there were the young, more-knowledgeable comrades,like Mahendar, Kamlesh,
etc., who had recently shifted from the NT platoon to the DK platoon. They were
recounting the differences in their experience between Telangana and
Dandakaranya.
The discussions would have gone on and on, but from
far off came the whistle.... for lunch. With lunch, also came a large number of
villagers. After lunch and some rest, while the platoon members got involved in
their military training; the squad, together with the other senior members, got
involved in meetings with the villagers. While the SAC secretary and commander,
Com. Vijay, together with the senior leaders took the cell/GRC meetings; a woman
SAC member took the KAMS meeting, while a party member took a meeting of the
Bala Sangham. The rest of the villagers gathered together and listened to
speeches and songs by the other squad members.
Due to lack of time, only the GRC meeting was held.
The SAC secretary conducted the meeting and fixed the agenda. Six of the seven
members were present, including a woman comrade. The first item is always a
report and assessment of the work since the last visit of the squad. The
chairman reported that in the past two months, since the squad last came, the
GRC had met twice, the Development Sub-Committee had met once, while the
school-hospital sub-committee had not met at all. He further reported that the
cement work, which had been started on the check-dam/canal had been washed away,
destroying 4 bags of cement, out of the 20 in stock. (In an aside, Com. Ramanna
told me that, of the 80 bags of cement demanded from a contractor by the party,
20 had been allocated to this village).
Regarding the functioning of the mutual-aid teams
this season, he reported that all have participated in the teams for house
improvement (thatching and repairing mud walls), in wood collection, in
weeding.... but the ploughing teams did not function that well. The reason given
was that, though teams were formed, they only partially functioned. As none in
the team wanted their plot to be the last to be ploughed, there was some
hesitancy. Yet they accepted the fact that if done in teams, even the last
person’s plot gets done earlier that when done individually.
The bullock cart provided to the village
cooperative by the party, he said, was being used for carting firewood,
materials, etc. But, no shed had been made for it, and it was not being properly
cared for. Also the rice mill, set up by the cooperative was earning well, but
large amounts were being spent on repairs, as this too was not being cared for
properly.
On the land question, as part of the process for
registration of the land tilled (I was told that the party has already printed
the forms for registration, with a GRC seal), he reported that the process of
measurement of the land was completed. He added, that, in their estimation,
three families had excess land which could be re-distributed.
Finally, he reported on a ‘panch’ (justice
meted out through a village meeting) regarding a husband-wife dispute.
On these points Com.Ramanna commented :
mutual aid teams for agricultural work should be
made on the basis of clubbing together those with equal number of ploughs, and
not putting people with different number of ploughs in the same team as was done
here; that there is no proper attitude towards cooperative property, as seen in
the lack of care taken over the bullock cart and rice-mill.... people should
treat cooperative property just as they treat their own personal property;
better accounts should be maintained of rice-mill income; and, those with excess
land must be more accurately assessed, keeping in mind the party criteria.
New plans discussed were : to rebuild the cement
work on the check-dam, and also build small ponds for irrigating 4 to 5
households’ lands.... responsibility for working out the details was left to the
Development sub-committee; the plan to set up a health-care centre ... though 5
persons had been trained the medicines had not been purchased. The GRC chairman
said that 4 kg of mahua would be gathered from each house and sold, in order to
collect money for the medicines. Com.Ramanna said that as this would take time,
the party would immediately loan Rs. 500 for the medicines which could be repaid
when the mahua was collected and sold; regarding the government primary school,
as is the case in most areas, no teacher came. Besides, they were not able to
find a single educated person in the vicinity to act as teacher (with salary
paid by the party, plus collections). Hence it was decided to put up posters
against the teacher who did not come, to bring some pressure; it was also
discussed to reduce to three days (from the 8 to 10 days normally used) for the
preparations for the on-coming festival — in order to limit the production of
liquor, which is normally consumed in huge quantities on such occasions.
Finally, in the criticism and self-criticism
session, the GRC members said that they had not done all the work planned. When
asked whether they had any criticisms on the squad — they said they had none.
After the meeting was over, Com. Latchanna, who was
visiting the area in order to get first-hand knowledge of the problems being
faced, made some interesting observations :
He said that there is a common excuse being given
against cooperative ploughing .... this reflects the resistance of the rich
peasantry whose growth is checked by the mutual aid teams, as they get no labour
to exploit. Ofcourse, he added the dependence on rainfall linked to ploughing
can only be solved through stepping up irrigation. Second, he said, that there
could be a tendency of the chairmen of the GRCs to dominate matters and neglect
collective functioning. Giving the example of how technocrats and bureaucrats
developed after the revolution in China, he observed that here too we must
always remember to keep class struggle as the key link — and not purely
developmental activities. Third, the lack of concern for public property
reflects the individualism of the peasantry, which can slowly be reduced by
enhancing cooperative activities and increasing political consciousness.
After the meetings the squad moved on, while the
platoon continued with its own tasks. Again, while departing, there was the
shaking of hands and red salutes, after standing to attention in two straight
lines.
Normally, a village such as this in which there
exist a number of organisations, would have taken a whole day, or even more to
complete. But, due to some urgency, we had to move on. We reached the next
village by about 6.00 p.m. after an hour-and-a-half’s walk (about 7 kms). While
we camped in the forest, two comrades went to inform the villagers of our
arrival. Tea was made by the kitchen staff, and water boiled for drinking. After
tea all squad members (not SAC) sat for their daily political class — this could
be a general political subject, discussion on some recent incident, a current
topic, or articles read from ‘Prabhat’ or ‘People’s War’, etc.
This normally goes on for about two hours, interspersed with some songs.
Finally, at about 9-30 p.m. the villagers arrived with the food.
This village, I was informed, did not yet have a
GRC or Cell — only DAKMS, KAMS, Bala Sangham. After dinner, the committee
meetings of the DAKMS and KAMS began, while the rest of the villagers were
entertained/educated through speeches and songs by the other squad members. I
attended the DAKMS meeting. The village of about 50 households, had a 5-member
DAKMS committee and 21 members. The village was just 5 kms from the police
station. In this village, though some of the cooperative activity was
functioning well, it also had some problems. In fact, since the last visit of
the squad, four ‘Panchs’ had been conducted, two of them dealt with problems
that were quite serious.
The members reported that the mutual aid effort had
been going on reasonably well, with two families refusing to participate. The
health centre, with five medicines, was also functioning ... not only were
people taking medicine and giving money, but the committee had even bought a new
stock of Rs. 200 worth of medicine from the sales proceeds. They had also
started a fish pond in the tank built on one acre of land and planned to eat a
part of the fish and sell the rest. The committee had, at present Rs. 4,053 in
the village fund. When asked whether the excess land of the rich peasants had
been marked out .... they said that, as yet, no steps had been taken, but would
investigate. One person who was told to give up some excess land, was not
prepared to do so.
The two serious ‘panch’ cases concerned a
lumpen and a rich peasant. The lumpen had been provoking people against the
committee; picking quarrels with the president; and threatening and abusing
people and even propagating against the party. What is more, he secretly caught
the fish in the common lake and sold it for private gain. He was brought before
the ‘panch’ and thoroughly beaten by the villagers, but was yet to improve. In
the other case the villagers had requested a rich peasant to breed fish for the
collective in his private pond. He agreed; but later went and sold all the fish
for himself. When asked to pay a fine, he refused. When called to a ‘panch’ he
did not come, but finally sent his son. The son was slapped and told his father
must pay the fine. Finally, he paid up Rs. 200. In this, the SAC secretary
intervened and said the son should not have been slapped (he is, in fact, a
member of the DAKMS) and any action should only have been taken on the father.
With the meetings over, the villagers disappeared.
We gathered out kits and walked on for about an hour (a little further than
normal, as we were near a police station). It was again about 1.00 a.m. before
we laid our plastic sheets on the ground in the midst of the forest, and went
off to sleep.
A typical day in the life of a DK squad was over.
This, I was told, was the normal routine. Added to this is a half-hour session
of PT in the mornings, when weather conditions are conducive. The schedule is
hectic, with always a race against time to cover the over 40 villages in the
jurisdiction of an LGS/CGS. Yet, inspite of the strain of work and tension from
the police, the atmosphere in the squad was relaxed and jovial, though serious.
The discipline, though strict, seemed to flow naturally according to a set
system, with little imposition. All tasks, no matter how trivial, were done with
a seriousness and sense of purpose. The squad was like one large family .... the
DVC members would be mostly around 35 to 40 years age, the new recruits between
16 and 20; while the average age would be under 25. Some of the new girl
recruits were very, very shy, having just broken off from a highly patriarchal
environment.
Within the squad, there was an intense hunger for
knowledge. Any spare time would be used to study. While relaxing, they would
generally be singing revolutionary songs or learning new ones.
Ofcourse, the main pressure would fall on the commander who, till yet, (in most
cases) combines the responsibility of SAC secretary. Though the deputy commander
looks after all technical duties of the squad, overall responsibility for all
military matters lies with the commander. In addition, as SAC secretary, main
village oragnisational responsibility falls on him/her. I observed, that they
barely get a moment to spare. Yet it is indeed commendable, that comrades from
tribal background, like Com. Vijay, take on such tremendous responsibilities
with an air of self-confidence.
This one day in the life of a South Bastar squad
was indeed a memorable occasion, where I could visualise the society of the
future that they were seeking to build. What was taking birth in DK was the
embryonic form of a new economic system; a new political power, a new people’s
army.... and, more particularly, the new selfless, communist person. It gave a
new hope for the future of our country, compared to the muck and filth of
present-day politicians that are seeking its ruination.
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