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Over the last couple
of years the Rayalseema region of South Andhra Pradesh has been in the news for
the growing impact of the revolutionary movement. What particularly received
countrywide publicity were the daring famine-raids in which hundreds of quintals
of food grains were seized and distributed to the starving masses. The
revolutionary movement is growing fast, and is advancing towards a preparatory
level of a guerrilla zone.
Raylseema is infamous
for its bomb culture and factional politics. Feudal mafia are pitted against
their adversaries {backed by one or the other ruling class party — mostly the
TDP & Congress (I)} drawing the entire village population into one or the other
factions. The PW has been fighting this faction politics and diverting factional
violence into revolutionary violence. The masses have been mobilized on a vast
scale, particularly in Anantpur district, on numerous issues. There have been
wage struggles of the agricultural labourers, land struggles and seizures of
land for patta rights, famine struggles, struggles against atrocities against
women, fights against patriarchy, holding of people’s courts to settle disputes,
and other such struggles around people’s issues. The growth of the armed squads
and militias of the PGA have been particularly noteworthy. These have been
mobilized not only to attack the landed mafia, but also the enemy forces.
Some examples of the
armed activities of the PGA and the masses have been:
1) In the
Chitravati squad area a police team was ambushed in order to check the
enemy’s offensive, which were regularly raiding villages to capture the
squads. As a ruse, the PGA placed claymore mines on the
Evvonipalle-Dharmavam road, exposing the wire connections. But, a squad
member of the ROC group, on seeing the wires, thought to take it away, and
began digging. As a result the mine blasted killing that squad member, and a
villager accompanying him. 12 police rushed to the spot on motorcycles. PGA
guerrillas lay in ambush for the returning police. In the ensuing blast and
firing, a number of the police were severely injured. Though the enemy was
not eliminated, the fear of ambush reduced their offensive to some extent.
2) Protests were
held throughout Anantpur district against the brutal torture and murder of
squad commander Com. Mallikarjun (Anand) and Com. Saroja. On August 2, 2000
the police lay in ambush for the Pennahobilam squad. The two comrades were
severely wounded in the attack. They were then caught, severely tortured and
shot dead. Militant actions took place, with the PGA militia in the lead.
Three Exchanges in the Pennahobilam were blown up; one in Krishnapuram was
destroyed; and a telephone exchange and a rural telecommunication system was
exploded in the Ramgiri area.
3) Landlord
Narayanreddy has a notorious record not only in his own village, but also in
the neighbouring region. He had murdered numerous people in his own village
in order to maintain his monopoly over power. In clashes in what is known as
the ‘Kalagalla’ war for control over arrack shops and toddy trees,
his gang has murdered over 70 people. In order to maintain his domination
over the people he always created divisions amongst the people, pitting one
against the other. The peasant organization had seized his house plots and
some wasteland that he controlled. In 1998 the Sangham had also seized some
25 acres of patta land. In the clash that ensued people damaged his pump
sets. He got a large number of Sangham leaders arrested. It is from then
that his atrocities increased ten-fold, with his son, Gopal Reddy, in the
forefront. He brought in the police to obstruct the harvest in the fields
occupied by the people. Faced with the wrath of the people, he play-acted a
surrender before the people; but later he got the Sangham leaders arrested
and himself fled to Anantpur town. Though he lived under protection of the
police, the PGA’s Action Team annihilated him on July 22.
4) In memory of
the three CC martyrs, a mass campaign was conducted to join the PGA. In each
squad area the campaign was conducted in 25 villages. The necessity of a
people’s guerrilla army to liberate the masses was stressed everywhere.
Thousands of pamphlets were distributed, wall writing was done, posters and
banners appeared all over, and meetings were held throughout the region. So,
for example, in the Papagri squad area the call to join the PGA was given in
the Rayachoti and Kanngari mandals. In some villages torchlight processions
were also held. In Galiveeru mandal of Cuddapah district, campaign teams
were formed of 6 to 10 activists, including women. They propagated using
hand-made posters and banners. The teams were cordially welcomed by the
masses.
5) Rayalseema is
an arid region, and has been in the news for the successive failures of the
monsoon. Hundreds have committed suicide. This year the major crop of the
region, groundnut, was completely destroyed by pests. So, for example, in
Chitravati area a ten-member campaign team mobilized the masses in 20
villages, demanding compensation. The police retaliated with massive
repression — with wholesale arrests and tortures, and extracting lakhs of
rupees for the release of those illegally detained. Yet, the people fought
back.
6) Political
campaigns have been taken, like observing Dec.6 as anti-communal day,
holding processions in memory of martyrs, etc.
Due to the growth of
the movement the repression in Rayalseema on the same scale as the other
struggle areas of A.P., like Telengana and the AOB region. Maligning the
movement on a big scale, building large informer networks in the villages,
attempting covert operations to murder leaders, ‘counseling’ of family members
of activists and other methods of psychological warfare, etc. are all being
adopted. Notorious armed gangs of landlords, like those of Paritala Hari and
Payyavala Kesav, work in close liaison with the police.
One of the enemy’s
major weapons is to build a wide informer’s network. It is this that facilitates
the operations of the police and para-military forces. Without such an informer
network, they find themselves enormously handicapped. Vast sums (most of it
unaccounted) are spent on building up this nest of agents at village and town
level. Lumpens are their main social base. Each Intelligence Department police
is entrusted with 3 to 4 villages, developing personal contacts by staying in
the village himself. Their main job is to recruit under-cover agents, who are
even supplied with walki-talkies and cell phones. If they are not entrusted with
hi-tech communications, information is transmitted through a chain of
individuals, not to expose the under-cover agent. Often they stay in the village
posing as vendors of items. In the towns mess workers of hostels and college
watchmen are being tapped as informers.
In addition, combing
operations have been stepped up. 15 member police teams roam at night, hiding in
possible open shelters of the squads, waiting for an ambush. Four such teams
move out at a time in different directions. During the days they move in
vehicles, changing vehicles daily. STF police move around in civil dress
arresting militants in the villages.
Activist’s houses and
families are regularly targeted. Mass organization leader’s houses are
destroyed, not once, but a number of times. Each time they raid a house, they
destroy what exists — even setting clothes on fire. Near and dear ones of the
guerrillas are arrested, and are threatened to be kept in custody till they
surrender. Police resort to enmasse arrests; then give out false statements of
the so-called surrender of hundreds of naxalites. Mass organization leaders are
humiliated and paraded semi-naked, and people are threatened that they will meet
the same fate if they support the PW.
In the name of
‘counseling’ they are pressurizing family members to make their relatives who
have joined the guerrillas to surrender. They use duplicity to try and convince
the relatives, posing as though they want to help them. Talking politely, giving
money for transport and other expenditure, they try and get the relatives to
give public statements.
Besides all this, the
police, with the rank of SI/CI/DSP, try and set up friendship associations in
the villages to deepen their informer network. Through this they bribe
individuals with money and favours. The police have also announced so-called
rehabilitation programmes to encourage comrades to surrender. All are encouraged
to become informers.
But, in spite of all
these efforts the revolutionary movement continues to advance, as the last few
years’ developments have shown. The horrifying conditions of the masses of this
arid region give them no alternative but to turn to revolutionary politics.
PGA guerrillas
ambush Police in the DK Guerrilla Zone
According to local newspaper reports,
on Oct.17 PGA fighters ambushed a police patrol party going towards Konta PS
in a jeep. The jeep was blown to pieces in a landmine blast. The ambush took
place between villages Indaram and Bhejji, located in the South Bastar
division. An SDO of police was leading the police party. Three policemen were
killed and three more injured, including the SDPO. According to the report,
the Red Fighters of the PGA seized two SLRs and a .303 rifle.
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