Famine Raids

The recurrent drought in AP has devastated agriculture in the entire state of AP. The drought has been the most severe this year with no end in sight. The condition of the vast masses of the peasantry is most pathetic. With hardly any agricultural yield for two consecutive seasons the peasantry in some districts are disposing off their lands for a song just to keep themselves alive. The drought has resulted in the worst-ever famine in the state. Starvation deaths have become common. The deaths from the heat wave in the state—over 2000—are more on account of shortage of food than high temperatures. Faced with starvation and the harassment from the moneylenders and unscrupulous traders who had advanced loans to the peasants, suicide deaths too are on the increase. The TDP government led by the World Bank stooge, Chandrababu Naidu, has done precious little to provide immediate relief to the helpless peasantry.

In fact, the root cause for the recurrent drought in AP is not natural but man-made, or in this context, we can say TDP-made. For it is the utter neglect of the agricultural sector by the Naidu government at the behest of the WTO that lies at the root. The budgetary allocations for the agricultural sector have been continuously reducing under the TDP while incentives are provided to the TNCs, MNCs and various comprador houses and subsidies are given to the software companies. The TDP boasts of having taken AP into the hi-tech era with hi-tech cities, industrial parks, software parks, knowledge parks, e-governance and what have you. A separate district called Cyberabad was formed recently and there is incessant talk of making the people of AP computer-literate. While all this trash is being repeated ad nauseum and the state’s land, labour and resources are being given away to the imperialist and comprador houses for the asking, the plight of the people, particularly the peasantry, has become pathetic.

There is no clean drinking water and even the existing facilities for providing drinking water are being privatised. There is no water for irrigation. While ground-water resources have become depleted as several lakhs of borewells were dug, there is no policy for the conservation and better utilisation of the water resources. The longest rivers of South India—the Krishna and Godavari—flow through the state and if the water is properly utilised by building smaller dams and canals, the recurrent drought in the state can be easily averted. But this has no place in the hi-tech agenda of the Naidu government and is not in the best interests of the imperialists.

Moreover, the government has not even paid attention to provide minimum relief to the drought-hit peasant masses. Under such conditions there is no alternative for the peasantry but to seize the foodgrains and other basic necessities from the government godowns and the big landlords and traders. The way was shown by the CPI(ML)[People’s War] and under its leadership several raids were conducted throughout AP. In sharp contrast to the revolutionary alternative shown by the People’s War party, we find the revisionist CPI(M) opening gruel centres for providing food to the affected population. The revisionist party leaders are seen going around begging the rich to contribute towards famine relief. The famine raids conducted by the CPI(ML)[People’s War] had greatly enthused the people in the state, and the masses in general are seeing this as the only alternative left for them. Even those critical of the Party are appreciating the mass actions for the basic needs of the people during the period of famine.

At the same time, these famine raids have unnerved the TDP government, which began to initiate several relief measures following the raids. On April 19, the Chief Minister visited Piduguralla, a town in Palanadu region in Guntur, and distributed surplus lands to the poor. Reacting to the famine raids, he assured the propertied classes that his government was duty-bound to protect their property and lives and that it was taking all necessary measures to ensure this. No wonder, following his visit, the police went on a rampage in the district harassing all those suspected to be associated with the revolutionaries. On April 26, a militant was arrested and killed in Madinapadu in Dachepalli mandal and the campaign of police terror continues.

In the last quarter of last year the peasant masses of Palnadu region in Guntur had undertaken 13 famine raids as reported in the earlier issue of People’s March. In the period from February to May this year about 25 raids were conducted in the six districts of Anantapur, Kurnool, Cuddapa, Prakasham, Mahboobnagar and Nalgonda. We are publishing below a report of some of these raids undertaken in the month of April 2003.

On 18th April 2003, famine raids were conducted in Veerabhadrapuram and Kolukula villages in Prakasham district. About 30 Guerillas and Militia members and 80 Chenchu adivasi people participated in the raid. They first raided a cloth merchant’s house in Veerabhadrapuram village and confiscated gold and silver ornaments and promisory notes. The promisory notes, which symbolise the ruthless exploitation of the poor, backward adivasis, were burnt. They also took away clothes, all worth Rs.3 lakhs. They also raided another cloth merchant’s house and took away Rs.3 lakhs worth of goods. They attacked a cold drink shop and broke 10 cases of Coca Cola bottles. Another house was raided and Rs.one lakh worth of goods were confiscated.

In Kolukula village, they raided one shop and confiscated 30 bags of rice, some cash and clothes worth Rs.1.50 lakhs. Another house was raided and Rs.1 lakh worth of goods confiscated. A night service state transport bus was used to transport the confiscated goods. The people enthusiastically participated in the raid. All the houses and shops that were raided belonged to notorious landlords and traders who had been exploiting the Chenchu adivasis since long.

Interestingly, the government officials, who had never in the past bothered to visit the Chenchu gudems (hamlets), however serious the problems of the people might have been, suddenly became active following the famine raids in the two villages and began to initiate relief measure to Girijans and Adivasis on a war-footing.

Immediately after the famine raids in Veerabhadrapuram and Kolukula, the District Collector visited the places and issued orders for immediate famine relief measures in the Adivasi villages. He appointed a special officer to oversee the relief measures and issued orders to distribute 20 kg of rice to each family. He also directed the officials to initiate measures to reduce delay in issue of famine pensions. So scared was the administration that the spark would soon spread to other villages like a wildfire if immediate relief measures were not initiated!

On 21st April 2003, about forty guerillas and militia members raided the house of a close aide of Rayachoti MLA in Rayavaram village in Sundupalle mandal and confiscated Rs.2.5 lakhs worth of foodgrains, gold ornaments and clothes. Militia members wore masks and Guerillas in uniform split into teams. One team went to the RTC bus stand and drove a bus to the Rayachoti highway blocking the highway. Two more teams guarded both sides of the road leading to the landlord’s house. One team entered the landlord’s house and confiscated the clothes (about 250 sarees apart from men’s clothes), gold ornaments and promisory notes. 70 bags of food-grains were carried away on tractor.

On 22nd April 2003 around 200 Guerillas, Militia members and sympathisers entered Bandameedipalli village of Rapthadu Mandal in Ananthapur district in 4 tractors and raided the houses of four landlords and confiscated food grains, gold ornaments and clothing worth 20 lakhs of rupees. From two houses they confiscated 30 tolas of gold, Rs.50 thousand cash, 50 bags rice, 60 bags of paddy, 50 bags ground nuts, 15 bags Ragi, 5 bags Toordal . From another landlord’s house they confiscated 30 thousand cash, 30 tolas of gold and 3 bags of foodgrains. Gold ornaments and 10 bags of rice were seized from the house of another landlord.

The famine raids in Anantapur district have an added significance. The district is perennially drought-prone. In the past three years alone 294 people in the district committed suicide due to poverty and lack of all means of livelihood. The raids showed the alternative to the people languishing in the most miserable conditions. No wonder, the police swung into swift action and began combing operations in a big way.

On 26th April 2003, in Kondanagu village of Balmuru mandal, a Government "Fair Price" shop and a Girijan cooperative shop were raided. Around 40 Guerillas raided both the shops and confiscated 38 quintals of rice, sugar, salt, oil, soaps etc from GCC shop and took away 30 quintals of rice from the Govt. shop. On the request of the dealer, 17 quintals of rice was left for distribution. All the items were loaded in 3 tractors. After this raid, the guerillas proceeded to another village of Laxmipalli and raided a shop. 30 quintals of sugar and some bags of rice were confiscated.

In Prakasham district on 10th June 2003 night around 30 Guerillas came in a mini van to Addanki Police station around 1.45am and took control of the station and arrested 4 constables and a home guard. They destroyed wireless sets. They confiscated 24 muskets and 2000 rounds of cartridges. They blasted the police station, which was recently constructed, causing damage of 12 lakhs. Before leaving they handed over a letter Condemning the fake encounters of Devanna and Sandya and to avenge the killings, they said that they blasted the station.

On 18th June, three policemen including an RSI were killed in a landmine blast near Nemalipuram village in Mellacheruvu mandal of Nalgonda district. The policemen were part of a 20-member special combing party that had been engaged in combing the forest nearby for the guerrilla squad. The policemen were going on foot along a mud road on a hillock when the guerrillas of the People’s Guerrilla Army set off the landmine at around 10.30 in the morning killing all the three on the spot. There was an exchange of fire between the guerrillas and the other policemen for about half-an-hour and the guerrillas retreated safely. Several top police officials such as the Greyhounds IG Anurag Sharma, Hyderabad Range DIG CR Naidu, SIB DIG Gautam Sawang—all notorious for numerous extra-judicial killings—flew to the site of the incident in a helicopter from Hyderabad accompanied by the district SP, VC Sajjanar.

On the previous day the guerrillas had beaten up a trader and two other suspected informers in the village and were lying in wait for the arrival of the special police batch. There had been two other actions in the same mandal in recent days: the attack on a nationalised bank in Dondapadu village and seizure of money, and the seizure of wireless sets from a cement factory. After the bank action the SP organised meetings in Dondapadu and the neighbouring villages inciting the people to condemn the action of the Naxalites. A wide propaganda was unleashed by the police that the Naxalites were looting the gold ornaments belonging to the people which were deposited in the bank and that they should not be allowed into the villages.

The annihilation of the policemen proved the hollowness of the claims of the SP that the activities of the Naxalites were brought under control by the special campaigns undertaken after he took charge. Under the reign of the infamous SP, Sajjanar, combings and killings of revolutionaries and their sympathisers had been stepped up along with initiating numerous reform programmes and counselling of parents of the guerrillas. A massive campaign for the surrender of Naxalites was initiated by the SP under attractive lables such as ‘Palletalli Pilustundi (mother village beckons you)’, ‘Melukolupu (awakening)’, ‘Snehabandham (bond of friendship)’, ‘Matrubhoomi (motherland)’ and so on. The successful attack on the policemen had enthused the masses in the district.

On June 17th, two police constables including a CRPF jawan were killed when a claymore mine was set off by the guerrillas of the PGA near Bandam-amidi village in Addateegala mandal. Another Head Constable of the CRPF was seriously injured. The action took place at around 9 in the morning when the combing party consisting of policemen from Duscharti PS and some CRPF jawans were proceeding from Bandamamidi to Polavarappadu village by foot. After the blast the guerrillas opened fire on the remaining policemen who fled the scene leaving the dead constables. The guerrillas took away an LMG and a SLR from the dead.

On 13th May 2003, exchange of fire took place with the Police near Mondi Gowrelli village in Rangareddy district for an hour. In the firing, a Sub Inspector and one APSP head constable were injured. On receiving information that a people’s court was held at Mondi Gowrelli village, Police commenced combing operations in the nearby areas. An SI and 15 other constables reached the area between Kondengala Gutta, Janala gutta. On seeing the police the Rachkonda Squad opened fire and blasted a claymore mine and 9 mines. In one of the mine blasts, an SI and Head constable were injured.

In Allipalem village in Yerragondapalem mandal of Prakasham District, the police started combing operations after the famine raids in Veerabhadrapuram and Kolukula villages. The police batch went to the Nallamala forest in a milk van so as not to draw the attention of the guerillas. The guerillas, who came to know of the movement of the police through the local people, made a surprise attack on the police party that was returning after recovering some goods from the people that were supposed to have been confiscated in the famine raids. In the claymore mine blast set off by the guerillas on 22nd April 2003, the R.S.I.who was leading the combing party was injured severely. The van driver was also injured. The police abandoned the goods confiscated from the people and fled the scene. This and a few other such incidents of retaliation by the guerillas in the aftermath of famine raids in various parts of the state, made the police think twice before coming to the villages to harass the people. In many instances, the police force arrived only after two or three days after the raids.

On 28th, at midnight, 20 PGA members went to Molachintapalli village in Kollapur mandal, Mahaboobnagar District, for a Famine raid. They loaded Rice and Red chilli into the tractor. Meanwhile, 3 teams of police party reached the village. One police team crossed the claymore mine laid at the Anganwadi centre and entered the village on a lorry through the highway. PGA guerillas first thought that it was a lorry for loading bamboo. But when they realised it was a police lorry they fired on the Lorry in which the Lorry driver was injured. The guerillas retreated safely after some exchange of fire with the police.

Four policemen including a Sub-Inspector were captured by the guerillas near Paddaraveedu in Prakasham district on April 2nd. The guerillas demanded the government to release their colleagues in jail in exchange for the release of the captured policemen. The government, however, refused to accede to the demands of the guerillas. Moreover, it organised rallies by mobilising the family members of the policemen and some political parties demanding the CPI(ML)[People’s War] to release the captured policemen. Several organisations deplored the callousness displayed by the government towards the lives of the captured policemen. While placing the blame squarely on the government’s policy of brutal repression for such incidents to take place, they appealed to the Naxalites to release the policemen from a humanitarian angle.

The PGA guerillas, after considering the situation, decided to release the policemen after almost a week of captivity as they felt that the government was not really bothered about the lives of the ordinary policemen. Although the SI was involved in some combing operations earlier he too was released as he had only a few months for retirement and he had agreed to resign as soon as he went back.

Although the demands raised by the PGA guerillas were not acceded by the government the capture of the policemen had highlighted the unjustness behind the detention of the Naxalite prisoners for long periods. It showed the double standards of the government in responding promptly when important political leaders or high-ranking officials were abducted while caring the least for the lives of ordinary policemen. The release of all the policemen had won the sympathy of the masses in the state towards the revolutionaries. The leaders of the People’s War Party had clarified in an interview that they had won a point through the capture and release of the policemen in exposing the hypocrisy of the government. They also phoo-phooed at the humanitarian angle raised by some organisations including the police officials as no such attitude was shown when the revolutionaries and their sympathisers were picked up by the police all of which had invariably ended up in fake encounters.

Comprador TDP leaders surrender before the people’s court

A people’s court called as ‘surrender mela of comprador political leaders’ was conducted in Jangamreddypalli in Amrabad mandal in Mahboobnagar district on the night of April 24th. Several TDP leaders including the Amrabad sarpanch and a MPTC member were produced before a huge crowd of the people and their corrupt practices and misdeeds were exposed. Placards depicting their misdeeds were placed around their necks and they were made to read them before the people. Achampet and Kalwakurty guerrilla squads organised the mela along with the militia members of the PGA.

The Area Committee secretary spoke on the anti-people policies of the TDP government in the state, the fake encounters and state repression on the people’s war party and the revolutionary movement in AP. Later, the TDP leaders confessed their criminal activities and misappropriation of people’s money in the people’s court. The next day these leaders announced in the press that they were resigning from their posts as well as from the ruling TDP. They admitted that they had failed to do anything good for the people and hence they were resigning. The CPI(ML) [People’s War] had issued a warning to several other leaders in the district to tender their resignations from TDP or face the consequences.

Papers reported that around 40 guerrillas took part in the surrender mela of political leaders attended by a huge mass of people. Telephone lines in the village were cut off and claymore mines were placed around the village to counter any police attack.

The people’s court greatly enthused the masses in the villages in Amrabad mandal and sent shock tremors along the spines of the ruling party leaders in the district. It was also a slap in the face of the district and state administration which had been holding surrender dramas of Naxalites and announcing rehabilitation programmes for those who "joined the (so-called) mainstream".

On the night of 20th May 2003, the guerrillas of the PGA attacked KK-3 Coal mine in Mandamarry, Adilabad district, and took away large quantities of explosives. On 20th night around 10:45 pm, 15 to 20 guerilas arrived at the Magazine during shift change. They took the keys from the workers and confiscated around 205kg-Gelatine sticks and 1974 electric detonators . Later, the guerrillas retreated safely into the adjacent forest. Before leaving, they wrote in the record book "We condemn fascist Chandrababu Naidu rule and we are confiscating the explosives to eliminate TDP and BJP leaders."

· In the early hours of 10th June 2003 guerillas shot dead the MPP President of Jagityal mandal in Laxmipur village in Karimnagar District. He was also one of the leaders of the TDP in the district.

· In Prakasham district, a TDP sarpanch was shot dead. On 10th June, the TDP sarpanch of Peddadornala Mandal in Prakasham district was annihilated by the guerillas of the PGA. First they blasted the Sarpanch’s house after sending out all the inmates and took the Sarpanch away and shot him dead. Before leaving the Guerillas gave slogans.He had escaped an earlier attempt by the guerillas.

· On 10th June, an MPTC member belonging to the BJP was shot dead by Guerillas in Kalwakol village in Peddakothapalli mandal of Mahaboobnagar district. Before leaving the place the guerillas handed over a letter stating that "He is responsible for the burning alive of Badam Srinivas on 26th July 2001 in Kalwakol. He has been encouraging attacks on Dalits and also implementing the anti-people policies of the BJP as an MPTC member. Hence we have eliminated him".

· In Nalgonda district, two TDP leaders—Valisetty Sudhakar Rao and Mekala Mallayya—were annihilated in the first week of May. The former was killed in Chevoor village in Gurrampodu mandal and the latter in Kambalapalli village in Devarakonda sub-division.

· In Guntur district, the TDP leader of Gurajala mandal and a former MPP President, was annihilated by the guerillas on 11th May at his house in Pulipadu village.

· In Warangal district, the houses of two BJP local leaders were destroyed and an informer was annihilated in Jogayyapalle village in Regonda mandal on May 10th.

· In Vijayanagaram district Gummalaxmipuram Agency, Duddu-Khallu Sarpanch’s husband, acting as informer was killed. He was earlier warned through his relatives to change his attitude and stop assisting the Police. Seeing no change in him, he was shot dead.

On 23rd April 2003, Two Cellular towers belonging to Tata and Airtel companies located on hillocks off Peerlagudem , Majeedguda village panchayat limits in Hayat Nagar ,were blasted to avenge the 20th fake encounter killings of Ramanareddy and Sridhar. In a letter handed over to the security guards of the tower they stated, "We condemn fake encounter killings and give a call for a bandh on 25th in Ibrahimpur Mandal. This is just a beginning and if the government does not stop attacks, we too will continue the attacks."

In another incident in Penukonda town in Anantapur district, a Tata cellular tower was blasted and completely destroyed by the PGA guerillas on May 11th. This was to protest the killing of Com. Bhupathi, the commander of an LGS earlier in that month.

A godown of Pepsi cold drinks bottles was destroyed by blowing it up through explosives. This godown was situated in the heart of Ananatapur town. This action was undertaken to protest against the American invasion of Iraq.

The TDP government has been boasting that it has been implementing the ‘Food for Work’ programme and thereby providing employment to several lakhs of people. But the reality is to the contrary. The funds allotted for the programme are finding their way into the pockets of contractors and local leaders who have been using machinery instead of people to carry out the work of road construction. Thousands of proclainers, bull-dozzers, dumpers etc are being used while the rural masses are migrating to distant areas in search of employment or living in starvation at times committing suicides. The CPI(ML)[People’s War] had taken up a campaign exposing the government’s hypocrisy regarding the ‘Food for Work’ programme and against the use of machinery that has replaced labour.

A power plant belonging to the state minister and TDP leader in Rayalaseema, K.E.Prabhakar, was blasted with powerful explosives on June 17 in Velugodu in Kurnool district causing a loss of around Rs.3 crores. The attack was in retaliation to the killing of a SCM, Kaarumanchi Prasad alias Devanna in Cuddapah district. Reacting to the attack on his plant the minister said that such acts would only discourage investments by the capitalists in the state.

On May 5th, a bandh was observed in several parts of the state in response to the statewide bandh call given by the AP-NT-AOB state committees. The police made desperate attempts to foil the bandh by forcing shopkeepers in the areas of Naxalite strongholds to keep their shops open and escorting the road transport buses. However, buses were off the roads in several areas in North and South Telangana, and south coastal districts and parts of Rayalaseema. The bandh was called to protest the increasing state repression and the killing of comrades RK and AK (SZC members of NT) Com.Lalitha (DCS of Adilabad) and two other women comrades, Com.Nomula Ramana Reddy alias Mahendar (secretary of Hyderabad city committee) along with Com. Sridhar, a trade union organiser in Hyderabad in a span of two months.

In Dichpalli in Nizambad district, Yellaiah and Sons Tar(dambar) plant located off the national high no.7 was attacked on the occasion of the bandh and a Proclainer , 6 tippers, a tardozzer, a water tanker were burnt. All together 9 vehicles were burnt. 25 Guerillas participated in the action. They handed over a letter signed by the National High Area committee to the security guard stating that this action was carried out to condemn the Laxmipur fake encounter in Adilabad.

During the months of April-June 2003, there were also a number of smaller actions and destruction of the property of the TDP leaders, landlords and the state and central government buildings, railway stations, etc protesting the killing of PW leaders.