Journalist Lingaram Kodopi narrates tales from the warzone of Bastar

A local adivasi turned independent journalist residing in the Bastar Region of Chattisgarh Lingaram Kodopi nephew of renowned tribal activist Soni Suri has managed to spread awareness about the ongoing atrocities being committed by police personnel on adivasi villagers by means of various Youtube videosAs he visited Mumbai to attend a public meeting on Saturday hosted by the Bastar Solidarity Network to discuss the ongoing situation in Bastar midday managed to catch up with the young journalist and talk about Mission 2016 being implemented in the region his history with IG Kalluri and differences in Bastar under the UPA and NDA regimes Here are excerpts from the interviewLingaram Kodopi Pic Sameer MarkandeWhat is your purpose of visit to MumbaiI have come to take back to Bastar the earthsoil from August Kranti Maidan Central Mumbai a spot from where Gandhi began his Quit India Movement we are planning on having our own nonviolent movement in Bastar on August 8Whatrsquos it like to be a journalist in BastarNo child in the region would want to grow up and be a journalistmdashwe are repressed at every turn The treatment is different for different journalists For example if an international news agency comes they donrsquot run into much trouble But if yoursquore a local or a reporter doing eartoground reporting like Prabhat Singh Patrika then yoursquore in trouble Furthermore if you happen to be an adivasi AND a journalist it gets worse There must be a total of not more than 150 journalists in the regionSRP Kalluri IG and you have quite the history When did it all startIt began in 2009 when I was kept in custody for 35 days Kalluri at the time was Senior Superintendent of Police SSP in Dantewada On his orders I was beaten up in my village of Kuakonda and then taken to Dantewada Police Station where he gave me two options become a Special Police Officer SPO or die in an encounter He gave his personnel all the liberty to torture me in various ways by giving electric shocks to putting a rod smeared with mirchi into my anus During my tenure in custody they made me sign a form saying that I am fed up with Naxals in my village and want to become an SPO They also made my salary Rs3700 for that entire monthIs Mission 2016 the new Slawa Judum Yes definitely so And this time itrsquos more dangerous than the Judum The police now being headed by Kalluri at the IG post have been given more of a free role Rape by police officials is the biggest epidemic plaguing Bastar right now under the leadership of Kalluri He has the full power to do whatever he wants He tells his people to kill loot and rape because he knows that the case will be stagnant in court for tens of years To top it off he has the backing of the entire state machinery the same machinery that promoted him to the rank of IG for his ldquomeritsrdquo in the region just like the way they a presidential award was conferred on Ankit Garg in spite of the atrocities been committed by himHow have things been different in Bastar under the UPA and NDA regimesWhen Chidambaram was the Home Minister The INC werenrsquot as cruel as the BJP is now As soon as the latter came into power they not only reinstated Kalluri back in the region but also promoted him to the rank of IG whereas the SC had clearly said that Kalluri should not be brought back into Bastar as long as the Sure The Congress too made a blind decision of forming Slawa Judum during their tenure but Mission 2016 is open about its objectivesmdashthe elimination of adivasis masked by the farce of war against Naxals and Maoists After all the authorities and government are only after the land The fight is FOR the land It is not a war against the Naxals for the welfare and safety of the local adivasismdashthey government want the land and the minerals it comes withWhat is the Bastaria BattalionThe District Reserve Gurad DRG that keeps vigil at night is also known as the Bastaria Battalion It comprises of exmembers of the Salwa Judum who now have no option but to work for the government They live off a government salary of Rs 1015000 per month since they cannot go back to their fields in villages as they had committed atrocities upon their own people during the days of Judum they will be killed if they go back That is why he joins Salwa JudumII ie Bastaria BattalionWhat is the starting point for a solution in BastarAny individual be it an adivasi police officer or a Naxal who breaks the law must be given a punishment The law must hold the same for everyone irrespective of who they areIs there a silver lining to the ongoing situation in BastarIn 10 years there will be peace in the region We will fight this war in our own democratic way Even during Gandhirsquos time people who endorsed violence such as Bhagat Singh existed Yet Gandhi won the war by walking the path of non violence Our aim is similar Let the Naxals and police fight their own war we will fight ours In the last year and a half we Soni Suri and I have won the support of a fair few adivasis who know that our cause is just and right For the first time we feel like we are not alonehellipthat we have the support of the people in Bastar Locals themselves have begun to stand up against repression by the police authorities In fact On Saturday for the first time a marketbandh was called for by the locals in the entire region of Bastar a sign of protest against the atrocities being committed by the police This shows that our movement is picking up momentum and that we are bringing about slow but steady change in Bastar