This article appeared in Maoist Information Bulletin 12, dated October 31, 2009, available at Banned Thought.

Increasing suicides and frustration among the mercenary forces deployed in the guerrilla zones of central and eastern India

The nervousness, the fear, and frustration are writ large on the faces of the poor policemen and jawans belonging to the central forces who are sent by the Sonia-Manmohan-Chidambaram fascist clique to suppress the Maoist movement and the adivasis in central and eastern India. The latest suicide on October 30 by Dhananjay Singh of ASF hailing from Siwan, Bihar, who was deployed in Amabeda police station in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh, reflects the mental condition of these helpless pawns in the cruel class war waged for the benefit of a handful of parasitic plunderers like the Tatas, Mittals, Essar, Jindals, POSCO, Vedanta etc. The poorest sections of the society who join the police and other armed forces for their livelihood are systematically dehumanized, brutalized and transformed into killing machines and deployed against their own people.

In the current war being waged by the reactionary rulers against the Maoists and the adivasis, thousands of central forces are sent to the interior areas of central and eastern India to be used as cannon fodder. A considerable number of these central forces are airdropped in the dense jungles and are ordered to fight the Maoists there. Knowing nothing about the terrain and with absolutely no co-operation from the local people, these forces get panicky at the slightest sound in the forest. They open fire at the rustle of leaves and end up shooting down a cow or monkeys on the trees. They live in constant fear of attack by the Maoist guerrillas who had entrenched themselves in the area for over three decades. And one ambush by the Maoists would throw these forces into total confusion. Those who manage to flee after an ambush or encounter with Maoist guerrillas simply do not know where to go; they do not know the terrain, language, and get no co-operation from the local people. There are instances of some jawans getting lost in the wilderness of the jungle. Notwithstanding the training in jungle warfare imparted by the Indian Army officers, which they feel is of little help in a hostile environment, nervousness stalks these soldiers.

Moreover, they have problems concerning their basic necessities; rations too are in short supply at times due to the fear of ambushes by the Maoists on the police parties transporting rations, drinking water is unavailable or scarce. People refuse to provide them with water even where it is available and also other essentials. Some jawans reported that they are not able to get oil for cooking or lighting as the people refuse to give them. Malaria too scares these jawans and reports are pouring in about scores of jawans being admitted into hospitals in Jagdalpur, Kanker, Narayanpur, Rajnandgaon etc.

The mental trauma that these poor jawans are undergoing is terrible. And this is one reason why they become so inhuman when they raid a village or come across someone in the forest. Not knowing why and what for they are fighting; for whose interests they are fighting; not knowing the enemy against whom they are supposed to be fighting; being totally ignorant of how long they will be fighting; and apprehensive whether they will be lucky enough to see their families again who live in states as far as Haryana or Nagaland; the personnel of these central forces and the special commando forces wish to be transferred out from these areas at the earliest. Hundreds of applications seeking transfer are pouring into the offices of the commandants and police chiefs. A considerable number of jawans have applied for leaves and refuse to undergo jungle warfare training, or go to the Maoist areas where they are newly posted. But those who are brought to the area from far-off states have no option but to fight this war on behalf of the reactionary rulers. Some of them who are not in a position to withstand the mental trauma are resorting to suicide. There is an occasional case of shooting dead their superior officers when their requests for transfer are not heeded.

The adivasis look at this war as a war waged by an enemy country. The behavior, the language barrier, the inhuman atrocities carried out by these repressive forces deployed in the adivasi areas reinforces this perception of an alien force invading their territory. Hence the people will fight unto the last man and woman and will inflict heavy losses to the mercenary forces deployed in their areas. As the casualties mount, the central forces will get even more demoralized. Today one Dhanjay Singh, or around thirty others, if we count the suicide incidents in the past few months, had shot themselves not knowing what else they could do as frustrated individuals. But tomorrow they will erupt into a massive revolt against the cruel exploiters and oppressors who have been using them to suppress the people for their own selfish class interests. These policemen too will teach a lesson to Sonia, Manmohan, Chidambaram, GK Pillai, Raman Singh, Vishwa Ranjan and other hawks who are using them as cannon fodder in a war against their own people.