In an exclusive interview to OpIndia.com executive editor Nupur Sharma, surrendered Naxal leader Pahad Singh has described how the so-called ‘intellectuals’ deceive and exploit the simple Adivasis and use them to further their agenda.

On being asked whether the gullible Adivasis who have been inducted into the Naxals cadre are discouraged and scared against surrendering, Pahad Singh states that Naxals leaders are always on the look-out for new recruits. He says that any Adivasi or gullible villager approaching them will be gladly inducted because they need people to do their menial jobs and act as their rubber stamp. The ‘jobless intellectuals’ as he calls the urban Naxals, want to keep the Adivasis backward and deprived of development so they can use them to further their own selfish motives

Upon being asked whether the Adivasis who have been lured into naxal cadres are aware of the government’s terms for surrender and the options available for them, Pahad Singh asserts that in most of the cases, it is not so. The ‘jobless intellectuals’ keep them ignorant and also actively instill fear in their minds that if they dare surrender to the government, they will be tortured to no end.

When he was asked if he had suffered any injustice and harassment after he had surrendered, Pahad Singh explicitly denies any such incident and asserts that scare-mongering is a part of the tools Maoists leader use to deceive the Adivasis and keep them from returning to the mainstream. He further states that all the propaganda being run by Maoist leaders is based on blatant lies.

Pahad Singh says the only message he wants to give the tribals who are under influence of the Maoist leaders that Adivasi Asmita (dignity of the tribals) and Maoists movement are two entirely different things and Maoist leaders have no regard of concern about the welfare of Adivasis. Referring to Maoist leaders as ‘Nithalla buddhijeevi’ (jobless intellectuals) he adds that the only way for Adivasis to obtain their rights is to come back to the mainstream and help the government to bring down the Maoists whose job thus far has been only to destroy the tribals culture and society.

He recited a poem he had written as a message to create awareness among the tribals on how the Maoists/Naxal leaders have exploited innocent tribals and had only inflicted mass murders and destruction upon tribal communities. In the poem, Pahad Singh has attempted to call out the hypocrisy of the Maoists/Naxals who cause deaths and sufferings for tribals while promising to fight for their rights. He has also slammed the attempts of Maoists leaders to support secessionist movements against India’s sovereignty.