Jagdalpur :The small village called mukaram in bastar district, Chhattisgarh is situated and surrounded by the faded national highway and a small tributary of Maley Vagu river. This village also witnessed in and around them, the number of Maoist & CRPF Encounters where both side suffered huge losses and also the civilians, naming it as a collateral damage. The flavour and context of Maoism flows through every vein of the indigenous habitants here, culminating to overlooking of their own basic needs which basically include ‘Roti, Kapada and Makan’. The indignant people here are more of the intimacy towards the armed naxals( Maoists) rather than their own kin and kinship, intimidated and exasperated by the ideology of ‘Jal , jungle and Zameen. Indeed, in other terms, these villagers are termed as Maoist sympathisers and is also true to some extent. Behind all these pseudo-Maoists, there lies an innocent people, the so called, kids. Why is that new born babies and small kids on this land have to give up their life for the cause of someone who want to capture whole Hindusthan with Red extremism ?.
Why is that superstition and fear of maoists drawing a Laxman Rekha between , them, well deserving govt aid and the maoists? Aren’t they supposed to have their fundamental right to life, especially the kids who solely rely for everything and don’t even know what’s happening around them ? These questions occurred in mind when we confronted a six months baby girl who was strangling with malaria PF for the past 2 months and her parents were only reluctant to see doctor rather than ‘Wadde’ who would have the loud incantations to expel and extricate the ghost inside the body and the soul.
Fear of maoists has gripped and fastened their conscience so much so that they can’t even talk to strangers, forget about Police. Her mother’s fury was that they (maoists) would synonym her as traitor who had availed the govt aid and would eventually bludgeon her in Jan Adalat or the so called Jantana Sarkar.
But mothers love for the baby defeated all the odds of fear and brought the baby girl to CRPF camp ( undisclosed location) citing the only hope. The skeleton baby was apparently her eyes wide open and was not at all responding except the fact that her pot belly was trembling giving the sign that she is still fighting for her life and giving a lead of hope to the doctors of the CRPF.
Though there is no paediatrician and paediatric medicine to treat and only with available meagre resources, theImmediate redressal and treatment given by CRPF doctors gradually within a week turned her skully face into an smiling innocent blushing baby like the one we see the smiley in emojis. This whole episode of treatment had a lot do to with one of the most admiring person, the Commandant of COBRA battalion who spearheaded the movement of saving the baby’s life by sending all the vital medicines and entities all the way in short notice and in due course of time.
But, The mother was still quivering of fear of Maoists and also, was shocked and happy on the other side that she could now at least embrace and cuddle her baby. The mother could now hear her baby crying and recognise her voice which she had forgotten long back.
I hope the mother would put this real episode of love and caring by the CRPF in janatana Sarkar ( or Jan Adalat) and reprimand all the superstitions and unscrupulous beliefs that she had in her mind and implore others as well. I hope the truth prevails and the life over the ideology could still be imperative in these people.
