इस लेख को हिंदी में पढ़ने के लिए यहाँ क्लिक करें.
Last month, on 23rd May, we lit candles and walked through the streets of Raipur to pay homage to victims of Naxalite-related violence: clearly, that was not enough. Those who came to participate in the Peace March felt that something more should be done; something that would make an actual difference. What that something should be, they- we- couldn’t say.It’s all very nice to hold seminars & candlelight procession on the ‘Naxalite Problem’ in Raipur and Delhi. More than anything else, I believe they help to sensitize public opinion, especially among the Speaking Classes, who in turn give utterance to long-suppressed voices. But unless and until one really experiences for oneself what it means to live like the tribals caught up in the Madness of Bastar- to undergo the same anxieties that they go through every minute of their precarious existence, not knowing which bullet or bomb, whether CRPF, SPO or Maoist, would claim them, and their loved ones- any attempt at finding a Solution would ultimately be meaningless.
I intend, therefore, to do exactly that: alongside 40 of my fellow unmarried youth colleagues (ed.- the number has increased exponentially since this post was published), volunteers representing every district of Chhattisgarh, I shall walk again, this time through places most ravaged by violence. We will do it quietly, without fanfare and without publicity. Our sole object is simply to listen to what people living in these places, especially the youth among them, have to say. That, however, is easier said than done.
The people, in particular the tribals, aren’t quite ready to speak-out what’s really in their minds and hearts. They’re afraid. Very afraid. It should be our endeavor, therefore, to make them as comfortable as possible: in other words, to win their faith. Like I said elsewhere, the only way to overcome Fear is by Faith. And going in a cavalcade of armored cars and making long public speeches in a language they cannot possibly understand isn’t exactly the best way to go about doing it. We must show them- and much more importantly, they must believe- that we Care.
On 19th June 2010, we will walk into their villages- and into their homes and into their hearts- as one among them; we will share the food they offer us and live in their houses. We shall go with no ulterior motive; we shall not pre-judge the situation and we shall certainly not point fingers; we will offer no solutions to their- our- problems. Instead we will listen very carefully to the solutions they have in mind, and do our very best to see that their voices are heard by those in power.
That, in my view, is the limited purpose of our Bastar Satyagraha: to begin a long overdue Dialogue.
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I am uploading press clippings and posters about the Satyagraha here:
[Courtesy: Ameen Meman]
[Courtesy: Sandeep Sahu]
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[Many thanks to Vinod Tiwari for the above designs]
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The first phase of the Bastar Satyagraha will start at Dantewada on the morning of 19th June and end on the evening of 25th June with a Youth Meet at Sukama. We would be passing through Nakulnar, Nailawada, Mokpal, Bhusaras, Chingawaram, Korra, Munga, Marematka and Gadiraas with several unscheduled detours:
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26.6.2010
It gives me great pleasure to announce the DISTRICT-WISE NAMES OF SATYAGRAHIS who participated in the first phase of our BASTAR SATYAGRAHA. The names in Bold indicates those who took part throughout the 7-day, 106 kms Padyatra from Dantewada to Sukma. Others (not in Bold) were absent for less than 2 days. Remaining names have been omitted.
RAIPUR
1. Vinod Tiwari (9406300000)
2. Abhishek Modi (9827446117)
3. Sandeep Sahu (94242100000)
4. Ashok Sonwani (9826647780)
5. Deepak Jaiswal (9993006143)
6. Sachin Awasthi (9300030903)
7. Amar Mishra (9754260011)
8. Yomesh Sahu (9229568315)
9. Nemichandra Patel (9669463118, 9926838778)
10. Sanjeev Shukla (9753554500)
11. Pradeep Sahu (9301285445)
12. Mahesh Yadav (c/o Sanjeev Shukla)
13. Shahbaz Hussain (07869236742)
14. Gulzeb Ahmad (9300266663)
15. Subodh Haritwal (9827937900)
16. Dr. Vivek Sharma (9977122883)
17. Ishwar Dongare (9406402468)
18. Lalu Manikpuri (9302430339)
19. Suraj Rathore (9907998446)
20. Devprakash Dewangan (9926127049)
DHAMTARI
21. Anand Pawar (9425214965)
22. Anurag Lal (9907990444)
MAHASAMUND
23. Tamradhwaj Baghel (9753119299)
DURG
24. Ayub Khan (9406137786)
25. Durgesh Tamrkar (9827187008)
26. Vishal Tripathi (9301283000)
27. Teksingh Chandel (9589235777)
28. Gurdeep Bhatia (9907412397)
29. Santosh Singh (9329870048)
RAJNANDGAON
30. Mehul Maroo (9993337777)
31. Nawaz Khan (9406092886)
KAWARDHA
32. Ramu Chandravamshi (9179995163)
33. Pankaj Chandravamshi (9977982829)
34. Pappu Dhruve (9165243546)
35. Baldev Yadav (9977425827)
BILASPUR
36. Amit Aishwarya Jogi (9424202648)
37. Avinash Sethi (9827494610)
38. Sameer Ahmad Babla (9981232786)
39. Satish Gupta (9300543765)
40. Ashok Rajbhar (9406305000)
JANJGIR
41. Pappu Baghel (9303181256)
42. Abhishek Swarnkar (9770114419)
43. Dhananjay Kanwar (9009955454)
RAIGARH
44. Vibhash Singh Thakur (9425251800)
45. Aseem Pandey (9755123555)
46. Santosh Gond (9329597373)
47. Ashish Jaiswal (9300003245)
KORBA
48. Nitin Yadav (9669688888)
49. Ashish Gupta (9098888861)
JASHPUR
50. Anoj Gupta (9425252942)
AMBIKAPUR
51. Surendra Choudhary (9425257039)
52. Imam Hussain (9926168300, 08109868300)
53. Karamchand Singh (9753319580)
BAIKUNTHPUR
54. Shivram Maharana (9406133668)
55. Neeraj Pandey (9098132401)
KANKER
56. Poornachand Padhi (9425593201)
57. Deepak Gajendra (9584370709)
58. Vishnu Netam (9479024750)
JAGDALPUR
59. Hemu Upadhyay (9425258302)
60. Anwar Khan (9425202516)
61. Saket Shukla (9425261625)
62. Vikram Singh Sardar (9425261197)
DANTEWADA
63. Harish Lakma (9406281777)
64. Durgesh (c/o Harish Lakma)
65. Girish Kashyap (9407717097)
66. Suresh Kumar (9406105525)
BIJAPUR
67. Naveen Korsa (9424279479)
NARAYANPUR
68. Pankaj Yadav (9424286770)
69. Manish Rathore (9424287369)
FOOD & ACCOMODATION COMMITTEE:
70. Sanjeev Agrawal (9425204900)
71. Rajesh Agrawal (9425513875)
72. Yogeshwar Rao Gawte (9827189296)
73. Mohammed Ahmad (9691693594)
74. Abid (9300272561)
I thank each and every one of the Satyagrahis- and pray that we are all successful in our endeavor.
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17.6.2010
Many thanks also to Mr Manoj Trivedi for sharing these slides with me. In many ways, they capture the essence of what we're trying to do.
