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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | In the family way-RK Vij

In the family way-RK Vij

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published Published on Oct 30, 2012   modified Modified on Oct 30, 2012
-The Indian Express

MHA’s decision to replicate the Chhattisgarh model in all Maoist-affected states is timely

Taking a cue from the Chhattisgarh police’s efforts to socially rehabilitate Maoists cadres who have surrendered, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) has issued an advisory saying that all Naxal-affected states should facilitate reverse vasectomy operations for Maoists who wish to join the mainstream. The states should bear the medical costs for the operation, which will help such cadres to return to a family life and have children. This is a welcome addition to the government’s “surrender and rehabilitation scheme”, which works towards the economic rehabilitation of Maoists. So far, the police have only taken up three cases of reverse vasectomy, but many others are enquiring about the possibility of returning to normal life.

Even if marriages are allowed, having a family life after joining the Maoist ranks is forbidden. Marriage ceremonies are mostly arranged in the jungles. If two “comrades” are permitted to marry, they are made to stand and exchange weapons in the presence of a gathering. The bride and groom repeat an oath read out by a senior cadre. This is less an exchange of marriage vows and more a joint declaration to continue waging war against the state. It is detailed in a “hand-book” that also contains war-related instructions and is held sacrosanct by Maoists. Songs are sung, but the couple is not allowed to consummate their marriage that day. The boy is sent to a hospital, or a doctor with Maoist sympathies, or a quack, and is forced to undergo a vasectomy.

One of the three surrendered Maoists, after spending more than 10 years in the jungles of Gadchiroli and West Bastar, recalls that couples were allowed to be intimate with each other once a week, but as soon as his wife’s pregnancy became evident to their commander, he ordered her to go to a hospital in Jagdalpur for an abortion. The surrendered cadre was also sent to a hospital for a vasectomy.

Another couple, who had spent about eight years in Gadchiroli, surrendered when they realised the futility of fighting against security forces. Reportedly, the girl was not even allowed to cry when she got news of her uncle’s death because the Maoists feel that family ties are not relevant after joining the ranks. The boy, now 21, recalls that he was not allowed to meet his wife after marriage and sent to a quack for a vasectomy. The third couple also narrated similar experiences. The boy, an area committee member with the CPI (Maoist), has received Rs 50,000 under the surrender and rehabilitation scheme. Senior Maoists cadres have now reportedly decided to have prospective grooms operated before the marriage can be solemnised. But the three couples were delighted to learn that vasectomy is a reversible procedure. All the three boys gave their consent for a reverse vasectomy. Sandeep Dave, director of the Ram Krishna Care Hospital in Raipur, agreed to have the operations done free of cost.

The MHA has now taken a timely decision to replicate the Chhattisgarh model of social rehabilitation in all Maoist-affected states. So far, the surrender and rehabilitation scheme has offered reward money, Rs 2,000 as a monthly stipend for vocational training and a sum of Rs 1.5 lakh to be used after three years for self-employment. It will now include the reimbursement of medical costs for vasectomies as well.

The institution of marriage has been redefined by the Maoist. Boys and girls young enough to be in school are indoctrinated and inducted into Maoist ranks as “bal sangham”. They are trained to target security forces and provided with guns. A few even die or lose their limbs while handling IEDs. Maoists claim to run a parallel government known as the “Jantana Sarkar” (Revolutionary People Council) and a “Nyaya Samiti” (Committee for Justice). The “Vidya Samiti” (Committee for Education) teaches Mao’s principles of waging war against the state. Maoists would have tribal people from the surrounding villages imbibe these values and rise against a democratically elected government, even if it destroys the social fabric of their communities.

In due course of time, some of the Maoists run away and return to their homes, others surrender to the police, weary of a “revolutionary” struggle that has come with high costs to the society they belong to. Gandhiji redefined the term revolution, choosing to see it as a way of transforming the inner self. Such a transformation can come through non-violence, which is the only way through which all-round, sustainable development can be achieved. An ideology that thrives on violence and does not value human life can never be a substitute for the traditional ethos and culture.

The writer is inspector-general of police in Chhattisgarh

The Indian Express, 29 October, 2012, http://www.indianexpress.com/news/in-the-family-way/1023214/0


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