In Bastar, Chhattisgarh's naxal hotbed, Maoists are slowly turning their attention towards children as they find the loyalty of grown-ups too delicate and frequently shifting to be trusted.
An exposé by Zee News shows that for Maoists, children are easier targets and can be trained young. So they force minor children, irrespective of gender, to work for them.
From being a dakiya –—those who perform the much-needed messenger service for naxals — to mastering more dangerous tasks such as learning and making IEDs, for the little ones, life is nothing less than a nightmare.
Many stories of ravaged childhood came to the fore recently when police encountered a 13-year-old girl in Narayanpur's inner forests and detained her.
A district carved out from Bastar, Narayanpur is almost entirely controlled by Maoists, and children play an important role in keeping their day-to-day operations smooth.
Speaking to this reporter, the 13-year-old revealed how she was abducted naxals and how she was treated.
Forced to work as a sentry for them she also spoke of the degrading and callous manner in which she was treated. Asked what she meant by sentry, the girl said that whenever she saw police forces, she was supposed to light firecrackers, so that Maoists would be alerted and they would retreat deeper into the forest.
"I was in Class 5 at an ashram in Sameep village. Once, I had to stay home because of fever. One day, local militia commander Ramlal took me away," said the girl.
Bursting crackers was one of the nicer parts of her work, she said. "It was better than being their dancing girl or learning to make IED explosives or acting as their 'human shield' whenever there was an encounter with police," she recalled between tears.
According to police, deep inside Bastar, the presence of security forces is scant and parents have no means to resist the Maoist force. Police also said there was no solid data on number of children employed by Maoists.
Speaking about a recent naxal raid on the village, IG of Bastar, Vivekanand Sinha, says, "There were over a dozen minor girls who were forcibly taken away by Maoists. You have to understand our limitations. Due to a shortage of manpower, there are no police stations in these interior areas. And when we go into these jungles, we have to scrutinise rocks as maoists hide behind them to open fire at us."
Police limitations and inaction help naxals take away children with impunity. A few days ago, a Zee News team visited the same areas of Narayanpur from where the minor girl was taken into custody by the police. The media team found that the ashram she studied in had been set up for children in those areas, but the failure of governance meant that children often travelled 60 km on foot, unprotected, to reach the school.
This reporter also met more than half a dozen children from the Jatloor Balak Ashram of Orchha block. They said they daily trudged the maoist-infested jungle to reach school. Orchha block is well-known for Maoists-police encounters here and students said they often feared for their lives.
Pramod, one of the students at the ashram, said, "One day, when we were going to Orchha to buy vegetables, a naxal-police encounter took place on the way. There is also the threat of land mines. We have no choice but to risk our lives."
Apart from the threat to life, there is also the threat of indoctrination. Surrendered naxalite Dineshwari can testify to that. Dineshwari says he was misled to their fold by naxals.
"They said they were taking me to school, but took me away with them instead. I was taught to hate and revolt against the government and security forces. Over time, I became their Local Organisation Squad commander. However, over time, I also learnt the truth of naxalism and surrendered."
MAOIST HOTBED OF BASTAR
- According to police, deep inside Bastar, the presence of security forces is scant and parents have no means to resist the Maoist force
- There was no solid data on total children employed by Maoists
