CONDEMN THE MURDER OF COM. KENDRUKA ARJUN
THE LEADER OF ADIVASI MOVEMENT IN ANDHRA ORISSA BORDER AREA AND THE SECRETARY, CHASI MULIYA ADIVASI SANGH, KORAPUT DISTRICT BY THE MAOISTS!
Friends,
The murder squad of the CPI (Maoist) Party has shot dead in a ghastly manner Com. Kendruka Arjun (42 Years), the leader of Adivasi peoples movement in Koraput – Bandugaon area in Andhra – Orissa border, Koraput District Secretary of Chasi Muliya Adivasi Sangh (CMAS) and a comrade who had come up from a poorest Adivasi family as a leader of oppressed peoples movement and had been working among the people.
On August, 9, 2010 in the afternoon, the Maoists have waylaid Com.Arjun on his way to Kathulapeta from Keshubhadra when he was going to the hospital by bicycle together with his wife. The Maoists used force and asked him to come aside for a talk. Com. Arjun understood that they were Maoists. He told them fearlessly that he has nothing to talk to them there and the things can be discussed, if there are any, right in the presence of people. With this, the Maoists have hit Com. Arjun on his legs to which he fell down. They pushed Com. Arjun’s wife aside when she attempted to rescue him from the attack of Maoists and the three Maoists have shot Com. Arjun dead in a ghastly manner.
WAS IT A CRIME FOR COM. ARJUN TO WORK AS AN ACTIVIST OF PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT?
For the last 15 years, Com. Arjun had been working integrating himself with the Adivasi people under the leadership of CMAS. He was a comrade who stood in the forefront in the efforts to organize the Adivasi and non-Adivasi poor in the Bandugaon area of Koraput district and in mobilizing them against the liquor traders, the atrocities of forest officials and the exploitation of pettandars.
Com. Arjun played a militant role in the people’s movement against the liquor producing owners, sundis and shahukars in Koraput area together with the Bankini, Neelavadi and other villages.
It was Com. Arjun who extended the CMAS and the Adivasi peoples movement from Koraput area to Narayanapatna up to 2006. In 2006 June, the police had created an atmosphere of terror by arresting the leadership and imposing the sec 144 in Narayanapatna – Podipodar area in an attempt to prevent the occupation of lands under the leadership of CMAS. The Adivasi people had seized their own crops even in the midst of this repressive atmosphere under the leadership of Sangh led by Com. Arjun.
On Nov 17, 2008, 400 Adivasi armed with traditional weapons had gheraoed the Bandugaon police outpost under the leadership of Com. Arjun in protest against the police attack on the Adivasi in Sorupalli market and with a view to get their Adivasi brothers released who were in police custody. They expressed their serious anger against the repeated harassments and atrocities carried on by the police. Cases were foisted against the activists of the Sangh including Com. Arjun on the alleged charge of attack on the police outpost. But Com. Arjun was not frightened by it. He carried on the activities of Sangh by remaining himself among the people for 5 months as required by the needs of the movement.
As the leader of the CMAS, Com. Arjun played an active role in the movement to re-occupy the lands of Adivasi beginning with July, 2009, which were illegally grabbed by the STM Company and also in the struggle to seize the lands under the occupation of the non-Adivasi pettandars.
Com. Arjun had grown into a leader from the oppressed Adivasi people in the course of facing the attacks from the pettandars, goondas and illegal arrests and repression from the police. All along, he had been performing the responsibilities as the District Committee Secretary and the state committee member of the CMAS.
Com. Arjun had contested in the General Elections held in 2009 as a candidate for Lakshmipur Assembly constituency and had extensively propagated the politics of people’s movement in Koraput and Narayanapatna area.
The landlords, pettandars sundis, shahukars and the owners of various companies who were freely enjoying the lands of the Adivasi could not tolerate the Adivasi people’s movement taking roots and expanding under the leadership of Chasi Muliya Adivasi Sangh. They are furious at the Sangh and are resorting to attacks and atrocities against it. On the other side, the state and the police machinery are resorting to foisting of cases, arrests and harassments in various forms.
On the other side the Maoists too are unable to tolerate the concrete and consistent efforts by the leadership of CMAS to develop the people’s movement in Koraput area. On various occasions, they indulged in such acts as threatening through posters and statements to kill the leaders and cadres of the Sang if they do not abandon the politics of mass movement.
The Sangh had been condemning this kind of undemocratic and atrocious acts of the Maoists whenever they had resorted to such acts. It had been taking these things to the notice of the intellectuals and democrats and appealing to them to prevent the undesirable acts which would inflame the clashes between the people’s movements. However, brushing aside these appeals and much to the merriment of the landlords and pettandars, the Maoists had committed this act of murder.
Com. Arjun belongs to the poorest Jathapu tribe who speak the “Kui” language. He lost one of his sons because he could not provide him proper food and medicines. His wife is an Adivasi woman who ekes her life as a daily laborer. He had been working as a whole time worker in the midst of these difficult conditions of life. The Maoists had indulged in this ghastly act of killing an activist and leader of people’s movement who had come up from a poorest Adivasi background in the last 15 years. They have murder comrade Com. Arjun when he was alone, unarmed, pushing aside his wife who tried to prevent the attack and shot com. Arjun dead by firing the gun at a point-blank range. These acts show that the Maoists had degenerated to such a state where they resort to individual terrorist actions in the name of peoples movement and seek to make the people live under the illusion that the creation of terror and anarchy is revolution. It proves that they have resorted to these cowardly acts only because the consistent and organized people’s movement which is developing under the leadership of Chasi Muliya Adivasi Sangh will expose the bankruptcy of their terrorist actions.
The people would face and repulse these ghastly deeds carried on in the name of Maoists too in the same way as they are facing the attacks of the landlords and pettandars and police repression. Anyone who has respect for the people, convictions in the people’s movement cannot resort to this kind of atrocious acts. We, therefore, appeal to the people as a whole, the democrats and intellectuals in particular to denounce this ghastly act of the Maoists. We appeal to them to seriously expose the Maoist politics of murdering the activists and leaders of people’s movement by unilaterally affixing labels to them.
With Revolutionary Greetings,
ALL INDIA KHET MAZDOOR KISAN SABHA
(AIKMKS)
09.08.2010
Vijayawada
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Publishers: Subodh Mitra, Convener, S.Jhansi, Co-convener
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