After surrendering to cops, Naxalite surrenders to matrimony

GADCHIROLI: Having divorced Naxalism and surrendered to the police along with 28 others on Tuesday, a couple got married at a hall at the Gadchiroli district police headquarters with the cops playing cupid. This happy development helped embellish the achievement of Gadchiroli police in getting so many senior Naxalites to surrender.
In terms of numbers, this was the second biggest formal Naxalite surrender after 2008, when around 40 had laid down arms before the government to return to the mainstream.However, in significance, Tuesday's surrender of 28 Naxalites of various ranks surpasses most earlier such instances. While the surrenders in 2008 featured only members of the 'jan militia' of the Naxalites, the latest one had several Naxalites of the ranks of commanders and deputy commanders.
Apart from the marriage of the surrendered couple, the cops' interaction with families of some Naxalites still part of the rebel movement added another dimension to the day's proceedings. The cops preferred to describe the programme as 'manomilan' or meeting of the minds, where they also made an effort to win the trust of families with some members still serving the Naxalite movement.
The surrenders were part of a special drive by Gadchiroli police, under district superintendent of police Mohammed Suvez Haque, to boost the government's surrender policy christened 'Navjeevan policy'. It is formulated to encourage the families of the Naxalites to motivate the rebels to return to the mainstream.
The highlight of the drive initiated on April 1 this year was the visit by senior officers of the Gadchiroli police to houses and families of Naxalites. Officers like deputy inspector general of police, Naxal range, Ravindra Kadam and Gadchiroli SP Haque personally visited families of many top cadres.
Such meeting of the minds also occurred between 'Platoon A' commander Surendra Narote, alias Jeevan (30), and Janki, a member of Chetna Natya Manch or Naxalites' cultural wing of Aheri. The two had adopted the surrender policies earlier and come to stay in the shelter of the police headquarters. It was here that the two met and there was a surrender of a different kind.
"I had asked her whether she was ready to marry me. It was after she replied in the affirmative that I approached the cops," said Surendra, who had been christened 'Jeevan' after joining the dalam in 2003. Jeevan, part of several encounters in Chhattisgarh and Gadchiroli, said he was grossly disillusioned with the myth that the Naxalites preached, which prompted him to surrender. "I contacted one of my cousins, who is in the police, and took his help to approach the cops," said Jeevan. He had also been disheartened to see his family suffer without him.
While Jeevan was the more loquacious of the two on Tuesday, his wife Janki preferred to remain the coy bride, replying to TOI's questions in mostly nods and blushful smiles. "I will work if there is a suitable job," was the only sentence the visibly bride could offer, when asked about their plans.
Jeevan said that he would choose between a constructed house, plot or money against arrangement for accommodation. With a very real threat from their former colleagues, the couple is likely to spend the near future in Gadchiroli town, which is relatively safer than the interiors.
Haque, who was on a high note, said that cops are open to meeting Naxalites eager to surrender as well as those ready for more battles. "Aggressive action in jungles on one hand and projects like Navjeevan and Jan Jagaran Melawas on the other against Naxalites will put the last nail on the rebel movement, provided there is swift development in the affected areas," he said.
"It required a great effort to bring around 250 families of Naxalites from remote corners of the district to the venue, and it was tougher to win their faith. But we seem to have managed the attitudinal transformation," he said.