A page from the diary of a "Maoist"

Tomorrow i will be taken to court. The world will witness my prosecution. They say i have been involved in an attack on the armed forces in some place called Chhattisgarh. I never heard about it. The only village i know of that starts with “C” is Chanditala. It is my “mamabari”. My wife and daughter are in hiding there.

A month ago my village knew me as a school peon. I ran a pathsala in my village for the poor tribal kids who could not afford formal education. Most of these kids work in the farms with their father, or work as domestic help in the homes of the village leaders. With every passing day, most of my students start missing classes. Alas, i don’t have the capacity to bring them back to the pathsala.

My wife worked in the house of local panchayat pradhan. Sometimes she returned home battered. Often, she had to stay back at her master’s house at night. She would avoid me for nights after those nights. I understood her pain, but am helpless. This is how system runs here in this villages. Either you conform or you perish.

Trouble began a month ago. There had been some killings in India. God knows where that place is. Since then the khaki babus have been visiting the village often. And when they leave, the Janata Army comes to our homes and asks us not to believe a word of what the khaki babus tell us.

About 2 weeks ago, i was returning from my pathsala, when i heard shrieks from the forest. I ran towards the source of the sound, and to my horror discovered khaki babus misbehaving with the daughter of our neighbour. I fell to their feet, but could not stop them. In front of me they disrobed her and…….

Since then, i have been in jail. My wife was raped too. She fled the village ever since. The khaki babus say they have proof i have been to chhattisgarh, they have phone records of me talking to someone called Kishenji, whoever he is. I told them i have never seen a STD booth n my life,leave alone a mobile phone! I have never seen Kolkata, leave alone chhattisgarh. They did not listen. They said that they had orders.  If they can catch a Maoist, they will be rewarded. And Pujo was just around the corner, they needed money. And the babus of kolkata have promised lots of rewards.

I do not know what will happen to me. I hear they will put me behind bars for a long time. Will i ever see my wife again? Will i be able to bless my daughter on her wedding next Aghran? I don’t know. I can just pray to God.

P.S. This story is a pure work of fiction. Although similar tales can be heard in many villages across the nation, only if we have the ears to hear!