An adivasi youth Madhu (27) was beaten to death by settlers in the Adivasi heartland of Attapady, Kerala, for allegedly stealing food. The murderers took selfies with the victim and posted on social media.
He was severely beaten on suspicion of stealing some rice from a provision store. After catching hold of him, the mob severely trashed him and then handed him over to the police. The police who found that he was unwell as he vomited rushed him to Agali government Hospital. However, he fell unconscious even before reaching the hospital. Police officials in Agali said they were in search of seven men.
Madhu hails from the Kadukumannu Adivasi colony in Attappadi.
Attappadi is an Adivasi heartland of Kerala. However due to malnutrition and starvation hundreds of Adivasi children have died in recent years.
The Adivasi population of Attappadi dwindled to around 30 % at present from 90 % in 1951. Most of the Adivasi land has been encroached by the settlers from the plains. It is believed that the same settler population thrashed Madhu to death.
The civilized society has to think &ponder and act not to allow this to repeat !!!
Shameful that in a state like Kerala, ruled by the Left Front, such things can happen. What’s the difference between Adityanath-ruled UP and CPI(M)-ruled Kerala ? It raises the basic question — why had the CPI(M), or the Congress, which had been alternatively ruling Kerala over several decades, failed to change the anti-tribal and anti-Dalit mindset of the upper caste and upper class Malayalees ? The Kerala Left government – expected to improve the lot of the poor – has neglected all these years the adivasis of Wynad. There are reports of increasing police repression of protests by adivasis and human rights activists in Kerala. Will the CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat answer these concerns of mine relating to his home state ?
What remedies do we have to handle a situation like this in a sham democracy as in India ?