At the time I am typing this message on my phone 15th November, 2024, soldiers from India’s government security forces are attacking an indigenous village in Bijapur district, Bastar region, Chhattisgarh state, with rockets.
On November 13, at 2:00 am, hundreds of soldiers were brought to Kondapalli village under Usur police station, and a new police camp was established.
As soon as the camp was set up, the soldiers began firing rocket launchers.
The indigenous people are not being allowed to harvest their paddy crops, gather the harvested rice, or bring it home from the fields. They are also being prevented from taking the sick to the hospital.
While Raghu Madiyami, the State coordinator of the Moolvasi Bachao Sangathan, was telling me all this over the phone this morning, he mentioned that even then the sound of rockets launched by the soldiers could still be heard.
During this conversation, Bastar human rights activist Soni Sori was also present.
Providing details of the incident, Raghu and Soni explained that on the 8th, a large number of security forces from Sukma, Bijapur, and Dantewada surrounded 15 villages in the Usur block at 4:00 am and took 52 indigenous people to the Gundam camp.
Two days later, on the 10th, 33 people were released, but seven indigenous youth from the Moolvasi Bachao Manch were falsely accused and imprisoned, while 12 are still detained at Bijapur police station, including five women. Family members of these detainees are not being allowed to visit them in Bijapur and are being stopped by soldiers from the Usur and Avapalli camps on the way.
On the morning of November 8 at 7:00 am, a 24-year-old indigenous farmer named Kunjam Joga from Rekapalli village, who was working in his paddy field, was shot dead by security forces.
At around 9:00 am, Podium Hidma, a 15-year-old minor from Marodbanka Panchayat, Gunderaguda village, was also shot and killed by the forces.
The houses of the indigenous people have been damaged, and the soldiers used iron rods to destroy the homes. Soldiers looted rupees 35,000 from the homes and forcibly searched women, removing their sarees. When other women protested, saying they were married and from the same village, the soldiers demanded that they strip to prove they were married. The indigenous women objected, leading to arguments with the soldiers.
While the soldiers were taking people away, they also threw stones at the villagers. This is a new method now being used by security forces against the indigenous people. Soldiers throw stones at them to prevent them from following to rescue their detained relatives.
Himanshu Kumar is a social activist
