Long time ago, I posted a series of articles under the heading
"The Sociobiology of Asian Indians". Eventually, I have wrapped
that series as a book. Some day, it will be in print (Wish).
I touch the biological aspect of the social behavior of the human
in that book taking Richard Dawkins (Selfish Gene, Stephen Gould
(Panda's thumb and other books), Earnst Meyer, E.O. Wislson (the famous
Harvard Biologist and the author of Biodiversity) and JBS Haldane into
strict consideration.
Sri Sri, as a poet, had done tremendous amount (not an appropriate
word) good to the suppressed, dowtrodden, chewed, and discarded.
In my opinion, no other poet in the Andhra Desa did (for the welfare of
the society) in the past and yet another is to appear. In my opinion, if
the divine power is a communist, there is no problem if Sri Sri is (was)
a communist. Just visit the Bhagavad Gita. It is all communism!
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A Humble Statement: Don't discard this because it did not happen in
Rayalaseema or Khammam or Guntur or Orugallu.
This is in no way different from the accont that
happened in other parts of Andhra and for that
matter in India.
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On a hot midnight of May of 1968, the central reserve police were ransacking
the forests of Mandasa, Parvatipuram, and Jadupalli of the Srikakulam
district and the boarder areas of Andhra and Orissa for two-legged, upright
walking, and talking animals, called "Naxalites". "Shoot at Sight" - were
the orders from the chief minister of Andra Pradesh, Mr. Jalagam Vengalarao.
Unfortunately non-naxalite poor villagers were trapped in the net of the
central reserve police and shot dead. No records were made and how many were
killed is not still known. For a number of years after the Naxalism was
suppressed in the Northeastern Andhra and Southeastern Orissa, it was still a
nightmare to live in those areas. The police settled in those villages for a
number of years with a mission of protecting the rich. The haves eat the
havenots alive. This is a fact. There is no other caste for haves. Haves
belong to one and only caste - Rich class. The caste-based stratification
does not matter here. The rich individual becomes the sarpanch and he
is the dictator in the village. For convenience, the sarpanch may even use
his own relatives and people belonging to his own caste as prey for his
achievements in his politica battles. When poor farmers and labourers fall a
prey to the ferful politicians, no one can save them. This is real. When
the gut burns and the poor villager dies ten times everyday, there is no
other alternative for him or her but to be courageous and fight back.
Suddenly Naxalism offered a solution. People who were squeezed, crushed,
beaten, burnt, chewed, and tortured did not realize to which caste they
belong but identified themselves to be in one caste i.e. Naxalite caste.
For a while it offered some quick solutions. Their ideology was great one
(in their dictionary). They justified their acts. They reaped the
consequences. They were prepared for it. The rich politicians and landlords
learnt their lessons by hard way. The government did not control the
autrocities done by the rich. The common man who is the sufferer had to take
action. One may call this any way as he/she or wishes but justice was to be
served.
Does any one realize how much the tribals of Srikakulam, Ganjam,
Koraput, and parts of Visakhapatnam suffered for the last 40 years during our
democratic rule? The tribes were imprisoned for no cause. They were shot
dead for no offense. Their properties were damaged. Their produce was
snatched. Their women were raped. The private parts some of their women
were disfigured. Where was justice? Where was the law? Where was the
government? Where was the democracy? Do the names like Nagabhushan Patnaik,
Sampoornamma, Tejeswara Rao, and Gananadha Patro wring a bell? If you don't
know these names, I will tell you who they were. Mr. Nagabhushan Patnaik was
a leading lawyer in Gunupur of Koraput district, Orissa, near Parvatipuram
and Rayagada. He decided to join Naxalism to save thousands of poor
villagers and tribes in that region. Mr. Patnaik relinquished his lucrative
legal profession and joined the crusade. Mr. Patnaik was not an ordinary
lawyer but was a genius of law. Mr. Gananadha Patro was a professor of
chemistry and gold medalist from the Utkal University. His mother tongue is
neither Telugu not Savara languages. He learnt those two languages and
communicated comfortably with those two communities of people. Mr. Patro
gave up teaching and joined the struggle - Naxalism. Sampoornamma and
Tejeswar Rao are intellectuals from Srikakulam. They sacrificed their lives
for the poor and innocent villagers and tribes. Hundreds of names of
intellectuals, professionals, doctors, and engineers can be drawn as examples
who joined this mission - Naxalism. Did they realize to which caste they all
belong? Did they join Naxalism based on their caste? Was the caste a major
requirement to join Naxalism? No!
Politics is the game of the chandalas. Now the caste comes into
picture. For a politician there exists no caste. His caste is himself.
His caste is he. His caste is him. (If it is a "she" politician, replace he
with she.) The politicians use caste as a convenient tool to gain certain
advantages. When it is the occassion, the politician even does not hesitate
to decapitate people of his/her own caste. The number one rule in Indian
Politics is not to trust his/her own caste. A successful politician belongs
to one and only caste : POLITICIAN CASTE : THE CHANDALA CASTE OF INDIA.
Sri Sri was a nightmare for the politicians and ruthless haves.
His writings awakened ordinary (educated) masses who suffered the tortures
of those wicked haves. An example is a poem on Vempati Satyam:
vempaTa'm
adO Uru ka'vaccu
imTipEru ka'vaccu
aina' adO ka'rciccu
a'pakkanE satyam
adO manishi pEru ka'vaccu
amdukE adO varcassu
vempaTa'm
ka'du samculu nimpaTam
somta'stulu pemcaTam
vempaTa'm
aunu anya'ya'nni gumDupElci campaTam
adharma'nni gaddemiimci dimcaDam.
(Sri Sri, 1/2/73)
What a lucid way the great Sri Sri has put Vempata Satyam,
the illegal way of making money by the haves, and the ruthless ruling by
the wicked rulers in one short pretty poem as one shown above. Do you see
"a" caste in any of the lines in the above poem. But, you can identify three
castes in that poem: (1) havenots, (2) haves, and (3) the ruthless rulers.
In another one Sri Sri says:
OrOri koolii
oura' hama'lii
palletooru vadila'vu
paTna'niki kadila'vu
pastullO naliga'vu
remDuka'LLa pasuvula'ga
yemDallO tiriga'vu
ka'niilE imtE na'
karamamanii panikira'ni
jalamamanii yemdukila'
kaLLutEla vEsta'vu
ka'LLu ja'ravEsta'vu
batikumDE casta'vu
iplava mEmamTunnadO
ippuDaina telusukO
manisila'ga masalukO
piiDimcE ka'mamdu
a'DE oka ra'bamdu - ala'mTODiki
suttipOTE
mattudimcE oka mamdu - appuDE
a'Di ma'ya sa'gadu ikamumdu
(Sri Sri, 1974)
Sri Sri awakened the innocent labourer. He appealed to the
poor and innocent worker to realize that he/she is afterall a human
and it is high time to fight back in order to get out of the quagmire
of poverty created by the landlords and haves.
In another one Sri Sri cries a loud to awaken the innocent
students of India:
OhO O vidya'rdhii
OhOhO O mEdha'vii
poTTakooDu miikiyyaka
caTTubamDala'ye caduvu
mETavEsipOye medaDu
BrashTupaTTipOye braduku
medaDaina' oDalaina'
SramacEstEnE sampada
kalava'rala kommuka'si
paDucukunE vruttirOsi
karshaka ka'rmika jana sam
Ga'tamtO kaliyamDi
boorjuva'la ra'jya'mgapu
boojamta' dulapamDi
Bootala'na svargapu ni
rma'taluga' nilavamDi - a'dikkuga'
miiku da'ricoopimcE
mETitaram virisimdi - ala'mTiva'LLalO
komdaru maraNimca'ru
emdarO batikunna'ru
amdaridii oka lakshyam
oka gamyam oka dhEyam
adE manakupa'dhEyam
viplavam veligimcara'!
(Sri Sri, 1974)
Sri Sri realized that the Indian Student needs such an
inspiration and accordingly tried to awaken the dormant students in India.
nirviiryulai niirasapaDipOyina Ba'rata vidya'rdhula'ra! spRha kOlpOya'ra?
lEvamDi! tepparillamDi! adugO velturu! da'ni ba'TnE pOvamDi! venuka
tarumukostOmdi ciikaTi. adi vO pedda ra'ka'si. ciikaTi mrimgEstE, velugu
cooDalEru. kaLLmDE gruDDiva'LLuga' paDi vunna'ru!
(idi Sri Sri ni anusarimci nEnu 74 lO oka patrikaku vra'sinadi).
If you want to find "a" single caste in Naxalism, go a head and
examine the following written by Sri Sri:
camDra pulla'reDDi
tarimela na'gireDDi
vEsina polikEka
satyamoorti penu Dha'ka
ca'rumajumda'r pavar
manavEnOy Diyar brother
kollipara', pamca'dii
allipuram, simma'drii
ca'gamTii, kaila'sam
iLLamta' iira'di
iirulura' sOdara'
iiLLada'ri niidira'
imaka bayamnEdura'
yerrerrani ragata'la
yErullO iidara'
sOdara' sahOdara'
janaBa'rata vrukOdara'
patituDivO BrashTuDivO
ba'dha'spara dashTuDivO
daga'paDina tammuDivO
SriiSriipriya SishyuDivO
coosta'vEm nii nippulu
da'sta'vEm niivippuDu
ceyyi marOprastha'nam
tiyyi bruhat pra'gdva'ram
vippu marO adhya'yam
tippu mahat koukshEyam
(Sri Sri, 1974)
If you consider Sri Sri as a Naxalite (your own understanding of
Sri Sri's philosophy), Sri Sri is identified to belong to one caste -
intellectual caste.
In "evaridi ahimsa?", Sri Sri says the following:
talaka'yalu dorla'
lanna'Du birla'
aunu satyam talaka'ya dorlimdi
Ba'skaruDi talaka'ya dorlimdi - idE himsa
bOrla'
paDukunna sampa'daka' vinu
naksalaiTlu BEdhistunna'ru ga'mdhii
vigraha'la Sirassulanu - adE ahimsa
satya'niki ca'vu lEdu
Ba'skaruDu batikE vumTa'Du
ii lOga'
pura'Na'lu pukkilimcina
kira'Na' kavulamta'
naksalaiT naraka'suruNNedirimci
siniima'ta'ra satyaBa'ma
dhanasva'mya da'mOdaruNNirakshstumdani
ama'yakamga' nammuta'ru.
(Sri Sri, 1971)
It is foolish to infer that Naxalites group on caste basis. They all are
victims to the acts virulent wicked politicians and ruthless haves.
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A lot above said are my experiences during the Naxalite movement in
Palakimedi, Srikakulam, and Visakhapatnam areas for more than 15 years.
I had known Sri Sri personally and I can talk about his poetry, philosophy,
and philanthrophy.
-----PALANA
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PARANANDI LAKSHMI NARASIMHAM
CAS
COLUMBUS
OH
DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed above are not those of the CAS.
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