The radicals of the Left may have been a force behind the anti-liquor movement in the tribal heartlands of India, but now they are a reason why hemp is flourishing in the Red Corridor. Large tracts of forest and degraded land, where no enfo*rcement squad dares venture, are under ganja cultivation in Orissa and neighbouring regions in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. Meticulously planned and scientifically grown over hundreds of acres, these slim green plants also help the ultras fight the state while they help people chase pipe dreams of their own.
The Naxal movement, which is about helping the landless and the poor, began as a peasant movement more than four decades ago. It has come a long way since those romantic beginnings. Like any political movement it needs large sums of money to survive and grow. One estimate pegs this amount at Rs 1,500 crore a year to sustain its guerilla war and stay a step ahead of the police and paramilitary forces. Most of the resources, according to the security agencies, come from organised extortion, described as a form of 'levy' on local businesses. It is the familiar protection racket, only this one is being operated by the 'people's groups'.
The literature and documents of the rebels seized by security agencies during operations show intricate details of the 'levy' that they extort. From contractors working in Naxal-dominated areas to industrial bodies, from mining houses to stone crusher owners, everybody has to pay up. In return, the Naxals offer 'protection'.
While part of the funds collected by the CPI (Maoist), which still remains the prominent Naxal group, are pumped back into the organisation, other splinter groups have taken to kidnapping, looting, extortion and spending the money obtained on a luxurious lifestyle.
The word is that the Naxals demand five to 10 per cent on the construction projects, while a levy is fixed for industries functioning in the areas where they are dominant. When 40-year-old Bhabagrahi Sandha from Hikapali village near Kisinda in Sambalpur district was arrested on February 11 police say he had Rs 3.40 lakh on his person. He has been charged with acting as a conduit for the Naxals and his bank accounts have been frozen. He is said to have been collecting 'levy' for the Naxals. Interrogation revealed four accounts in the State Bank of India at Rairakhol, United Bank of India at Naktideul, Utkal Gramya Bank, Naktideul and Sambalpur District Central Co-operative Bank. Sandha had transacted Rs 9.70 lakh in these four bank accounts over last three years and had about Rs 1.39 lakh lying idle in these accounts.
This is not, however, the limit of Naxal enterprise. They are encouraging villagers to cultivate ganja and opium, just as the insurgents did in Northeast India. The profits from this venture into agriculture will help fund the revolution to come.
Cultivation is scientific, to ensure optimum yield, complete with irrigation facilities. In several places, pump sets have been seized from the site of farming, as in Pindki village in Khalasuni Reserve Forest in Sambalpur. A visit to the interior reveals that many farmers have turned to hemp. It is grown along all nullahs and water sources. Funded by unidentified persons and smuggled out after the harvest with support from the Naxals the hemp fetches handsome returns for the farmers. At many places even forests are being cleared for cultivation and farmers take special pain to irrigate the land for a better harvest.
The villagers of Jamjuri Gram Panchayat in Rairakhol sub-division even complained to the Sambalpur district collector that subsidised fertiliser, pesticide and kerosene oil needed to operate the water pumps were being siphoned off as hemp cultivators procured it in bulk to run their operations.
To get an idea of the scale of operations, consider the following figures. In Sambalpur district, the number of hemp plants destroyed jointly by the excise and police in fiscal 2008-2009 came to 3,22,000 valued at a whopping Rs 32.2 crore at the rate of Rs 1,000 per plant. In the financial year 2009-10, 10,55,200 mature hemp plants worth Rs 105 crore were destroyed. While no arrest was made in fiscal 2008-09, 11 were arrested during a raid in the villages of Jamjuri, Gadadharpur, Batgaon, Brahmani, Gopalpur, Rukmanipur, Badmal and Gudipani in Rairakhol sub-division in the last financial year.
On April 24, hundreds of people from Rairakhol sub-division took out a rally in Sambalpur under the banner of Rairakhol Sachetan Nagarik Brunda, complaining of the terror tactics employed by the hemp cultivators under the patronage of a local leader from the ruling party.
In Nuapada district, where the Naxals have set their sights on the Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary, which opens up to neighbouring Chattisgarh, hemp cultivation has been reported in the villages of Jamgaon, Datunama, Kharipani, Kenchupakhan, Deosil, Gatibeda and Kutrabeda – all inside the sanctuary. According to official reports, plants worth Rs 50 crore were destroyed three years ago, while the operation had to be suspended from 2008-09 after the Naxals resorted to murder inside the protected area.
This may be just the tip of the iceberg as police, excise and revenue officials find it nearly impossible to trudge through the inhospitable terrain for operations. In village after village, the story is the same as in Sambalpur district's Naxal-dominated Rairakhol sub-division. In Kandhamal and the neighbouring Boudh district which have of late become the meeting grounds of Naxals for formation of their proposed Red Corridor, large tracts of hemp have been destroyed by the authorities.
Anyone who dares raise a voice against these cultivators is intimidated. There have been at least four cases in which persons identified as Prahallad Pradhan, Khulana Dhal, Indramani Sahu and Bidhan Sahu left took their families and left their homes in Jamjuri after being threatened by hemp cultivators. The four had led the villagers to the Sambalpur district collector demanding an end to hemp cultivation and complained that water from the minor irrigation project of Khalbala Nullah was being diverted for this purpose.
Dhenkanal Superintendent of Police Satish Gajbhaiye, who served in the Naxal-hotbed Malkangiri, says he has reports of hemp cultivation in far flung areas. During his stint he brought to light large scale cultivation in Kandhamal and says the contraband funds Maoist activities in the formation of their proposed 'Red-Corridor'. Even Puri Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar, once Sambalpur SP, says profits from hemp are channelled to the ultras.
Dr Rajat Kujur, co-author of Maoism In India: Reincarnation of Ultra Left Extremism in 21st Century, says it is now a growing trend and a time tested way to fill coffers by the Left ultras. And given the official attitude, there is little hope that the revolution's dependence on dope will be reduced in any way.
– ratan@expressbuzz.com
Revolutionary highs
The Naxals are not the first rebels to trade in drugs to fund their activities. For years the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were rumoured to be involved in smuggling drugs. But it is in Afghanistan that the nexus between insurgency, politics and drugs has been most obvious in recent years. Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of illicit opium, with about 90 per cent of opium coming from the war-torn country. While opium, derived from poppy seeds, is no longer used as a drug directly, it contains morphine and can be chemically converted to ******.
In Afghanistan opium cultivation began in earnest in the late '70s during the Soviet invasion. Warlords mushroomed and turned to opium cultivation to generate funds to arm themselves. The US turned a blind eye to the export of opium because it was funding the Afghan resistence against the Soviets. Opium cultivation flourished even through the years of Taliban rule. But in 2000, Mullah Mohammad Omar collaborated with the UN in an anti-drugs campaign and declared the cultivation "un-Islamic". Cultivation fell by 91 per cent in a year but by the end of 2001, farmers were once again turning to opium cultivation as the economy collapsed.
In the years since, the link between insurgents and opium has been made, though
officially acknowledged only five years ago. However, little has been done to stop cultivation and export because everyone from the country's government to the Taliban and insurgents is said to benefit from the trade.
The stuff of legend
There is an ancient village, deep in the Kulu valley, that has been the stuff of legend for a while now. Or to be more precise produces stuff that is legend. The village is Malana and the product? The famous Malana cream, once considered the finest hashish in the world. Malana Cream put the tiny village on the global map, and has drawn visitors from all over the world to seek it out. Now, however, with Nepali traders selling Nepali charas under the Malana 'name', and increased vigilance from police officials, Malana cream is no longer the dream product it once was.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Expressbuzz
Author: Ratan K Pani
Contact: Expressbuzz
Copyright: 2010 Expressbuzz
Website: Greener grass on the red side
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
The Naxal movement, which is about helping the landless and the poor, began as a peasant movement more than four decades ago. It has come a long way since those romantic beginnings. Like any political movement it needs large sums of money to survive and grow. One estimate pegs this amount at Rs 1,500 crore a year to sustain its guerilla war and stay a step ahead of the police and paramilitary forces. Most of the resources, according to the security agencies, come from organised extortion, described as a form of 'levy' on local businesses. It is the familiar protection racket, only this one is being operated by the 'people's groups'.
The literature and documents of the rebels seized by security agencies during operations show intricate details of the 'levy' that they extort. From contractors working in Naxal-dominated areas to industrial bodies, from mining houses to stone crusher owners, everybody has to pay up. In return, the Naxals offer 'protection'.
While part of the funds collected by the CPI (Maoist), which still remains the prominent Naxal group, are pumped back into the organisation, other splinter groups have taken to kidnapping, looting, extortion and spending the money obtained on a luxurious lifestyle.
The word is that the Naxals demand five to 10 per cent on the construction projects, while a levy is fixed for industries functioning in the areas where they are dominant. When 40-year-old Bhabagrahi Sandha from Hikapali village near Kisinda in Sambalpur district was arrested on February 11 police say he had Rs 3.40 lakh on his person. He has been charged with acting as a conduit for the Naxals and his bank accounts have been frozen. He is said to have been collecting 'levy' for the Naxals. Interrogation revealed four accounts in the State Bank of India at Rairakhol, United Bank of India at Naktideul, Utkal Gramya Bank, Naktideul and Sambalpur District Central Co-operative Bank. Sandha had transacted Rs 9.70 lakh in these four bank accounts over last three years and had about Rs 1.39 lakh lying idle in these accounts.
This is not, however, the limit of Naxal enterprise. They are encouraging villagers to cultivate ganja and opium, just as the insurgents did in Northeast India. The profits from this venture into agriculture will help fund the revolution to come.
Cultivation is scientific, to ensure optimum yield, complete with irrigation facilities. In several places, pump sets have been seized from the site of farming, as in Pindki village in Khalasuni Reserve Forest in Sambalpur. A visit to the interior reveals that many farmers have turned to hemp. It is grown along all nullahs and water sources. Funded by unidentified persons and smuggled out after the harvest with support from the Naxals the hemp fetches handsome returns for the farmers. At many places even forests are being cleared for cultivation and farmers take special pain to irrigate the land for a better harvest.
The villagers of Jamjuri Gram Panchayat in Rairakhol sub-division even complained to the Sambalpur district collector that subsidised fertiliser, pesticide and kerosene oil needed to operate the water pumps were being siphoned off as hemp cultivators procured it in bulk to run their operations.
To get an idea of the scale of operations, consider the following figures. In Sambalpur district, the number of hemp plants destroyed jointly by the excise and police in fiscal 2008-2009 came to 3,22,000 valued at a whopping Rs 32.2 crore at the rate of Rs 1,000 per plant. In the financial year 2009-10, 10,55,200 mature hemp plants worth Rs 105 crore were destroyed. While no arrest was made in fiscal 2008-09, 11 were arrested during a raid in the villages of Jamjuri, Gadadharpur, Batgaon, Brahmani, Gopalpur, Rukmanipur, Badmal and Gudipani in Rairakhol sub-division in the last financial year.
On April 24, hundreds of people from Rairakhol sub-division took out a rally in Sambalpur under the banner of Rairakhol Sachetan Nagarik Brunda, complaining of the terror tactics employed by the hemp cultivators under the patronage of a local leader from the ruling party.
In Nuapada district, where the Naxals have set their sights on the Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary, which opens up to neighbouring Chattisgarh, hemp cultivation has been reported in the villages of Jamgaon, Datunama, Kharipani, Kenchupakhan, Deosil, Gatibeda and Kutrabeda – all inside the sanctuary. According to official reports, plants worth Rs 50 crore were destroyed three years ago, while the operation had to be suspended from 2008-09 after the Naxals resorted to murder inside the protected area.
This may be just the tip of the iceberg as police, excise and revenue officials find it nearly impossible to trudge through the inhospitable terrain for operations. In village after village, the story is the same as in Sambalpur district's Naxal-dominated Rairakhol sub-division. In Kandhamal and the neighbouring Boudh district which have of late become the meeting grounds of Naxals for formation of their proposed Red Corridor, large tracts of hemp have been destroyed by the authorities.
Anyone who dares raise a voice against these cultivators is intimidated. There have been at least four cases in which persons identified as Prahallad Pradhan, Khulana Dhal, Indramani Sahu and Bidhan Sahu left took their families and left their homes in Jamjuri after being threatened by hemp cultivators. The four had led the villagers to the Sambalpur district collector demanding an end to hemp cultivation and complained that water from the minor irrigation project of Khalbala Nullah was being diverted for this purpose.
Dhenkanal Superintendent of Police Satish Gajbhaiye, who served in the Naxal-hotbed Malkangiri, says he has reports of hemp cultivation in far flung areas. During his stint he brought to light large scale cultivation in Kandhamal and says the contraband funds Maoist activities in the formation of their proposed 'Red-Corridor'. Even Puri Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar, once Sambalpur SP, says profits from hemp are channelled to the ultras.
Dr Rajat Kujur, co-author of Maoism In India: Reincarnation of Ultra Left Extremism in 21st Century, says it is now a growing trend and a time tested way to fill coffers by the Left ultras. And given the official attitude, there is little hope that the revolution's dependence on dope will be reduced in any way.
– ratan@expressbuzz.com
Revolutionary highs
The Naxals are not the first rebels to trade in drugs to fund their activities. For years the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were rumoured to be involved in smuggling drugs. But it is in Afghanistan that the nexus between insurgency, politics and drugs has been most obvious in recent years. Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of illicit opium, with about 90 per cent of opium coming from the war-torn country. While opium, derived from poppy seeds, is no longer used as a drug directly, it contains morphine and can be chemically converted to ******.
In Afghanistan opium cultivation began in earnest in the late '70s during the Soviet invasion. Warlords mushroomed and turned to opium cultivation to generate funds to arm themselves. The US turned a blind eye to the export of opium because it was funding the Afghan resistence against the Soviets. Opium cultivation flourished even through the years of Taliban rule. But in 2000, Mullah Mohammad Omar collaborated with the UN in an anti-drugs campaign and declared the cultivation "un-Islamic". Cultivation fell by 91 per cent in a year but by the end of 2001, farmers were once again turning to opium cultivation as the economy collapsed.
In the years since, the link between insurgents and opium has been made, though
officially acknowledged only five years ago. However, little has been done to stop cultivation and export because everyone from the country's government to the Taliban and insurgents is said to benefit from the trade.
The stuff of legend
There is an ancient village, deep in the Kulu valley, that has been the stuff of legend for a while now. Or to be more precise produces stuff that is legend. The village is Malana and the product? The famous Malana cream, once considered the finest hashish in the world. Malana Cream put the tiny village on the global map, and has drawn visitors from all over the world to seek it out. Now, however, with Nepali traders selling Nepali charas under the Malana 'name', and increased vigilance from police officials, Malana cream is no longer the dream product it once was.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Expressbuzz
Author: Ratan K Pani
Contact: Expressbuzz
Copyright: 2010 Expressbuzz
Website: Greener grass on the red side
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
