Hazel Gandhi, 11th June 2021
Kashyap was first introduced to the Naxals by one of his friends who had been part of the movement since a long time. Kashyap describes how his job was mainly to disrupt—whenever they heard of a possible obstruction to the activities of the Naxals, they were told to stop it in whichever way possible. One of the most popular ways was to burst firecrackers right outside the police station and stop them from going anywhere. This was most of his job, and he thought that was it. He had no idea about the other side—the ideology of his employers, what they were working towards, and its consequences. He expected a menial pay and was able to pass his time which was more than enough for him. A few months into the job, a lot of conversations started making the rounds in his village regarding the people he was working with. The police tracked down his friend and that is when the graveness of the situation struck him. Subsequently, Gangadhar left the village and surrendered soon after the police arrested one of his cousins who was also a part of the movement.He now receives a monthly compensation from the police but it is not quite enough to sustain himself and his family, and he is on the lookout for a job. Sometimes, the money doesn’t come on time, and even when it does, it isn’t usually the full amount. Gangadhar claims his life hasn’t improved for the better after his surrender, like he hoped it would. He also adds that the whole reason he got into this was to make an extra buck, some more cash to keep in handy. Now, he is left without any of it since the Naxals didn’t pay him at all, and with insufficient help from the administration, the struggle for money still carries on.
*The name used in this story is an alias to protect the identity
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