By The Hindu Bureau
Copyright thehindu
There is a war-like situation in Bastar, says Pushpa Rokde, journalist from Bijapur in Chhattisgarh.
Ms. Rokde who works with Prakhar Samachar, a Hindi daily, narrates how challenging journalism is in the conflict-ridden zone where left-wing extremist violence and security force operations collide, at a panel discussion on ‘Mirroring the Truth’ organised as part of the International Media Festival of Kerala here on Tuesday.
How does a journalist write about villagers without making the government feel one is a Maoist sympathiser? On the other hand, if one does not write about the villagers thinking about the government, many of them get killed or end up in jail, Ms. Rokde says of their predicament.
A rare woman journalist in the region, Ms. Rokde says it is not easy to walk for hours together inside the forest to report on the condition of the villagers, their basic needs such as food, education and health, and even their grievances against the government and share these stories with the world.
Murder of Mukesh Chandrakar
The murder of Bijapur journalist Mukesh Chandrakar highlights the difficulties faced by journalists when they try to capture the reality of everyday lives of the people.
Ms. Rokde was one among a group of journalists who suspected something was afoot when they visited a site that was known to be one of Mukesh’s last-known locations. The site was owned by one of the contractors for a road project whose cost had ballooned from ₹50 crore to ₹120 crore.
After Ms. Rokde and other fellow journalists exerted pressure, a septic tank was broken open to reveal Mukesh’s body. He was murdered for exposing the corruption in the road project built by the Public Works department. “Journalists can end up losing their lives if they try to tell the truth. They may not even get justice. Only their family is left to fight for them,” she says.
Heavy presence of security forces
She also spoke of the disruption in people’s lives caused by the heavy presence of security forces in Bastar as the government tries to deal a final blow to the Naxals. “One camp of the security forces has as many personnel as the entire gathering in the audience here. Each village could have five camps. Bastar has become a war zone.”
Ms. Rokde says she does not know how the campaign by the security forces will end, but she does underline that the past few months have been very tough for the people of Bastar. “We do not know who or how many will become the casualties of this final push by the forces. Many villagers are getting caught in the cross hairs and they need to be saved. If journalists do not come forward, these innocent people will get killed.”
She is critical of the government’s ‘single-minded’ focus on finishing off the Maoists even as it tries to restore normalcy in the region. “The government is not focussing on health, education, or anything else.”
Journalist K.K. Shahina also spoke at the session moderated by N.S. Sajith.
