Friend to foe: Activist Himanshu Kumar remembers Mahendra Karma

The killing of Mahendra Karma, the founder of the controversial Salwa Judum movement to fight Maoists, by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh has split opinion over whether he was a hero as is being portrayed presently given his legacy. Karma’s cold-bloodied murder by the Maoists, who apparently danced as they sprayed his body with bullets, of course complicates the legacy of the movement and its founder. The manner of his death means that the story of Karma will either be told as one of a hero or as one of a villian. One opinion is that he was martyr, a man who stood up against the Maoist menace and helped the government operations against the insurgents. Another is Karma’s murder was the result of supporting a movement that caused mass human rights violations, gave arms to underage security personnel, and in general committed excesses against tribals under the guise of battling Maoists. [caption id=“attachment_818083” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Mahendra Karma in this file photo. PTI[/caption] Writing after the former minister’s death, activist  Himanshu Kumar gives a fairly personal account of a man both admired and reviled. Kumar used to run the Vanvasi Chetna Ashram an NGO in Dantewada, till he moved to Delhi fearing for his life. Writing about Karma, Kumar writes: I first met Mahendra Karma in 1992. We had organised a training programme for farmers at our NGO, Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, in Kanwalnar village in Dantewada, which was still part of Madhya Pradesh then…I became his admirer in my very first meeting with him. He was a very good orator. I have never heard anyone employ the Gondi language as powerfully as he did. However, Kumar’s relationship with Karma began to change in 2005, around the time Karma began backing Salwa Judum. Once reports of violence perpetrated by Salwa Judum began pouring in, Kumar’s ashram became a hotbed for human rights activists, journalists, who began to scrutinise Salwa Judum. The activist admits that Karma was not too happy with this and despite their families remaining close the two men gradually stopped discussing politics. The activist also claimed that the state began harassing workers at his ashram more after he began opposing the Salwa Judum movement. Then in 2009, Kumar was told one of his volunteers that " Mahendra Karma was sitting in the office of the district collector and screaming that he wanted freedom from Himanshu Kumar right away." After the police targeted the volunteer’s house, Kumar decided it would be prudent to leave and left Dantewada that very night. And while many of Kumar’s supporters may not have kind words about Karma, the activist himself says he was very saddened to hear of the leader’s death. “I may or may not have agreed with whatever Mahendra Karma did, but I must concede that he always impressed me with his intelligence and courage. I am deeply saddened by his killing today. I bid farewell to my loving friend with a heavy heart,” he says. You can read the full Tehelka piece here.