The mega article by Arundhati Roy - OUTLOOK March 29 2010

WALKING WITH THE COMRADES
Arundhati Roy, the master story teller has in the mega article made me walk along with her for miles and miles, took me where she went and made me see what she saw with her eyes and made me feel what she felt to some extent and also made me read the hard core of her article, the history of the Naxal/Mao movement which I would have skipped had I not walked with her or seen with her eyes, which, possibly is the major success of her odyssey.

Arundhati has moved with the foot soldiers of the movement, meandering around the Jungle trails of Danatewada getting and imbibing the feel of their motivation, what drives them, their small joys and pains, worries, fears and aspirations. The foot soldiers, totally and blissfully unaware of the setup of the higher echelons organising, planning, directing the movement of this magnitude and their motivating force, are content to carry out the biddings; moving single file night in and night out , not even aware of the final destination and what awaits them at the next bound...

It is amazing how they are living, surviving, fighting, and also dying totally unmindful of personal issues, emotional problems, privation, sickness or fear of the uncertain destiny awaiting them.

Though myself having been a foot soldier once with no voice of my own in the ongoing affairs, obeying orders like a robot, orders emanating from somewhere higher up, I am still not convinced about the method adopted by them and more so by those directing them from a safe distance to achieve their political or otherwise goals, what ever they may be and hatever be the provocation.