The rationality that the Telugu society cultivated 50 years ago—rejecting state oppression and embracing humanistic values—now seems to have been turned upside down.
Published Apr 05, 2025 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Apr 05, 2025 | 9:00 AM
Security forces now pose for photographs in front of piles of dead bodies, just as British colonial hunters once posed with the tigers they had killed. (Representational photo)
Synopsis: When an ordinary citizen commits murder, it is a punishable offense. But if the government itself, through the home minister, announcing deadlines for killing people, is that not a crime? And when so-called intellectuals clap and cheer for these murders, is that not a crime too?
Five decades ago, poet Cherabandaraju summed up the nature of this country’s state and governance in a single sentence: “This is a state that kills infants, a governance run by brute forces.”
Similarly, Varavara Rao stated, “When crime itself becomes power, and hunt down people calling them criminals, then every silent person with a voice is also a criminal.”
The rationality that the Telugu society cultivated 50 years ago—rejecting state oppression and embracing humanistic values—now seems to have been turned upside down. Some are not just staying silent about the brutal violence inflicted by the state on its people and the relentless massacres being reported daily; they are actively justifying it.
Some so-called intellectuals are even urging the state to escalate the violence against its citizens. They are calling for more terror, more bloodshed, and more killings while glorifying the violence of the state with chilling slogans.
There is a time and place for every statement, but the words of these ‘intellectuals’ are entirely misplaced. Their violent encouragement comes at a time when ruthless massacres are taking place.
The Union home minister himself is setting deadlines and making inhuman declarations about wiping out people. Since 1 January 2024, when a six-month-old infant was killed, over 400 people have been slaughtered in these 15 months under this merciless, murderous regime called Operation Kagar. Every day, we witness the horror unfold before our eyes.
Security forces now pose for photographs in front of piles of dead bodies, just as British colonial hunters once posed with the tigers they had killed and sent the photos back to their homeland.
These forces are proudly releasing such images to the media and propaganda channels. The murderers celebrate their killings by distributing sweets, dancing in joy, and publicly sharing these gruesome images.
Border Security Force (BSF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) meant to protect national frontiers, by their name, have absurdly turned the forests of central India into their battlegrounds.
The government has shamelessly revived the Salwa Judum militia under different names, despite the Supreme Court ruling it unconstitutional. Every time a mass killing occurs, the home minister himself congratulates the perpetrators.
This entire bloodbath is part of a larger plan to hand over the country’s rich mineral wealth to multinational corporations and foreign investors. The strategy involves evicting Adivasis (tribal communities) from their forest lands.
To do so, the state instills fear among them and systematically eliminates the Maoists who stand with Adivasis in their struggle for Jal, Jungle, Zameen (water, forest, land), and dignity.
Of the 400 people killed by the state so far in the last 15 months, more than 200 were unarmed Adivasis, proving that the so-called “elimination of Maoists” is just a smokescreen.
Adivasi students, young boys and girls, farmers working in fields, and those collecting forest produce have all fallen victim to this state-sponsored carnage. This reveals the true motive behind the killings—exterminating the Adivasi population, terrorising them, making them defenseless, evicting them from the forests, and handing over mineral-rich lands to corporations.
Anyone with a brain and a heart can see this clearly. Students of history understand that no matter which party holds power, all rulers of this country have followed the same script.
But what is truly shocking is what transpired at a conference in Hyderabad last Saturday, 29 March.
Listening to the words of some ‘intellectuals’ at the event, one cannot help but wonder—has our society decayed this much? After all their education, high-ranking jobs, and privileged positions, have they reduced themselves to nothing more than cheerleaders for murderers?
At this conference, two former IAS officers and a former IPS officer delivered lengthy speeches. These officials had sworn oaths to uphold the Indian Constitution and protect it. But one must question whether they have ever read the Constitution—do they even remember Article 19 and Article 21?
While they encouraged more killings with enthusiastic chants, did they not realise that any individual taking another’s life is a crime that law courts must investigate and punish?
When an ordinary citizen commits murder, it is a punishable offense. But if the government itself, through the home minister, announcing deadlines for killing people, is that not a crime? And when so-called intellectuals clap and cheer for these murders, is that not a crime too?
Even the government, bound by law, cannot take a single life outside “the procedure established by law”. The Constitution and democratic values demand that any killings carried out without arrests and trials be condemned.
Any civilized government should be told that announcing deadlines for exterminating people is the language of street thugs, not that of a modern democratic administration.
But these ‘great’ former IAS and IPS officers have abandoned even the most basic constitutional, democratic, humane, and civilized thinking.
One of them declared, “Once a government is elected through the voting rights granted by the Constitution, there is no room for violence.” Does this mean there is room for government violence?
Another stated, “When national sovereignty and societal stability are threatened, one must work within the legal framework.”
Yet, we see violations of legal frameworks happening right before our eyes. Thousands of such violations occurred during these officials’ 30-year-long careers. Article 38 is openly violated, leading to extreme inequalities that disrupt national sovereignty and social stability. In such a scenario, who exactly is working within the legal framework?
Another ‘intellectual’ claimed, “It is not right to say that a state can be established through the barrel of a gun.”
We can debate whether establishing a state in such a manner is right or wrong. But before making such statements, the particular officer should reflect on how many times he and his forces used the barrel of a gun to suppress people merely for voicing social concerns or expecting constitutional governance. How many hundreds of lives did he and his regime take in his three decades of service? If only he had expressed some remorse before making such statements!
The Martyrs’ Memorial Research Institute, which organised the conference titled “The Changing Colours of Naxalism,” declared that “Naxalism has now changed colours—it has moved into universities, media, NGOs, and legal battles under the guise of Urban Naxalites.”
They argue that instead of relying solely on guns, these ‘Urban Naxalites’ are using social media platforms to spread propaganda and radicalize youth. They believe that counter-campaigning against them is necessary. They claim that academics, media persons, NGOs, and human rights activists operating as ‘Urban Naxals’ have become a challenge even for the central government, and so this organization has decided to assist the government. This conference was organized in support of Home Minister Amit Shah’s attempt to eliminate Naxalism by March 2026.
It is impossible to debunk all their lies and half-truths in a single article. When so much false information, anti-people sentiment, constitutional violations, servitude to power, and inhumanity combine, it creates a toxic, venomous ideology. However, this is nothing new—this has been the agenda of their parent organization for the past hundred years. Now, with the central government in their hands, they dare to spread such venom openly under the guise of intellectualism.
The notion that Naxalism has ‘changed colours’ is sheer ignorance. Intellectuals everywhere contemplate issues like inequality, exploitation, and oppression. Such discussions have always taken place in universities, media platforms, and social movements. This is not a new phenomenon, nor is it a shift in ideology.
Fifty-three years ago, student leader George Reddy worked to raise student consciousness in the university, and he was brutally murdered on the college campus by goons from the same ideological camp. What is new about this?
Universities are spaces for intellectual discourse and diverse perspectives. But the ruling establishment despises the very idea of free thinking. After all, fascism, as Kaloji Narayana Rao puts it, is the doctrine of silencing any dissent. Their ideological ancestors learned from Mussolini and wished to implement Hitler’s vision here.
To them, independent thought and free expression—whether in universities, media, NGOs, or legal activism—are all threats. Their ideology is simple: people don’t matter, thoughts don’t matter.
If our society fails to condemn the ongoing massacres and instead justifies, encourages, and cheers for this bloodshed, we must ask—has it truly rotted to this extent?
(The writer is the editor of an independent, small Telugu monthly journal of society and political economy, running for the past 23 years. Views expressed here are personal. Edited by Majnu Babu).
