‘Dudiya: In Your Burning Land’: Finely-balanced autofiction about Naxal movement in Chhattisgarh

Much has been written in the past about Naxalism and the role it played in the lives of tribal people and the downtrodden. While some like to categorise its adherents into the simplistic narrative of being anti-national, others try to portray them as a people’s army fighting against the corrupt, Dudiya by Vishwas Patil treads the fine line by recounting the realities of people who experienced it, rather than falling prey to either of the aforementioned narratives.

The book was originally written in Marathi and translated into English by Nadeem Khan. Patil, apart from being a prolific Marathi writer, was also an IAS officer who met Dudiya while on a trip to a Naxal-dominated area as a senior election officer.

In the story, Dilip Pawar, a civil servant, receives a government order that he is supposed to be the Election Observer in Chhattisgarh, for which he must to spend 76 days in one of the districts. Worried about his safety, he reaches the district and is welcomed by several officers and police personnel. Eventually, his colleagues fill him in on the history of the region and the events that led to the introduction of Naxalism from other parts of the country, and add on a list of officers and politicians who were killed by Naxalites.

A life of one’s own

As Pawar gradually realises the gruesome oppression that the tribal population of the area have been subjected to since Independence, he empathises with them. At the same time, he remembers his duty as a civil servant and is eager to know more about ground realities. Amidst all of this, he continuously lives in fear for his life, as Naxals are known for obstructing the voting process.

Pawar’s hunger for stories of the Naxal brigade leads him towards Dudiya, a young tribal woman who used to be a Naxalite before surrendering and now works in the quarters of civil servants, cooking delicious dishes for them. As he asks her for stories from her life as a Naxalite, the reader is transported into the life of a regular tribal family trying to live their rough lives peacefully even as they are continuously pushed to the margins. Dudiya talks of why she ran away from her home to join the Red Army in the Abujhmarh forests.

Dudiya is an ambitious tribal who wants a better life for herself, and for this, she is ready to do whatever it takes. But as she grows older, her father decides to get her married. Soon she realises that she’ll have to follow a certain tradition that requires married women to stop wearing blouses. Even though she tries to protest, she knows it will all be in vain and she will be stripped of it. As a determined young woman, she decides to leave and join the Naxal forces instead.

Before long she is in complete awe of the environment that the Naxalites have created for themselves – a life which is exactly the opposite of the one she led in her village. The discipline, uniforms, and fiery speeches by senior comrades convince her to become even more dedicated towards the cause. But reality intervenes and lays bare the duplicitousness within the Naxal camps. Dudiya finds herself vulnerable, and what follows is her struggle for survival and escape.

The failures of a revolution

Dudiya tries to navigate the cracks of nationalism and traces the local narratives of tribal people trying to negotiate the numerous hurdles that are put in front of them. Its story is that of a rebellious young woman determined to make a difference in her life, who eventually realises the trap she has fallen into. As she decides to flee, she recognises that the punishment for being caught is death.

Whether it’s the foreign administrative system that hinders their traditional lifestyle, or alienation from their jal, jungle and zameen (water, forest and land) which they have been using for centuries without causing any harm, the travails of Dudiya’s people are included seamlessly in the novel. It also touches upon the rampant sexual assault inflicted on tribal women by mainland officers and administrators.

Of course, no one here can be categorised starkly as black or white. Whether it’s the civil servants who are supposed to uphold the constitution of the country or the Naxal leaders dreaming of ushering in a revolution for an egalitarian society, each of them considers themselves to be in the right. Since power often tends to corrupt, promises of revolution and liberation sometimes disadvantage the very people it seeks to free. The translator has done a splendid job of creating a voice that Vishwas Patil’s Marathi needed.

Dudiya: In Your Burning Land, Vishwas Patil, translated from the Marathi by Nadeem Khan, Thornbird/Niyogi Books.