Oppressed Tribals

ON the pretext of eradication of naxalism the Andhra Pradesh government has unleashed unprecedented violence on the people of north Telangana districts. Encounter has become a synonym for police murder. Police officials, often warn the person who questions their brutalities, "I'll 'encounter' you, if you do not change your attitude of questioning". Every move of the masses against the exploitation and repression by landlords is viewed through the eyes of law and order. Most of the villages in north Telangana have become camps of Andhra Pradesh State Police (APSP), CRPF, BSF and ITBF. These armed forces maintain law and order in the villages under the guidance of landlords. The landlords and police forces unitedly run the administration of the village. Any opposition to their domination leads to encounters. Even workers' organisations and students' unions have been branded as extremists' wings. In fact, these mass organisations have been organising, for the past 20 years, the downtrodden people against cultural and economic hegemony.