Jangalnama Travels in a Maoist Guerilla Zone Satnam

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

Maoist guerillas-always on the move, always on guard-living deep in the jungles of Bastar. Outlawed, demonized and hunted by the state, they are perceived with fear, incomprehension and terror by the outside world.

Satnam spent two months in remarkable intimacy with the guerillas: travelling with them, sharing their food and shelter, experiencing their lives first hand. Through his up-close and personal account of their daily lives, we register them as human, made of flesh and bone. We are persuaded to appreciate their commitment to root out oppression.

Jangalnama is not merely a travelogue recording Satnam’s days in the jungle. It is a compelling argument to recognize the humanity of those in conflict with the mainstream of Indian society and to acknowledge their dream of a world free of exploitation.

Satnam is an activist and writer who has published on national and international issues in various magazines and newspapers. Jangalnama, his first major book in Punjabi, has been translated into many Indian languages.

Vishav Bharti is a journalist working with a national daily in Chandigarh.

Preface

Jangalmnama is not a book of research on jungles, nor is it an imaginary, literary piece, part truth and part fantasy. It portrays the everyday life of communist guerrillas in the forests of Bastar, and also that of the tribals, whom I met during my travels. You could call it pages from a diary or a travelogue.

The characters in this book, who are always prepared to sacrifice themselves for their ideals, are living human beings. Outlawed and declared rebels by the establishment, they wish to turn their dream into reality - the dream of a new era and a new life.

What does history have in store for the guerrillas and the tribals? Only time will tell. But the turn that they want to give to history is recounted here in their own words.