Mahendra Karma
Encyclopedia
Mahendra Karma is a politician
from Chhattisgarh
, India
. He was the leader of the opposition in the Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha from 2003 to 2008 and belongs to the Congress party
. In 2005, he organised the Salwa Judum
movement against Naxalites (Maoists) in Chattisgarh. The initiative was praised by the Chief Minister Raman Singh
, but has been criticized as a "Vigilante militia" (sic
) by pro-Naxalite
groups. He was a minister in the Ajit Jogi
cabinet.
scam in the 1990s led to the large scale illegal felling of trees in Bastar. It’s a classic instance of how forest and timber resources in the region have been cornered by non-adivasi and adivasi elites.
The CBI FIR stated
"The facts contained in the writ petition, reports of Lok Ayukta and its connected papers, prima
facie show that the above-named officials of Govt. of Madhya Pradesh and land owners namely
Mahendra Karma, Rajaram Todem, Suresh Chand Surana, Srinivasan Awasthi, Brij Mohan Gupta
and others were party of criminal conspiracy during 1992-96 to cause wrongful gain to the land
owners in the matter of felling trees. It is alleged that the accused public servants bestowed undue
favours to the said land owners and others and illegally accorded permission to fell a large number
of valuable timber trees on the basis of forged and fabricated documents and in utter disregard of
the provisions of the MP Protection of Aboriginal Tribes (Interest in Trees) Rule 1957 and Madhya
Pradesh Land Revenue Code 1959."
According to a CBI letter dated 14.10.1999, FIRs had been filed against ten people for offences
between 1992 and 1996 in 56 villages. However, no further action has been taken against Mahendra
Karma or any of the other accused.
, formed the Salwa Judum, a supposedly anti-Naxalite movement led by local elites. Despite being an opposition party member, Karma aggressively lobbied in order to get bipartisan support for the Salwa Judum, and largely succeeded in 2005, when Salwa Judum was adopted by the state government and recruited as a corp of "Special Police Officers". They were given broad latitude in their actions. After the Supreme Court expressed disapproval of the Salwa Judum movement in 2008 and asked the state of Chhattisgarh to implement remedial measures mentioned in the National Human Rights Commission report which had detailed widespread human rights abuses committed by the Salwa Judum, the movement slowly started to disappear from the Chhattisgarh state.
In 2008 he was showcaused by the election commission as he was photographed by a media outlet , allegedly offering money to vote for him. An FIR was also lodged. It was asked of him to "take it easy" and blamed him for the large scale exodus that took place from the villages by terrorised villagers . An estimated 60,000 people become refugees in their own homeland.
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
from Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh is a state in Central India, formed when the 16 Chhattisgarhi-speaking South-Eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained separate statehood on 1 November 2000....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He was the leader of the opposition in the Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha from 2003 to 2008 and belongs to the Congress party
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
. In 2005, he organised the Salwa Judum
Salwa Judum
Salwa Judum refers to a militia in Chhattisgarh, India, which is aimed at countering the naxalite violence in the region...
movement against Naxalites (Maoists) in Chattisgarh. The initiative was praised by the Chief Minister Raman Singh
Raman Singh
Raman Singh is the current Chief Minister of Chhatisgarh, from the Bharatiya Janata Party. He has been chief minister since December 7, 2003.-Political career:Dr. Raman Singh holds a degree in Ayurvedic Medicine...
, but has been criticized as a "Vigilante militia" (sic
Sic
Sic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
) by pro-Naxalite
Naxalite
The word Naxal, Naxalite or Naksalvadi is a generic term used to refer to various militant Communist groups operating in different parts of India under different organizational envelopes...
groups. He was a minister in the Ajit Jogi
Ajit Jogi
Ajit Jogi was the first chief minister of the state of Chhattisgarh, India. He currently represents the Marwahi Scheduled Tribe constituency in the state assembly and is a member of the Indian National Congress political party....
cabinet.
Career
Karma was accused of criminal conspiracy in a CBI FIR report dated 8.12.1998 on the malik makbuja scam. The malik makbuja right refers to the right of peasants to cut trees on their own land. A widespreadscam in the 1990s led to the large scale illegal felling of trees in Bastar. It’s a classic instance of how forest and timber resources in the region have been cornered by non-adivasi and adivasi elites.
The CBI FIR stated
"The facts contained in the writ petition, reports of Lok Ayukta and its connected papers, prima
facie show that the above-named officials of Govt. of Madhya Pradesh and land owners namely
Mahendra Karma, Rajaram Todem, Suresh Chand Surana, Srinivasan Awasthi, Brij Mohan Gupta
and others were party of criminal conspiracy during 1992-96 to cause wrongful gain to the land
owners in the matter of felling trees. It is alleged that the accused public servants bestowed undue
favours to the said land owners and others and illegally accorded permission to fell a large number
of valuable timber trees on the basis of forged and fabricated documents and in utter disregard of
the provisions of the MP Protection of Aboriginal Tribes (Interest in Trees) Rule 1957 and Madhya
Pradesh Land Revenue Code 1959."
According to a CBI letter dated 14.10.1999, FIRs had been filed against ten people for offences
between 1992 and 1996 in 56 villages. However, no further action has been taken against Mahendra
Karma or any of the other accused.
Formation of Salwa Judum
Karma, an ethnic adivasiAdivasi
Adivasi is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups claimed to be the aboriginal population of India. They comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India...
, formed the Salwa Judum, a supposedly anti-Naxalite movement led by local elites. Despite being an opposition party member, Karma aggressively lobbied in order to get bipartisan support for the Salwa Judum, and largely succeeded in 2005, when Salwa Judum was adopted by the state government and recruited as a corp of "Special Police Officers". They were given broad latitude in their actions. After the Supreme Court expressed disapproval of the Salwa Judum movement in 2008 and asked the state of Chhattisgarh to implement remedial measures mentioned in the National Human Rights Commission report which had detailed widespread human rights abuses committed by the Salwa Judum, the movement slowly started to disappear from the Chhattisgarh state.
In 2008 he was showcaused by the election commission as he was photographed by a media outlet , allegedly offering money to vote for him. An FIR was also lodged. It was asked of him to "take it easy" and blamed him for the large scale exodus that took place from the villages by terrorised villagers . An estimated 60,000 people become refugees in their own homeland.