………………………Presumption – where only death counts………………………
(Based on many true stories)
Written & Directed by Sudipto Sen
Produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah
May 24, 1967 when a group of radical leftists, known as CPI (Marxist-Leninist) killed four local landlords in the middle of a village market, in remote north-eastern sub-Himalayan area, Naxalbari, in Darjeeling District of West Bengal. That incidence unleashed a dreaded guerrilla warfare in India for next 50-years - called NAXALBARI movement.
Inspired by Chinese, Cuban, Russian and Vietnamese communist revolution, this guerrilla war groups in India are the splinter groups of Communist Party of India. They picked up leaders like Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Min, Lenin, Angels, Stalin as their role model. Chairman Mao provided ideological leadership to the movement, advocating Indian peasants and tribal overthrow the democratically elected government. Large number of urban elites and best of the students of elite universities of the country joined the movement eventually. Soon this guerrilla movement spread over 18 states of India, impacted 90 districts of the country.
In 70-years, Indian state failed to ensure Tribal autonomy, failed to ensure fare public distribution, failed to check rampant corruption, failed to ensure justice for caste-based exploitation. And, these failures only added fuel to this guerrilla warfare.
Next 50-years of this movement marked more than 72 thousand killings, 20 thousands brain drain and more than 3-trillion dollar of economic loss of the country. The stories of 100s of mindless mass killing incidences, ambush killings inside the forest, dances on dead bodies, peoples' court and annihilation of the 'class enemy' marked the longest and most deadly war against the democratic system in modern India. Not even heard anywhere in the world as well.
This Naxal or Maoist Movement is essentially an imported guerrilla movement, which wanted to follow the path of Chinese revolution - never been tailor-made for the multicultural diverse ground realities of India.
Beyond romantic implore of human rights and liberation, this deadly warfare yield anything else for the country? Did millions of tribal in India felt safe? How USD 100s of million worth of parallel dark economy united global mafias against the sovereignty of India?
Whilst these questions still remain unanswered the Guerrilla warfare still rages and today operates from their realm ‘Bastar.’ It is here that they found the tribal who just liked them lived a world of isolation. Tribal too are the ‘other’ to the world. A race of species just like us but not us. What happens in the realm that seems to be the haven of ‘the others’?
The biggest ever socio-political thriller on the longest ever guerrilla war involving 300-million population of the country - first time on the screen!