JOIN USBaba makes naxals in AP peace lovers
What seemed to have bound the former naxals with Andhra Pradesh’s favourite son is the quest to provide the basic needs to those who are in dire need of it, though the approach taken may be a different one.
Deccan Herald managed to chat with two of such former naxalites who have turned to the “miracle man” completely contrary to the ideology that they once sworn by, which once drew them to take up arms to fight for people’s needs.
Both Vjaya Bhaskar Reddy, who was trained under Mallojula Koteshwar Rao alias Kishenji alias Prahlad alias Murali alias Ramji, and T D Baba, who revealed that there are at least 60 naxals living in and around Puttaparthi after turning to Baba, said his achievements have managed to meet the end they once fought for.
T D Baba even said that “Sai Baba is a ‘naxal’ who took the peace path.” His approach has, in fact, paid more dividends.
Reddy said: “I have seen both approaches from very close quarters. I’ve taken the path of violence from 1978 to 1992 and during the same time and till today, I have also been witnessing what Sri Baba has been achieving, you can be a judge of what has helped the people more.”
But that does not mean he regrets what he has done. Reddy was trained by Rao who is currently with the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and operates from Lalgarh, West Bengal. Reddy had undergone a three-month training in Dandakaranya forest bordering Orrisa, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh in 1979.
Reddy said: “We knew we were fighting for a cause. We had taken a path that was most suitable for us; and what we believed, at that time, to be the only real way. What we managed in so many years as opposed to this man (Sai Baba) was what changed my mind.”
Reddy began his “radical” career from the Radical Students’ Union, formed in 1974 and ended it in 1992 with his surrender. He has been living in Pennakonda and Puttaparthi since then.
Reddy, between 1982 and 1989 was the chief courier to Kondapalli Seetharam, the then president of Central Committee of Maoist Party, had the responsibility of Seetharam’s security and had conducted operations in Bangalore, Mysore, Hyderabad and Madras.
Recollections
Recollecting some of the stories his father Peddanna Reddy, who is also a former naxal, Reddy said: “Sai Baba and my father were friends. Sai Baba’s sister was married into our village and they visited us very often. My father has played the role of Krishna many times opposite Baba, who used to play Sathyabhama in the street plays.” That, he said, had not prevented his father from taking his path and even writing poetry criticising Sai Baba. But Baba, Reddy said, “did not keep any of this in mind for he wanted to spread love.”