Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Bhupati: From dreaded Maoist to Gondwana University coordinator in Gadchiroli

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

Bhupathi alias Abhay alias Mallojula Venugopal alias Sonu is a former Maoist who has become a coordinator at the Village Council Capacity Building and Training Centre at Gondwana University. | Photo Credit: Vinaya Deshpande

Life has taken a 180-degree turn for Bhupathi alias Abhay alias Mallojula Venugopal alias Sonu. He was once a dreaded Maoist, who had a bounty of ₹6 crore on his head, with the police of six different States chasing him. Less than a year after surrendering before the Maharashtra Police, an event that had led to the breaking of the back of Maoism in Maharashtra, the 70-year-old man now looks at a different future.

“I am the first person to end Maoism in this country. But what were we doing? There was no personal rivalry between the Maoists and the government. We were representing the tribals. We fought with the system as the representatives of the adivasis. Conflicts will stay till the tribals don’t feel safe, till they feel that ‘ Dada ’ (a Maoist) should have been there for them. Conflicts will stay till there are no radical changes, till there is no real rehabilitation for the tribals,” he said while speaking with The Hindu in Gadchiroli.

When The Hindu spoke with him, he was awaiting the result of the interview he had given for the position of a coordinator at the Village Council Capacity Building and Training Centre at Gondwana University. He has now been selected for it. He said he was happy to get the opportunity to work at the Gram Sabha level.

According to the University notification, the coordinators will visit various villages in Gadchiroli district to supervise the functioning of the Gram Sabhas and to create awareness among the local tribal communities about their rights, particularly under forest-related legislations such as PESA. They will receive a monthly stipend of ₹30,000 and travel allowance.

“Even today, our intention is to bring awareness among people. Many tribals are not aware about their rights. Why did we come out of the movement? Because we could not work for people, with arms. To struggle for them, we came out. There is no party anymore to go back to it. There is no need to go back to the party. We have left arms now. We can’t work with arms. There are different ways of working,” he said, adding that he was not inclined to join any mainstream political party either, despite getting several invites. He also refused the possibility of forming a political party. He expressed concern about the government acquiring fertile land of the tribals for development projects, leading to flashpoints.

Last year, Bhupathi’s letters, distributed widely among the Maoist cadres of the erstwhile ‘Red Corridor’, had led to many Maoists surrendering themselves.