It was about a year ago that sub inspector V. Krishnan Kutty was transferred from Attappady to Malappuram as circle inspector. He was working as the Special Officer for Tribal Affairs then. Though he earned appreciation from higher officials for taking serious efforts to prevent tribal land alienation and sexual abuse of tribal women, he was shifted out allegedly under pressure from mafias. The office of the special officer was closed for ever after his transfer.
Mr. Krishnan Kutty says that it would be very difficult for him to forget his eventful three years in Attappady, taking on powerful land encroachers and bootleggers. He had to fight tough battles with illegal sand miners and tourism promoters who encroached upon tribal land. On the food security front too, he intervened effectively by ensuring police contribution in tilling tribal lands for millet cultivation. All these varied experiences have forced him to write a novel on Attappady titled ‘Malleeswarante Makkal’.
The 160-page novel, published by Sahithya Pravarthaka Sahakarana Sanghom, will be released by the month-end.
“Malleeswaran is the most favourite deity of Attappady tribal people. They believe that he presides over their everyday existence from a hill named after him. The novel begins in the good old days when the tribespeople were happy and prosperous. Then it narrates the present plight of Attappady caused by the settlers and encroachers. The novel ends with a positive note with its lead characters deciding to bring back happiness to the suffering lot,” Mr. Krishnan Kutty says in an interaction with The Hindu
“It is a perfect novel vivid in details of tribal lives in Attappady. The author was able to detail how the tribal livelihood and culture were totally devastated in Attappady. It also has stark portrayals of how their women and land were exploited by the powerful encroachers. The issue of how alcoholism ruined tribal health and life pattern is also being discussed effectively in it,” says writer Sarah Joseph, who wrote the preface to the novel.
“Real life incidents have prompted me to write the novel. Both reality and fiction have been intermingled. Even the role of the police in Attappady is getting discussed in the novel,” says Mr. Krishnan Kutty.
Real life incidents have prompted him to write the novel, says V. Krishnan Kutty
