Sunday, Apr 13, 2003
Sunday, Apr 13, 2003 |
| Southern States | ||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Southern States
-
Tamil Nadu
By V.S. Palaniappan
Having exhausted the options of wall-writings, posters and village-level meetings to announce a cash reward for any information on Veerappan and his associates, the STF has now turned to the troupe, which will stage streetplays, skits, dramas and debates in every tribal hamlet and in villages on the periphery of the forest. Talking to The Hindu, R. Nataraj, Additional Director-General of Police, STF, said the troupe, consisting of 10 members including three women, visited various segments of the forest, right from Sirumugai in Coimbatore up to Anjetti in Dharmapuri, sprawling over four revenue districts. N.K. Senthamaraikannan, M. Ashok Kumar and Shanmugavel, Superintendents of Police, STF, would choose the villages in their areas of operation and arrange for the visit of the troupe. It could be an effective vehicle of communication to dispel myths and pre-conceived notions about the brigand. The illiterate tribals, who were shy of speaking to people, would be at ease watching the troupe. The exercise of explaining to the villagers and tribals the history of Veerappan, especially his excesses, outrage and the number of murders he committed, especially of innocent civilians and police and forest personnel, would certainly help the STF in breaking the "Robin Hood" and "friend of the poor" image the bandit enjoyed among the people living in and around the jungles, the ADGP said. The troupe would also enlighten the tribals/villagers on the huge reward of Rs. 5.5 crores announced by both the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka Governments. It would not merely attract the villagers, citing the cash reward, but also try to impress on them the need for cooperating with the STF in accomplishing a decade-old mission. The STF never believed in obtaining tribal cooperation by force or intimidation; it was trying to bring about an attitudinal change and a transformation in the mindset of the villagers. The drama, skit and streetplays would also explain how the villagers could banish the brigand, help the STF in nabbing him, instil confidence in the villagers and give them a guarantee that their information would be kept confidential, besides protecting the informants and their identity. The STF would provide the troupe with an account of the history of the brigand and his criminal antecedents, besides the list of offences committed by him. The troupe would design the script and make the presentation interestingly to win rapt attention. Local slang and dialects would be used depending on the location. In villages along the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border, the troupe would use a mix of Tamil and Kannada.
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | Home |
Copyright © 2003, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
