In a first, tribals pay rich tributes to Maoist victims

‘Shanti Stupas’ appear on the first day of Martyrs’ Week

The stupa that was erected by the tribals at a weekly shandy in the Korukonda area on Sunday.

In what could be termed as a shot in the arm for the police, tribal people erected stupas and paid tributes to those killed by the Maoists after branding them as informers, in the Korukonda area in the Visakhapatnam Agency on Sunday.

This was probably the first time the tribals erected stupas in memory of the Maoist victims.

The development could be seen as a setback to the banned outfit, coming as it did on the first day of the Martyrs’ Week it was observing in memory of the cadres killed in the exchanges of fire with the police. As per sources, the stupas were found at a weekly shandy near Korukonda, which was considered the Maoist hotbed.

Naming them as ‘Shanthi Stupa’, the tribals have chosen a colour scheme, white and green, to signify peace in contrast to the red colour of the Maoists.

The tribals wrote the names of the Girijans killed by the Maoists and the date of their killing, and paid tributes to the victims.

The stupas were said to have been erected by a few organisations, people who were against the Maoist movement, and the families that had lost their loved ones at the hands of the Maoists.