Nightmarch: A Journey into India’s Naxal Heartlands by Alpa Shah: Book Review

Title: Nightmarch: A Journey into India’s Naxal Heartlands

Author: Alpa Shah

Publisher: HarperCollins India Publishers

Publishing Date: 5^th November 2018

My Rating: 4 stars

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“In a country deeply divided by caste and class, it is remarkable that these groups of people at polar ends of society have come together- with no promise of a wage or other material interest or any form of public status- to fight for a better world.”- Alpa Shah

This is the first book, I read on Naxalites rebels and Maoist tribes in India, though I’ve read scores of articles and columns on Adivasi’s surrenders, encounters, and conflicts between them and the government. But I hardly understood, why the things were happening the way they happened. So, now you know, there was this peculiar interest in picking up this book.

In 2010, an anthropologist, Alpa Shah, was invited for taking interview of the most senior leader of the guerrilla army. This invitation extended to seven days long trek across the jungles from Bihar to Jharkhand, the central Indian areas of tribal and Adivasi people.

The author accounts the journey of her stay with the Naxalites and Maoist guerrillas revealing their daily struggles, their existence, and the complexities of their life. She also briefed out a little history that evoked Maoist revolution and insurgencies. She explains why Adivasis turn into Naxalites and talks about women in the Maoist groups, communist revolution, castes and tribal communities, and equality. She noted every minute detail of these revolutionaries and observed closely about their fight for their very survival.

Nightmarch is compelling and an outstanding account of Naxalites and Adivasi groups. This is the book you need to pick up to know and learn the struggles of Naxalites.

It is an important read which is gripping as well.

 

 

Have you happened to read this book? or thinking of it lately?

Do share your thoughts in the comments below.

 

-Harshita