So how did it all start—the documenting of the Maoist movement?
AP first offered me a position in Calcutta. When that didn’t work out, I was posted in Hyderabad. At that time, Andhra Pradesh was the hotbed of Maoism. Once I was there, I wanted to see the Naxalites, because for me, it was like going to Agra and not seeing the Taj Mahal. When I began interacting with them [Maoists], many of them were young, educated and were fighting for causes like development and basic rights, which we ignore in the cities. This was one of the pull factors that I wanted to photograph them again and again.
What did you make out of the situation?
In 2004, I was totally confused; I still am sometimes. So I shot everything. The more you see, the more you talk, you figure out. It was a reality check. And I loved it. People living in cities feel excellent about the benefits they have. They have the misplaced idea of reality, and the government plays on that. They don’t want you to see what’s outside of the city.
How easy or difficult was the access? And while documenting, you actually didn’t meet the top Maoist leaders. Was it because of the access?
Access is always difficult. I got this one through networking and telling them [the Maoists] about my intentions [project] being sincere.
I didn’t want to meet the top leaders. Leadership sucks everywhere. I’ve always been interested in why someone like you and me would want to join the Maoists. And over the years, I’ve met people, normal people, who have joined the Maoists. Anyone who is slightly frustrated with the system actually has supported the Maoists.
I think people at the grassroots level are the best people to photograph, talk to and understand the bigger problems because the movement is 99% grassroots.
Any particular moment or moments engraved in your memory during these assignments?
I met this person called Comrade Raju. We were sitting in his mud house at night with a kerosene light. He said: “What’s changed in the last 30 years? I used to study under a kerosene lamp, and 30 years down the line, I still have a kerosene lamp in front of me.” That struck me.
Another incident is about a police officer I met. After an 11-hour tractor ride from the Maoist camp, we met 13 police officers amid some 5,000 Maoists. We started talking. I asked if there were any FIRs (First Information Report), if anyone has lodged police complaints. He said, “Ten years, no complaints. No one comes to us for help. Why would they come to us for help? We can’t really help them. We can’t even help ourselves.”
A policeman had died three months before I met them. They kept asking for a helicopter to send the sick officer for treatment. [There was no quick response] and the guy passed away. The policeman added, “Their [Maoist] government is more democratic than ours.”
The statement depicts the reality. It showed so much of frustration in the forces. Why would they even want to fight? There’s no reason to fight, actually. So everyone, more or less, was/is getting into the whole Maoist mode.
So with statements like these, it’s easier to show and feel powerful when you write. It’s difficult to shoot. How do you do that?
It’s difficult to show it. I don’t know how I do it. I don’t know how I did but I did it.
Do you try to portray anything when you shoot?
I don’t try to portray anything because if you go with a set idea of what you want to portray, you may end up disappointed.
When I come back from Chattisgarh or any Maoist places, I’m spaced out for two weeks. I come back from Afghanistan, I’m cynical about God. I’m so cynical about god because the kind of abject poverty you see is shocking. Everyone is putting money in development while they don’t understand what development is. In Afghanistan, it’s not only about giving security to people, it’s about poverty. If the person has no money, he’ll join the Taliban or any group who will offer money, shelter. It’s the same thing in India, Pakistan and also Nepal.
What was it in photography that you liked and you decided to make it a profession?
I really liked the anti-establishment part. It’s a profession that’s looked down upon, and people ask, “You’re a photographer. So what else do you do?”
And also, media gives you a different kind of high. When you join the media, you decide that you’re going to change this and at least you try.
So through this project on the Maoists, are you just trying to do that then?
That’s the whole idea. Nepal has seen the Maoists as close as possible but India hasn’t. Indians know that they’re some criminals fighting for something. They don’t know the story and reason behind the movement. They don’t know their enemy, for that matter. There is no enemy, actually. So in India, people need a reality check.
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