Naxal Bari of Kerala

On the night of November 24 1968 a group of sixty determined to change the world ran over a police station in the forests of Western Ghats. One of them was a girl young enough to be a senior secondary student. The group hacked to death a wireless operator fatally wounded an inspector and then went on to distribute the hoarded wealth of the feudal lords who had made slaves of tribal women and men trading them in village fairs and binding them in perpetual debt. They were declared murderous dacoits by the media the young woman's photograph was splashed every where as a warning. Thus was born the poster woman of Kerala's Naxal movement. The fascinating story of Ajitha is also that of Kerala's Naxalbari.