‘Maoist India’ Documentary Airs Today

Community radio stations across the United States and internationally are expected to share a remarkable documentary today on India’s Naxalite insurgency, told from the perspective of that South Asian country’s most oppressed people.

Free Speech Radio News, renowned for its investigative reporting, hosts a weekday news program, featuring independent journalists from around the world. On Dec. 25, it is broadcasting to its affiliates “Maoist India: The Search for Economic Justice,” a half-hour special on the Naxal movement. Check the list of stations broadcasting the Naxalite documentary to find where it’s playing in your area, or listen on FSRN’s website.

At a time when criticism of Operation Green Hunt is growing, and on a day when many people are home and able to listen to the radio, this documentary is one of the most important openings to educate the general public about the abuses India’s poorest face, and their organizing for revolutionary change. This program is as harrowing as it is enraging. The voices of people tortured and raped by Indian police, farmers battling for their very survival and Naxalites who stand to defend them are all a part of the program. Their stories are at points sorrowful. Their determination in many instances is inspiring. This is a program everyone should hear.

Free Speech Radio News should be commended for its courage in dedicating a full news program to talk about globalization, the impact of mining on farmers, women’s oppression and all the issues that the Naxalites have rightfully said must end. The show should also be noted for trying to tell a complex story to a wide audience, and crediting the Maoists for their positive efforts, while giving a human face to the Indian government’s scorched-earth policies in their suppression activities.

Please send Free Speech Radio News producers an email to thank them for airing this program. FSRN’s board can be contacted at board@fsrn.org and its production team can be reached at producers@fsrn.org. Registered users can post comments to its website. In addition, FSRN is seeking financial support to keep its gutsy reporting going. Visit FSRN’s donation page to make a contribution.