CHIKKAMAGALURU: Concerns about the future of her child made naxal Kanyakumari join the mainstream. After her surrender on Monday, she narrated how the protests against the Kudremukh National Park inspired her to join the movement and how the birth of her child changed her priorities.
“The Anti-Kudremukh National Park struggle by adivasis was at its peak when I was inspired by the movement. My sister Yashodha was associated with Karnataka Vimochana Ranga. When she was brought to Karkala court, we were not allowed to meet her”, she said.
“I was suffering from acute health problems. I was then brought to Bengaluru where I was introduced to Shivu whom I married in 2016. We have a six-month old child now. Thinking about the future of the child, I met (activist) Gowri Lankesh (asking her) to bring me to the mainstream, as the police were looking for me. Gowri madam helped me surrender”, she said.
For Shivu too, the upbringing of the child is a concern. The child should be permitted to meet her mother in jail, he says. “I came in contact with the organisation (Karnataka Vimochana Ranga) in 2002. After my marriage with Kanyakumari, we decided it was no use hiding any more,” he said.