Basavaraju loved dried fish, volleyball: Ex-Maoist top gun looks back on life under his cadre leader

For Jampanna, the Maoist top gun, Basavaraju was always “Ganganna”. That is how he addressed him for 25 years, till he surrendered to the Telangana government and joined mainstream life in 2017. 

Jampanna, or G. Narasimha Reddy, was a member of the central committee of Maoists for 17 years. Today, he is the founder of the Peace Dialogue Committee, which urges the state and central government to engage in a dialogue with Maoists, in a bid to shun violence and resolve conflicts.

“He was widely addressed as B.R. Dada. Short form of Basavaraju Dada,” he said. Basavaraju died recently in an encounter with security forces in Chattisgarh. 

Jampanna recollected that Basavaraju had a special fondness for non-vegetarian food, especially seafood. 

“Since he hails from Srikakulam district which is a coastal area, he naturally likes seafood. But I found that he loves dried fish. It gave him happiness to eat it. But he was not particular about it and believed in eating whatever was available.”

ALSO READ | Naxalite Basavaraju encounter: A carefully planned 21-day operation led to the killing of top Maoist leader

A kabaddi and volleyball player during his student days, Basavaraju made sure that his cadre played sports whenever they found the time, so as to keep themselves fit, Jampanna said. 

“Kabaddi could result in injuries so it was ruled out. So, we used to play volleyball and badminton. I played sports with him in Dandakaranya and Telangana. He was a man with lot of energy and good fitness levels. In the late 1980’s, he was almost captured when 3-4 plain clothed policemen spotted him. He tackled all of them and managed to flee.”

Jampanna also recalled that Basavanna was someone hard-working, idealistic and sincere. 

A product of NIT, Warangal (REC), Basavaraju would educate his group members on various technical subjects. Later on, it was world politics, current affairs, social issues and national news, said Jampanna. 

ALSO READ | Eclipsed by 'Operation Sindoor', 'Kagar' sees ceasefire, deaths and surrender as Maoists feel suffocated

“He would talk at length about how Maoists should be friends of people and win their hearts. He wasn’t proud of his educational background or intellectual capacities, he was a simple man. His personality and speeches attracted people as he would convincingly talk about revolution and sacrifices.” 

Jampanna also noted how Basavanna had been against the extensive use of technology, as it would steer his cadre away from their goals by distracting them. 

“He did not like the usage of laptops and phones and even conveyed to the members that they should not get addicted to them as it would also pose a risk to them. He started using devices like tab in the later years as it was one way of reading and also knowing about current events,” Jampanna recalls. 

India