Chandrashekhar

Suniye, shriman veerappan sahab
I am fully and finally ashamed to belong to a country where more than one billion men, women and children are at the mercy of a man-monster. They can do nothing but nothing to save God’s good man, the great Kannada actor, Dr Raj Kumar, from the clutches of a monster called Veerappan. I am much more ashamed of all the saints and prophets and holy men who have been praying for his release from the ruthless hands of the monster who can hold entire governments, entire armed forces, the entire force of the so-called masses who are supposed to be the saviours of the entire country who has committed no harm even to a rabbit which he can with just one call in anguish to his dedicated followers. But what’s happening, nothing, just talks, talks, negotiations, negotiations and more negotiations, almost reaching a point of negotiating nonsense between the man who means no sense and the men who, it is their duty, to make him see sense. And all this is happening at the time when mahaan India has just entered a new millennium where other countries are making the kind of progress which mankind will be proud of in the many more millenniums to come. The decision to make a film on the life of Veerappan has been tried again and again and has failed, naturally, because the truth, the biting truth about Veerappan and his wild ways will never be known to anyone, least of all to our siesta-specialists, politicians running governments who are responsible for this massive imbroglio. I am disturbed and disillusioned by the many gurus and lovers of ahimsa and peace who have also tried their best in the ways of the Mahatma, qualities that are supposed to be the hallmarks of every genuine Indian and have failed more miserably than the politicians. Veerappan is still busy growing beard and maybe growing into some kind of a new sanyasi in the jungles ruled by Veerappan while the negotiating nonsense is still going on.

This is just a last attempt I am making on behalf of my friend, the veteran leading man, filmmaker, character actor and effortless and effective leader, Chandrashekhar. It is a letter addressed to his "countryman" Veerappan and it reads:

Shriman Veerappan,

In my sincere observations with a little bit of ..... there seems to be no change in your thinking whatsoever. You, Shriman Veerappan, can re-write, the modern history of Rishi Valmiki.

According to our ancient history of 10,00,00 years, a brute, dreaded dacoit and a murderer who was a total illiterate, that is Ratnakar Ruchi Valmiki.
Shriman Veerappan, you have God’s given qualities of being sharp, intelligent, determined and the mind of a strategist above a calibre which is very high. Instead of putting so many untenable demands, you may just demand that your associates will not be punished but treated mentally and physically in the best human Indian tradition, so that they get transformed and can be useful to society.

In your case you may ask pardon from death sentence and subject yourself to the Supreme Court. Further, for your children, you may ask for providing them good education and sanskar, so that they can be useful citizens of this country. This would be a saving grace to yourself and to the judiciary.

My dear country man, age is just advancing on you. God forbid, in case you fall seriously ill then how can you get modern treatment in the dense jungles where you rule. Jail cannot be a karagar for you in reality. It can be an Ashram for reformation and enlightenment. Just like Nehru, Babu Rajendra Prasad and Mahatma Gandhi, who with very useful pieces written from jail made a great impact on the people of the country. As one who is bound to die and wherein you die or get killed while you will be running away from the law then the natives will celebrate. It will be their day of deliverance. They will have got rid of a man who, according to them, was worse than the devil’s elder brother.
But, after your reformation, your death can make the nation shed tears and make you immortal! The God-gifted qualities you possess of dare-devil and guerrilla tactics can be put to great use to safeguard our great country. It is now upto you to decide whether you want to re-write the modern history of the great Rishi Valmiki or die disgracefully as a fugitive, cursed by humanity as a whole. I hope my suggestion (and I am 77) will be taken seriously by a young man like you. All you have to do as long as you have the will of a man is to take a decision, all you have to, if you are still a man, and have a conscience, all you have to do if you still have a soul, all you have to do if you are a man who still cares for your wife, your children and the hundreds of wives and children you have hacked, tortured, tormented, massacred, mauled, left to die deaths worse than animals would not ask for.

Thank you, Shriman Saheb for listening to a humble, meek and mild Indian who still cares for India, for Indians and more than anyone, for you.


Ali Peter John