Chief Minister Releases Book 'Bastar Tiger'

• 05 Aug 2022

Why In News?

• On August 4, 2022, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel released the book 'Bastar Tiger' based on the life of martyr late Mahendra Karma on the eve of his birth anniversary at his residence office.

Key points

• Written by authors Kunal Shukla and Preeti Upadhyay, this book shares the untold aspects of the life of martyr Mahendra Karma, popularly known as Bastar Tiger.
• Through this book, martyr Mahendra Karma's thinking towards the development of tribals and his deep faith in democratic values has been placed before the readers.
• Martyr Mahendra Karma was inspired by the ideas of Gandhi-Nehru. He tried for peace in Bastar throughout his life. In the book, the thoughts about the Salwa Judum of Shaheed Mahendra Karma have been presented to the readers for the first time.
• Significantly, Mahendra Karma was the leader of Chhattisgarh Congress. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly from 2004 to 2008. In 2005, he played an important role in organizing the Salwa Judum movement against Naxalites in Chhattisgarh. He was the Minister of Industries and Commerce in the Ajit Jogi government cabinet since the formation of the state.
• On May 5, 2013, 28 Congress leaders including Mahendra Karma, then Congress President Nand Kumar Patel, MLA Uday Mudaliar were attacked and killed by Naxalites in Darbha Valley while returning from the Parivartan rally organized by the Congress in Sukma. Former Union Minister Vidyacharan Shukla, who was seriously injured in the attack, died during treatment.