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ister Julie Mathew shudders as she recalls her brush with death on a cold winter night nine years ago. Stationed at a school for tribal girls in the remote central Indian village of Gangaloor, Sister Julie and her charges were roused from their sleep around 2 a.m. A mob had gathered near the gate of the compound, demanding she open it. Suspecting the mob included members of a Maoist rebel group eager to attack an adjoining police outpost, she refused. Undeterred, the Naxalites — as they are known — used a bamboo pole to climb a tree to carry out their attack. Gunfire and explosions sounded. Sister Julie, who was then in her early 30’s, instructed the girls, about 50 students between the ages of 5 and 18, to lie flat on the floor. Shards of glass rained upon them as the crossfire shattered the windows. “Our hearts were beating fast with fear. I was sure we all would be killed,” she says. We only had one option, she continues: prayer. After some time, they heard a loud explosion, followed by silence. Sister Julie — a member of a SyroMalabar Catholic community of sisters known as the Deen Bandhu Samaj (Hindi for “Friend of the Poor Society”) — later learned the assault ended suddenly after one of the attackers tripped carrying a deadly bomb. These violent episodes have been common in this part of central India for the past three decades.
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lush area of hills, valleys and forests, the Bastar region in the state of Chhattisgarh encompasses seven districts covering more than 15,000 square miles. More than a third of the population is considered Adivasi, an umbrella term for India’s many native tribes and ethnic groups, which for centuries have been marginalized, exploited and impoverished.
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