NEW DELHI - Here's "adventure tourism" with a twist. India's western desert
state of Rajasthan will soon be launching dacoit tourism packages in the region
under which erstwhile bandits will act as tour guides.
So the next time you visit India, forget about the Taj Mahal, the beautiful
Kerala backwaters or Kashmir's salubrious surroundings. Plump instead for a
morning cuppa with a fiercely mustachioed bandit on the banks of River Chambal
or dinner with a gun-strapped highwayman in the deep, dark woods.
The dacoit (or bandit) package is part of a larger plan by Rajasthan tourism to
open up the jungle and the ravines in the Chambal river valley to visitors. The
state government feels the
move will not only help develop the area and upgrade its tourism
infrastructure, but also showcase the state's culture by offering something
quite unique.
The innovative proposal for dacoit tourism - perhaps the world's first such
idea - is the brainchild of the Dang Area Development Board (DADB), a
government outfit set up to focus on the development and modernization of the
six districts of the Dang area. Krishna Chandra Pal, DADB chairman, feels that
the Tourism Department's decision to include the dacoit trail on the state
tourism circuit has "enormous potential".
The six Dang districts - Sawai Madhopur, Karauli, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Baran and
Jhalawar - have been dacoit terrain for centuries. Last month, one of the
area's most feared bandits was shot dead in a gun fight with police. Deep
Chand, alias Nadia, 41, was gunned down by officers hunting him for the murder
of five "untouchables" - poor, low-caste Hindus - along with several of his
gang members. However, while many dreaded dacoits are still active in the area,
dozens have surrendered to the state government and become farmers.
While banditry is widespread in India, many criminals are heroes to the poor
for their Robin Hood-esque appeal. Famous bandit Verappan, whose private army
murdered 180 people over 20 years, for instance, was protected by villagers in
south India for a share of his profits made smuggling sandalwood and ivory
profits. Similarly, Phoolan Devi, known as the "Bandit Queen", who murdered
many high-caste people, was so popular that she was elected as a member of
Parliament after her release from jail. Later, her life story was turned into a
hit film.
Under the Rajasthan scheme, recently surrendered dacoits will entertain
visitors under the watchful eye of government officials. They will take
tourists to bandit-infested areas in the Chamba Valley on a "Dacoit Trail" to
show people where they lived and the scenes of their worst crimes.
The visitor will also be regaled by real-life dacoits with their own highway
lore: tales of a life on the run, daring exploits, police encounters and
dangerous escapes. To begin with, tourists will be taken to dacoit-infested
districts such as Dhaulpur, Bharatpur and Karauli. More hotspots will be added
to the circuit depending upon the response to the scheme. The DADB also intends
to add heft to this plan by roping in older, retired dacoits.
The dacoits are upbeat about the government's plan. Autari Gurjar, the most
dreaded bandit of his time (until he surrendered in 2007), told a newspaper
recently, "If the tourists are willing to come here to interact with us, they
are welcome." Erstwhile dacoits such as Roop Singh, Madho Singh, Bhanwar Singh
and bandit queen Surjo are also hopeful that this step will help them join
mainstream society by making them employable and softening their dreadful
image.
The scheme, says DADB, will cover dozens of dacoits whose names once instilled
fear in the Chambal valley. Apart from Rajasthan, this valley also covers vast
swathes of the rough and wild country of the northern states of Uttar Pradesh
and Madhya Pradesh. However, most dacoits of this region have now laid down
their arms and have surrendered to the government to lead normal lives. Pal
feels launching dacoit tourism packages will add to Dang's tourism quotient,
turning the area's notoriety into its USP (Unique Selling Proposition).
Experts point out that Dang - with its rugged terrain, wildlife and culture -
has always had tremendous tourism potential, which could not be tapped because
of its association with dacoits. But now, the government's unconventional idea
has everybody excited, especially the region's travel sector. The owner of a
wildlife resort in the Dang area says, "An encounter with the dacoits will
surely attract a lot of adventure tourists. The very idea of interacting with a
bandit on the banks of the Chambal will be immensely appealing to them."
While peaceable dacoits can help make the scheme a success, gangs opposed to it
might make trouble for tourists and apprehensions do remain. "Only if the
government makes proper security arrangements for the foreigners will the
scheme click," says a hotel owner in Dang.
Even as the state tourism ministry is striving to make such dacoit encounters
completely safe, local senior police met last month to deal with the menace of
bandits in the forested areas bordering Rajasthan. These remain gripped by
bandit violence, and there are regular shoot-outs between gang members and the
police.
However, if the state can handle both parties - tourists and dacoits - with
panache, and are backed by the local tourism bodies, the scheme can reap rich
dividends. For not only will it bring former dacoits into the mainstream
economy, it will help generate jobs and fill state coffers with foreign
exchange.
Neeta Lal is a widely published writer/commentator who contributes to
many reputed national and international print and Internet publications.
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