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{{Short description|2011 book by Arundhati Roy}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Walking with the Comrades
| author = [[Arundhati Roy]]
| pages = 220
| language = English
| publisher = [[Penguin Publishing]]
| pub_date = 25 October 2011
| isbn = 978-0-14-312059-9
| subject = [[Naxalite–Maoist insurgency]]
| genre = non-fiction
| image = Walking_with_the_Comrades.jpg
}}

'''''Walking with the Comrades''''' (2011) is an eyewitness account of the [[Naxalite–Maoist insurgency]] by Indian author [[Arundhati Roy]]. The book covers her time in 2010 spent living with Naxalite communist guerillas deep within the forests of rural [[Chhattisgarh]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=25 October 2011|title=Walking with the Comrades|url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/310389/walking-with-the-comrades-by-arundhati-roy/|url-status=live|access-date=18 February 2021|website=penguinrandomhouse.com}}</ref> She argues that India's counter-insurgency, known as [[Operation Green Hunt]], is a front for mining corporations to clear away tribal people, and to make profits exploit India's natural resources.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Choudhury|first=Chandrahas|date=16 December 2011|title="Walking with the Comrades," by Arundhati Roy|work=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/walking-with-the-comrades-by-arundhati-roy/2011/11/07/gIQAIPR2yO_story.html|url-status=live|access-date=18 February 2021}}</ref>

== Summary ==
After meeting a with her Naxalite contact, Arundhati Roy starts her long journey deep into the jungles of Chhattisgarh, but not before sharing her thoughts on Operation Green Hunt and life within Indian government-controlled town of [[Dantewada]].<blockquote>"In Dantewada the police wear plain clothes and the rebels wear uniforms. The jail superintendent is in jail. The prisoners are free (three hundred escaped from the old town jail two years ago). Women who have been raped are in police custody. The rapists give speeches in the bazaar."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Roy|first=Arundhati|title=Walking with the Comrades|publisher=Penguin|year=2011|isbn=9780670085538|pages=2}}</ref></blockquote>Between descriptions of what she saw, who she met, and conversations with tribals and communists, the book explores background information to the conflict. Such subjects include the theft of tribal land by the Indian government, Israel's support for Operation Green Hunt, communist involvements in labour disputes, Hindu missionaries, the caste system, women's rights, and the treatment of cows. When not describing background information and her own eyewitness accounts, the book strays into Arundhati's personal thoughts and feelings on what she has seen. She also often talks about human rights abuses at the hands of the Indian government's police and soldiers, including attacks against trade unions, rapes, and killing of civilians. During her time with the Naxalites, she met soldiers of the [[People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (India)|People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA)]], whom she described as "heavy hitters" who carry [[SLR rifle|"serious rifles"]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Roy|first=Arundhati|title=Walking with the Comrades|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2011|isbn=9780670085538}}</ref> Roy described the most surprising she learned during her time with the Naxalites was that 45% of the PLGA were women, many of whom joined the communists after witnessing attacks on their villages by the Indian government and vigilante groups.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Sehgal|first=Parul|date=30 September 2011|title=Into the Woods: PW Talks with Arundhati Roy|work=[[Publishers Weekly]]|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/48885-into-the-woods-pw-talks-with-arundhati-roy.html|url-status=live|access-date=18 February 2021}}</ref> However, she also described the Maoist organisations as still very patriarchal.<ref name=":1" /> <blockquote>"I believed that when people take up arms, the violence would inevitably turn against the women in the community. In the forest I was disabused of this notion—45% of the Peoples Liberation Guerrilla Army is made up of women. Many of them joined after watching the brutal attacks of the police and the government sponsored vigilante groups on their villages."<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>

== Reception ==
The reception for ''Walking with the Comrades'' was overwhelmingly positive, with reviews coming from the ''[[The Washington Post|Washington Post]]'',<ref name=":0" /> ''[[Kirkus Reviews]]'',<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|date=16 August 2011|title=Walking with the Comrades|work=[[Kirkus Reviews]]|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/arundhati-roy/walking-comrades/|url-status=live|access-date=18 February 2021}}</ref> ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'',<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|date=19 September 2011|title=Walking with the Comrades|work=[[Publishers Weekly]]|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-14-312059-9|url-status=live|access-date=18 February 2021}}</ref> ''[[Library Journal]]'',<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|last=Shenoy|first=RavI|date=1 October 2011|title=REVIEWS+ Walking with the Comrades|work=[[Library Journal]]|url=https://www.libraryjournal.com/?reviewDetail=walking-with-the-comrades|url-status=live|access-date=18 February 2021}}</ref> and ''[[Firstpost]]''.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|last=Jha|first=Aditya Mani|date=13 November 2020|title=As TN uni drops 'Walking with the Comrades' on ABVP plaint, why Arundhati Roy's 2011 book is a must-read|work=[[First Post]]|url=https://www.firstpost.com/art-and-culture/as-tn-uni-drops-walking-with-the-comrades-on-abvp-plaint-why-arundhati-roys-2011-book-is-a-must-read-9011671.html|url-status=live|access-date=18 February 2021}}</ref>

Chandrahas Choudhury of the ''Washington Post'' describes the book as a "riveting account of the face-off in the forests of central India between the Indian state and the Maoists or Naxalites, a shadowy, revolutionary guerrilla force with tens of thousands of cadres."<ref name=":0" /> Choudhury also describes Arundhati Roy as "one of India’s most distinctive voices."<ref name=":0" />

''Kirkus Reviews'' gave another positive review, describing ''Walking with the Comrades'' as a "bell-clear exposé of corporate greed and governmental malfeasance".<ref name=":2" />

''Publishers Weekly'' praised the book for its balanced view, and for setting modern events within their proper historical context.<ref name=":3" />

''Library Journal'' gave a mixed yet generally positive review, describing the book as a "one-sided but absorbing and eye-opening read."<ref name=":4" />

''First Post'' described ''Walking with Comrades'' as a "must read", while reporting on its recent removal from Sundaranar University's removal of the book from their postgraduate English syllabus.<ref name=":5" />

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:2011 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Works by Arundhati Roy]]
[[Category:Penguin Books India books]]
[[Category:Naxalite–Maoist insurgency]]

Walking with the Comrades - Revision history

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