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The repentant militant
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Issued in “public interest”, the ad shows a youngster, framed in the backdrop of destroyed school buildings and houses, who repents taking up guns against the state—its development projects
in fact. Schools figure prominently in the rubble. Echoing the familiar government refrain that attendance of students dropped heavily as parents are reluctant to send their children to
gun-guarded schools, the ad makes a plea to “abjure violence, support development”. Amitabh Bakshi, a former adman, who now researches on the media as a sociology student, thought the ad was
an intelligent attempt to “obfuscate the violence of development while placing the blame of destruction squarely on Maoists.” Bakshi thought it was interesting the repentant militant in the
ad was a youngster. “The home affairs ministry seems to be targeting a support group in its fight against Maoism.”