Book Review - Veerappan, India's Most Wanted Man

The fabled, notorious 'Sandalwood Veerappan' has been a source of curiosity to me right from my college days in India. Some media stories even portrayed Veerappan, as a modern day Robin Hood. In 'Veerappan, India's most wanted man', Sunaad Raghuram attempts to clear the air between fact and myth.

While one cannot pay any sort of tribute to the villain, there is no denying his cunning, his in-depth knowledge of the terrain, his ability to win loyal followers and silence witnesses, informants or enemies either by fear or murder. This book narrates Veerappan's story from accounts given by people in Veerappan's family, members of the police force and witnesses to his deeds. With a price of 4 million rupees on his head, and wanted for more than a hundred murders, Veerappan continues to elude the law using his ruthless reputation, grisly acts of savagery and using the thick jungle as cover. In the public eye the image of Veerappan is one of fascination, fear and admiration.

Sunaad Raghuram recounts the saga of the villainous bandit right from his growing days in the poverty-stricken village of Gopinatham. At the age of eighteen, Veerappan was inducted into the criminal world when he began stealing bamboo. Soon he graduated into Sandalwood smuggling, elephant poaching and annihilation of anyone who stood in his way.

In an act of treachery and viciousness, Veerappan decimated all his rivals in the area. He followed this with multiple violent atrocities on the police and the public including ambushes, hijacking of vehicles and stealing of explosives. By the late 1990s Veerappan ruled the jungle in the states of Tamilnadu and Karnataka using his merciless image, sharp wits to instill fear in all those who could endanger him. He has often played the governments of each of these states against each other, using their lack of cooperation to his advantage. For example, when one state would launch a search for him, he would often move within the jungle into a region that fell under the jurisdiction of the other state.

The climax of the book narrates Veerappan's kidnapping of Rajkumar, the seventy-year-old veteran actor. Rajkumar, a matinee idol has been well respected, loved and even worshipped by the public in Karnataka. In addition to embarrassing the Karnataka government, this brazen act created political and social discord between the states of Karnataka and Tamilnadu. Coupled with Veerappan's audacious political demands that followed, this event further enhanced his myth and made him a kind of demi-God. He won a large fan following in Tamilnadu during this period.

Sunaad does not attempt to romanticize Veerappan or his adventures. Nevertheless, his fast paced narrative style makes this book a page-turner. Those who are unfamiliar with some commonly used Indian terms will find a glossary at the end of the book helpful. However, a non-Indian audience may have trouble understanding some of the expressions used in the book. Despite these drawbacks this book is a product of great investigate journalism and makes a good read.

All attempts to bring Veerappan down have come from the Special Task Force and a few brave duty minded individuals who were no match for the massive political and social structures and the inhospitable terrain that guard the brigand. Almost all these efforts have been unsuccessful.

After completing this book I too, like Sunaad, could not help but contemplate as to when the final chapter of this story would be told. I have often wondered why the central government has not stepped in and made a wholehearted effort to nab Veerappan. Is it the fear of public outcry? Does Veerappan have strong political ties and dark dangerous secrets? Is the thick jungle too intimidating for such an undertaking?