The union home minister Mr Amit Shah, on Thursday declared that the entire North Bastar region along with Abujhmad is now free of Naxal activities and that even South Bastar was on the verge of clearance.
This is like exceeding the target date of march 2026. Over the month, mega surrenders in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra have given such hopes.
Senior leaders like Venugopal alias Bhupati have surrendered in front of the Maharashtra chief minister and today more than 200 have surrendered in Chhattisgarh.
This is after the display of overwhelming force earlier in the year when hundreds were eliminated and the government on several occasions repeated that surrendering was the only option, failing which overwhelming force with massive flushing operations would continue.
Operationally this reflects the low morale and dwindling numbers of the Maoist movement. Isolated by the multi front attacks, the entire red corridor has been penetrated by the security forces and the Maoist rebels have no territory left in their control.
But more importantly, there has been a huge dip in popular support, even among the remote tribal communities. Much of it can be attributed to a fatigue, after more than Four decades of fighting which has seen displacement of hundreds of thousands from their villages and many forced into security camps.
Even the universities across the country have seen a decline in left ideology and not many are joining their ranks. Technology has captured the imagination of the young and they are hopeful that technology can solve most of the issues that seemed insurmountable.
Even places like Gadhchiroli which showed the most vibrant local government during this period, and people coined slogans like “Delhi Mumbai hamari sarkar, hamare gaon mein hamhi sarkar “, the people are weary of struggle.
The dispossession of people from their common resources, including land and forest continues unabated. The futility of huge sustained campaigns like the one in Hasdeo, means the state has forced an unfavorable inclusion, into a modern exploitative economy, which they cannot refuse.
The number of mining contracts in the region is growing rapidly, and the constitutional provisions for safeguarding their alternative life systems like the sixth schedule and FRA are absent from the discourse.
Democracy is about respecting minority choices, not only in identity terms but also materially. Our democracy needs to evolve to accommodate all such minorities.
