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On December 15, Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Raipur to present the President’s Colour award to the Chhattisgarh police, praising their exemplary work in maintaining law and order, combating naxalism, and ensuring peace in the State.
Shah’s visit marked the anniversary of the BJP’s first year in power in Chhattisgarh, during which he set a March 31, 2026 deadline to eradicate naxalism from the State. Highlighting the progress made towards that effort, Shah announced that the security forces had killed 287 naxalites, including 14 top leaders, arrested 1,000 people, and facilitated 837 surrenders in one year. He cited a 73 per cent drop in the number of casualties among security personnel and a 70 per cent decline in civilian deaths compared with the previous decade.
Speaking at the Martyrs Memorial in Jagdalpur, which honours the 1,399 security personnel killed in naxal violence in the State, Shah underscored the BJP government’s economic initiatives, revealing that more than 15,000 houses—over 9,000 of them in Bastar—are being constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana for families affected by the violence. Shah highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “empathy for these areas”. But he refrained from talking about the rising number of complaints regarding the deaths of allegedly innocent people in the ongoing war against insurgents.
Also Read | Tribal consent must be respected for economic activities in Chhattisgarh: T.S. Singh Deo
The total number of Maoist killings reveal that such fatalities surged over 14 times, with 287 eliminated in 2024, compared to just 20 in 2023 under Congress rule. The intensified anti-naxal operations coincide with growing corporate interest and the militarisation of the Fifth Schedule areas (autonomous areas where vulnerable Scheduled Tribes reside) of Chhattisgarh. It is estimated that as many as 250 security camps have been established in Bastar since 2019. Similarly, the number of battalions of paramilitary forces have gone up to 60 from five in 2000 when Chhattisgarh was carved out as a separate State.
The ongoing anti-naxal operations have raised concerns among rights activists about the accuracy of official claims and whether standard operating procedures are being followed to protect innocent villagers. In January, a six-month-old girl was fatally shot and her mother injured during a reported crossfire between security forces and Maoist insurgents in the dense forests of Bijapur district of Bastar region in South Chhattisgarh. This tragedy was part of a disturbing pattern, with such incidents becoming alarmingly frequent.
In December alone, at least four children were injured during an “anti-naxal operation” in Abujhmad, a remote and conflict-ridden area, where security forces claimed to have killed seven Maoists. However, local residents, including Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee president Deepak Baij, have argued that five of the seven killed were innocent villagers, and condemned the security forces for firing indiscriminately.
Ramli Oxam, one of the injured children, has a bullet deeply embedded in her neck. Medical reports, including an X-ray, reveal that the bullet is lodged near the C-1 vertebra. Another injured child, Sonu Oyam, narrowly escaped a fatal injury when a bullet grazed his head, leaving him wounded. The traumatised boy recounted to reporters at a hospital that he saw his father shot dead before being targeted himself.
Kamli Kunjam, the daughter of Somli Kunjam (second from left) was killed in an encounter with the security forces in April. A resident of Lendra village in Bijapur, Somli Kunjam claims her daughter was not a Maoist. | Photo Credit: SHUBHOMOY SIKDAR
These incidents prompted former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel to urge the BJP-led state and central governments to exercise caution. Baghel emphasised the need to prioritise the safety of children, and called for a reassessment of the “unrealistic deadlines” set for eliminating naxalism, warning against measures that endanger innocent lives.
Such purported encounters have come under a scanner as the State in the past has been witness to fake encounters and extra-judicial killings during the 15 year-rule of the Raman Singh government. “How come these children were hurt when the forces were fighting the naxals? Was it truly an encounter or the killing of innocent people? The BJP government has a poor record regarding fake encounters. Even during its last tenure, there were numerous cases of such incidents,” Baghel wrote on social media platform X.
The Bastar inspector general Sundarraj P. Has claimed that the naxalites used the children as human shields but the local villagers have stated that they were harvesting crops when fired upon.
Unbridled powersHimanshu Kumar, a noted Gandhian activist known for his work on the rights of tribal communities in Chhattisgarh, said that the security forces had been given “sweeping powers” and they have been using it without accountability. “Even during the previous Congress rule, human rights were violated by the forces. But the trend has increased manifold now. The year began with the killing of a child and has ended with children suffering bullet injuries. In between, over 250 Adivasi people were killed, including a girl with speech impairment, a 14-year-old girl, and several other minors in between,” Kumar said. “Recently, two minor girls were detained in police custody for over 15 days, with one later imprisoned in a fabricated case. The entire year has been marked by severe human rights violations.”
IED kills 9 in BastarThe biggest such Maoist ambush in two years, the blast was a devastating reminder that Chhattisgarh’s insurgency crisis is far from over.
The Maoist ambush on security personnel in Bijapur in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region on January 7 has cast a shadow over the Central government’s optimistic assertions that naxalism in the State is nearing its end. Speaking shortly after the attack, Union Home Minister Amit Shah reaffirmed the government’s commitment to eradicating Left Wing Extremism (LWE) by March 2026, a promise that mirrors previous assertions. The latest attack, which claimed the lives of eight security personnel from the State police, including five former naxalites, and a civilian driver, underscores the ongoing challenge that security forces face in countering the ideology-driven insurgency movement.
Despite the state stepping up military operations deep inside the jungles of mineral-rich Bastar and despite a record number of Maoists being killed in 2024, the insurgents seem to be in no mood to back down. In fact, nearly seven hours before the blast, personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force had recovered and defused an improvised explosive device (IED) weighing 20-22 kg about 50 kilometres from the blast site. They were returning to the base camp at Dantewada after a two-day operation in Narayanpur district in which five Maoists, including two women, were killed.
After the latest incident, villagers have been avoiding the media, fearing repercussions from the government and the insurgents. Soon after the blast, senior police officers indicated that the IED was likely to have been planted over six months ago. Experts suggested that the device was buried 4–5 feet deep, concealed in a non-metallic object or plastic bag, which allowed it to evade detection during routine demining.
Speaking to Frontline, Brigadier B.K. Ponwar, a noted counter-insurgency expert and former director of the Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College in Chhattisgarh, described the IED as the naxalites’ most potent weapon. He said: “The IED is essentially a ‘jugaad’—a makeshift device, not an industrial-grade weapon like anti-personnel or anti-tank mines. It can be quickly and cheaply assembled using locally available materials.” He warned that as the naxals face increased pressure and retreat further into the forests, they are likely to intensify their reliance on such IEDs in a bid to maintain their influence and cause disruption.
After operations, security personnel in Bastar usually return to their base camps on motorbikes or on foot to avoid such ambushes. Security officers have admitted that there were lapses with regard to standard operating procedures. Ponwar said: “The naxalites are retreating, but we cannot afford to offer them easy targets, as we did in Bijapur. We must continue operations and strengthen our presence, particularly in the remote, rugged terrain of Abujhmad, which has been a blank spot for long.”
This key area, known for its dense forests and hills, has been a Maoist stronghold. Ponwar emphasised the need for a comprehensive, multipronged approach to counter the insurgency and suggested that “the full spectrum” of national power—political, military, social, economic, and psychological—be harnessed to defeat the naxalites.
According to him, the state has been imposing a model of economic development that doesn’t suit the tribal population. “Adivasis understand that road and railway infrastructure is being built to facilitate exploitation of the local natural resources. Therefore, they are opposing it. The state has labelled their opposition and resistance as naxalism and has been putting people in jail,” Kumar said, questioning the ongoing raids of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the State.
“Due to the growing number of military camps and expansion of roads and rail infrastructure, the Adivasis are losing their land. Even their leased land is being acquired by the agencies forcibly,” he alleged, stressing that it was happening in open violation of laws like the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 or PESA; the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act; the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act (FRA), 2006; and the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act, 2013.
“Under these laws, the state is supposed to protect the tribals. But here the state is the perpetrator,” he said, adding, “An even graver concern lies in the troubling trend of criminalising the democratic activism under sweeping anti-terror laws as the state pushes corporate interests in Chhattisgarh through militarised means.”
Adivasis in scheduled areas have constitutional rights to consent/dissent on land and forest matters, but recent legal amendments exempt security-related infrastructure from forest and environmental clearances, especially in areas affected by Left-wing extremism. According to experts, the executive actions in Chhattisgarh often operate in a legal void. As per the provisions of the 1861 Police Act, a British era law that remains unchanged, the inspector general of police has the sole discretion over police force deployment, they said.
In an interview with Frontline, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, T.S. Singh Deo stressed on a three-pronged strategy—engaging in dialogue, promoting development in naxal-affected areas, and deploying the state machinery to respond firmly to naxal violence—to combat naxalism. He also emphasised that the opinions and aspirations of local tribal communities must be respected. “Unfortunately, the current model of economic development seems to prioritise the end result over the means, suggesting that achieving development justifies any method, which is unacceptable. The rights and aspirations of local communities should always be the government’s top priority, and their consent is essential before initiating any development activities,” he said, stressing that the complaints of local tribals about serious human rights violations must be thoroughly investigated.
Protecting corporate interestsA recent investigation into the Parsa coal block mining in Sarguja and Surajpur districts by the Chhattisgarh State Scheduled Tribes Commission (CGSTC) revealed that consent for mining was obtained through forged documents, undermining the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, as the land falls under scheduled areas.
Women from a tribal community wait near a ration shop in Tatem village some 43 Km (27 miles) from Dantewada town in India’s Chhattisgarh state on April 16, 2024. | Photo Credit: IDREES MOHAMMED
In July this year, tribal communities from Dantewada district’s Alanar village protested against the lease given to mine the Taral Metta mountain. Worried about the threats to their environmental and cultural heritage, they organised a rally and submitted a memorandum to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, urging President Droupadi Murmu to cancel the lease.
A 2024 fact-finding study, “Citizens’ Report on Security and Insecurity, Bastar Division”, links the rise of security camps to an increase in drone attacks, grenade firings, and extrajudicial killings. The report claims that in the first half of 2024, at least 141 encounters were reported as successful anti-Maoist operations, yet no FIRs or inquiries were conducted to verify these claims. “Villagers have pointed out that many of those killed were ordinary civilians, shot in staged encounters,” it states.
The report argues that the true purpose of the security camps is to safeguard corporate interests, especially in mining, and to facilitate the state’s deeper penetration into Bastar. It also notes that mining companies are operating in the region with minimal oversight, often violating environmental and forest laws. The report highlights widespread human rights violations near the camps, describing it as one of the primary reasons why Adivasis oppose them. It further details how the peaceful protests against the camps have been ignored or violently suppressed, with methods ranging from lathi charges to burning protest sites and firing on demonstrators.
The report highlights the securitisation of tribal communities’ everyday lives, noting that instead of improving health infrastructure—such as reactivating defunct primary health centres and making sub-centres operational—the government is providing health services within security camps. Additionally, it said, the weekly market, a vital resource for Adivasi communities, has come under police control.
On the other side, Chhattisgarh is witnessing a crackdown on local activists and organisations advocating tribal rights. There are growing concerns about the militarisation and the absence of dialogue between the government and the insurgent groups. “The government’s failure to initiate peace talks with the naxals is concerning, particularly in light of the significant costs of military deployments and the tragic loss of innocent lives,” noted an editorial in Chhattisgarh, a local daily.
Putting a price tag on human lifeQuestions have been raised regarding compensation policies for families affected by anti-insurgency operations in Chhattisgarh. The compensation amounts vary across different types of incidents in the State. In one case from early 2024, when a six-month-old baby died during an encounter between Maoists and security forces in Bijapur, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recommended Rs.1 lakh in compensation for the parents. Radhakanta Tripathy, a Supreme Court lawyer who brought the matter before the NHRC, provided details of this recommendation.
While the State government informed the NHRC that it had already provided Rs.7 lakh to the family, Tripathy said, “The NHRC noting negligence in the medical treatment provided to the victim, issued a notice to the State government, asking why it should not recommend an additional Rs.1 lakh to the bereaved family.” By contrast, in November 2024, the Madhya Pradesh government increased compensation for families of those killed in wild animal attacks to Rs.25 lakh, up from Rs.8 lakh, drawing attention to the inconsistencies in how loss and suffering are valued across different contexts.
The State in the past one year has reportedly witnessed the space for democratic engagement and peaceful protests shrinking. Several civil society organisations have opposed the Chhattisgarh government’s action against rights activists and groups under the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005. On October 30, 2024, the State government banned the Moolvasi Bachao Manch (MBM), calling it an “unlawful organisation”, under the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA). In a gazette notification later, it cited two reasons for the ban: opposing government backed development works in Maoist-affected areas and mobilising public resistance against security camps. The organisation was banned without judicial confirmation or prior opportunity for MBM to contest it, according to the members of the proscribed organisation.
The Campaign Against State Repression held an event in New Delhi earlier in December and criticised the state’s repression. On the occasion, Saroj Giri, who teaches Politics at the University of Delhi and is a part of the Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization (FACAM), highlighted how the formation of the MBM was a part of the struggle for human rights and democratic rights. Criticising economic policies that disregard the interests of the tribal communities, Giri said, “The state offers Adivasis only two practical choices—either sink into poverty and migrate to the slums of big cities in search of work, or face death.”
Union Home Minister Amit Shah interacts with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel during his visit to Gundam Forward Operating Base, in Bijapur on December 16. | Photo Credit: ANI
Referencing the deadline set by the Union Home Minister, he said, “Chhattisgarh produces 20 per cent of the country’s steel output. Amit Shah’s claim that Maoism will be eliminated by March 31, 2026, is actually a deadline for intensifying this exploitation and the genocidal war on Adivasis.”
The MBM in the past has set up several fact-finding committees in Bastar to sensitise the media about the excesses committed by the security forces. Many believe that the government has banned it for such work. “The MBM was formed only three years ago. Contrary to the state’s claims, it didn’t lead the Silger movement. It was led by the people spontaneously and they were a part of it,” said Gaddam Laxman, president of the Civil Liberties Committee of Telangana.
In May 2021, a peaceful protest by the tribal people in Sukma district’s Silger village against the construction of yet another military camp on their land, just two km from an existing security base, turned tragic when the armed forces opened indiscriminate fire. At least four people lost their lives, and several others sustained critical injuries. The incident sparked a widespread uprising across South Bastar, with residents demanding the removal of the military camp, a halt to the construction of a wide road intended for mineral extraction, accountability for those responsible for the unprovoked violence, and compensation for the affected families.
Also Read | Chhattisgarh: No peace without justice
Following the incident, delegations from the State’s two prominent political parties, the Congress and the BJP, visited Silger. In response to widespread public outrage, the Bhupesh Baghel government was compelled to announce a magisterial inquiry. However, the investigation has made little progress since.
Missing schools, hospitalsLaxman alleged that the state forces have been dropping bombs from drones and fire rocket launchers at Adivasi villages in Bastar. “They kill and arrest Adivasis when they venture out to cultivate their paddy fields or go fishing,” he said, pointing out that the region, though criss-crossed with railway tracks and roadways, does not have functional schools or hospitals. Even the few schools that exist, he claimed, remain largely unusable, often occupied by the armed forces. Amit Shah in his speech at the martyr’s memorial, however, claimed that the State government has launched a massive campaign to transform the villages of Bastar, with special emphasis on schools and hospitals.
Drawing a parallel between the Bhumkal rebellion against British Raj in 1910 and the current situation in Bastar, N Sachin, a member of the Common Teachers Forum, Delhi University, said: “The similarity is not merely rooted in the fact that Adivasis are resisting but also why they are resisting. The same imperialist loot and expropriation of natural resources is still ongoing.”
Agreeing with his views, Himanshu Kumar criticised the failure of human rights bodies, including the NHRC and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, in protecting the Adivasis in scheduled areas as per the constitutional safeguards. “Over the past decade, India has seen a significant decline in human rights conditions. The ongoing conflict in tribal regions is a reflection of a deeper issue—an economic model that is skewed in favour of the wealthy and powerful,” he said, while pointing to the Geneva-based Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), which recently deferred the NHRC’s accreditation for the second year in a row.
