India's war against Maoists reshapes lives in tribal heartland

India has intensified security operations against Maoist rebels in central and eastern regions, a push government officials say is narrowing a six-decade-old insurgency while civilians report growing disruption to daily life. Between January 2024 and September 2024, security forces killed more than 600 alleged rebels, a tally cited by the South Asia Terrorism Portal that includes several senior members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). Officials describe the crackdown as a necessary, zero-tolerance effort that, they say, is delivering results as India eyes a March 2026 deadline to end the insurgency and curb left-wing extremism.

To tighten control over Maoist-dominated districts, New Delhi has opened dozens of security camps, particularly in Chhattisgarh, where tribal communities make up about 30% of the population and live deep within dense forests. The government argues the approach disrupts rebel logistics and exposes hideouts, and a federal home ministry annual report shows anti-Maoist operations rose sharply in early 2024 compared with the previous year, with the number of rebels killed increasing several-fold. Rights activists counter that the broader security dragnet risks civilian harm and fuels distrust in regions long among India's poorest and most underdeveloped, despite their rich natural resources.

![People in Bastar region amid security operations]https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/a367/live/daa0c800-990d-11f0-858a-a904eacbef23.jpg.webp ""

In Bastar and nearby districts, families say the cost of the campaign is measured in lives, shattered families, and shattered trust. Pekaram Mettami mourns his son Suresh, a young man in his 20s who, authorities say, was killed in January over alleged police links—a claim his family, police, and local witnesses dispute. Suresh studied up to 10th grade and was considered the village's most educated resident, a vocal advocate for local schools and hospitals. His father recalls that his son “only wanted better facilities for his people and that cost him his life.”

Across about 100 miles away in Bijapur, Arjun Potam mourns his brother Lachchu, killed in a February anti-insurgency operation. Police said eight Maoists were killed; Potam says all of them were innocent and notes that some tried to surrender. “Those who died didn’t have any weapons on them. Some even tried to surrender, but the police did not listen,” he says. “He had ties with both police and the Maoists. But he never took up arms.”

Officials insist operations have had limited civilian impact, with Sundarraj P, a senior police official in Bastar, saying there has been no case of wrongdoing against civilians in recent times. Still, locals describe episodes where the boundaries between rebels and civilians blur, including past protests against security camps that ended in deadly police shootings in Sukma district in 2021. Residents say protesters were exercising their rights, while police say the demonstrations escalated into attacks on officials. The accounts illustrate the difficult, long-running dynamic in which everyday life is subsumed by the conflict.

The government says the crackdown is complemented by a broader strategy to win local support through integration and development. The District Reserve Guard (DRG)—composed of locals and surrendered rebels—helps security forces track rebel tactics and hideouts. Officials say the DRG is useful for intelligence and rapid response, but rights activists worry about the potential for abuses and the risk that local recruits can be drawn back into conflict. The Supreme Court in 2011 ordered Chhattisgarh to disband the Special Police Officers (SPO) force, citing concerns about training and use of tribal recruits as “cannon fodder.” While that ruling shuttered the SPO program, it did not sever DRG enlistment, and the program has continued to recruit local youth, including former rebels. Gyanesh, 28, who surrendered last year, joined the DRG within weeks and says he has not yet received training, though police insist all personnel receive proper preparation. Activists say ex-rebels should have a clear path back to civilian life and demand stronger safeguards against coercive recruitment.

In parallel with security measures, the government has launched incentives intended to win local support in insurgent-affected areas. A development fund of 10 million rupees ($113,000; £84,000) is earmarked for villages that surrender Maoists, along with promises of new schools, roads, and mobile towers. Analysts say such programs can improve basic services but also raise concerns among residents that land may be lost, forests degraded, or livelihoods displaced in exchange for security gains. Akash Korsa, a 26-year-old tribal resident of Bastar, frames the tension this way: fears about land loss and forest disruption help sustain reluctant support for the rebels among some communities, even as others see benefits from government schemes.

Experts say eradicating Maoism fully by March 2026 remains unlikely. Former Chhattisgarh police chief RK Vij notes that small rebel groups persist even in districts that officials have declared Maoist-free, and that the insurgency’s reach is not a simple binary of “butterfly effect” across the countryside. While the government asserts progress, the lingering risk of human rights abuses and the complexity of winning hearts and minds leave many communities caught between competing narratives. As one resident, Ursa Nande, put it: “We never got any help from the government, even in our darkest moments. And now the Maoists too have stopped helping us.”

The human costs of the conflict persist even as the political calculus emphasizes security gains and development promises. The local toll in Bastar and other Maoist-affected districts underlines the paradox at the heart of India’s counterinsurgency: a national strategy aimed at stabilizing fragile regions while everyday life in those regions remains unsettled, uncertain, and deeply personal. With a 2026 deadline still months away, the question remains whether the combination of intensified security operations and targeted development can deliver lasting peace without repeating the mistakes of past efforts.

![A village in Bastar region]https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/bd24/live/481ed8c0-9906-11f0-87e2-1310cfc528b2.jpg.webp ""