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In Pictures: India’s Maoist heartland

For ten years this tribal region has been marred by violence after left-wing groups joined to fight government forces.

Camped overnight at Konjed village, policemen prepare to resume their patrol. They use red armbands as identification to prevent friendly fire.
By Ajay Brar
Published On 6 Oct 2014

Bastar, India – At dawn, the makeshift camp stirs to life. Amid rooster calls and the grunts of pigs searching for last night’s leftovers, the policemen put on their shirts and check their weapons. There are more than 200 of them, heavily armed, spread across this sleepy tribal hamlet. This is the sixth morning of their patrol in India’s Maoist heartland.

On September 21, 2004, two left-wing rebel groups merged to form the Communist Party of India (Maoist), triggering the escalation of a long simmering insurgency. In the decade since, the Maoist rebellion has spread across seven states. More than 100,000 police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed to combat the rebels.

The heavily forested tribal region of Bastar in central India’s Chhattisgarh state is the epicentre of the insurgency. Here, a game of hide and seek has been going on for the past few years, with the two warring sides rarely coming face to face.

At their overnight camp near Konjed village, the commander of a police unit admitted as much, saying his forces rarely encountered the armed fighters. Instead, it is the local tribal population that has borne the brunt of the violence.

It follows then that in the current phase of the insurgency, both the rebels and the security forces claim to be on a mission to win the hearts and minds of the people. At his camp, the police commander describes his efforts to win over the population: He has been distributing clothes to local villagers.

As the security personnel march onwards, the Maoists follow in their footsteps, reappearing as soon as the police leave, reclaiming territory and people. The Maoist fighters have been taking a survey of excesses committed by the police – two chickens, three pigeons, 28 eggs, a packet of salt, half a bottle of alcohol, and four kilos of fish stolen from villages along the patrol route.

At the forefront of the Maoist attempt to win hearts and minds is their cultural troupe, the Chetna Natya Manch (CNM). During the annual Martyrs Day celebrations at Polampalli village, the CNM takes to the stage with a series of plays, songs and dances, portraying the state as a brutal aggressor and urging villagers to fight back.

While efforts to win over the people continue, a nearby village is a stark reminder of why they may not succeed. On the night of June 28, 2012, in Sarkeguda, 17 villagers were gunned down by the police as suspected Maoists. Two years on, survivors wait for justice, which the rebels cannot give and the government has been unwilling to provide.

Police patrols in the jungle have often been accompanied by reports of human rights violations. But the remote terrain and the ongoing conflict make verifying and reporting the violations a difficult task. 
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The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel on patrol. Drawn from other parts of the country, most have never seen a jungle before and none speak the local language. This language and ethnic divide is exploited by the Maoists who portray the security forces as (***)plundering outsiders(***).
The election of Narendra Modi as prime minister has signalled a hard-line approach. About 2,000 additional paramilitary forces have been deployed and 10,000 more are on the way, making Bastar the most militarised zone in the whole country.
Security forces rarely encounter Maoists on their patrol, a fact admitted by the CRPF commander. Aware of their approach, the Maoist rebels retreat deeper into the jungle. Fearing arrest, harassment or firing, entire villages empty out - only the old and very young are left behind.
After the police leave, villagers return and resume their activities. As members of the sangham (Maoist local committee), gram raksha dal (village militia), bal sangham (children(***)s squad) and cultural troupes, most villagers have been co-opted into the Maoist organisation, making them a target for security forces.
A Maoist Martyrs Day celebration in Polampalli village. Every year, from July 28 to August 3, Maoists hold meetings to commemorate their fallen. To forestall any police operation, villagers are informed of the location only on the morning of the event.
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The Maoist cultural troupe - the Chetna Natya Manch forms their propaganda arm. At this Martyrs Day celebration, there is a song warning people against "chugli" (informing), a dance urging villagers to refuse clothes handed out by security forces, and a play depicting a tribal rebellion during the colonial era.
Drawing the most laughs are two pot-bellied actors impersonating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and state Chief Minister Raman Singh. The message: Eyeing the hills in the distance, and with exaggerated grins, the two conspire to steal the mineral wealth in tribal lands.
The Maoists unveil a new monument to their fallen in Polampalli village. These red-stepped memorials dot the landscape in Bastar and form another side to the conflict - security forces regularly blast them while villagers urged by the rebels continue to build them.
Comrade Manila of the Pamed dalam (local armed squad) addresses the crowd, urging them to unite and support the party (as the Maoists are locally called). Her speech includes a rudimentary history of the movement, a list of martyrs and exhortations to defeat government propaganda.
CNM members re-enact the Sarkeguda massacre when 17 villagers were gunned down by security forces on the night of June 28, 2012.
The Martyrs Day ends with a rendition of the Communist Internationale. While the rebels pulled off this particular celebration successfully, a similar event 80km away was attacked by security forces. The police claimed to have killed 11 rebels on July 28, while the Maoists said in a written note that two villagers had died.