RAIPUR: For nearly four decades, the breathtaking natural beauty of south Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, defined by its scenic valleys and lush forests, remained trapped under the shadow of fear.
In these remote tribal pockets, human lives were dictated at gunpoint.
Development was a distant dream, and any voice raised in resistance was brutally silenced. For tribal residents like Janaki Kawasi, a local leader from Milampalli village in Sukma district’s Konta Block, the tears once shed in grief have finally turned into tears of relief.
"Today, there is no fear of terror in our eyes," Janaki shared during the recent “Ujar Bastar” program held at the Badal Academy in Jagdalpur, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. "We see the footsteps of democracy, peace, and development finally approaching our region,” she added.
Janaki’s family represents the profound human cost of the decades-long insurgency.
Janaki’s brother-in-law, Kawasi Bhima, who served as an assistant constable during the Salwa Judum movement, was targeted and killed by Maoists in an encounter.
When Janaki’s father-in-law, Kawasi Oonga, the village head, openly opposed the Maoist ideology, he was abducted, held captive and brutally tortured for 21 days. His body was dumped at the village square.
Janaki’s husband, Deva Kawasi, a Panchayat Secretary, faced constant death threats. Extremists torched their grass-thatched home, too. "Narrowly escaping the mishap, the family lived in exile at the Jagargunda base camp from 2007 to 2018," said Tarashankar Sinha, assistant director (Public Relations).
According to Janaki, Maoists executed at least 15 to 16 villagers in her immediate area over the last two and a half decades, turning once-peaceful hamlets into deserted ghost towns.
Undeterred, Janaki stepped into public life, securing election twice as a District Panchayat member. She presently serves as a member of the Janpad Panchayat Konta in Sukma district, south Bastar.
Given the treacherous, forested terrain of Konta, which includes Puvarti, the native village of notorious Maoist commander Hidma Madvi, the goal to eliminate Maoism by March 31, 2026, initially seemed unimaginable for Janaki.
However, with the security grid tightening significantly after an intensified campaign launched in 2024, the extremist network crumbled.
"For Janaki and thousands of others who survived the red corridor's darkest era, the nightmare has come to an end," public relations officer Sinha elucidated.
