Green hunt
Operation Green Hunt was launched in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district in November 2009 to flush out Maoists from the forests of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. After a series of strikes that left many Naxalites dead, the Union Home Ministry curiously issued a statement disowning the operation, clarifying that the Centre never launched any such offensive and it was executed by states suffering from the menace. Nevertheless, Green Hunt managed to inflict maximum damage in Maoists strongholds in Chhattisgarh and Odisha and several top Naxal commanders including Cherikuri Rajkumar alias Azad were neutralised. However, the operation was abandoned in 2010 under pressure from human rights activists and politicians.
Salwa Judum
The people’s resistance movement in form of a civil vigilante group was launched in 2006 by the Chhattisgarh government to counter Maoist influence in tribal regions. A brainchild of Mahendra Karma, who was killed on May 25, Salwa Judum was promoted by the BJP government and a force of 4,000 armed special police officers was raised by the state. Although, people’s resistance cornered the Naxalites by exposing their dubious role in extortions and kidnappings, the movement was abandoned after human rights activists dragged the state government to Supreme Court, which directed Chhattisgarh to refrain from arming civilians to fight Maoists. In July 2011, the apex court declared the vigilante group banned.
