The Jharkhand Jungles Quieten

Often put in the shade by news from Chhattisgarh, its sibling state is pacifying Maoism in its own way

- By Amitabh Srivastava

JHARKHAND'S RECENT MASS MAOIST surrender shows how this part of the war against Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) is winding down. Unlike the first chapter in Chhattisgarh, the endgame won't be dramatic. More akin to its latter half, it’s enabled by policy deftness. Chief minister Hemant Soren’s Nai Disha (New Direction) policy aims to ensure it truly delivers a sense of closure. Not just an abrupt termination—prefixed by an ‘ex’, if you like—that leaves seeds on the forest floor. Proof of concept came on May 21 when 27 Maoist cadres came in from the bush at Ranchi’s police HQ—25 from the CPI (Maoist), two from another faction, six zonal