A Less Tried Route With Communities In Maharashtra's Naxal Belt

The police reach out to local communities in Maharashtra’s Naxal belt, but recent killings signal that the war is far from over.

- Kiran Tare

The police in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra’s Naxal heartland 850 kilometres east of Mumbai, are touting the success of their efforts in balancing the hunt for rebel guerrilla fighters with winning cooperation from the villagers caught in the crossfire. For years, the villages in this area were havens for Naxals. In 2009, 55 policemen died in Gadchiroli; since 2004, some 10 policemen have died every year. In 2015, though, no police deaths were recorded in the district. Police records show that the numbers of Naxal fighters have shrunk from over 500 in 2010 to fewer than 200 at present. From January 2015 to April this year, they say, 103 Naxals have surrendered, 40 have been arrested and 13 have been killed.

Early in May in Gaderi, a hamlet of 25 families, villagers were having what appeared to be an informal chat with policemen about their problems under a sheltering tamarind tree. “Sahib,” began village head Dilip Mahami, “the borewell is not working and we need more.” Police sub-inspector (PSI) Ashok Bhapkar, an officer in his 20s, listened, while his colleague, PSI Bharat Nagre, took notes. Bhapkar turns to a woman in the audience. “Yours,” he says, “is the only village in which the women’s self-help group is yet to be formed. Do it in a week and I’ll arrange two plastic covers for your house during the monsoons.” The ‘gram bhent’ (village visit) is an example of the police’s strategy to win over communities sympathetic to the Naxals, a strategy the officials credit with improving intelligence and bringing down casualties.