Rehab initiative gives new wings to reformed Bastar Maoists

Raipur: In one of the worst affected regions affected by the Maoist insurgency in Chhattisgarh's Bastar, where life was once dictated by the barrel of a gun, a swift change is now unfolding.This change isn't measured in encounters, but in training batches, job letters and daily wages. Across the seven districts of Bastar division, more than 1,200 surrendered cadres completed skill development training by March 2026, while another 520 are currently at it. From masonry and tailoring to plumbing, solar installation, electrician work, agriculture-based enterprise, data entry, and operation of tractors and excavators, the training is tailored to local livelihood demand. A young man from Bijapur, orphaned early and drawn into the Maoist fold in 2023 amid hardship and pressure, surrendered in March 2025. After counselling and masonry training, he now works in Telangana's Mulugu district, earning about Rs 600 a day. A former couple from Bijapur, once active in the movement, have also rebuilt their lives after surrendering arms — the husband trained in masonry despite knowing only Gondi, while the wife learned tailoring and now earns a regular monthly income in a garment unit.Officials said private sector partnerships are beginning to give the rehabilitation programme greater depth and coverage. The children of some surrendered cadres have already found work in industrial units outside Chhattisgarh, including at a tractor manufacturing plant in Nagpur."The effort is aimed at ensuring that those who return from the insurgency are not pushed back into it due to unemployment, fear or social isolation. The cadres enter the system with little or no formal education. For some, the first lesson is not technical training, but learning the alphabet, basic arithmetic and how to navigate life outside the shadow of armed movement," an official involved in the initiative told TOI.The skilling drive comes alongside a wider surrender campaign as part of which nearly 3,000 Maoists have returned to the mainstream, including 25 who surrendered on March 31. The state has also cited the elimination of 536 cadres and arrest of about 2,000 others as part of its broader anti-Naxal strategy. However, it is the personal stories of reformed Maoists or their kin that gives the training programme more meaning and purpose.Chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai said the govt has announced a plan to raise the average family income to Rs 30,000 in eight LWE-hit districts through cluster-based livelihood models linked to farming, animal husbandry, forest produce, fisheries and micro-enterprises.For a region long defined by fear, men and women once trapped in a conflict are now being counted not as cadres, but as trainees, workers and earners.