Tribal communities need security, infrastructure, livelihoods and confidence alongside accountability for past hardships.
Congress and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, during his recent visit to Jagla village in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district, interacted with tribal communities and expressed deep concern over the deaths of children in Baiga tribal-dominated areas due to illness, severe malnutrition, malaria and contaminated water, describing it as a “100% failure” of the government. He alleged that “it seems as if tribal families living in the heart of the country have been completely abandoned”, with neither the Central nor the Madhya Pradesh government standing with them. But is the entire story of tribal society merely one of tragedy, poverty, malnutrition or government failure? Should the changes witnessed in security and development over the past several years in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and other Naxal-affected areas not also be discussed? Particularly in 2026, when not only the Government of India but countries around the world are appreciating the success of the campaign to make the country Naxal-free, the broader picture deserves attention. Tribal areas have faced a double burden for decades. On one side were problems related to poverty, education, healthcare, roads, employment and access to administration. On the other was Naxal violence. Naxalism caused the greatest damage to the very areas in whose name its politics was conducted.
It can be called a coincidence that while Rahul Gandhi was using the issue of alleged neglect of tribals to make a political point and provoking innocent people, I was travelling through tribal dominated Chhattisgarh. I was there to attend an event organised by the daily Nav Pradesh, started 15 years ago by journalist Yashwant Dhote, to honour young people, women and senior citizens who have made significant contributions in different fields of society. The event was held in Bemetara, far from the state capital Raipur, where tribal girls, women and men delighted and impressed everyone, including me, with songs, music and dance. Conversations before and after the event with ordinary people and some leaders associated with the BJP and Congress gave me a sense that a new confidence is genuinely emerging in Chhattisgarh. They are no longer afraid of Maoist guns. Instead, they want good roads, education and healthcare at the earliest, as well as better incomes by taking products from their cottage industries to wider markets.
As a journalist, I have been visiting Chhattisgarh from time to time since 1976. In those days, I undertook difficult journeys by bus to Bastar. In the weekly markets of Bastar villages, I spoke through a local person who understood their language to tribal people who had travelled 20 miles simply to buy salt. They told me that they came for salt because they somehow survived by eating leaves, roots and red and black ants. A few years later, Naxal-Maoist violence affected the region. But during two or three visits in recent years, I have witnessed major changes in the lives of tribals and a growing sense of economic development and self-reliance not only in Raipur, Bilaspur and Durg, but also in Bastar, Jagdalpur and Dantewada.
During the Congress rule, Maoist-Naxal elements and educated people supporting them were given leeway in the name of political liberalism and human rights. This resulted in threats to workers building roads. School buildings were blown up. Bridges were targeted. Mobile towers and government institutions were damaged. Police personnel, security forces, public representatives and ordinary citizens were killed. Therefore, now that the security situation is changing, it is not enough for Rahul Gandhi to ask only what the government has not done. He should also explain what has become possible now. After all, neighbouring Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand have non-BJP governments. These states too have experienced Naxal violence, and they are now undertaking development work in tribal areas with the cooperation of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has, over the past several years, not presented Naxalism merely as a law-and-order problem. His government has made roads, mobile connectivity, banking, education and access to government schemes part of its strategy alongside security operations. Areas once affected by violence and backwardness are now witnessing development on a significant scale. More than 12,000 kilometres of roads, along with mobile towers, banking, postal and communication networks, are being expanded. He has also described the Bastar Olympics as a symbol of change in which the aspirations of young people are replacing the old fear of violence.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai himself comes from the tribal community. Therefore, the opportunity before him is significant, as is the responsibility. During this visit, there was also an informal discussion with Chief Minister Sai, former Chief Minister and Assembly Speaker Dr Raman Singh on the challenges facing tribal areas and development work. It is also significant that Chhattisgarh and Odisha have, for the first time, tribal chief ministers. I also spoke to people without political affiliations. Yes, when Vishnu Deo Sai was an MP and Union minister, he had also worked on the ground in tribal areas with Dr Aman Singh and contributed to development initiatives.
The anti Naxal policy pursued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah gave the security campaign a decisive direction, and in May 2026, Amit Shah announced the liberation of Bastar from Naxalism. After the end of Naxalism, transforming Bastar from one of the country’s most backward and violence-affected regions into a new model of development is a historic challenge. Roads, electricity, mobile networks, drinking water, healthcare, education, agriculture, forest produce, tourism, local employment and skill development—all these areas require parallel efforts. Increasing the participation of tribal communities in Bastar’s economy is equally important. Government schemes promoting forest produce, agriculture, dairy and the local economy can be considered successful only when their actual economic benefits reach families in villages.
The Centre has also linked initiatives such as cooperative dairy development, ‘Seva Dera’, the ‘Bastar Olympics’ and ‘Bastar Pandum’ with development and social participation. For the first time, tribal youth are seeing a different future before them. The biggest human cost of Naxalism was borne by the younger generation. Young people must be connected with ITIs, skill training, sports, tourism, agricultural processing, forest-produce-based industries, small businesses and government schemes. It is also not appropriate to portray tribal society merely as a victimised community. Tribal society today wants change. It wants opportunities for its children not only in government jobs, but also in the private sector and entrepreneurship. Most importantly, it wants a life free from fear.
The ultimate goal of the fight against Naxalism should not merely be to silence guns, but to bring lasting peace, dignity, education, healthcare and prosperity to tribal families. This is the standard against which the Modi government, state governments and the Opposition—all of them—will be judged in the years ahead.
