Female constables in the Chhattisgarh police force share how they joined the Maoist rank and file at an early age, recount experiences as cadres in jungles and how their lives took a turn for the better, writes Deepanwita Gita Niyogi
Photo Credit: By arrangement
Rita Punem (name changed) belongs to the Gond tribe. Today, the 40-year-old mother of three children is a constable in the Chhattisgarh police force. But her life wasn’t always this way. Once an active Maoist cadre, she surrendered along with her husband in 2014. Soon after, she secured her current job.
During a heartfelt conversation about her earlier life as an insurgent, Rita opened up. “I thought about the future of my children and decided to surrender. It was the best option for a stable future,” Rita, who joined the Maoists when she was in Class 9, said. “As a young girl, I was influenced by the idea of escapism. I was immature at that time and liked to be part of a different world.”
However, life in the forest as an insurgent, is not a bed of roses. Rita shared that her past life caused a lot of trouble on a daily basis. “In the forest, one had to change places regularly to evade arrest. Every day, I had to traverse a minimum distance of seven km. During menstruation, it used to be difficult to either walk or run. But there was no other choice.”
An alternative life
Left-wing extremism is India’s biggest internal security threat. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, 90 districts in 11 states of the country are affected by the movement which started in Naxalbari in 1967 as a retaliation to class oppression, land alienation and inequality.
As part of the central government policy, surrendered Maoists are usually inducted in the police force. Dhirendra Sahu, who is based in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon district and works on this issue, pointed out that many insurgents who surrendered before the police actually did so for permanent jobs and monetary assistance.
Rita shared that her decision was also influenced by what she came across at that time. “Many cadres were surrendering and I thought of doing the same with my husband, who was in the same unit as me.” It is common for those who surrender to receive death threats. “I used to feel that I would be targeted post surrender, but at present there is not much apprehension about that.”
Unlike Rita, Diasha Yadav (name changed) did not get a chance to surrender. She was arrested in 2016. Diasha, who is also a constable, pointed out that inductions happen at an early age. “Most of the time, Maoists visit schools in remote villages for the induction. They run Bal Sangathans. Their passionate speeches attract teenagers.”
As Diasha knew how to fire, as part of the rehabilitation package, she bagged the police job in 2020. Today, as a married woman with a daughter, she enjoys a decent salary of about Rs 34,000.
Lure of freedom
In recent years, there has been a transformation. Many female Maoist cadres now take on combat roles. This gives them a feeling of overthrowing the shackles of patriarchy. But though promising to be gender just, many women, who have been either rescued from Maoist camps by security forces or have surrendered before the police, were disillusioned. Married women are not allowed to have children which impinges on their rights.
According to Rita, some women join on their own. “But sometimes, families try to force marriage on women and then they run away and join the cadres.” Though today, about 50 to 60 percent Maoist cadres are women, many of them occupy lower ranks, especially in Chhattisgarh, which has been the hotbed of insurgency for decades.
A source said on the condition of anonymity that women are preferred as they can penetrate forests and mobilise the masses without suspicion. “It is easy to lure women who find it attractive to break away from stereotypical gender roles. When villagers are killed in cross-firings, it becomes easy to incite people, especially women, for revenge. That is also how many women join the insurgents,” the source explained.
Simi Metami (name changed) is a Maria Adivasi woman and works as a constable just like Rita. The 30-year-old joined in 2005 when Salwa Judum broke out in Chhattisgarh. It was a militia-type uprising backed by the state government and the police to wipe out Maoists.
Simi was not even 16 at that time. “I had not studied at all but after I joined the Maoists, my commander taught me a bit of this and that.” She shared that there was no other choice but to join. “The Maoists wanted my elder brother to join, but my father did not agree. He wanted to be secure in his old age. So, I joined in my brother’s place. I was away from home for five-six years.”
The woman shared that though, initially, it feels liberating to live inside jungles, get trained in arms and build bunkers, eventually some women resent the hardship. “In the monsoon, high fever and malaria are common. Not being able to give birth also demoralises some women.”
Though many former Maoist cadres who surrender for a fresh start are absorbed in the police force, some are given other jobs as well. The reporter had met and interviewed two youths a few years back who got jobs at a tourist resort in Bastar district. According to government data, about 1657 former Maoist cadres have surrendered since 2019.
The Left-wing insurgency or the Maoist movement originated from Naxalbari, a village in North Bengal, in 1967. Khemu Singh, now 74, was once associated with the uprising in Naxalbari, went underground and was in jail for seven years. Singh admitted that the intensity of the movement had lessened in recent years. According to him, it has taken a different turn now. This has perhaps caused the surrenders even though in Chhattisgarh mass issues are being neglected.
