Forces raze memorials in Maoist citadels

Hindustan Times

3 days ago

On February 9, security forces gunned down 31 Maoists in the jungles of Indravati National Park in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, inflicting the highest single-day toll on the insurgency at the time. After an eight-hour gunbattle involving at least a thousandparamilitary and police personnel, the forces recovered the bodies of 31 uniformed Maoists, along with a large cache of weapons, including AK47s, SLRs, INSAS rifles, .303 rifles, BGL launchers, and explosives.
But that's not all the forces found. 'After the encounter, the forces also came across a tall stone memorial built in the memory of the Maoists' senior comrade, Katakam Sudarshan, aka Anand,' said a Central Reserve Police Force officer in Bijapur, who asked not to be named.
Katakam Sudarshan, a politburo member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) died of natural causes on May 31, 2023. 'We had information about the memorial but we had never entered the area until a few months ago as it was a Naxal stronghold. The area was not under our control so we had left it untouched all these years,' added the officer.
'The stone structure has now been destroyed.'
That's not the only one. Over the last year, as security forces pushed deeper into the Maoist heartland and made inroads into territories considered too hostile even five years ago, they started smashing scores of what they claim are makeshift memorials to various Maoist leaders. This symbolic purge – to remove traces of Maoist influence across the once-infamous red corridor – has now become a part of the government's aggressive move to wipe out the decades-old insurgency by next spring.
'Such structures help Naxals keep the locals under their control by wielding a fake narrative that the area is under their control ,' the officer quoted above said.
Security officials said that after entering Maoist strongholds in left-wing extremism (LWE) affected districts of Sukma, Bijapur, Narayanpur, and Dantewada, the forces repeatedly found red sandstone structures, some with several storeys in the shape of a tower as high as 60 feet. At least 147 such structures have either been bombed or brought down, said the officials.
'The memorials, all built using cement and painted red, range from 6- 60 feet in height. There is a common pattern too. A tall red memorial with the name of their slain leader or the date of the incident, when they have died. These were leaders who have masterminded and killed thousands of security forces personnel,' said a Central Reserve Police Force officer in Bijapur, who asked not to be named. Since the memorials were built in Naxal strongholds, the rebels had access to cement from nearby villages and were even able to use heavy machinery to construct the structures, the officer added.
The memorials, resembling red pagodas, have the names of slain Maoist leaders, the date they died on, and messages in Hindi or Telegu paying tribute to the 'fallen comrade' inscribed on them. Some also have the flag of CPI (Maoist). But there are never any photographs. 'There will always be an erected podium in front of the memorial. The podium is where the Naxal cadres take oath every morning. Surrendered Naxals confirmed that recruitments and later training were held in front of such memorials inside the jungle. Over the last year, as the number of such memorials in Naxal areas became common and more frequent, an order was issued to destroy every symbol,' said the CRPF officer quoted above.
The forces started discovering more of these memorials as they made inroads in Naxal strongholds. In December 2024, they came across a 60- feet tall concrete structure (shaped like a tower) built in the memory of Akkiraju Haragopal, a Maoist central committee member. Haragopal, aka Ramakrishna, died of natural causes in the forests sometime in October 2021, said a police officer. It had the date October 14, 2021 — the day the Maoist leader likely died — inscribed along with a message in Telugu paying homage to him and the Maoist movement.
The structure was destroyed after the forces entered the Komatpalli village in Bijapur and set up the Vatevagu camp.
'It must have been the tallest such memorial. It took nearly 3-4 hours to get rid of the structure. When the forces took control of that area in Bijapur and found the structure, we all knew it was the first thing that needed to go. In all these years, these Naxals were emboldened to build such memorials and remind the innocent villagers of their influence. We ordered a JCB earthmover and toppled the structure,' said a police officer involved in the operation.
Security personnel said they are mindful of not damaging structures that are aligned with tribal culture and customs.
The police say these memorials served as nodes of the Maoist operation inside the forest – around where training would happen, events glorifying the killing of security forces and civilians would be held. 'Building memorials is part of the Naxal propaganda…Naxals did this to keep people under their influence. Outside these memorials Naxals held their Shaheed Diwas, glorified violence, and symbolised their leaders as heroes,' said inspector general (IG) of Bastar range, Sundarraj P.
The forces believe smashing these memorials is key to dispelling the notion that the rebels still hold control of large swathes of forestland from where they've been recently wiped out – especially in weaning local villagers away from what the government believes is now a demoralised insurgency.
'There are less than 350 armed cadres who are refusing to surrender and putting up a fight with security forces. Hundreds of them have already surrendered,' said another police officer.
Sundarraj said in some cases, the requests for destroying the memorials came from local villagers themselves after forces set up camps in the areas. 'People also do not want to remember that legacy…At many places people themselves have requested us to get it removed because the future of their children, who could have gone to school, were destroyed by Naxals,' he said. 'Such memorials won't be allowed.'