'Poona Margham': From guns to growth, 1,400 former Maoists embrace peace in Chhattisgarh's Bastar

Time of India

5 days ago

RAIPUR: In the deep forests of Bastar, once synonymous with gunfire, ambushes, and shadowy Maoist hideouts, a quiet revolution is taking shape. It's not being fought with rifles, but with hope, skill, and second chances.
And at the heart of this transformation lies 'Poona Margham' (New Path), a grassroots rehabilitation campaign that's helping former insurgents find their way back to society.
Launched across all seven Maoist-affected districts of the Bastar Range, 'Poona Margham: 'Rehabilitation for Social Reintegration' has seen an unprecedented 1,400 Maoists surrender and rejoin the mainstream in just 18 months, making it one of India's most significant peacebuilding efforts in recent memory.
Bastar IG P Sundarraj said, 'Poona Margham is more than laying down arms. It's about picking up life again.'
Poona Margham offers a genuine opportunity for former cadres, many of them young men and women radicalized in their teens, to reclaim their identities, reconnect with families, and lead lives of dignity and self-reliance, Bastar police said.
From PLGA to Plough: Changing Roles, Changing Lives
In districts like Sukma, Bijapur, and Dantewada, where red flags once marked Maoist strongholds, young people are now seen welding machines in training centres, growing vegetables in community gardens, or attending tailoring classes at newly built skill hubs.
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Take Rahul, for instance — once a PLGA platoon member responsible for carrying out ambushes on CRPF convoys. Today, he runs a small motorbike repair shop in Narayanpur and helps the local administration identify vulnerable youth at risk of radicalisation.
'The gun only gave me fear. This wrench gives me freedom,' he says, tightening the bolt on a customer's wheel.
Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, P Sundarraj, who has been instrumental in shaping Poona Margham, describes the initiative not just as a security measure but as 'a moral mission.'
'Poona Margham is about more than laying down arms. It's about picking up life again. It shows that positive change is not only possible, it is happening, here and now,' he says.
'The Maoist ideology has become directionless. Today, those who once spread fear are helping us build roads, schools, and even peace committees.' IG said.
Under the government's Surrender and Rehabilitation Policy 2025, all former Maoists are offered skill development training in trades like carpentry, electrical work, agriculture, animal husbandry, financial assistance for starting small businesses, psychological counselling and social reintegration support and secure housing and access to health services.