DANTEWADA: A meandering, narrow road cutting through an untamed forest has dealt a significant blow to a Maoist insurgency that has persisted as one of India’s lengthiest and most lethal rebellions.
As India commenced a six-week-long election on Friday, the residents of a small village experienced a momentous occasion: casting their votes for the first time.
During the previous national election, Tetam village lacked any government presence or polling booths; instead, it was only under the control of rebels who vehemently opposed any interaction with the state, recounted Tetam’s village chief, Mahadev Markam, to AFP.
Situated in the remote and rugged Bastar district of Chhattisgarh state, Tetam lies at the heart of the “Red Corridor,” a region inhabited by leftist insurgents committed to combatting the government. Due to the authorities’ inability to access rebel strongholds in the district, residents of Tetam were previously urged to travel extensive distances to cast their votes in government-controlled areas.
However, with Maoist insurgents threatening repercussions for anyone participating in the electoral process, very few dared to undertake the perilous journey—a journey fraught with danger and devoid of incentives. “Why bother voting? Why would anyone traverse through the forest, scaling hills and crossing streams, risking the wrath of the rebels? For what purpose? What has the government ever done for us?” questioned Markam.
This year, however, marked a departure from the norm: Tetam was among more than 100 villages in former rebel-held territories where national elections were conducted for the first time since gaining independence from British rule in 1947. —AFP/APP
