"Bastar is free from naxal activities": IG Sundarraj terms de-mining and development as next key challenges
Jagdalpur, May 22
Inspector General of Police Sundarraj P on Friday said that the Bastar Region and the entire nation are officially free from armed Naxal activities following a total halt in insurgent violence since March 2026.
According to the IG, the security forces will pivot toward the massive logistical challenges of consolidating peace, locating and safely defusing landmines across the terrain, and aggressively accelerating local development projects.
Speaking to ANI, he said, "As desired by the Govt of India, State Govt of Chhattisgarh and the native population, right now, Bastar Region is free from naxal activity. Since March 2026, almost all naxal related violent activities have come down to a halt in Bastar region and in most of the parts of the country we can now safely and comfortably declare that Bastar is free from naxal activities and the entire nation is free from armed naxal activities".
After this, the main challenges will be to "consolidate the gain we have obtained in the last couple of years and to carry forward this momentum and to de-mine the entire region to identify the mines, locate them and safely defuse them. Also to further carry forward the development activities," he added.
To counter insurgent ideologies, Bastar Range IG emphasised that the state police are actively engaging in community outreach to protect native populations from hidden agendas aimed at disrupting ongoing local development.
"Earlier also, CPI Maoist formation, when they entered this region, they started their activities with these 3 issues: jal, jungle, zameen; with regard to forest rights, water resources and other basic things. They started to confuse the local native population, they started to give them false narrative about Government, about local administration, about security forces. But finally, the native population understood the conspiracy of the Maoists and their supporters. Now, they are not going to support any kind of disruptive activities," IG said.
He further stated, "Now, the Govt is trying to provide basic facilities to the population. Some people with a hidden agenda may try to provoke the population. Keeping this in mind, we are continuously trying to outreach to the native population...All such initiatives are getting very positive response from the population and we are very hopeful that the native people will not get carried away..."
Attributing the success of 'Mission 2026' to a united team effort, Bastar Range IG honoured the supreme sacrifices of over 1,500 security personnel and civilians who laid the foundation for a Naxal-free region.
He said,"Mission 2026 is an outcome of a clear policy decision by the Government of India and concerned LWE affected State Govts, including Chhattisgarh and the dedication of all the security forces...They played their role very effectively. Intelligence agencies and other supporting agencies - it was a joint effort, it was a team effort, and enormous support by the native population who are victims of these LWE activities. Many of our security forces there made a supreme sacrifice. More than 1500 local Police personnel and central paramilitary forces in Bastar Region made supreme sacrifice for peace and progress of Bastar."
"Civilians too lost their lives. Public representatives were killed by the naxals. It is a combination of all the hardwork and sincere efforts of the stakeholders plus the sacrifices of all people and security forces of Bastar Region. We are grateful to the Home Minister and Chief Minister as well as Deputy CM of Chhattisgarh, entire Govt functionaries plus Police Headquarters so we could achieve this task. This is a happy and proud moment for all security forces...Next stage would be to consolidate the gain which we have obtained in the last couple of seasons and to carry forward this momemtum," IG added.
IG stated that completely clearing the region of hidden explosives will take a couple of seasons, since it is a hilly area.
"It will take another couple of seasons (to clear the area) because it is a very extensive task. With the help of local Intelligence inputs and the information which we are gaining from the interrogation of surrendered cadres, and with the public support, our teams are continuously doing the demining activity. Since these mines are planted in jungle area, near the river streams and in hilly regions, it would take some time to totally identify and declare the entire region as IED-free or mine-free. So, it will take another couple of seasons but our teams are thoroughly doing this task," said IG.
— ANI
Reader Comments
This is a massive achievement. But let's not forget the thousands of families who lost loved ones. The real challenge now is ensuring that development reaches the tribal communities - proper roads, schools, hospitals. Jal, jungle, zameen issues need genuine solutions, not just slogans.
Great to see this progress from an international perspective. The coordinated approach between central and state governments, combined with grassroots intelligence, seems to have worked. The de-mining phase will be critical - hope they use modern technology to speed it up.
As someone from Chhattisgarh, this feels surreal. I remember when my family couldn't travel to Bastar without fear. Now the focus should be on creating jobs for local youth so they don't get lured back into extremism. Demining is crucial but so is economic empowerment. 👍
Kudos to all security forces and the administration. But I hope this doesn't mean the government becomes complacent. The root causes - land rights, forest rights, lack of basic amenities - must be addressed. Otherwise, history might repeat itself. "Jal, jungle, zameen" is not just a Maoist slogan, it's a real issue for tribals.
Impressive work by Indian security forces. The transition from counter-insurgency to peace-building is always the hardest part. I hope the government invests heavily in education and healthcare in these regions. The real victory will be when children in Bastar have the same opportunities as those in cities.
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