The Central Committee of the Maoist Party has responded to a proposal for peace talks. It said that people’s interests can be achieved not just through armed struggle but in many other ways. This offer has come from its democratic thinking.
Published Apr 12, 2025 | 1:00 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 12, 2025 | 2:24 PM
Though the war is intense in Chhattisgarh, Operation Kagar war is ongoing in Maharashtra (Gadchiroli), Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana.
Synopsis: The Maoists have announced a proposal for peace talks that everyone can agree with. Democratic forces must work to make the central and state governments think in this direction. However, governments have put forth a pre-condition for sitting across the table: lay down the arms. If the Maoists were to surrender, why should there be talks?
Some wars are waged when both sides insist that they must push forward despite suffering heavy casualties. In such conflicts, each party sees its gain.
But battles fought between forces of aggression and self-defence are of a different kind. The war currently shedding blood in central India is of this nature.
In this conflict, the Indian government is targeting ordinary people. On the surface, it says the fight is against the Maoists, but according to the Maoists, most of those killed — nearly three-fourths — are non-combatant civilians.
The Indian government launched this war to hand over Central India’s natural resources to corporate companies. It is a war being waged to wipe out the Adivasis living in those areas and turn India into an Adivasi-mukth country.
Although this war dates back several decades, it has been called Operation Kagar since January 2024. So far, over 400 people have lost their lives in this operation. Voices are being raised against this human destruction within and outside India. The violation of Adivasi rights in India came up for discussion even at the United Nations.
Since the beginning of Operation Kagar, civil society’s relentless outcry has been to end this war. In continuation of the democratic concern, demanding an end to this killing spree, a Committee for Peace Talks was formed in Hyderabad.
The committee proposed that “both the Indian Government and the Maoist Party observe a ceasefire and come forward for peace talks”.
With a humane concern that civilian lives should not be lost, the Maoists expressed willingness for peace talks. Since the war is on in at least six states, the Central Committee has responded to the civil society’s call.
Maoists have always made positive decisions whenever peace proposals arose, without considering whether the proposed talks might benefit or harm their movement.
The Central Committee’s statement issued its statement last month. It highlights the Maoists’ stance on how they value people’s lives. In a one-and-a-half-page statement, it emphasised that the lives of Adivasis are more vital than the deaths of their leaders and cadres.
This is not the first time that the Maoists have shown willingness for peace talks. In 2002 and again in 2004, peace talks progressed to a certain stage in undivided Andhra Pradesh, before they failed.
Later, when Mamata Banerjee came to power in West Bengal, the Maoists responded positively to the idea of talks. In December 2023, the government repeatedly proposed peace talks soon after the BJP came to power in Chhattisgarh. The Dandakaranya Committee of the Maoist Party expressed its willingness twice.
Since the government appeared ready for talks, the Maoists suggested that a conducive atmosphere should be created — for which the central and state armed forces should be confined to their barracks, and new military camps should not be established.
Yet, the government did not budge. Even while speaking of peace talks, Operation Kagar continued.
Now, once again, a Peace Talks Committee has been formed in Hyderabad, proposing peace talks from the side of civil society.
This time, the Central Committee of the Maoist Party has responded. It said that people’s interests can be achieved not just through armed struggle but in many other ways. This offer has come from the committee’s democratic thinking.
Even while caught amid intense fighting, the Maoists are ready for peace talks. It shows their political sagacity.
There is an opinion that the Maoists suffered because of the peace talks in united Andhra Pradesh. Whatever the analysis, the Maoists’ approach to peace talks has nothing to do with its strengths, weaknesses, or self-interest.
Caught amid lakhs of troops and hundreds of military camps, the lives of Adivasis have become increasingly precarious and vulnerable — reduced to a daily struggle for survival. The party’s Central Committee has now forwarded the Dandakaranya Committee’s proposals to the Chhattisgarh government. In this background, the Maoist Party agreed to the present round of peace talk proposals.
However, this carnage is not limited to Chhattisgarh alone. Though it’s most intense there, the Kagar war is ongoing in Maharashtra (Gadchiroli), Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana. Hence, the Maoists consented to peace talks with those state governments and the Centre.
The Maoists have demanded that “the Kagar war being waged against the oppressed people, oppressed communities, and oppressed nationalities of central and eastern India be stopped”.
So, this is not a conflict merely between the Maoists and various state or central governments. It is a confrontation between the Adivasi and oppressed people of East and Central India and the Indian government.
The Adivasis of those regions are the guardians of the natural mineral wealth. The Indian Constitution has recognised their existence and political and cultural way of life rooted in self-governance. It has provided them with legal protection.
The government, however, violated this guarantee by pursuing the corporatisation of Adivasi regions under the veil of development. The war has erupted as a result of the government’s development model, which is endangering the lives of Adivasis.
To end this war, the Maoists have honoured the proposals made by the Peace Talks Committee. They have declared, “We are always ready for peace talks in the people’s interests”.
In this war, the Indian government has not only deployed its armed forces but also recruited Adivasi youth into the same forces and using them to kill other Adivasis — a fact mentioned in the Maoist statement.
Additionally, the government has been claiming since last year that hundreds of Maoists have surrendered. But forced surrenders are also part of the government’s repression strategy. There is a real danger that these “surrendered Naxalites” could be used in the war against the people of Dandakaranya.
It has created an atmosphere of civil war in the region. Whichever way one looks at it, this situation is severely alarming to the very existence of the people.
In such a situation, the Maoists not only considered the Adivasis but also thought about the interests of non-Adivasis as well.
Suppose, the state and central governments create a conducive environment for peace talks. In such a scenario, these fundamental issues of all communities can be brought to the fore. Since they wish to end this carnage brought about by the rulers’ development model, the Maoists are not limiting their discussion to merely political and economic aspects.
They have also spoken about social and cultural concerns within constitutional governance. They stated that the central government is “constitutionally legitimising discrimination against religious minorities,” and they spoke about the protection of the cultural traditions of Adivasi and non-Adivasi peoples, mother tongues, and the environment.
After the Maoists released their statement, the Chhattisgarh government responded. It said it was ready for talks but also insisted that the Maoists must first lay down their arms. Union Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated the same. If the Maoists lay down their arms, where is the need for any discussion?
The Maoists have come forward with principled and constructive proposals for peace talks. In contrast, the government has placed a condition that annuls the very need for dialogue. Democratic forces must recognise how absurd this is. It should become a topic of serious public debate.
Whatever stand people may have towards Maoist policies, the Maoists have announced a proposal for peace talks that everyone can agree with. Democratic forces must work to make the central and state governments think in this direction.
It is not about supporting the Maoists. It is about the people whose interests the Maoists — and all of us — are concerned about.
(Paani is an Executive Committee member of Virasam, Revolutionary Writers’ Association. Translated from Telugu by Varanasi Subrahmanyam. Views are personal. Edited by Majnu Babu).
