The three former Maoists said they held fire-arms but never fired a bullet.

Recalling her childhood, Geeta said she belonged to Gurekasa village in Dhanora tehsil where she lived with her parents and three sisters. She was a 10-year-old girl when Maoists killed her father. Geeta had to quit her studies in sixth standard.

Despite her father’s death, Geeta got influenced by the Maoist movement, impressed by their claims of fighting against “patriarchy and forced marriages and talks about women’s rights.”

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Geeta fled her village and joined the movement, which brought her to Abujhmaad in Chhattisgarh. She has not seen her home since.

Talking about her life in the jungle, she said, “The Maoists encouraged people to study but there were no means for it. No school, no proper teachers. But our suppliers used to bring us medical related books. I also have had a tablet since 2017 on which I would read,” said Geeta.

“I was also trained in treating bullet wounds, stitching, administering injections as well as giving medicines for several health issues… I also helped many villagers who could not get medical aid,” she added.

Geeta was a divisional committee member in the CPI (Maoist) when, led by Takkalappalli Vasudeva Rao, alias Rupesh, known as the Maoists’ bombmaker, she surrendered in Jagdalpur.

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Geeta got Rs 50,000 from the government. She used some of the money to buy books.

Geeta said she received some guidance from one “Pathak sir”. “But most of it was self-study, without any coaching,” she added.

“I am very happy. My father wanted me to become a teacher. I will complete my HSC and try to become a nurse. I wish to see my mother and sisters soon,” said Geeta, who lives in a rehabilitation centre in Jagdalpur. “Life has completely changed.”

Like Geeta, Arjun Oyam, 32, also wanted to study but as Maoism intensified in his village, the teachers stopped coming to school. Arjun comes from Todka village, which falls in Bijapur district’s Gangaloor area, infamous for mass recruitment of Maoists.

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“During Salwa Judum, my house was burnt and I lost my books too… I ended up joining the Maoists in 2010 and was sent to Abujhmaad,” said Arjun, 32.

With the Maoists, Arjun became an Area Committee Member (ACM). However, he continued to study. He said the Maoists did not allow him to return. “I studied in their political school and became a teacher there for a year, teaching basic Maths, Hindi, Environment etc. I also requested them to send me to a government school but they said I will get arrested… I did not agree with them when they murdered Anganwadi workers and teachers,” said Arjun.

With hundreds of Maoists being killed, Arjun thought he would die too. “But our leaders chose to give up weapons. The Bijapur SP, among others, encouraged me to study. The policemen helped me get my birth certificate and caste certificate needed to apply for the exam, and Chaitu dada (a former Maoist) encouraged me to study. I bought my own books from the surrender amount,” he said.

Arjun also gave the credit to his friends in his village who guided him on WhatsApp. “During the day, I received training in fish-farming and on working as an electrician while I spent my nights studying. I am very happy that I got the first class,” he said.


“My friends and the SP congratulated me. Now I want to complete my studies and become a teacher in my village. I have not gone to my village in over a decade,” added Arjun.

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Asked how his life has changed since his days in the jungle, Arjun said, “There is a huge difference. First time in my life I got to see a lot in the outside world like social media and education. They (authorities) took us to Raipur and showed us the Vidhan Sabha, Tribal Museum, Jungle Safari and the Cricket stadium…”

Like Arjun, Santosh Achla, better known as Sannu, an ACM, was also a teacher in the Maoist party. “My father was a suspected Maoist and died in judicial custody in 2023 after spending years in jail. My mother died this June and I was allowed to attend her final rites,” said Sannu, 31. He dropped out of school in the second standard.

“I joined the Maoists in 2008 after getting inspired by Chetna Natya Manch (the cultural troupe of the Maoist party) as I also wanted to sing, dance and give speeches. We were told that the Raoghat mining project will take away our village in Gundur, Koyelibeda, in Kanker district (in Chhattisgarh),” he said.

The Maoists taught Sannu to read and write and he became a teacher in 2023, teaching young cadres basic Maths and Hindi. “I had a phone without a SIM card on which I used to read. I used a memory card and a pen drive to get online books,” he added.

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Sannu said he wants to study further. “I want to start my own business and also do farming on my land. But to do anything, you need to be educated.”