New Delhi: As the country gears up to rid the country of Naxalism by March 31, it is not just the last Maoist leaders and cadres who are being hunted or asked to surrender. Material symbols of left-wing extremism – particularly the “monuments” built by the CPI (Maoist) to “memory” its top leaders and commanders killed over the years – were also wiped out in mission mode, ensuring that villages once under the influence of the Naxalites were never reminded of their violent and turbulent past. On the instructions of Home Minister Amit Shah and reiterated during a review of left-wing extremism in Raipur on February 8, CRPF In the past 15 days, 53 such “monuments” were demolished in Sukma, Bijapur and Bastar in Chhattisgarh. Backed by a map of the buildings’ locations, and often with the help of locals, the CRPF aims to demolish all the buildings by the end of February. CRPF sources said plantation activities will then be carried out in the cleared areas to make them blend in with the surrounding forests. Among the “monuments” bulldozed over the past two weeks, often layered concrete structures shaped like pyramids or pagodas, some bearing the CPI (Maoist) emblem, were erected after the neutralization of Narayanpur’s general secretary Nambala Keshawar Rao, also known as Basavaraju, in May 2025 and central committee member Ramachandra Pratap Reddy, also known as Chalapathi, in Gariabond in January. 2025. A senior CRPF official told TOI that the force’s efforts also include removing fear of Maoists in the minds of the people of Chhattisgarh, especially the Bastar tribe. “When villagers saw these ‘monuments’ reduced to dust… without protest or confrontation from the Naxalites, it was a clear message of the fall of Maoism,” the official said. This also rules out any potential rallying point for “remaining” Naxalites or sympathizers, another official said.
