Loksparsh News Network
Editorial – Omprakash Chunarakar
Gadchiroli –The very name conjures an image of a land overshadowed by fear. A district marked as backward on the map, but one steeped in blood in the pages of history. A terrain that echoed with gunshots, where children had to pick up weapons instead of books, and where the very concept of the ‘Constitution’ was absent. There was a time when so-called ‘people’s courts’ operated in locked rooms, unleashing anarchy in the name of democracy. But today, from these very forests, a new sun of hope is rising – and that sun wears the uniform.
The changes that have unfolded in Gadchiroli over the past few years are not just numbers or success stories. This is a saga of transformation – one that heals deep wounds etched in the psyche of an entire district and breathes new life into it. At the centre of this transition stands the Gadchiroli Police Force – particularly its leader, Superintendent of Police Nilotpal. His leadership is not just about policing strategy, but about engaging at a human level and asking the question, “Why does violence happen?” He did not go into the jungle to find ‘terrorists’, but to find lost human beings.
‘Operation Roshni’, ‘Prayas’, ‘Sanjeevani’, and ‘Udaan’ were not just government schemes – they are the blossoming dreams in the life of Gadchiroli. Initiatives like ‘Police Dadalora Khidki’, ‘Maha Janjagran Melavas’, and the ‘Gadchiroli Marathon’ are platforms of civic dialogue, in a region once terrified of the very idea of communication. Along every turn of the road today, one senses not just security, but emerging opportunities. In place of guns now stand mobile towers, bridges carry books, and in schoolyards, a cry rises – “Sir, we want to study too.”
At the heart of this transformation is the unmatched courage and humanity-driven mechanism of the Gadchiroli Police Force. In the past three years – 17 encounters, 36 Maoists neutralised, 69 arrested, and 59 surrendered – these are not just statistics, but proof of how an institution halted the cycle of violence and sowed the seeds of constitutional values in society’s soul. The true success lies not just in defeating terror, but in addressing the causes that gave birth to it – that is Gadchiroli’s real formula for victory.
Today, villagers speak a new language – bank accounts, training, employment, “Police Mama”, scholarships – and at the root of all this lie the government’s sensitive footsteps reaching the innermost corners of the district. Under the very eyes of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the marriages of surrendered Maoist youths, their rehabilitation, new homes for their children, and access to education – all of this is a new social imagination. The Gadchiroli Police have not just apprehended criminals, but awakened their humanity for a better future.
This entire mission received strong political backing – in the form of Chief Minister and Guardian Minister Devendra Fadnavis. He did not stand with Gadchiroli as just another district or project, but as a responsibility. The second phase of the Surjagarh Iron Ore Project and the groundbreaking of the 85-kilometre slurry pipeline are being inaugurated by him – and that too on his birthday, July 22. This is no mere coincidence, but a reflection of the belief that “If one must celebrate a birthday, let it be by bringing light into someone’s life.”
Today, more than 20,000 youth in Gadchiroli are employed, over 800 villages have roads, and the region is equipped with quality police stations, healthcare services, and educational opportunities. This is a success story crafted by visionary administrative leadership, compassionate police officers, and the strength of social harmony.
In the forests of Gadchiroli now, one no longer hears the sounds of gunfire, but the rustle of books, the ringing of school bells, and the newfound confidence of fingers pressing voting buttons. This is not the triumph of an individual – this is a saga of victory. A new awakening born from the soil that once feared democracy, now nurtured by the green-uniformed daughters of the Constitution.
बंदुकीवर संविधानाचा विजय : गडचिरोलीत सुरक्षा, पुनर्वसन आणि सहभागाचं त्रिसूत्र