After decades, Red corridor gears up for tryst with freedom

For many years, August 15 was just another day in the life of Ramji Dhruv, a 42-year-old from the village of Konge. In 2013, Maoists forced him and his family out of their home, and Dhruv spent the next 13 years living in fear of the rebels. The area around his village was cut off from the rest of the world, with dense forests and a history of insurgency.

Maoists branded him a police informer and held him captive, and celebrations and symbols of national pride were banned. Dhruv's life changed in 2026 when security forces drove the Maoists out of his village. This year, he will celebrate Independence Day for the first time since 2013, marking a significant milestone in his life.

Since the end of left-wing extremism (LWE) in the region, schools and educational institutions across Abujhmad, a remote region of Chhattisgarh's Bastar, are preparing to celebrate Independence Day for the first time in decades. In Dantewada, three schools will raise the national flag after a 26-year hiatus, while in Bijapur, 11 educational institutions will do the same after nearly 21 years.

Across Abujhmad, several villages that were once cut off from the state are getting ready to celebrate Independence Day for the first time in years.

In Dantewada's Purangel, Lava, and Badepalli, primary schools have reopened after Maoist violence forced them to close. Villagers are now returning to their homes, and classrooms are moving back into the homes of villagers as there are no school buildings yet. However, on August 15, those modest classrooms will have something they haven't had for a generation – the Tricolour unfurled outside.