Lakhmi Oyam sat with her three-month-old daughter, whose little eyes barely opened. Beside Oyam was her mother-in-law. The three had travelled far from their village to attend a protest in solidarity with Oyam’s husband, who was killed by the Indian security forces this year.
On January 30, Ramesh Oyam (19) was shot by security forces in Bhairamgarh tehsil of Bijapur District, close to the Indravati river in Central India’s Chhattisgarh state.
On the afternoon of that fateful day, Ramesh Oyam had come to the village to meet his relatives, on the occasion of his daughter being born. After arriving at his aunt’s house in Bhairamgarh, he decided to take a bath in the Indravati river. His brother-in-law Payko Kunjam, who was with him, narrowly escaped.
“The security forces were hiding on the other side of the river. We had no idea and left in the afternoon to refresh ourselves. They probably had come back from a search operation in the nearby village and were hiding. This is how they usually do things. When they saw us going towards the river, they started firing at us,” Kunjam said.
Kunjam was able to run away, but Oyam was shot down. “After I reached the village area, I realised he was not with me,” he added.
Kunjam searched and found Oyam’s body later that afternoon.
Since December 2023, more than 130 suspected rebels or Naxalites have been killed by security forces. However locals have accused the government of targeting civilians and fabricating the circumstances behind these murders.
On May 10, the security forces claimed they killed 12 "Naxals” in an operation, however civil society groups and locals alleged they were not associated with any organisation.
According to the official casualty count submitted to the Lok Sabha in March 2023, between 2018 and 2022, the operations have taken mostly civilian lives.
Chhattisgarh is a heavily forested state in central India with a huge tribal population of 32 percent.
Bijapur is one of seven districts of southern Chhattisgarh with 70% of communities being Advisai (an umbrella term to describe tribal populations).
Chhattisgarh has been brimming with the Naxalite movement that emerged in the region during the late 1960s.
In 1967, oppressed peasants inspired by communist movements, took a stand against the feudal landowners in Naxalbari. Today, the Naxalites remain a powerful force among marginalized classes.
In 2019, the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), known also as Maoists or Naxalites, intensified their campaigns against mining corporations and development projects, which threatened to expel indigenous tribes living on mineral-rich soil.
As a result of multiple uprisings since 2009 in the state's Bastar region, state forces have stepped up their response.
According to findings by the activist group Moolwasi Bachao Manch, around 222 paramilitary camps of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been established around the Sukma, Narayanpur, Dantewada and Bijapur Districts.
In addition many local, cyber and anti-naxal forces roam throughout the state, making it one of the most highly militarised states of India.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is determined to defeat the rebels within three years by building greater security infrastructure.
The uptick in killings also coincided with the Modi government winning the Chhattisgarh Assembly (state) elections last December which locals say have exacerbated repression.
Oyam was part of the ongoing protests against mining and militarization as a member of Mulwasi Bachao Manch – a movement of Adivasi youth.
Despite increasing participation in demonstrations, the allegations by local communities against staged encounters have been ignored by the government.
Tadopot village, the site of multiple murders, has now become a protest site and symbol of resistance.
While the encounters still continue, human rights experts said this time, the forces are targeting women and children, which has increased compared to previous times.
Speaking about the ongoing attacks against the tribal community by the authorities, Bastar-based human rights lawyer Bela Bhatia explained that it is imperative to understand the historical context of Bastar.
Bhatia has also been at the receiving end of harassment and threats by state elements for her advocacies.
“The violence right now, especially since 1 January 2024, has been very acute. This is another phase of counter-insurgency. In this phase, we are witnessing a more direct attack on the civilians. Meanwhile, the impunity that the forces have enjoyed, is now more face,” she said.
She also talked about how many children have become victims of the violence. “A lot of children have lost their lives,” Bhatia added.
One of the cases that gathered a lot of attention was the death of a six-month-old girl, Mangli, who was shot dead by Indian security forces in Bastar last February. The bullet went through Maase Sodi’s hand as she held her daughter, cutting through her fingers before killing the infant girl.
Despite the outrage, the authorities have failed to investigate the matter.
Bhatia said that while Adivasi women have always been targeted by the authorities, recent months have seen this intensify.
Raje Oyam, a bystander belonging to the same tribe as Rajesh, survived an attack by the security forces in February 2024.
Raje Oyam limped her way to the Tadapot protest site, as people around her immediately spread a plastic sheet on the ground so she could lie down. Exhausted and visibly in pain, Oyam had difficulty sitting down or getting up.
Oyam was one of the few who lived to tell the tale of what happened to her.
Sitting at the site where Ramesh Oyam was killed, Raje Oyam was wearing a yellow saree around her frail body. In a resolute voice she told The News Lens “I was giving food to my younger daughter, when we heard that the security forces in hundreds were entering the village. Before we could do anything, a CPRF official entered the veranda of my house and pointed his gun towards me and my 8-year-old daughter,” she said.
Oyam tried to shield her daughter as the assailant opened fire on them. The bullet hit Oyam at the back, narrowly missing her spinal cord.
The police have refused to accept her official complaints. “I will keep fighting till the time then don’t,” Oyam said determinedly.
Amid the conflict with the Maoists, government forces have been accused multiple times of brutal sexual and physical violence against Adivasi women.
In 2017, the National Human Rights Commission, prima facie, found allegations of rape, sexual and physical assault by state police personnel on 16 women to be true.A placard held by protesters in Bhairamgarh district, Chhattisgarh, central India, 2024, reads: "Take back the police forces from our villages." (Photo credit: Bhumika Saraswati)
According to Bhatia and Adivasi activist leader Soni Suri, security forces purposefully target women with impunity.
Raje Oyam case is among hundreds of others that is being blatantly ignored by the government.
“In a recent case, a woman was tortured and killed by the security forces. Her shrieks could be heard throughout for hours,” Suri said.
Sharanya Nayak, of the RITES Forum, part of regional feminist network Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) - said that violence, including rape and sexual violence has always been weaponized in armed conflict.
“It is not really surprising that the paramilitary or military forces use this, because this is not just common to Chhattisgarh. Such incidents have been recorded in detail in Kashmir, in Manipur and even around the world - whether in India, whether in Palestine, whether in Bosnia, wherever,” she said.
Raje Onam, who is a mother to four children is not part of any Naxal group and was still attacked.
Multiple women spoke with The News Lens sharing how women are not spared and are constantly harassed by male officers coupled with excessive force and illegal searches.
Nayak explained how such violent tactics are intended to blur the lines between uniformed combatant and a civilian.
“It is a deliberate strategy, which stems from a patriarchal understanding of women's bodies, control over their sexuality or how control over someone's body is part of the subjugation, repression of their agency,” she said.
She believes the Indian state is known to attack indigenous people, to break their aspirations for autonomy, self-determination and liberation.
Indignant locals like Ramesh Oyam’s mother has vowed she will fight until they achieve justice.
“What was his fault? He had just become a father and was killed. How can they kill my son like this,” Oyam’s mother asks.
This story was produced as a part of Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development’s Media and Visual Fellowship on Militarism, Peace and Women’s Human Rights.
