Development, not wounds, must shape tribal region discourse

Tribal communities need security, infrastructure, livelihoods and confidence alongside accountability for past hardships.

Congress and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, during his recent visit to Jagla village in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district, interacted with tribal communities and expressed deep concern over the deaths of children in Baiga tribal-dominated areas due to illness, severe malnutrition, malaria and contaminated water, describing it as a “100% failure” of the government. He alleged that “it seems as if tribal families living in the heart of the country have been completely abandoned”, with neither the Central nor the Madhya Pradesh government standing with them. But is the entire story of tribal society merely one of tragedy, poverty, malnutrition or government failure? Should the changes witnessed in security and development over the past several years in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and other Naxal-affected areas not also be discussed? Particularly in 2026, when not only the Government of India but countries around the world are appreciating the success of the campaign to make the country Naxal-free, the broader picture deserves attention. Tribal areas have faced a double burden for decades. On one side were problems related to poverty, education, healthcare, roads, employment and access to administration. On the other was Naxal violence. Naxalism caused the greatest damage to the very areas in whose name its politics was conducted.

It can be called a coincidence that while Rahul Gandhi was using the issue of alleged neglect of tribals to make a political point and provoking innocent people, I was travelling through tribal dominated Chhattisgarh. I was there to attend an event organised by the daily Nav Pradesh, started 15 years ago by journalist Yashwant Dhote, to honour young people, women and senior citizens who have made significant contributions in different fields of society. The event was held in Bemetara, far from the state capital Raipur, where tribal girls, women and men delighted and impressed everyone, including me, with songs, music and dance. Conversations before and after the event with ordinary people and some leaders associated with the BJP and Congress gave me a sense that a new confidence is genuinely emerging in Chhattisgarh. They are no longer afraid of Maoist guns. Instead, they want good roads, education and healthcare at the earliest, as well as better incomes by taking products from their cottage industries to wider markets.