Return Of The Native: 14 Years After Fleeing Naxal Menace, Budhram Wardha Returns To Abujhmarh Village As DRG Jawan

Narayanpur: Dressed in military-style green-and-khaki camo, Budhram Wardha looked smart, but also somewhat menacing. Not to the residents of Albeda village, Abujhmarh, around 50 km from the district headquarters of Narayanpur in Chhattisgarh. As his friends and relatives rushed to embrace him, tears of joy flowed uncontrollably from his eyes, suddenly transforming the District Reserve Guard (DRG) jawan into a vulnerable village boy.

Wardha, who had had to flee his village fearing Naxalites, returned home on April 13 after a gap of 14 years, this time as part of a security team for Narayanpur Collector Namrata Jain, who had decided to ride a two-wheeler to Albeda to raise confidence among locals that the Naxal menace was over.

Albeda once had a parallel government run by the Naxalites. The geographical inaccessibility, dense forests and limited administrative access allowed the rebels to flourish there, while for the villagers life remained a struggle, with every day bringing new uncertainties, and every night shrouded in fear.

It was in such circumstances that Wardha’s life took a drastic turn. Wardha recalls that the Naxalite influence was at its peak in 2011-12, when some villagers were tortured to death, sending a chilling message to the rest of the villagers that anyone resisting would meet the same fate.

Wardha was just 25 years old at that time, a stage in life where dreams take shape. He had to fight for his survival as Naxalites continued to threaten that his family could be the next target.

“Naxal violence was rampant at that time. Three villagers were killed by them. They tortured our families,” he said. He had to take the difficult decision to leave behind his ancestral home, land and childhood memories. Following a Naxalite decree, his entire family fled.

Even after they settled in a refugee camp in Narayanpur, their fears weren't alleviated. In the dark of the night, any unfamiliar sound would make Wardha's heart race, so deeply was the fear ingrained in his mind.

But this fear also gave birth to a new determination to live by fighting. Wardha decided to join the police, not just as any job, but as a resolve to end the fear he and countless others experienced.

He was selected to be a part of the police force, and then joined the DRG, a special force formed by the Chhattisgarh government to operate in Naxal-affected areas. The involvement of local youth makes this force gel with the locals.

As the DRG played a major role in cornering the Naxalites in Chhattisgarh, Wardha participated in several anti-Naxal operations, no longer as a victim, but as a warrior fighting to ensure a secure future for his people.

On April 13, as he accompanied Collector Jain into Albeda and stepped into the village of his childhood, his playground and home, he recalls experiencing a rush of memories. Pointing at his ruined family house, he said the memories associated with it remain just as strong.

He went on to meet his relatives and inquired about their well-being, as villagers milled around him filled with joy. “My home has been destroyed. I feel better that the village is Naxal-free. Everything here has been devastated due to Naxal violence. Now, schools and Anganwadis should be built here. Basic amenities should be provided. I've also submitted an application to the administration,” he said.

Wardha also said he now intends to bring his children here to connect them with their roots. “Many families left the village and settled in Narayanpur. Now everyone wants to come back,” he said.

With the Naxalites decimated, Abujhmarh is on the cusp of a transformation. Already, the villages are receiving rations, roads are being built and education and health facilities are gradually expanding. Wardha believes all this is the result of a collective effort, in which the DRG, Central paramilitary forces, the administration and the government have contributed equally.

“Our village, and Bastar, have become Naxal-free, thanks to the collective cooperation of the DRG and other forces,” he underlined. It's a story repeated across Abujhmarh, a region that once symbolised fear and violence, and is now writing a story of hope, development and recovery.