Last fortnight, I visited Kanker in Chhattisgarh—one of the districts historically affected by Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), along with Bijapur, Sukma, and Narayanpur. Notably, Bastar and Kondagaon have recently been removed from the Ministry of Home Affairs’ list of LWE-affected areas.

Kanker is also among the 112 districts selected under the Government of India’s Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP). These two aspects—LWE legacy and aspirational district status—motivated my visit, particularly in light of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent assertion that several aspirational districts are now doing better than their respective state averages.

While searching for the local MLA, I came across a government-organised workshop attended by over 300 people at a local school. This was no ordinary event—it was a well-coordinated awareness and registration drive under the Dharti Aaba Janbhagidari Abhiyan, launched by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs on 15 June to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary year of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, revered as Dharti Aaba. Just two days later, on 17 June, this full-fledged programme was already underway in Kanker’s remote tribal belts—a reflection of the........

© News18