Raipur, March 31 -- On the day the clock ran out on the union government's deadline to end armed Maoist insurgency, Bastar woke up to a different kind of reality, one marked not by gunfire or ambush alerts, but by a cautious, almost unfamiliar sense of calm.
Across large parts of southern Chhattisgarh, particularly in the Bastar region, the mood appears to be shifting. Villagers are speaking more openly, movement has increased in once-sensitive pockets, and among young people there is a growing sense that the long shadow of violence may finally be receding.
This shift did not happen overnight. It is the result of nearly two years of sustained operations on the ground, supported by a parallel push on surrender and rehabilitation, along wit...