Victims' Register Initiative, Categories, Historical and Structural Violence

Victims’ Register Initiative, Categories, Historical and Structural Violence

The Union Home Minister Amit Shah met with 55 people affected by Naxalite violence from left-wing extremism-affected areas in Chhattisgarh.

Table of Contents

Government’s Holistic Approach

The government’s strategy to address left-wing extremism is comprehensive, focusing on areas of security, development, ensuring the rights of local communities, governance improvements, and managing public perception.
This holistic approach reflects the government’s commitment to addressing law and order and socio-economic issues in conflict-affected regions.

Victim identity in conflict zones like Bastar is diverse, with two main categories:
- Those who have suffered at the hands of Maoists (presumably the people who met the Home Minister).
- Those victimised by the state, including security forces and the criminal justice system, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Another victim group includes those affected by the Salwa Judum, a vigilante group, and the displacement it caused. Around 55,000 tribals fled Chhattisgarh to take refuge in Andhra Pradesh during this period.

Structural violence against tribal communities has been ongoing since colonial times and was exacerbated post-independence.
Maoists capitalised on the absence of governance in tribal regions like Dandakaranya, an area covering 92,000 square kilometres across Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
Maoists sought to champion the tribal cause, filling the gap left by the state’s neglect of tribal regions.

Chhattisgarh’s Deputy Chief Minister announced plans to improve the implementation of a victims’ register to document those affected by violence in Bastar.
This initiative has significant potential to address the plight of victims, especially tribal communities, who find themselves caught between Maoists and the state.
The concept of a victims’ register has been successfully used in more than a dozen countries for conflict resolution, notably in Colombia’s left-wing extremism insurgency.

The process of identifying victims must be based on truth, reconciliation, and trust, rather than the identity of the perpetrator.
Without proper implementation, such initiatives risk creating further societal divides. However, done correctly, this can be a powerful confidence-building measure, expanding state support in Maoist-affected areas.

With the Maoist insurgency at its lowest, the time is ripe for the government to address tribal aspirations and rebuild trust in the region. The current circumstances offer a window of opportunity for long-term peacebuilding.