India, April 3 -- As the sun sets behind tall trees, a soft orange light spreads across Puvarti, once the epicentre of Maoism in the Bastar region and home to slain Maoist commander Madvi Hidma and his deputy, Barse Deva, who surrendered on January 2 this year. Nearly 100 kilometres from Sukma's district headquarters, Puvarti is surrounded by forested hills on three sides. Outsiders were not allowed to enter the village between 2000 and February 2024, when security forces established a camp.

Outside Hidma's home, his mother, Pojje, who is in her mid-sixties, is sweeping the mud floor of her small hut made of thatch and bamboo. She testifies to the winds of change. "I can now see children walking to school every morning inside the Puvarti...