Two sisters live in a clearing in the forest about 10 km beyond the abandoned houses and empty yards of Mukram village in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district. A third young girl cowers in the courtyard of her aunt’s house in neighbouring Tokanpalli. Between 14 and 18 years of age, Kose, Rame and Hidme (names changed) say they fled their homes in Mukram after they were sexually assaulted by Special Police Officers...

A series of shots rang out in the night far beyond the barricaded perimeter of the Central Reserve Police Force camp here in Chhattisgarh?s Dantewada district. For a few minutes, the sentries on duty returned fire before their guns, and the ones that sounded in the distance, fell silent. By morning, the adivasi settlements around the camp had emptied, the villagers wary of being caught and questioned by the CRPF?s morning...

While the focus remains on the recent spate of Maoist attacks, statistics show that Naxals have been killing three persons in every two days for the past five years. The Left-wing extremists have killed about 2,670 people -- about 1,680 civilians and nearly 990 security personnel -- since 2005, equalling three deaths every two days. About 1,440 Maoists have also lost their lives in the past five years, which translates...

RAJINDER SACHAR is one of India’s renowned civil rights activists. A former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Sachar has done pioneering work in enabling a legal framework to assist hundreds who stand accused by the police across India for waging war against the State, many of them with little or dubious evidence. Though 87 years old, Sachar continues to work tirelessly with one of India’s key rights groups,...

A group of villagers sit on a shaded platform on a hot afternoon in Mirche village. The topic of discussion today is the Mongra barrage - a dam-like structure constructed on the nearby Shivnath river. The conversation is animated. The villagers discuss the displacement the barrage has caused and the lack of compensation from the authorities. "It's been four years since the dam was built. Where is our compensation," asks...