After Years in Shadows, Maoist’s Brother Walks Into Peace

In a poor Brahmin priestly family of freedom fighters in a remote village of Peddapalli in Karimnagar district of Telangana were born three brothers.

Ironically, two of the brothers would go on to take up arms against the State for decades.

The eldest son of the family Mallojula Koteshwara Rao joined the Maoist movement in 1974 aged 20. That was the last time his mother saw him alive.

Koteshwar Rao more familiar by the name of Kishenji became a terror to the governments wherever he operated ruthlessly implementing the Maoist ideology. His youngest brother Mallojula Venugopal Rao too followed in his footsteps.

Both the brothers were committed to the movement and spent their entire lives underground, operating actively but with the shadow of death always looming over them.

On November 24, 2011, Kishenji was killed in an encounter with security forces in West Bengal. His younger brother Venugopal however continued his struggle.

Venugopal was unable to visit the funeral of his mother who passed away in 2022 for obvious reasons.

A key member of the politburo, Venugopal carried a handsome bounty on his head yet he was now seriously contemplating the relevance of armed struggle and its ability to make a change in the landscape of the nation.

Therefore, it was a major victory for the government in its war on Naxalism when Venugopal surrendered before Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis along with 78 members of his cadre on October 15.

What also influenced Venugopal to take this decision was the recent offensive by the Central government.

Union Minister Amit Shah has vowed to make India free of naxalism by March 31, 2026. Since then, scores of Maoists have been killed in encounters.

Whether it is due to the pressure tactics of the Centre and the operations by the Central forces or a realization about the futility of armed struggle, the youngest brother has joined the mainstream.

He has finally opted for peace and the government should ensure that Venugopal does not end up regretting his decision.