For 28 years, Giridhar Tumreti lived in the forests of Gadchiroli, eventually becoming a State Committee member and leader of the Maoist movement. He witnessed dozens of comrades die, including 40 who were killed in an encounter in 2018, and at times carried their bodies on his shoulders.
One of the first to surrender to the Gadchiroli Police in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Giridhar now speaks about those years from a different place in his life. He says some people believe former cadres are not good people, but “Gurudev welcomed us first” and treated them with respect. “When Gurudev spoke about us that way, it healed us,” says Giridhar.
Anil, another former cadre, recalls the guilt of a conflict in which “what we were doing with weapons killed thousands of people.” During his first Sudarshan Kriya session, he cried uncontrollably as memories of violence, deaths and the resulting grief resurfaced. “That feeling of guilt was there. How can we correct that? So much violence has happened.
So many people have been killed. What can we do for those families? We can’t do anything for those families anymore, whether it was the police or our own companions.” Anil said he had been battling depression for two years. But after coming to the Ashram, he said, “I realised more clearly that the life I had chosen was for the people. I realised that I can continue that work for the rest of my life. I don’t fear for my future anymore.”
A New Chapter Begins
Around 100 rehabilitated former Naxalites 60 men and 40 women from Gadchiroli travelled to The Art of Living International Center for a three-day Happiness Program and an interaction with Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The initiative was jointly undertaken by Lloyds Metals and Energy Limited, Lloyds Infinite Foundation and the Gadchiroli district police administration.
The programme seeks to help participants release the weight of their past, rebuild self-confidence and emotional resilience, and rediscover a sense of belonging and possibility after years of conflict.
For many who spent almost three decades inside a conflict, life after surrender has been filled with questions. Rehabilitation remains a long process of learning how to inhabit ordinary life again how to relate to people, one’s own memories, family and work, and eventually to the future.
Rebels Meet Gurudev
During the interaction, Gurudev told them, “You all took up a cause in your life, that everyone should get equality. You stood against injustice in society.” Acknowledging their courage and sacrifice, he said, “You have this enthusiasm within you. You have sacrifice. But there is one thing that needs to be added—spirituality.”
Gurudev also told them, “There is a way to work for the country without weapons. You are good people. Your path was wrong. I want you, your families to be happy, your children to go to school, we’ll work towards it together.” He later shared, “You do not have to leave your homes and families to bring change. Live within society, work for change, and take others along with you.”
Sushila said, “If I had met Gurudev earlier, I would never have gone into the forest or joined the Naxalite group.” After years of rain, heat, cold, hunger and the constant fear of firing, she said that meeting Gurudev and learning from him had brought a change she could feel within herself: “my body and mind have become better.”
Savita said, “If Gurudev had met us earlier, we would have found the right path sooner.” For her, a Guru was someone who could help one see what is right and what is wrong.
Giridhar recalled Gurudev telling them, “This Ashram belongs to you. Consider it your home. Whatever problems you have, you can leave them here.”
Rehabilitation Through Belonging
The initiative builds on a significant rehabilitation process in Gadchiroli, where more than 800 people have abandoned the path of violence and returned to the mainstream between 2005 and 2026.
Sandeep Patil, Inspector General of Police, Anti-Naxal Operations, Maharashtra, said the programme aims to help surrendered cadres overcome the bitterness accumulated through decades of conflict and become self-reliant. He said, “The purpose of this programme was that these surrendered cadres had been wandering in the jungle for 25–30 years.
There were many murders. So, to get rid of the bitterness in their minds towards society, we need an environment where they can go and become self-reliant. I feel that Bangalore, The Art of Living, was the best environment for that,” adding that regular Sudarshan Kriya and meditation practice would continue in Gadchiroli.
“I have always believed in The Art of Living and Guruji’s ability to connect with people and transform them,” shared Shri B Prabhakaran, MD, Lloyds Metals and Energy Ltd.
The Logical Indian Perspective
The journey of these former Naxalites shows the difficult transition from years of conflict to life after surrender. The interaction at The Art of Living International Center placed emphasis on respect, belonging and the possibility of rebuilding lives after decades spent in the forests.
For people carrying memories of deaths, violence, guilt and separation from ordinary life, rehabilitation is not limited to leaving the path of violence; it also involves learning to reconnect with family, society, work and their own future.
The meeting became a moment of profound human connection, with mutual respect between Gurudev and the former rebels. For those who had spent years in the forests without the security of a home or certainty about what tomorrow would bring, the assurance of having a place to belong carried significance.
There was no interrogation about the past. No demand to prove themselves worthy of a new beginning. Just an open door, and the quiet assurance that they could finally put their burdens down.
Also Read: International Youth Day: How Art of Living Helped Revive Hope for Manipur’s Chinlalchoi
