Second-life surgery | Surrendered Maoists in Maharashtra reverse vasectomies for family life

Janu and Sainu Somji Hedo have two children and a budgie who shouts “Mommy and Daddy” at regular intervals. The family of five lives in a three-room house in Navjeevan Vasahat, a former Maoist settlement in Gadchiroli’s Murkhala village, one of the last Maoist-affected districts of Maharashtra.

The temperature is 44°C and a narrow kutcha path leads to the house, whose whitewash has faded from sun and rain since the house was built in 2019-20.

Janu and Sainu fell in love as young Maoists and got married in 2008. They surrendered in 2015. Both hail from Bhamragad district in the once feared Dandakaranya forest. They were part of the company that spearheaded some of the most violent attacks on police in the 2000s.

Sainu is among the 50 men who underwent vasectomy reversal surgery in Gadchiroli since 2005. As part of the Maoist movement, young men traditionally undergo vasectomies to avoid having families. After they started surrendering, the Maharashtra Police started helping arrange surgeries for them. So far, 13 of these 50 men have become parents.

This year, vasectomy reversal operations were carried out under Project Sanjivani, an outreach scheme aimed at rehabilitation of surrendered Maoists. A camp was organized at SEARCH in Gadchiroli to reverse the vasectomies of 14 surrendered Maoists. In 1986, Dr. Abhay and Dr. Founded by Rani Bang, SEARCH is an Association for Education, Action and Research in Community Health that does pioneering work in rural health care and research.

living family life

The family was not affected by the heat. A small fan spins above our heads. The couple sit on plastic chairs while their son jumps on the single sofa bed. They are having difficulty taking the mobile phone from the 5-year-old child’s hand. He settles in to watch the reels on social media.

It is hard to imagine that they were part of a team that ambushed 16 police personnel in the Hattigota forests in 2009, shaking the security institutions at the time and going down in history as one of the worst attacks of the Maoist movement.

Janu leads the conversation. Sainu looks at him every time a question is asked. When she answers she kindly fills in the years and dates. Both currently work in different departments at a factory of Lloyds Metals and Energy Limited. A bus comes every morning to take them to work. The work was facilitated by Gadchiroli Police.

Maoists reversing vasectomy in Gadchiroli. | Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini

“When the surgery happened, we didn’t think much about it. If our commander said we shouldn’t have children, we would follow the order,” says Janu. Sainu was not informed before undergoing a vasectomy. He was taken for two days and brought back after surgery. The issue of consent did not arise for Janu or Sainu. The flow of authority and order was tight. When the two fell in love as teenagers, the commander was the one who talked to the families. And being part of the Maoist movement, they had to follow Dalam’s order.

“Where will we keep the children in the forest? We are told that you cannot have children when you are part of the movement. They are the responsibility of the movement,” says Sainu.

They speak Marathi clumsily; Their language is what they call “boli bhasha” (spoken language). They are happy to provide English education to both their daughters and sons.

In the complex spread over an area of ​​13.67 decares, 174 parcels of land were allocated by the government to the Maoists who surrendered. Each of them is 1,356 square meters and is intended for them to build their own homes. Janu and Sainu Somji Hedo’s house is one of the oldest houses. It was built under the Shabari Gharkul Yojana administered by the government of Maharashtra. The program provides support to build concrete houses for eligible persons from a Scheduled Tribe.

An application from an ancient life

Sushila and Ashok Hodi, who surrendered in 2010, also live in the same settlement. They say the last 16 years have been different. All Maoists who surrendered were given skills training. Today, Ashok works as a driver and earns a monthly salary of ₹12,000.

He says that his previous job as a bricklayer did not bring him much benefit. Sushila gave up work to take care of her newborn baby and daughter. In 2018, she lost her son three days after birth. The couple now has two daughters.

Ashok and Sushila Hodi with their daughters at their home in Navjeevan Vasahat. | Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini

“When I was in the movement, I was part of the Chetna Natya Manch (propaganda wing of the Maoist movement). We used to sing and entertain people in various tribal villages. We had joined the movement in 2004 and used to travel to different places,” says Sushila, with a warm smile and twinkling eyes. He hails from Pengunda, a tribal hamlet in Bhamragad taluka.

He doesn’t remember any songs anymore. “It’s been so many years,” he exclaims. He says their modest two-room house, a simple structure with no paintwork, is a place full of joy for him. “We are now having a hard time getting by on one salary. The prices of everything are increasing. Since we spend our salary on our daily needs and medical needs, we have no savings,” he says.

Bhupati, alias Mallojula Venugopal Rao, alias Sonu Dada, who surrendered along with 60 others last year, was one of the leading central committee members of the CPI (Maoist). Until a few years ago, vasectomies were performed dogmatically, he says. He did this as a young man and several others did.

“In 1997, I started to question why this was mandatory. We thought that couples should be given freedom of choice. After June last year, we married a few couples. However, we did not give them a vasectomy. I was also instrumental in reversing these vasectomies in recent years,” he says.

thought of returning

Neither Sushila and Ashok nor Janu and Sainu want to return to their own villages anymore. In fact, Janu and Sainu went to their village for the first time this year after surrendering.

Another couple who surrendered, Kishna Masa Dorpeti and Manda Kishna Dorpeti, say there is no work where they come from. “What will we do there? No job, no income. Our relatives take care of the agricultural lands there. All our documents are from here. Our Aadhaar card, ration card and bank account were done here. We will not leave Gadchiroli now,” says Masa. They recall their violent pasts by recounting incidents of police ambushes.

Many of them are either illiterate or literate. After reversing the vasectomy and having children, they now want their children to receive a good education.

“There are good schools here. Our children study in English medium schools. What will we find in the village?” says Masa.

The main concern for Ramesh Rainu Katvo and Jyoti Ramesh Katvo is the safety of their families back home. “After we surrendered, they (Maoists) started causing trouble to our families. The villagers and family members had pressured us not to return. We stayed away all these years for their safety. But last month, we went home to meet my sick father. There is no fear anymore. Most of the Naxals have surrendered,” says Ramesh.

People under 35 who have surrendered and had their vasectomy reversed in the last few months feel differently. Many of them are currently in police custody. Bounties were placed on some of their heads.

“After reading Sonu Dada’s letter, we were convinced that we had to lay down our arms. The options were to surrender or be killed,” says Ramu Karam from Mudvendi in Chhattisgarh. Before surrendering, Sonu Dada or Bhupati had written a long letter to the cadres explaining his position. Security agencies say his surrender broke the back of Maoism in Maharashtra.

Karam adds, “We are young now, but who will take care of us when we get old? I decided to have the reversal surgery with this in mind.”

Oyam Sanna and Shivkumar Telam also surrendered last year. All of them are currently in police custody, although the process of obtaining their documents has not yet been completed. “When my Aadhaar card arrives, I will return to my village and farm,” says Telam.

government support

For Gadchiroli Police, these surgeries are part of their multi-pronged approach to eliminate the Maoist movement. Anti-Maoist operations are being conducted aggressively, but there are incentives to surrender.

It is a special cell of Gadchiroli Police called Surrender Cell that maintains all records, keeps an eye on all surrenderers and facilitates their rehabilitation. According to sources, a record is being kept of all 814 Maoists who surrendered in Gadchiroli since 2005. The cell has facilitated the production of Aadhaar cards of 356 Maoists who have surrendered so far. It connects former Maoists to vocational or skill training centers and helps them get bank accounts, voting cards, ration cards and other documents. Surrenderers approach the cell when they encounter a problem. For a year after the surrender, the Maoists are under the surveillance of Gadchiroli police.

“In 2025 alone, 112 cadres have surrendered before us and many have shown their willingness to reverse vasectomies. Gadchiroli Police has made concerted efforts with SEARCH so that they can lead their lives like other citizens of the country,” says Nilotpal, a senior IPS officer who was recently Superintendent of Police when these surgeries were performed.

medical intervention

For the last five years, Dr. Nitin Mokal and Dr. A team of Mumbai doctors and anesthesiologists, led by Shrirang Purohit, travels to Gadchiroli every three months to conduct free surgery camps for Gadchiroli tribals.

They also performed vasectomy reversal surgeries in March. “We go to SEARCH as a team for plastic surgeries. We do reversal vasectomies and cleft palate surgeries; we perform surgery to treat secondary deformities after burns. Vasectomy reversal involves an uncomplicated but skill-based microplastic surgery. The procedure takes 2-3 hours,” says Dr. The full recovery process takes approximately three months.

He says his chances of reproducing after surgery are 100%. Teams fly on weekends, on tight schedules, and often perform back-to-back surgeries for hours before flying out. Dr. “It is a pleasure to provide treatment to people at the grassroots level. SEARCH provides extraordinary opportunities. There is great satisfaction in this work, helping people live better lives,” says Mokal.