A woman revolutionary whose life was shaped by conflict, but concluded in despair

By Harsh Thakor* 

Suguna, life partner of Malla Rajireddy, a Central Committee member of the CPI (Maoist), is no more. For nearly twenty-five years she remained deeply involved in the movement. Neither long spells of detention nor recurring illness were able to extinguish her determination. Yet the end of her life unfolded in loneliness, uncertainty and quiet despair.

Her death is tragic and remains shrouded in mystery.

Her real name was Bicche Pungati. Born to Kopa Pungati in Majji Mendri village—once part of Bastar and now in Bijapur district—she grew up in a small Adivasi settlement of barely twenty thatched huts along the banks of the Indravati River. Like many women born in remote forest villages six decades ago, her exact date of birth was never recorded. She grew up in conditions where survival itself was a daily struggle.

Her political life evolved alongside the spread of armed mobilization in Bastar. Over the decades she witnessed repeated state offensives and counter-mobilisations—from the early Jan Jagaran campaigns to Salwa Judum, Operation Green Hunt, Samadhan, and most recently the intensified “encircle and destroy” drives often described in the media as Operation Kagaar. Through these phases, she remained active under different names, first Suguna and later Vasanti.

She began as a member of the Adivasi Mahila Sangham, later becoming an armed cadre, a commander, and eventually rising to the level of a divisional leader by 2018. For her, resistance was not merely political—it defined her identity and sense of purpose.

Born in a hamlet on the Chhattisgarh–Maharashtra border, Bicche joined the armed movement in 1989. In her youth she married Somanna, a local organiser. The marriage lasted nearly a decade. Somanna’s first wife, Jyoti, and Suguna reportedly shared a relationship marked by cooperation and mutual respect. None of them had children.

Over time, Somanna distanced himself from the movement. Suguna and Jyoti, however, continued their involvement. In 2000, she married Sayanna, a Central Committee member. After their marriage, organisational responsibilities took him to Maharashtra, and Suguna adopted the name Vasanta while working in the Korchi area of Gadchiroli district.

In 2008, while seeking medical treatment outside the forest due to deteriorating health, both were arrested in Kerala. Sayanna was released on bail in 2009, but Vasanti remained imprisoned until 2013. Nearly six years in jail severely damaged her health. After her release, she briefly stayed with relatives before rejoining the movement in 2014. By then, Sayanna was operating under a different name along the Chhattisgarh–Odisha border.

Her return to underground life was marked by physical fragility. She worked for some time in Odisha’s Sunabeda hills and later in parts of Gariaband district. But advancing age, severe anaemia, thyroid complications, high blood pressure and progressive vision loss made sustained guerrilla life extremely difficult.

Eventually she was moved back to Dandakaranya. Though she had attained a senior rank, she could no longer function as she once had. The organisation reportedly intended to arrange safer shelter and medical care outside the conflict zone but was unable to do so. As state operations intensified and support structures weakened, even basic care became uncertain.

In 2023, sympathisers helped send her to Dhamtari in Chhattisgarh for treatment. Acting on prior information, authorities arrested her. She remained in Bilaspur Jail from February 2023 to August 2024. Legal assistance was limited. The broader movement, already weakened, struggled to mobilise resources or consistent support for her.

After her release, clarity about her situation became scarce. There was reportedly no reliable communication channel linking her to former associates. She returned to her native region, but found little stability there. Years of conflict had transformed the social landscape. Fear and surveillance pervaded everyday life. Villagers were hesitant to speak openly. Networks that once sustained underground activists had eroded.

Accounts suggest she appeared anxious and deeply dejected after returning home from jail. For 35 years, the movement had shaped her world. Now it seemed to be shrinking, fragmenting, or moving beyond her reach. She had no clear information about her partner’s whereabouts or well-being. Age and illness weighed heavily on both of them. The forests she once traversed with confidence had become zones of constant policing and suspicion.

In Majji Mendri she found few anchors left. Even in neighbouring Gonguvada, where relatives lived, support was limited. Cut off from organisational ties, burdened by illness, and uncertain about the future, she appeared to have entered a state of profound loneliness.

At some point—no one can say precisely when—she walked to the banks of the Indravati River. Her long and turbulent political journey ended there.

Her relatives performed her last rites quietly.

Suguna’s life spanned hope, armed struggle, imprisonment, illness, and finally isolation. Whatever one’s political position, her final days reflect the stark human cost borne by individuals who dedicate decades to movements that later recede, fragment, or fail to sustain them.

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*Freelance journalist