(Foreword to the upcoming volume of writings of Com.Renuka- “In the path of Liberation..”)
Comrade GumudavellyRenuka’s life is an open book. Her revolutionary journey of three decades and her contribution to the revolution can be termed larger than life. Her three decades of revolutionary work is a message of liberation to oppressed women. Comrade Renuka was an unflinching and dedicated communist revolutionary. She was a determined warrior who never feared the difficulties, hardships, and suffering that are an intrinsic part of guerrilla life.
She was also a revolutionary literary soldier of the oppressed masses. She was a wonderful revolutionary writer, essayist, literary reviewer and critic. She served as the editor of various revolutionary magazines. She introduced important progressive and democratic Hindi writings to Telugu readers through her translations. She was a democrat who always called out male chauvinismin the patriarchal society and fought against it dedicatedly and consciously.
Comrade Renuka was like a crimson flame who learned the lessons of revolution as naturally as a toddler drinking milk from her mother’s breast, in the rural areas of Nalgonda and Warangal districts that were the birthplaces of the historic Telangana Armed Peasants’ Struggle. She hailed from the soil of Kadavendi, where once the masses heroically fought against the landlords of Visnoor and where the first martyr, DoddiKomaraiah, shed his blood.
Renuka’s birthplace, Kadavendi, gave birth to many other revolutionaries. When we think of Kadavendi, the first name that comes to mind is DoddiKomaraiah; in the generations that followed, it is PaindlaVenkataramana and Arramreddy Santosh (Mahesh) — and now, Renuka, who carried that legacy forward with unwavering commitment until the very end.
Renuka’s family was not just among those innumerable families who aspired for revolution, but one that sacrificed their beloved daughter for the revolution. With Renuka’s martyrdom, Kadavendi turned even redder. Her funeral procession will leave not just an indelible impression in the history of Kadavendi village, but will also add a new chapter after Comrade Santosh’s martyrdom. In the history of this village, she is the first-ever woman leader of the revolutionary party to attain martyrdom.
Comrade Renuka was murdered on March 31, 2025, in yet another fake encounter in Belnar village of Bijapur district (Indravati area) by the police. Her mortal body was taken to Kadavendi by her family members and friends. Our revolutionary salutes to those thousands of lovers of the revolution who, on the 2nd of April, lent their shoulder to carry her in her final journey; to those thousands of revolutionary sympathisers, writers, artists, intellectuals, social activists, journalists, activists of women’s organizations, and those fellow travellers who had travelled and are continuing to travel along with Renuka in the revolutionary movement, who participated in her final march; to those people from neighbouring villages who turned the village into a sea of red flags; and to those who walked in the procession with affection for their beloved daughter and with much love in their hearts for the revolutionary movement and unflinching confidence in the victory of the revolution.
All those thousands who took part in the funeral procession of Renuka held red flags, placards and banners and rent the air with slogans such as “Stop Operation Kagar Now,” “Stop Fake Encounters,” “Red Homage to the Martyrs,” “Let’s Continue the Lofty Aims of the Martyrs,” “When One Warrior Falls, A Thousand Will Rise,” and so on. The procession was accompanied by drum beats, revolutionary songs, and the fluttering of red flags. The collective grief and anguish and anger felt by all in the procession is shared by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) in one of its statements.
It also expressed condolences to her parents, siblings, relatives, and friends. The void left by Renuka’s absence in their lives can never be filled. But we hope and trust that they will be able to see Renuka in the hundreds of other daughters and sons who stand firmly with the revolution, and that they will continue in the revolutionary camp, offering their cooperation and remain firmly on the side of the oppressed masses.
Let the defiant challenge issued by Renuka’s heroic mother, Yashodamma, to the Indian Constitution inspire us all — to stand firm and continue the struggle for a society where such deaths have no place.
Renuka wrote under several pen names. Most of her work was published in Telugu magazines like Arunatara, Veekshanam, and MahilaMargam. When she was in Dandakaranya, she wrote under the pen names BD Damayanti, and Midko — mostly individually, and a few jointly with another writer, Aman. Before we go into the details of her long revolutionary journey, let’s take a look at the revolutionary ideas that she put into words through her writings at various times.
“Remembering March 8 is neither a festival nor a celebration. It is a commitment to continue the struggle of women who have fought for generations. It is about passing on that struggle to future generations in an even more inspiring way. The ruling classes, who try to protect their power by inflicting cruel violence on women, are not qualified to speak about March 8th or women’s empowerment. March 8 is an apt opportunity to expose and tear down their anti-woman facade.”
(Written on the occasion of March 8, 2012: “Let’s raise our voices along with the oppressed women of the entire country against the state violence perpetrated on women.”)
“If this war is not stopped here and now — in this land that is the abode of ancient human societies, that is home to a great culture and rebellious tradition — if we don’t raise our voices loudly and shout out with all our strength that this onslaught must be stopped immediately, we will not be able to preserve our country and its natural wealth. This is not merely a question of the existence of the nameless Adivasi people of the Maad area; it is also a question that concerns the future of our country.”
(From her article written in 2012 for Veekshanam under the name ChaiteMadavi: “Destructive attack on Maad area by the state armed forces”)
“The students’ demand to include beef in the university hostel mess is actually a very small one. It is natural for people to want to protect their right to eat the food they like and to expect respect for their food habits. This is also about self-respect. But still, a big fight and a major cultural struggle is happening over this simple issue. In the areas where the revolutionary movement is active, people’s food habits are not just protected — they are owned by the movement with pride. The movement supports the people who are standing up for their rights. In this way, it protects their self-respect. This can only happen by carrying on an ideological fight against the communal thinking of Hindutva and by educating and raising the consciousness of the people.”
(Written in 2012 under the name Midko, in solidarity with the students fighting for the inclusion of beef in the menu: “How the food habits of the oppressed people are being preserved by the revolutionary movement”)
“A brigade-sized Indian Army unit that arrived on the pretext of training has now stationed itself on the periphery of Maad area. Although they are using training as a pretext because they are mindful of the resistance from the people of this country, it is not difficult to understand that the Army has actually come here to unleash war against the people… Today, the ruling classes of our ‘Independent’ India are sending their army against the poorest of the poor, who live in the heart of the country, in order to implement their pro-corporate, neoliberal policies without any hurdles. It may be true that the army of the White rulers could suppress the Bhumkal rebellion in the past. But it is also a historical truth that events in history do not always repeat in the exact same way.”
(Co-written by B.D. Damayanti with Aman in 2012 — ‘Bastar People Marching on the Path of Bhumkal’)
Between 2005 and 2007, both the central and state governments, along with top military leaders and notorious leaders known for brutally suppressing people’s movements, unleashed a wave of white terror in Dandakaranyain the name of SalwaJudum (mass hunt). During this violent campaign, which was falsely presented as a peaceful movement, Renuka carefully documented the attacks, torture, and brutality faced by the poorest and most oppressed peoplein a book by visiting the affected areas herself and speaking directly with the people. The bookis titled ‘PachaniBatukulapaiNippaiKurustunnaRajyam’ (The State Thatis raining Fire on Thriving Lives)and she wrote it using the pen name of B.D Damayanti.
That murderous campaign was led by the notorious tribal landlord, most opportunist politician, and former Minister of Industries in Chhattisgarh government, Mahendra Karma — who acted as the trusted commander-in-chief for the oppressive ruling classes. Renuka’s writing, based on her field visits and first-hand observations, detailed the atrocities of SalwaJudum in a manner that has hardly been matched by any other work that came to light!
Another piece of writing that came from Renuka’s pen in 2012 was ‘VimuktiBataloNarayanapatna’ (Narayanapatna in the Path of Liberation) whichgave a written form to the people’s movement that rose from the jungles of Koraput district in Odisha between 2004 and 2010. The Adivasi masses, who were disillusioned with the hollow politics of modern revisionists, broke those shackles and forged aheadthrough their militant strugglesandwith the slogan ‘land to the tiller’. Renuka’sbook is a short introduction to the experiences, struggles and sacrifices of the oppressed masses who heroically reclaimed hundreds of acres of agricultural land from the landlords.
Comrade Renuka wrote in many forms — starting with short stories, and moving on to essays, reflections on people’s struggles, book and film reviews, pamphlets for different occasions, life sketches of martyrs, profiles of comrades in the movement, and interviews. The Party gave her the important task of documenting the experiences of guerrillas from Battalion Number 1 who were injured in various battles since its formation in 2008. She was very keen to complete this task. However, due to the increasing intensity of the enemy attacks, she could not find the opportunity to conduct the field studies necessary for this task. It is no exaggeration to say that, apart from those who were martyred, almost every guerrilla in that battalion had been injured in one battle or another.
The revolutionary spirit in her writing, her words forged through class struggle, her strong belief in democratic values and socialist ideals, and her efforts in the literary field to reflect the political, economic, and social hardships faced by the people — all of these can become valuable material for future researchers to study and possibly turn into a book.
Comrade GumudavellyRenuka (54) spent about three decades of her life in the journey of the revolutionary movement. She was born in Kadavendi village of the old Warangal district. Her mother is Comrade Jayamma (Yashodamma), and her father is Comrade GumudavellySomaiah. Renuka is the second of their three children; she has an elder brother and a younger brother. Comrade Somaiah is a retired schoolteacher. Her parents are progressive thinkers, and the revolutionary movement has had a deep impact on their children. Apart from the influence of the Telangana armed struggle, Comrade Somaiah was greatly inspired by the revolutionary movement that steadily gained strength in Warangal district in the late 1970s. It would not be an overstatement to say that, except for the oppressive and landlord classes, hardly any family in that village remained untouched by the revolutionary movement — and Comrade Somaiah’s family was one of them.
Comrade Renuka studied up to the 7th class in her own village, Kadavendi. She completed her 10th class in Mothkur of Nalgonda district, and then pursued her intermediate education in Jangaon. After completing intermediate, her parents arranged her marriage. Although she had a strong desire to pursue higher education, she could not go against her father’s wishes. However, when she faced oppression and humiliation in that marriage, she soon walked out of the toxic relationship and resumed her studies. In 1992, she secured a seat in the law course at Padmavati University in Tirupati. After graduating, she briefly practised law under the guidance of a senior pro-people lawyer.
Although Comrade Renuka was born in the rural areas of Warangal district, which was called a bastion of revolution, and learned about revolutionary movements from early childhood, she came into direct contact with the then CPI (ML) [People’s War] only in 1992 in Tirupati. At that time, the popular revolutionary activist and martyr Comrade Padmakka was handling organizational responsibilities in Tirupati. She was organizing students, women, and employees in that town, especially guiding a revolutionary women’s organization. Soon after meeting Renuka, Padmakka encouraged and guided her to work in that organization. Comrade Renuka gladly took up that responsibility and involved herself in the revolutionary work of organizing urban women, students and working-class women.
She soon became a party member and then the secretary of Tirupati party cell. She worked in that town until 1999. By 1998 itself, she was recognized by the party as an area-level organizer. In view of her interest in literature, her passion for writing, her ability to study any issue in depth and analyse it, and sharp critical outlook, Comrade Renuka was brought onto the editorial board of that women’s organization’s magazine.
In 2000, Comrade Renuka moved from Tirupati to Visakhapatnam as per the party’s requirement. There too, she took up responsibilities in the local women’s organization and began implementing organizational tasks alongside comrades already working there. She became part of the city committee in Visakhapatnam.
As she actively and creatively carried out the responsibilities entrusted to her by the Party and worked with commitment, her dedication towardspolitics of class-struggle strengthened.Additionally, her sincerity, discipline, democratic approach in convincing others patiently, her deep study of Marxism, and her strong political interest were recognized by the party. Taking all of this into account, in 2003, the party elevated her as a district-level cadre.
Regarding her personal life, in 1997, Renuka married Comrade Arramreddy Santosh (Mahesh), who was then the secretary of the Andhra Pradesh state committee and a central committee member. Since Renuka was then working openly while Santosh was under intense state surveillance, the party decided that their marriage must remain secret. On 2nd December 1999, Mahesh was killed by the state, along with Shyam and Murali, through betrayal by a covert. His martyrdom was a massive shock to Renuka, and it took her a long time to recover from the grief.
In 2003, while Renuka was working in Visakhapatnam, her fellow committee members, Comrades Kaumudi and Janardhan, were captured and killed in fake encounters by the police. Around the same time, a PLGA ambush on the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu, carried out in Tirupatiwas partially successful. Soon after, a large-scale manhunt was launched in the Rayalaseema and Coastal districts. For those revolutionaries who were already under police surveillance, the scope of open work shrank drastically. Although Renuka had no direct or physical link to the ambush, she had to go underground and begin working among the people in a new region.
In her underground revolutionary life, Comrade Renuka first moved to the Bansdhara area of Andhra-Odisha border zone. There, she quickly connected with the KuiAdivasi people living in the lap of nature. She worked as a member of the Bansdhara divisional committee until the end of 2005. Though the life in forests and mountains was unfamiliar to her, and she had no previous exposure to the Kuitribals, she embraced the region and the Kui language with the help of other comrades. Realizing that understanding the politics of Odisha and explaining it to the local people required learning the Odia language, she put great effort into learning that as well. Renuka always believed that revolutionaries could only integrate with local people by learning their language and customs. With that understanding, wherever she went she worked hard to learn the local language of the people and to understand and adapt to their customs.
While working as the DvCM of the Bansdhara division, Comrade Renuka also took up the responsibility of serving as a member of the AOB zone Women’s Sub-Committee, formed to study women’s issues and suggest recommendations. These committees were expected to study the issues faced by women in the following four fields and put forward their recommendations to the Party to resolve those issues: (1) the political, organizational, and military challenges faced by women in guerrilla life, including the effects of male domination and patriarchy; (2) the political and organizational problems encountered by women activists and women leaders of various committees within the party, along with the impact and pressures they faced from male domination in those roles; (3) the organizational difficulties faced by women in mass organizations, again shaped by patriarchal attitudes in the society; and (4) the multilayered oppression experienced by working-class and all the oppressed women in broader society, including within the family, tribe, caste, and the state — combined with persistent male domination and discrimination. At the same time, the committees were expected to strengthen their ideological understanding that patriarchal society is the root cause of all these issues. As a member of the sub-committee, Comrade Renuka worked tirelessly to study and address all these dimensions with deep commitment.
Despite being new to life in the forest, living among guerrillas, and understanding the lives of Adivasis, she made every effort to understand the problems of all with a deep sense of responsibility. She would engage in discussions with them to find resolutions to those problems and instill self-confidence among them. On the other hand, she would bring these issues into party committee discussions, participate in making the right decisions, and contribute to shaping appropriate forms of struggle and organizational structures.
Comrade Renuka also took up the responsibility of serving as a member of the editorial board of the women’s magazine ‘Viplavi’, which was being published in the AOB zone during those days. As the revolutionary movement advanced, not only was women’s participation rising, but a militant women’s movement was also taking shape. This gave rise to the need for a dedicated magazine for women — a platform to serve as an organizer, to help improve their understanding across various fields about the challenges they faced due to patriarchal society and male domination. Comrade Renuka, who always had a deep interest in writing, played a vital role as part of the editorial board. She worked hard to bring ‘Viplavi’ in a creative and engaging manner that would appeal to its readers. Alongside this, she also played a key role in bringing out a book of life sketches of the women martyrs from the AOB region who laid down their lives from the beginning of the movement in that region up to that point (1980–2005). It was her initiative that led to inviting a veteran woman comrade from the older generation — someone who lived as though revolution was her very breath — to write the foreword for the book.
The Party’s state committee, taking into consideration Comrade Renuka’s potential, her interests, and the kind of tasks she was already undertaking in the region, felt that to utilize her services more widely, effectively, and meaningfully, she should be moved to the press unit run by the Central Committee. Responding positively to this proposal made by the state committee, the Central Regional Bureau inducted her into the editorial board of ‘Kranti’ magazine.
Kranti used to be the official political organ of the Party’s Andhra Pradesh state committee and served as a beacon light for the Indian revolution in the 1980s. However, after the movement in Andhra Pradesh suffered a temporary setback, the responsibility of Kranti was taken up by the CRB, which continues to run it till today. Comrade Renuka became part of the Kranti editorial board in 2006 and continued in that role until 2012. As part of that responsibility, she stepped into Dandakaranya forests in the beginning of 2006.
That was a very crucial time for the revolutionary movement. While the movement in the three regions of Andhra Pradesh (North Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and AOB) was facing a temporary setback, in Dandakaranya, the fascist ‘SalwaJudum’ had unleashed white terror on Adivasi masses, followed later by ‘Operation Green Hunt’. SalwaJudum split many Adivasi families vertically, creating major turmoil in their lives and turning entire villages into graveyards.
By 2009, as SalwaJudum was defeated through mass resistance, the oppressive ruling classes of India launched another countrywide attack under the name of ‘Operation Green Hunt’, further intensifying the onslaught. During this time, hundreds of progressive, democratic, and revolutionary mass organizations, Adivasiresistance groups, concerned individuals, rights activists, writers, artists, intellectuals, journalists, and leftist forces not only condemned this onslaught but also exposed it as a ‘war on the people’. Under these circumstances, Comrade Renuka continued her work holding the gun in one hand and the pen in the other, proving herself to be a brilliant literary soldier.
During those days, to undertake a field study of the fascist terror unleashed on the people of Dandakaranya — especially in the south and west Bastar regions — Comrade Renuka visited several villages and met hundreds of families of the victims, taking upon herself immense personal risk. She listened to the unspeakable, appalling sufferings that poured from the depths of people’s hearts. She not only listened to them with deep empathy but transformed their anguish into words with her powerful pen, producing an important report titled ‘MandutunnaGaayaalu’ (Burning Wounds).
This study took a personal toll on her; she experienced significant emotional trauma upon hearing the harrowing experiences shared by the people. She could only overcome it by channelling her pain into her writings. In later years, whenever she returned to these villages and met the families — many of whom had since joined the revolutionary movement — she would always ask them about their past experiences of those times. She developed a deep bond with the family of EmlaKovalu, the president of Janatana Sarkar of Mankeli village of Gangalur area, the first martyr killed by SalwaJudum. As his wife and children later joined the movement, Renuka would speak to them often, revisiting those memories emotionally, sometimes even weeping.
At a time when the revolutionary movement was experiencing a serious onslaught, Comrade Renuka also suffered a profound personal loss. In March 2010, her life partner, Comrade ShakhamuriApparao, was killed by the state in yet another fake encounter. Being a person of deeply sensitive nature, she responded emotionally to the hardships and losses faced by both the people and the party and the revolutionary movement during Operation Green Hunt. It naturally took her a long time to come to terms with the loss of her partner, but she continued her revolutionary work, striving to overcome her grief with the support of her comrades.
Towards the final years of her involvement with Kranti, she proposed studying the people’s movement in Narayanapatna, located in the AOB region. When she presented the proposal, the party too felt it was timely and necessary. Trusting that Comrade Renuka would carry it out with commitment and diligence, the Central Regional Bureau made arrangements for her travel.
Following the setback of the Naxalbari movement in the 1970s, the Lalgarh movement in West Bengal, which arose between 2008 and 2011, drew nationwide attention. This movement pioneered several new experiments in revolutionary practice. Initially started as an anti-displacement struggle, it went on to challenge the state with a combination of legal and armed resistance, all aimed at establishing people’s power. In parallel, during nearly the same period, thousands of Adivasis in Narayanapatna, Odisha rose up to reclaim their land from landlords through militant struggles that echoed the historic Srikakulam struggle of the early 1970s.
To study this uprising, Comrade Renuka embarked on a grueling journey through forests and mountains, crossing multiple rivers and covering hundreds of miles on foot, accompanied by guerrilla comrades. After nearly two months of field work, she published her findings in the form of a book titled ‘VimuktiBataloNarayanapatna’ (Narayanapatna – In the Path of Liberation), under her pen name B.D. Damayanti, in 2013.
While on the editorial board of Kranti, Comrade Renuka worked directly under the leadership of Central Committee member and martyred Comrade KatakamSudarshan (Anandanna / Dula Dada), and gained significant experience. Later, after being transferred toDandakaranya,she served most of the time as in-charge of the press unit under the guidance of another martyr, Comrade RavulaSrinivas (Ramanna), secretary of the DKSZC and also a Central Committee member.
In 2013, due to unavoidable circumstances, the publication ofKrantiwas suspended for two years. During this time, Com Renukawas reassigned to the editorial board of Prabhat,a quarterly magazine. As Prabhatwas published in Hindi as the official magazine of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, she took on the challenge of learning Hindi. With the support of the editorial team and primarily through her own persistent efforts, she soon reached a point where she could directly write essays and reports in Hindi.
From 2013 until the end of 2024, Comrade Renuka worked primarily in the press unit of Dandakaranya. In addition to managing the publications, she translated several party circulars, documents, and internal party papers from Telugu to Hindi. Being already proficient in the Koya language, she also translated key revolutionary literature into Koya to make it accessible to local cadres.
She frequently undertook field visits to study the experiences of people’s struggles, challenges in mass organizational work, incidents of state violence and repression, and various forms of domestic violence and customary oppression within the tribal society. She regularly interacted with local guerrilla comrades to understand their hardships and concerns. During the field visits, she also engaged with women comrades to gather insights into their experiences, especially those rooted in patriarchal attitudes and male domination. Comrade Renuka was a dedicated literary warrior who transformed her field observations into analytical essays and reports, publishing them in various magazines as required.
Comrade Renuka conducted a special study on the issue of labour migration in the East Bastar division. Her study gained significance following a 2014 resolution passed by the Central Regional Bureau on the issue of labourers migrating from Dandakaranya to various parts of the country. Writing about the problems faced by Adivasis as migrant workers in cities is a challenge for any writer. It is impossible to imagine the exploitation of labour, the sexual violence faced — especially by women — and other forms of deceit perpetrated on them starting from the local contractors who arrange their work placements, to their workplaces in the cities, unless heard directly from the victims themselves. It is not just the pressures and intimidation from employers, but there are also cases where young women had to face sexual exploitation by fellow villagers who travelled with them for work. Comrade Renuka listened to these first-hand accounts and faithfully documented them in a book titled “PattanalakuPravahistunnaAdaviBiddalaChemata, Netturu (Flow of Sweat and Blood of Adivasisto Cities) – A Study on Migrant Labour from Chhattisgarh’s Forest Areas,” published under her pen name ‘Gamita’.
Comrade Renuka was as gifted in teaching as she was in writing. While continuing with her responsibilities, she taught political classes to guerrillas and party cadres whenever party committees called upon her. In addition to teaching the documents produced by the Party’s Central Committee, she conducted study classes in Koya language for local cadres on the basics of Marxism. Simultaneously, she attended political education classes conducted by higher committees to deepen her understanding of Marxist theory.
In 2011, the Dandakaranya Party Plenum reviewed that the movement had entered a ‘critical’ phase. This assessment came in the wake of significant losses during Operation Green Hunt, a sharp rise in desertions—including from leadership ranks—and a growing number of surrenders to the police. In this adverse situation, the Party launched the Bolshevization Campaign in 2013. As part of this campaign, Comrade Renuka actively participated in the ‘social study and analysis’ programme, which continued in various forms from 2013 to 2018. Leadership comrades prepared study papers on the evolving conditions in different divisions of Dandakaranya, and Comrade Renuka took part in the discussions based on those papers. Her contributions — both in articulating her views and in responding to others’ questions — were always meaningfuland insightful and made others in the study camp think seriously about various issues.
While continuing her work in the press unit during this period, Comrade Renuka also trained several new comrades in computer operations, developing them into skilled typists and operators. By 2010 — and even earlier in some regions — the Indian revolutionary movement had suffered setbacks in urban and plain areas. As a result, the Party’s Central Committee was no longer in a position to send fresh forces to Dandakaranya from outside. Meanwhile, because the movement in Dandakaranya had not expanded into non-peasant sections, it increasingly became isolated and limited to Adivasi communities alone. However, with hundreds of new recruits joining the PLGA from these very sections, there arose an urgent need to train them as cadres capable of handling a wide range of responsibilities.
In such trying circumstances, Comrade Renuka took it upon herself to train a number of youngAdivasi men and women as computer typists and operators. Many among them had only learned to read and write after joining the movement, yet under her guidance, they became proficient typists with an eye for accuracy. She also mentored them in scanning and digitizing hundreds of books, and helped several comrades acquire valuable experience in printing and publishing work.
After the news broke that Comrade Renuka (Chaite) had been killed, these comrades everywhere remembered her fondly. They took a solemn oath to continue the struggle with greater determination, vowing to fulfil the cherished aims of the martyrs.
At the Dandakaranya Party Plenum held in October 2020, Comrade Renuka was unanimously elected — along with some others — to the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC). As part of the tasks formulated by the plenum, the DKSZC revived the Women’s Sub-Committee with the aim of rejuvenating the women’s movement in the Dandakaranya zone. Comrade Renuka became an active member of that sub-committee and continued in it until her final breath. She carried forward the legacy of martyr Comrade UppuluriNirmala (Narmada), who had led this committee longer than anyone else and had earned the love and respect of comrades across the ranks, with total commitment.
Comrade Narmada was also part of the first editorial board of Prabhat, along with another martyr, Comrade AluriBhujanga Rao (Peddanna). For a time, she led the Dandakaranya (DK) press unit and contributed to revolutionary literature under the pen name ‘Nitya’. Known for her modesty and warm relationships, Comrade Renuka shared a close bond with Narmada, as well as with Narmada’s partner, Comrade Rani Satyanarayana (Kiran Anna), who had earlier served as the in-charge of the DK press. He was later framed in a false case, spent several years in Taloja Jail in Mumbai, and was eventually released on bail.
In this fashion, Renuka saw closelyvarious aspects of Narmada’s revolutionary practice and held deep respect for her. Their camaraderie and shared commitment to the cause reflected in numerous ways throughout their individual and collective revolutionary journeys.
As most members of the women’s sub-committee were from local Adivasi backgrounds, Comrade Renuka played an active role in preparing the agenda, discussing all points in the agenda comprehensively during meetings, selecting suitable essays from Marxist teachers for collective study during the meeting, taking minutes, drafting resolutions, and more. She would also select and recommend appropriate study material to the committee members in order to strengthen the women’s movement in Dandakaranya.
After becoming a member of the women’s sub-committee, she had to work even harder to ensure the regular publication of the Hindi magazine SangharshratMahila, the official organ of KrantikariAdivasiMahilaSangathan. Furthermore, when it was decided that this magazine should also be published in the Koya language under the name LademayenaMahila, Comrade Renuka once again played a key role in implementing that decision. She was the kind of comrade who, no matter which field she was given responsibility in, would do complete justice to it.
With her demise, the women’s movement in Dandakaranya has lost a trustworthy, reliable, and beloved leader. Her absence can only be addressed by relentlessly working in the light of the lessons she taught us, guided by her ideals and cherished aims—and by continuing to march forward, even amidst repressive offensives like Operation Kagar, and those that may be even more severe.
Let us also briefly discuss Comrade Renuka’s health. There was, undeniably, a sharp contrast between the conditions of her early life and those she faced during her guerrilla life in the forests. While in the Bansdhara area — and later, post-2006, in Dandakaranya — she was frequently afflicted by malaria, including several bouts of falciparum malaria. The symptoms were intense. At times, she would suffer such severe headaches that it felt as though her nerves were splitting. She also endured chronic spondylitis.
Yet, despite all of this, with a 30-carbine slung over her shoulder and clad in olive green uniform, she marched on alongside her guerrilla comrades. Every time one saw this thin-framed woman climbing up and down the hills, Lenin’s words would come to mind: “The belief that the path we have chosen is right intensifies revolutionary spirit and enthusiasm a hundredfold to create wonders.”
Having embraced revolutionary life in 1996, Comrade Renuka endured a series of deeply personal shocks between 1999 and 2014 that left her emotionally shaken. Yet, with unwavering resolve and the support of her comrades, she overcame those. Despite significant physical challenges due to ill health, the final decade of her revolutionary journey was undoubtedly her most remarkable and productive — marked by tireless commitment and boundless enthusiasm.
The stories written by Comrade Renuka were published in Viyyukka, an anthology brought out by Virasam(RWA) in 2023. As soon as the Revolutionary Writers’ Association announced the anthology, Comrade Renuka was among the women writers of Dandakaranya who immediately responded to the announcement. After carefully reviewing the list of stories, she wrote a letter to the editors, pointing out which were hers and which were not, despite being published under her name. She also identified the true authors of a few stories she recognized. Tragically, this letter , written with the intent of reaching Viyyukka’s editors,turned out to be her last.
And this is what Comrade Renuka wrote in grief when her young comrade from the DKSZC committee, Comrade Rupesh, was martyred:
“We suffered a lot of losses in a series of enemy attacks. But until now, they had not succeeded in targeting CC and SZC leadership. This time, the enemy has achieved that. In the current situation of the Gadchiroli movement, Comrade Rupesh’s martyrdom is not just a loss to that region but to the entire Dandakaranya movement. It is tragic that we lost a comrade who possessed many capabilities including the military capability,who is trustworthy and has deep-rooted commitment to revolutionary values. He was one of the most reliable young leaders — principled, steadfast, and a man of great ideals. The loss of a local comrade like him will deeply affect both the cadre and the people. He was someone who could go wherever needed and take up any revolutionary task. His absence will weigh heavily on our tactical decisions going forward. As I don’t know much about the others who were martyred alongside him, I can’t yet say how their loss will impact us.”
Even amidst the series of Kagar attacks, Comrade Renuka continued to fulfill her responsibilities with unwavering dedication. When, on April 16th, 2024, police killed 29 comrades in a brutal attack on a guerrilla unit near Apatola-Kalpar of North Bastar, she was nearby, carrying out her duties. The massacre shook her deeply — not only did she know many of the martyrs personally, she had spent time with them just days before. The police captured some of the unarmed comrades alive, forced them to carry the bodies of their fellow fighters to the waiting vehicles, and then executed them. Comrade Renuka was devastated by this cruelty, and she condemned the massacre with righteous outrage. She worked tirelessly to communicate the details of the martyrs to the outside world.
Again, on June 14th, 2024, police launched another attack on a guerrilla unit in Kodtamarka of the Maad area. Comrade Renuka, who was present nearby, escapednarrowly. In the course of the year-long Kagar military offensive, from January to December 2024, she painstakingly documented each martyr’s details and publicized them to the outside world. In August 2024, she compiled all of this into a book — a lasting testament to her leadership and editorial commitment that will remain etched in the annals of Dandakaranya’s revolutionary history.
Here’s what she wrote during that time about the situation her unit was facing under Operation Kagar:
“Some of our members are falling ill with malaria frequently. But we don’t even have chloroquine tablets. I don’t know what to do. Please send us some general medicines if possible. My own medications, which I’m supposed to take regularly, were exhausted while I was in North Bastar. I wrote to the comrades there before returning, and I also wrote again to another comrade after reaching here — but the medicines haven’t come through from either side. In the present situation, asking them repeatedly for medicines feels like not understanding the gravity of their own conditions, isn’t it?”
The Kagar military attacks are not only disrupting the lives of revolutionaries but also devastating the lives of ordinary Adivasi people. The rulers of this country want their forests. They want India’s economy to rise quickly to the third-largest in the world. They want a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047 and to make India a haven for foreign capital.
To achieve all this, they need to plunder the massive natural wealth locked within the forests, especially in areas where Maoist revolutionary movement is strong. For that to happen, they want Maoism wiped out. They don’t want Maoists in the forests. Urban Maoists, being even more dangerous in their view, must also be eliminated. In the eyes of the state, anyone who questions is a Maoist. No one is to be spared.
This is the kind of state that murdered Comrade Renuka on March 31st, 2025, in a most brutal manner. And yet, no Kagar will ever be powerful enough to silence the slogans that echoed across Kadavendi, amidst a sea of waving red flags. Those slogans will surely be transformed into a material force.
The massacres did not end with the murder of Comrade Renuka. Her martyrdom is neither the first in India’s great revolutionary movement, nor, despite our deepest hopes, will it be the last. Renuka remains an unyielding flame on the path of the Indian people’s democratic revolution. Despite suffering from ill health, she was making efforts — alongside another comrade from her committee — to initiate ‘peace’ talks with the government, hoping to at leasttemporarilyhalt the massacres unleashed by the ruling classes. It was while she was in this pursuit that she was killed.
Just as Comrade CherukuriRajkumar, the party’s spokesperson, was murdered during Congress rule while pursuing peace talks mediated by Swami Agnivesh, now the saffron-clad fascists have murdered Comrade Renuka in a similar staged encounter. Her sacrifice once again exposes the hollow rhetoric of peace and non-violence propagated by the ruling classes. They dragged her out from her shelter, and shot her in cold blood on the banks of the Indravati River.
Her murder lays bare the savage character of the fascist Hindutva regime. It reaffirms the truths Comrade Renuka consistently raised in her writings, and highlights the grave threat the country faces from these Hindutvaforces. The true homage to Comrade Renuka lies in carrying forward her ideals and realizing the goals she held close. No amount of Kagar campaigns or missiles can ever extinguish the fire of revolutionary thought she embodied.
Comrade Renuka’s martyrdom is undoubtedly an irreparable loss to the revolutionary movement. Especially at a time when the revolutionary party has recognized the serious mistakes that took place over years of prolonged practice and has begun the process of correcting them, her absence leaves a painful void. Reflecting on the Party Polit Bureau’s circular, she offered her sharp observation thus: “We took these decisions far too late — only after the damage had already been done. Had they been made earlier, they would have made a real difference.” Alongside this, she shared numerous critical insights with the party’s higher leadership, who acknowledged that her views were thoughtful, necessary, and worthy of implementation. Now, it is the responsibility of the revolutionary movement to carry forward this process of rectification without Comrade Renuka — a comrade known for her unwavering determination and exceptional capabilities. Let us step forward and continue the work she left behind.
Comrade Renuka’s writings burned with the intensity of lived experience and revolutionary purpose. They were not just words — they were a call to action, written with the same conviction she carried into every battlefield, gun in one hand and pen in the other. Her martyrdom marks a luminous chapter in the history of the revolutionary movement — one that will continue to inspire generations to come. The intellectual strength and clarity she cultivated through years of commitment enriched the struggle in profound and lasting ways. She was not merely a dreamer of revolution — she was a fighter who dedicated her life to realizing that dream. She will be remembered as the voice of a new dawn.
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