The End of a Rebel’s Journey
For over four decades, Mallojula Venugopal Rao, better known by his aliases Sonu, Abhay, or Bhupati, was one of the most influential figures in India’s Maoist movement. A soft-spoken man from Peddapalli in Telangana, Sonu’s life took a radical turn in the 1980s when he joined the People’s War Group, drawn by the revolutionary fervour of the Radical Students Union.
His ideological commitment and strategic acumen quickly made him indispensable to the Communist Party of India (Maoist). Rising to the party’s Politburo and Central Military Commission (CMC), he was not only a military strategist but also the organisation’s chief ideologue and spokesperson.
Now at 70, Sonu has chosen a dramatically different path — surrendering to authorities in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, alongside 60 of his cadres, marking one of the most significant blows to the Maoist movement in years.
A Surrender That Signals a Shift
Sonu’s surrender, coming weeks after he publicly called for a ceasefire and peace talks with the Centre, is being viewed as a watershed moment in India’s decades-long battle against Maoist extremism.
In his letters to comrades, Sonu urged Maoists to “save themselves” rather than make “meaningless sacrifices,” acknowledging that the armed struggle was unsustainable under current conditions. He wrote candidly that the CPI-M needed to adapt to “new national and global realities” and hinted at a desire to move toward mainstream politics.
However, his unilateral decision has exposed sharp rifts within the organisation. While sections of the leadership, particularly in the Maad, North Bastar, and Gadchiroli divisions, have supported his stance, hardliners continue to insist on armed resistance, even branding him a “traitor.”
The Fall of the Red Stronghold
The timing of Sonu’s surrender is no coincidence. Over the past year, the Maoist movement has faced unprecedented losses. In May, security forces in Chhattisgarh killed Nambala Kesava Rao alias Basavaraju, the party’s General Secretary and one of its last towering figures.
Since then, 471 Maoists have been killed nationwide, and over 1,000 cadres have surrendered, reflecting both exhaustion and ideological disillusionment. The state’s coordinated operations — backed by intelligence networks and improved local outreach — have left the once-formidable insurgency reeling.
According to intelligence officials, Sonu’s surrender “cuts off the last major link between the Maoist leadership and the outside world.”As the party’s chief communicator and ideological head, Sonu maintained ties with urban sympathisers and front organisations, serving as the movement’s voice beyond the forests of Bastar.
With his exit, officials believe the CPI-M has lost a vital thread that kept its fractured ranks ideologically bound.
A Family of Revolutionaries
Sonu’s revolutionary lineage runs deep. His brother, Mallojula Koteshwar Rao alias Kishenji, was once the face of the Maoist movement in West Bengal until he was killed in an encounter in 2011. His wife, Vimala Sidam alias Tarakka, also a senior Maoist leader, surrendered in Maharashtra last year after decades in the jungle.
Their story reflects a generation of revolutionaries who began with conviction but have gradually yielded to fatigue, ideological erosion, and relentless state pressure. Even Sonu’s mother, Madhuramma, witnessed the long arc of her sons’ militant lives before passing away in 2022 — a poignant reminder of how deeply personal and generational the insurgency has been for many families.
What Sonu’s Surrender Means for the Maoist Movement
Analysts view Sonu’s surrender as both symbolic and strategic. Symbolic, because it signifies the crumbling of the old guard — the generation that believed revolution could be achieved through armed struggle. Strategic, because it may trigger further defections from within the rank and file, particularly among those weary of the endless conflict.
By urging his comrades to give up arms, Sonu has created a moral and ideological dilemma for those still clinging to the old narrative. As one senior police official put it, “When the party’s ideological head admits defeat, it sends tremors through the entire movement.”
However, experts caution that while the Maoist backbone has weakened, complete eradication remains complex. Pockets of influence in South Bastar, Sukma, and Gadchiroli still exist, and some factions are likely to resist any peace process.
A Fading Flame, But Not Yet Extinguished
The surrender of Mallojula Venugopal Rao ‘Sonu’ may well mark the beginning of the end of India’s longest-running insurgency. His decision underscores a growing recognition among Maoist ranks that violence has reached a dead end and that reconciliation, not resistance, offers the only sustainable path forward.
For the Indian state, this moment offers both relief and responsibility — relief that decades of counterinsurgency are yielding results, and responsibility to ensure that those who surrender are meaningfully rehabilitated and reintegrated into society.
As the once-fiery rhetoric of revolution fades into history, Sonu’s surrender stands as a powerful symbol — not of defeat, but of realisation. The war in the jungles may not be fully over, but its heart, for the first time in years, seems to have lost its will to fight.
(With agency inputs)
