Congress leader and Chhattisgarh in-charge Sachin Pilot on Monday, May 25, 2026 paid tribute to the security personnel and Congress leaders killed in the Jhiram Valley Maoist ambush of May 25, 2013, marking the 13th anniversary of one of the deadliest attacks on elected representatives in independent India. In a post on X, Pilot wrote: '25 मई, 2013 को छत्तीसगढ़ की झीरम घाटी में हुए नक्सली हमले में वीरगति को प्राप्त हुए हमारे समस्त वीर जवानों, समर्पित कांग्रेस नेताओं को मैं भावभीनी श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित करता हूँ।' ('I pay heartfelt tribute to all our brave soldiers and dedicated Congress leaders who attained martyrdom in the Naxalite attack in Jhiram Valley, Chhattisgarh, on May 25, 2013.') He added: 'Your supreme sacrifice will always be remembered.'

Context

On May 25, 2013, a heavily armed Maoist column ambushed a Congress convoy travelling through the Jhiram Valley in Bastar district, Chhattisgarh. The attack killed 27 people, including senior party leaders and security personnel escorting them. Among those killed was Mahendra Karma, a prominent Congress leader and founder of the anti-Maoist civilian militia Salwa Judum. The attack remains one of the single deadliest incidents targeting elected representatives in the decades-long Naxalite insurgency.

Policy Backdrop

The Jhiram attack occurred against the backdrop of a protracted conflict between Maoist insurgents and the Indian state across the Red Corridor — a belt of central and eastern states including Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha. The Chhattisgarh government had backed the Salwa Judum movement from 2005 as a counter-insurgency measure, while the central government launched Operation Green Hunt in 2009 as a coordinated multi-state security offensive. Successive governments have alternated between intensified security operations and development-focused strategies in conflict-affected districts.

Stakeholders and Impact

The Indian National Congress suffered severe organisational losses in the attack, losing field leaders who had deep roots in Bastar's tribal communities. Security forces deployed in the region also bore casualties. For tribal communities across south Chhattisgarh, the attack intensified the human cost of a conflict that has displaced populations and disrupted livelihoods for decades. As Chhattisgarh in-charge for the Congress, Pilot carries institutional responsibility for the party's engagement with the state's conflict-affected constituencies.

What's Next

Annual commemorations by Congress leaders on May 25 serve both as acts of remembrance and as signals of the party's continued political stake in Chhattisgarh's conflict-affected districts. Security operations in south Chhattisgarh have continued in subsequent years, with the Indian state maintaining pressure on Maoist networks in the Bastar region. The political salience of the Jhiram Valley massacre is likely to persist as the Congress seeks to consolidate its position in a state where the attack left a lasting imprint on party organisation and voter sentiment.