From guns to gills: How fish farming is transforming former Naxalites in Jharkhand

Gumla: Former insurgents in western Jharkhand are trading guns for fishing nets under a central government scheme that has helped transform a once violence-torn region and contributed to its removal from a list of Naxalite-affected areas.

Jyothi Lakra, 41, was once part of a Naxalite group before abandoning the Left-wing insurgency in 2002. Today, he runs a fish feed mill that earned him Rs 8,00,000 in net profit last year under the Centre's Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) scheme.

"There were no shops selling fish feed nearby. Villagers had to travel 150 km to buy fish feed," said Lakra, who received Rs 18 lakh grant to set up his mill in Gumla district's Basia block. "So I decided to set up a fish feed mill," he told PTI.

The PMMSY scheme, launched in 2020-21 with joint central and state implementation, has trained 157 individual beneficiaries in Gumla district over four years. About 25 per cent of the 8,000-9,000 families in the district now engaged in fish farming were former Naxalite supporters or participants, according to District Fishery Officer Kusumlata.

Gumla district was removed from the Union Home Ministry's list of Naxalite-affected areas in May 2025, alongside Ranchi district, marking a significant decline in Left-wing extremism in the region.

The transformation is stark in areas where "eight out of ten families" once supported what they called a "revolutionary" way of life, according to local officials. Deserted villages have been repopulated, schools and hospitals reopened, and agricultural activity resumed.

Ishwar Gop, 42, another former Naxalite who joined the anti-Maoist Shanti Sena group, now harvests eight quintals of fish annually worth Rs 2,50,000 from a government pond he leases for Rs 1,100 per three-year period.

"I make a profit of Rs 1,20,000 after expenses," said Gop, who owns 25 acres of farmland but found fish farming more profitable than traditional agriculture.

The fish farming initiative began in 2009 when State Fishery Extension Officer Mugda Kumar Topo was posted in the region despite security concerns.

"It was difficult to enter Basia block of Gumla district as Naxal activities were at their peak," said Topo, now based in state capital Ranchi. "After speaking to 50-odd families, a pilot was launched." The government leased 22 tanks to interested families, including one in a remote forest area that required convincing a former Naxalite to operate due to security fears.

Om Prakash Sahu, an active Naxal supporter until 2007, now operates six fish ponds and harvests 40 quintals annually. In 2024, he received assistance for three ponds with advanced Recirculatory Aquaculture System technology.

The scheme has created a "three times multiplier effect" in local employment generation and helped reduce migration from the region, according to government data.

Lakhan Singh, 51, a former Naxal supporter with 150 acres, shifted from paddy cultivation to fish farming across five ponds on his property.

"Fish farming is much better than paddy cultivation. Each pond is a revenue generator to pay for my children's school education," Singh said.

The district has about 4,000 privately owned ponds and 360 government-owned ponds across 12 blocks.

While Gumla and Ranchi have been removed from the Naxalite-affected list, West Singhbhum remains the most-affected district in Jharkhand. Districts, including Bokaro, Chatra, Garhwa, Giridih, Khunti, Lohardaga, and Seraikela-Kharsawan are considered partially affected.

The Naxalite insurgency, also known as Left-Wing Extremism, has affected parts of eastern and central India for decades, with insurgents claiming to fight for the rights of tribal communities and against economic inequality.

The success in Gumla demonstrates how targeted development programmes can provide economic alternatives to insurgency, contributing to broader counter-terrorism efforts in the region.