A diplomat in tribal country: Shyam Saran remembers Bastar before the fall

A former foreign secretary revisits his notes from his time Bastar in 1971, before the district became the heart of the 'Red Corridor'

In May and June of 1971, as part of my training for the Indian Foreign Service, I had a five-month attachment with the district administration in Jabalpur. For three weeks, I had the opportunity to travel around the district of Bastar – then in Madhya Pradesh – with an already-legendary district collector, B.D. Sharma, a guardian and champion of the tribal communities living there.

Going through my old notes, I came across my report to the collector of Jabalpur, covering part of the period I was in Bastar. It reflects the shallow experience and even immaturity of a new entrant in