Friday, 20 Jun, 2025
Source: Frontline
Once spread across vast stretches of India, Maoist influence is steadily losing ground. Recent crackdowns signal ongoing progress in the fight against Naxalism.
On May 24, 2025, Jharkhand Police made a major advancement in combating Naxalism by eliminating two top leaders of the Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP). The operation resulted in the deaths of Pappu Lohra, the group's leader with a ₹10 lakh bounty on him, and Prabhat Ganjhu, the zonal commander who had a ₹5 lakh reward for his capture. This encounter came close on the heels of an even more impactful operation in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district, where security forces gunned down Nambala Keshav Rao, widely known as Basavaraju, the topmost leader of the CPI (Maoist), along with several seasoned Naxalites.
These operations are part of an intensified nationwide crackdown aimed at eradicating Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), also known as Naxalism, by the March 2026 deadline set by the Government of India.
Naxalism emerged from a peasant uprising in 1967 in the village of Naxalbari, West Bengal. Led by communist ideologues like Charu Majumdar, Kanu Sanyal, and Jungle Santal, the movement sought to dismantle the feudal landholding system and champion the rights of the rural poor and tribal communities through armed revolution. Rooted in Marxist-Leninist-Maoist ideology, the insurgency envisioned establishing a People’s Democratic Republic through protracted guerrilla warfare.
In its heyday during the 2000s, the Maoist influence stretched across nearly a third of India’s mineral-rich tribal belt. This area, known as the Red Corridor, covered parts of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Telangana, and Maharashtra. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had once described Naxalism as the country’s "biggest internal security challenge", warning that its unchecked growth posed a serious obstacle to India's development ambitions. However, in recent years, the tide has turned. The influence of Maoist groups has drastically shrunk, with sustained operations, better coordination among state and central forces, and targeted intelligence leading to a dramatic decline in Maoist activity.
In 2013, 126 districts were identified as LWE-affected. That number has since fallen steadily — to 90 in 2018, 70 in 2021, and just 38 by April 2024. In 2025, the figure stands at only 18. The government’s classification now includes just six “most affected” districts: four in Chhattisgarh (Bijapur, Kanker, Narayanpur, and Sukma), one in Jharkhand (West Singhbhum), and one in Maharashtra (Gadchiroli). The number of “Districts of Concern” — areas requiring intensified development support and vigilance — has also reduced to six, spread across Andhra Pradesh (Alluri Sitarama Raju), Madhya Pradesh (Balaghat), Odisha (Kalahandi, Kandhamal, and Malkangiri), and Telangana (Bhadradri-Kothagudem). Additionally, the number of other LWE-affected districts has decreased from 17 to six.
The Centre has been backing this security strategy with focused development initiatives. Under the Special Central Assistance (SCA) scheme, districts most affected by Maoist violence receive ₹30 crore annually to bridge critical gaps in infrastructure and services, while “Districts of Concern” receive ₹10 crore. These funds aim to address the chronic lack of access to education, healthcare, roads, banking, and communication in remote tribal regions—conditions that once allowed insurgents to exploit local grievances.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has reaffirmed the government’s resolve to fully eradicate Naxalism by March 31, 2026. Once a deeply entrenched insurgency controlling large swathes of rural India, the Maoist movement now finds itself confined to isolated pockets. The fall from 126 affected districts to just 18 is a testament not only to the effectiveness of counterinsurgency measures but also to a broader strategy of governance and inclusion in neglected areas.
