Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a review meeting in Raipur, Chhattisgarh to assess the situation of Naxalism/Left-Wing Extremism (LWE)/CPI (Maoist) on December 16, 2024. He remarked that Naxalism is a challenge to democracy and that a strong and ruthless strategy has been adopted for the final assault to curb it. He lauded the efforts of security forces (SFs) and central agencies (Enforcement Directorate (ED) and National Investigation Agency (NIA) in neutralising the menace of Naxal terror. He said India will eliminate LWE before March 31, 2026. The security forces include Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs – BSF, ITBP, CRPF) and Chhattisgarh Police & District Reserve Guard (DRG). NIA and ED are instrumental in dismantling Maoist finances.
In reply to a question on the floor of Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said on February 11, 2025, that there has been a progressive decline in the number of districts affected by LWE. In the last six years, Naxal areas of influence have shrunk from 126 (April 2018) to 38 districts in April 2024. Violence perpetrated by LWE was reduced by 81% in 2024 compared to the high levels in 2010 (2024: 374 incidents, 2010:1936). The resultant deaths, inclusive of civilians and SFs have also reduced by 85% during the same period (2024: 150 deaths, 2010: 1005). The nation witnessed a sharp reduction in Naxal violence by 25% in 2024, compared to 2023. In the last five years, 60 districts were declared free of the Maoist menace.
There has been a progressive decline in the Left-Wing Extremism-hit districts. Naxal areas of influence shrunk from 126 districts in April 2018 to 38 districts in April 2024, said Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on February 11, 2025, in Lok Sabha
According to a briefing cited in the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), the Chhattisgarh Police indicated that the number of active CPI-Maoist ‘politburo’ members is down from 16 in 2004 to 4 in 2025. The key decision-making body of the CPI-Maoist, the ‘central committee’ (CC), comprises 11 to 12 active members, down from 32. The second-rung leadership largely comprises members high on guerrilla tactics, mostly hailing from Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, but with limited ideological and strategic vision. The effective surrender and rehabilitation policy of LWE-affected states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand has seen results on the ground leading to widespread disorientation and desertion among the LWE regular cadres, presently only numbering 200, according to P Sunderraj, Inspector General, Bastar in Chhattisgarh.
Naxals Outgunned in Chhattisgarh
According to the annual 2023-24 report of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), in 2023, Chhattisgarh remained the worst LWE-affected state accounting for 63% of the total LWE-related incidents of violence and 66% of the resultant fatalities. Jharkhand was the second most affected state, with 27% of the LWE-related violent incidents and 23% of the resultant deaths. The remaining incidents of violence and fatalities were reported from Maharashtra, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Kerala.
The SFs in Chhattisgarh’s Baster region have been carrying out relentless operations against Naxalites. The Chhattisgarh government’s Naxal policy is based on the principle of ‘dialogue for dialogue, bullet for bullet’. According to data obtained from Chhattisgarh Police, the anti-Naxal operations conducted from 2020 to February 20, 2025, saw a total of 383 Naxalites killed in encounters, 2,634 Naxals arrested and 2,631 Naxals surrendered. There have been 464 encounters between SFs and Naxalites during which 591 arms and 1,194 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were seized. In the first 40 days of the present year, 87 Naxalites have been killed in encounters, 71 of which were from the Bastar region.
On February 9, 2025, inflicting significant losses on the CPI-Maoist, a joint team of SFs comprising the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) personnel, shot dead at least 31 Maoists in an encounter in the forest between the Maddeda-Farsegarh border in the Indravati National Park area in the Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh. Two security personnel, one belonging to the state police’s DRG and the other from the STF, were killed in the gunfight, and another two suffered injuries.
Under the new policy, surrendering Naxalites are given a monthly allowance of Rs 10,000 besides the reward amount announced for their capture. The government also provides land, housing, and employment to ensure they lead a stable and productive life
Before this encounter, on October 4, 2024, 38 CPI-Maoist cadres were killed by the Chhattisgarh Police personnel belonging to the DRG and STF, in the forested terrain near Nendur-Thulthuli in the south Abujhmadh area under Orchha Police Station limits in Narayanpur. This proves that SFs are vigilant and dared to enter Maoist stronghold areas.
New Surrender and Rehabilitation Policy
On December 20, 2024, the Chhattisgarh government launched a new policy aimed at encouraging Naxals to return to the mainstream, showcasing a more compassionate approach to ending the insurgency. Under the new policy, surrendering Naxalites are given a monthly allowance of Rs 10,000 besides the reward amount that was announced for his/her capture. In addition to financial aid, the government provides land, housing, and resources related to employment to ensure that the surrendered Naxals lead a stable and productive life.
Chhattisgarh government has extended the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) scheme to include surrendered Maoists and victims of violence in Left-Wing Extremism-affected areas. Special training programmes are set up in designated areas to equip them with vocational skills, helping them integrate into society and find sustainable livelihoods.
‘Niyad Nellanar Yojana – (Aapka Achcha Gaon Yojana)’
A pro-development scheme was initiated with the launch of the Niyad Nellanar Yojana which provides basic facilities and benefits of welfare projects to Naxal-affected villages on February 17, 2024. Under this scheme, 25 amenities and benefits were provided in villages located within 5 km of each of the 14 security camps established in the Bastar region. Families in these villages receive free gas cylinders under the Ujjwala scheme, free rice, gram, salt, jaggery, sugar, ration cards, irrigation pumps, and free electricity.
The security forces must devise strategies and adopt measures to arrest the trend of Maoists using IEDs by attacking the source and linkages of the supply of explosives and the frequent usage of robotics in defusing IEDs to minimise casualties
The government intends to establish community halls, Anganwadi centres, primary schools and field hospitals, and provides certificates of forest rights. An allocation of Rs 20 crore has already been made for the scheme, which can be increased with the help of the Union Government if the need arises. Such developmental schemes are reckoned to win the hearts and minds of villagers in Naxal-affected areas.
Conclusion
The Left-Wing Extremism has been served an ultimatum by the Union government to shun violence and reintegrate into the mainstream. Security forces have intensified their combing operations by establishing forward operating bases with the key intention and focus to penetrate the Maoist stronghold areas and neutralise the top-rung leadership of Maoists. The central agencies in coordination with SFs on the ground have been able to choke the supply network, logistics and finances of Maoists.
Further, SFs must devise strategies and adopt measures to arrest the trend of Maoists using IEDs by attacking the source and linkages of the supply of explosives and the frequent usage of robotics in defusing IEDs to minimise casualties. The coupling of security and development to village beneficiaries, supporting victims of Maoist violence, and reintegrating Maoists into society is the endgame for rooting out the menace and proxies of Maoism in India.
–The writer is Assistant Professor, ICFAI School of Liberal Arts, ICFAI University, Jaipur. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
