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Maoism in India: Origins, Ideology, Red Corridor and India’s Mission to End Maoist Insurgency by 2026

Maoism in India: Origins, Ideology, Red Corridor and India’s Mission to End Maoist Insurgency by 2026 


1. Recent Incident: Bijapur Anti-Naxal Operation (Feb 2025)


  • Date: 7 February 2025

  • Location: Forest region of Bijapur district, Bastar division, Chhattisgarh

  • Security Forces involved:

    • District Reserve Guard (DRG)

    • Special Task Force (STF)

    • Bastar Fighters

    • CRPF Commando units

  • Operation Details:

    • Security personnel trekked ~60 km through dense forest.

    • Operation lasted 48 hours.

    • Encounter duration: ~8 hours.

Outcome

  • 31 Maoists neutralized

  • 2 security personnel martyred

    • Head Constable Naresh Dhruv

    • Constable Basit Rawat

  • Large cache of weapons recovered:

    • AK-47 rifles

    • SLR

    • INSAS rifles

    • Explosives

Important Maoists killed

  • Ganga Karma – Reward ₹8 lakh

  • Mangu, Hema, Subhash Oyam, Sannu – Rewards ~₹5 lakh each

  • Ramesh – Reward ₹2 lakh

Key Fact

  • In 2025, about 65 Maoists killed in Bastar region, 56 in Bijapur alone.

2. Government Target: Maoism-Free India

  • Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced the goal of making India Maoism-free by 31 March 2026.

  • Significant decline in Maoist activities in recent years.

Recent Trends

  • 219 Maoists neutralized in Chhattisgarh in 2024.

  • 2015–2025: Around 10,884 Maoists surrendered.

  • 2024: About 475 Maoists surrendered nationwide.

3. Meaning of Naxalism / Left Wing Extremism

  • Naxalism refers to an armed Maoist insurgency seeking to overthrow the Indian state through violent revolution.

  • Inspired by Maoist ideology advocating protracted people's war.

  • Officially termed Left Wing Extremism (LWE) by the Government of India.

4. Origin of Naxalite Movement (1967)

4

  • Originated in 1967 in Naxalbari.

  • Leaders involved:

    • Charu Majumdar

    • Kanu Sanyal

    • Jangal Santhal

  • Aim: Redistribute land from landlords to peasants.

  • Trigger event: Killing of a sharecropper farmer (1967).

Global Attention

  • Chinese newspaper People’s Daily called it
    “Thunder of Spring over India.”

5. Ideological Influence

  • Inspired by Mao Zedong.

  • Maoist ideology believes:

    • Indian state is semi-colonial and semi-feudal.

    • Revolution must occur through armed peasant struggle.

Key Development

  • 1969: Formation of
    Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist).

6. Spread of the Movement

4

  • Movement spread to several states forming the Red Corridor.

Major affected states

  • Chhattisgarh

  • Jharkhand

  • Bihar

  • Odisha

  • Maharashtra

  • Andhra Pradesh

  • Telangana

Key Region

  • Dandakaranya region

    • Covers parts of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.

7. Formation of CPI (Maoist) – 2004

  • 2004 merger:

    • People’s War Group (PWG)

    • Maoist Communist Centre (MCC)

  • Resulted in formation of
    Communist Party of India (Maoist).

Features

  • Organized guerrilla armies:

    • Platoons

    • Companies

    • Battalions

  • Creation of Liberated Zones in forest areas.

8. Funding Sources of Maoists

  • Extortion from contractors and businesses

  • Illegal mining

  • Forest produce trade

  • Kidnapping and robbery

  • Illegal arms supply from:

    • Nepal

    • Bangladesh

    • Myanmar

Estimated funds: ~₹1,500 crore (late 2000s estimates).

9. Major Government Measures

1. Security Measures

  • 2006: Government released first LWE security blueprint.

  • 2010: Launch of Operation Green Hunt (large anti-Naxal operation).

  • Ban on CPI (Maoist) under
    Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

2. Development Measures

  • Forest Rights Act

    • Recognizes forest rights of tribal communities.

  • Integrated Action Plan (IAP)

    • Development of LWE affected districts.

10. SAMADHAN Strategy (2017)

The government launched SAMADHAN strategy to combat Maoism.

Acronym

  • S – Smart Leadership

  • A – Aggressive Strategy

  • M – Motivation & Training

  • A – Actionable Intelligence

  • D – Dashboard-based KPIs

  • H – Harnessing Technology

  • A – Action Plan for each theatre

  • N – No access to financing

11. Infrastructure and Security Expansion

  • 280+ new security camps since 2019

  • 88 additional camps planned in 2025

Infrastructure Development

  • Road network increased:

    • 2004–2014: ~2,900 km

    • 2014–2024: ~14,400 km

Communication Improvement

  • 6,000 mobile towers installed in LWE areas.

Police Infrastructure

  • 5,444 fortified police stations established.

12. Use of Technology in Anti-Naxal Operations

  • Drone surveillance

  • UAV monitoring

  • Call interception

  • Satellite intelligence

  • Advanced tracking systems

These technologies improved:

  • Intelligence gathering

  • Faster troop movement

  • Precise targeting.

13. Current Status of Naxalism

  • LWE violence significantly declined.

  • Maoist influence reduced to:

9 States and ~38 districts.

States now largely Maoist-free

  • Andhra Pradesh

  • Telangana

  • West Bengal

Karnataka development

  • Last active Naxal Battu Lakshmi surrendered (2024).

14. Human Cost of LWE

  • 2004–June 2023:

    • 24,000+ incidents

    • 8,694 deaths

Includes:

  • Civilians

  • Security personnel

  • Maoists

15. Key Prelims Facts to Remember

  • 1967: Naxalbari uprising

  • 1969: Formation of CPI (ML)

  • 2004: Formation of CPI (Maoist)

  • 2010: Operation Green Hunt

  • 2017: SAMADHAN strategy

  • Target: Maoism-free India by 31 March 2026

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