On track to end Naxalism by March 2026

Rajinder Kumar Vij - Indian Police Service (Retd.)

The Union Home Minister Amit Shah, after reviewing the LWE situation in August 2024, announced that Maoism would be eliminated from the soil of the country by the end of March 2026.

Intensification of anti-Maoist operations

This decisive statement by Home Minister Amit Shah not only pushed the security forces to intensify anti-Maoist operations but also prompted their deployment in the forward areas to plug security gaps. This immediately gave them an edge in launching operations and reducing vulnerability during retreat. The strong political will to end Maoism also had a positive impact on coordination between the Central and the State forces.

The District Reserve Guards (DRGs), Bastar Fighters and Special Task Force (STF) of the State, who are familiar with the local terrain and have grip over the language, have proved very effective in anti-Maoist operations. More than 390 Maoists have been eliminated in the recent operations since early 2024. The PLGA’s battalion (with about 150 armed cadres) has also gone on the defensive. The Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC), a regular feature of the Maoists, also failed to withstand the pressure mounted by the security forces. However, the journey of the security forces so far has not been an easy tread.

Going back to the early 1980, when seven dalams were sent to the Dandkarnaya (DK) by the CPI (ML) People’s War (PW) to develop it into the rear sector (of the ongoing guerrilla war in Telangana) and gradually into the base area, the revolutionary movement was overseen by the state committee of Andhra Pradesh. In 1987, the Forest Committee was formed to guide and supervise the revolutionary activities in DK. While the DK was declared a guerrilla zone in 1992, the Dandkarnaya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) was formed in 1995 under the aegis of the CPI(ML)PW, which was then one of the biggest outfits of the CPI (ML) trend.

The movement gradually grew and expanded up to Rajnandgaon by 2004 and Mahasamund by 2010. Meanwhile, the military formations which started building in 1993 (in the form of special guerrilla squad) and in 1995 (in the form of platoon) also grew, and the PLGA’s first battalion was formed in south Bastar in August 2009. By the end of 2010, there were nine divisions (including two divisions in Gadchiroli) in DK and about eight military companies in addition to the PLGA’s battalion. The affected areas of Mainpur (Gariyaband), Dhamtari and Mahasamund were later brought under the Odisha State Committee of the CPI (Maoist).

Steps taken by Centre and States

Meanwhile, the Central and the State Governments took many steps to strengthen the security infrastructure. While the Central Government launched the security related expenditure (SRE) scheme and special infrastructure scheme (SIS) to strengthen security infrastructure, and established counter-insurgency and anti-terrorism (CIATs) schools, the State Government established the Counterterrorism and Jungle Warfare (CTJW) College in Kanker to improve capacity building of the security personnel. Many CAPF battalions were deployed and India Reserve (IR) battalions sanctioned for Chhattisgarh.

The surrender and rehabilitation policies were notified by the Central and State Governments to motivate Maoists to surrender and join the mainstream. Although the security forces suffered losses during anti-Maoist operations, the establishment of security camps in the areas of security vacuums continued. Hundreds of the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) continue to be recovered every year.

Setbacks to the movement

While the Maoist activities recorded a surge till 2011, the central committee (CC) of the CPI (Maoist) in its fourth meeting in March 2013, noted that their revolutionary movement had entered a difficult situation. As the security forces continued to move forward in the Maoist’s base areas, their mass base started declining, and the countrywide movement went into a temporary setback by 2018. The Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh (MMC) special zone, which was created by the CPI (Maoist) in 2015-16 to further expand the guerrilla zone by reorganising the then existing North Gadchiroli-Gondia division (active in Balaghat, Gondia and North Rajnandgaon since the early 1990s), and creating a new Kanha-Bhoramdeo division, also went into a temporary setback.

Security forces transporting an injured individual in a Naxal area. | PTI.

The CC of the CPI (Maoist) reviewed the countrywide situation of the revolutionary movement in December 2020, and concluded that it was in a temporary setback. Although the CC still decided to come out of that situation and take the revolution forward and convert Dandkarnaya, Bihar-Jharkhand (B-J) into base areas, it failed to achieve any of its objectives. The new recruitment in the north and west sub-zonal bureaus had almost dried up.

The Politbureau of the Maoists reviewed their situation again in August 2024 and found that their countrywide revolutionary movement was still in temporary setback and they had failed to achieve the targets set by the CC in 2020.

It realised that the red resistance and guerrilla zone areas had shrunk. Therefore, it was decided to protect the organs of the Party, PLGA and United Front on priority. As recruitment of new cadres had shrunk, the PB decided to restructure the PLGA formations and convert battalions and companies into platoons and sections, so that encirclement by the security forces could be prevented. The Maoists decided to hit the security forces at their weak points only when they were on retreat or the probability of success was high. It was also decided to retreat some of their cadres to the neighbouring states in the central region.

Fall in number of affected districts

On April 1, the MHA again reviewed the evolving LWE situation in the country and reached an understanding that the districts covered under the SRE Scheme had reduced from 58 in ten states to 46 in nine states. The previous review was undertaken in March 2024. While the total LWE affected districts were assessed to have come down from 38 to 18 (by excluding 20 districts from the list), the number of ‘Most Affected Districts’ reduced from 12 to six, the ‘Districts of Concern’ from nine to six. Similarly, the number of ‘Other Affected Districts’ reduced from 17 to six. However, the number of ‘Legacy’ districts increased from 20 to 28. Chhattisgarh now has only seven LWE affected districts. Bastar, Kondagaon (both of DK); Rajnandgaon, Kabirdham, Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai and Mungeli (all of MMC); and Dhamtari and Mahasamund (both of OSC), do not figure in the list of the LWE-affected districts.

Meanwhile, the Chhattisgarh government amended certain provisions of its previous policy of 2023 and notified the new Surrender and Rehabilitation Policy in March 2025. It provides for handsome cash rewards, and a government job (in certain cases) to the victims of Naxal violence, as well as to the surrendered cadres.

The district committee and state committee are mandated to decide the cases of surrender and rehabilitation in a time bound manner. The benefits and facilities given under the State policy will be in addition to the benefits given under the MHA’s policy of Surrender and Rehabilitation notified in August 2022. While the State policy provides for allotment of a suitable housing plot, the Ministry of Rural Development sanctioned 15,000 houses under the Special Project under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojna-Gramin (PMAY-G), for rehabilitation of surrendered naxalites for the financial year 2024-25. Providing housing to surrender cadres is a big motivation because their family members are also ousted by the Maoists from villages.

Maoists have been weakened

Presently, more than fifty battalions of the CAPFs are deployed in Chhattisgarh. Most of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) battalions are also deployed in the LWE affected districts. The security forces are continuously moving forward in the Maoist’s base areas. Many revolutionary people’s councils (jantana sarkars) have either been dissolved or have become dysfunctional.

The Maoists (including their PLGA battalion) have taken recourse to the defensive mode in order to safeguard their leadership and armed cadres.

The security forces have been successful in eliminating at least one central committee member and some state committee members along with hundreds of other cadres. Some of the political and military formations have also been dissolved by the Maoists. The surrender and desertion by Maoists have also increased. Although the recent re-classification of the LWE affected districts seems to be an exercise in haste, the Maoists definitely are in a weaker situation. They are continuously demanding for a peace dialogue and trying to activate some pressure groups.

March 2026 deadline on track

However, since the Central and the Chhattisgarh Governments have fixed March 2026 as the deadline for ending Maoism, they do not seem keen for any conditional dialogue with the Maoist leadership. The State Government has refused to initiate any dialogue on conditions. Similarly, the Central Government has asked Maoists to shun the path of violence and join the mainstream.

The Maoists are silent to seek any permanent solution which warrants surrender of the armed struggle. Under such a situation, the security forces have no option other than to march forward tactfully (handling the two most potent weapons of the Maoists: IEDs and ambushes) and further shake the Maoist’s confidence in their strongholds.

(Exclusive to NatStrat)