{"id":347626,"date":"2025-10-08T20:23:37","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T14:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=347626"},"modified":"2025-10-12T09:59:29","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T04:29:29","slug":"status-of-maoist-movement-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/status-of-maoist-movement-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Status of Maoist movement in India"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Source<\/strong>: The post <strong>\u201cStatus of Maoist or Naxalite movement\u201d <\/strong>has been created, based <strong>\u201cIt\u2019s time for Maoists to lay down arms\u201d<\/strong> published in &#8220;<strong>The Hindu<\/strong>\u201d on 8 October 2025. <strong>Status of Maoist movement in India.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-347863\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Status-of-Maoist-movement-in-India.png?resize=487%2C323&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Status of Maoist movement in India\" width=\"487\" height=\"323\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Status-of-Maoist-movement-in-India.png?resize=300%2C199&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Status-of-Maoist-movement-in-India.png?resize=1024%2C680&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Status-of-Maoist-movement-in-India.png?resize=768%2C510&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Status-of-Maoist-movement-in-India.png?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 487px) 100vw, 487px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>UPSC Syllabus: <\/strong>GS-3-Internal security<\/p>\n<p><strong>Context:<\/strong> The Maoist or Naxalite movement, spearheaded by the proscribed <strong>Communist Party of India (Maoist)<\/strong>, has witnessed a steady decline over the last two decades. Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently reiterated that Maoists must surrender and join the mainstream under the government\u2019s <strong>\u201clucrative surrender and rehabilitation policy.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Background: Origin and Expansion<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The CPI (Marxist\u2013Leninist) People\u2019s War Group and Maoist Communist Centre merged in 2004 to form <strong>CPI (Maoist)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The movement drew strength from <strong>underdeveloped and tribal areas<\/strong> of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh.<\/li>\n<li>Maoists established a \u2018<strong>Liberated Zone<\/strong>\u2019 in central India with their own administrative setup called <strong>\u201cJanatana Sarkar.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Initially, the movement thrived as a <strong>peasant-led struggle<\/strong> rooted in issues of land, inequality, and exploitation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Present Situation: Decline of the Movement<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>Central Committee<\/strong> has shrunk from about 42 members in 2004 to nearly 20 in 2025; most are aged or ailing.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>Politburo<\/strong> has been reduced from 25 to merely 7 members.<\/li>\n<li>Security operations like <strong>Operation Black Forest<\/strong> and deployment of the <strong>District Reserve Guard (DRG)<\/strong> have been effective.<\/li>\n<li>Around <strong>1,450 Maoists have surrendered,<\/strong> and <strong>1,460 have been arrested<\/strong>; over <strong>430 Maoists, including 45 operatives<\/strong>, have been killed in the last 18 months.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Maoist bases in Sukma, Bijapur, Narayanpur, Bastar, Rajnandgaon,<\/strong>, have been neutralised.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Factors Behind the Decline<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Leadership Crisis<\/strong> \u2013 Killing of top leaders like Basavaraj reduced cohesion; new leaders like <strong>Tipiriti Tirupathi alias Debuji (new general secretary)<\/strong> lack mass influence.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Loss of Ideological Base<\/strong> \u2013 The movement, once people-centric, now depends on coercion rather than ideology.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Erosion of Local Support<\/strong> \u2013 Tribal communities disillusioned due to atrocities by both Maoists and <strong>state-sponsored vigilante groups<\/strong> like <em>Salwa Judum<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Modernised Security Forces<\/strong> \u2013 Enhanced coordination, intelligence-sharing, and deployment of specialised units (e.g., <strong>Commando Battalion for Resolute Action<\/strong>).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Improved Governance<\/strong> \u2013 State presence through roads, schools, and health services in Maoist areas.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Surrender and Rehabilitation Policy<\/strong> \u2013 Incentivised surrender with financial aid, housing, and employment.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><strong>Regional Variations<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Chhattisgarh<\/strong> remains the main theatre of Maoist activity, though even there, the influence is waning.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Andhra Pradesh and Telangana<\/strong>, once Maoist strongholds, have seen a near-total decline due to sustained policing and social development.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Jharkhand, Odisha, and Bihar<\/strong> retain residual Maoist presence, mostly in small pockets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Consequences of Militarisation<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Militarisation reduced Maoist influence but also caused <strong>civilian casualties<\/strong> and <strong>loss of tribal trust<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Programmes like <em>Salwa Judum<\/em> backfired, leading to <strong>rights violations<\/strong> and alienation of local populations.<\/li>\n<li>Critics argue that <strong>addressing socio-economic grievances<\/strong> and <strong>political integration<\/strong> would yield more sustainable peace.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Surrender and Rehabilitation:<\/strong> Continue to encourage reintegration with social security and livelihood support.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Developmental Governance:<\/strong> Strengthen infrastructure, education, and employment in tribal belts.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dialogue and Trust-Building:<\/strong> Rebuild faith between state and tribals through participatory governance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ideological Counter-Narrative:<\/strong> Promote democratic activism to replace violent struggle.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Conclusion: <\/strong>It is evident that the <strong>Maoist insurgency is at its weakest<\/strong>, with leadership decimated and public support waning. The movement\u2019s reliance on violence over ideology has eroded its legitimacy. Sustained <strong>democratic engagement, inclusive development<\/strong>, and <strong>rehabilitation policies<\/strong> can finally help integrate remaining cadres into the mainstream \u2014 marking an end to one of India\u2019s longest-running internal conflicts.<\/p>\n<p>Question: Critically examine the factors responsible for the decline of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) in India. How can the State ensure that this decline translates into lasting peace and inclusive development?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Source: The post \u201cStatus of Maoist or Naxalite movement\u201d has been created, based \u201cIt\u2019s time for Maoists to lay down arms\u201d published in &#8220;The Hindu\u201d on 8 October 2025. Status of Maoist movement in India. UPSC Syllabus: GS-3-Internal security Context: The Maoist or Naxalite movement, spearheaded by the proscribed Communist Party of India (Maoist), has&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/status-of-maoist-movement-in-india\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Status of Maoist movement in India<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":347863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230],"tags":[216,406,10498],"class_list":["post-347626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","tag-gs-paper-3","tag-internal-security","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Status-of-Maoist-movement-in-India.png?fit=1280%2C850&ssl=1","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347626\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}