It is very heartening to note that Naxalism has entered the end of its existence in India. PM Modi and HM Amit Shah had given a target of March 31, 2026 to end Naxalism in the country. The security forces have achieved tremendous success in neutralising a large strength of Naxal cadres. A huge number including key Naxal leaders have also surrendered before the authorities. A state like Madhya Pradesh has officially announced the end of Naxalism in the state. The Government of India and all the states afflicted with Naxalism deserve full credit for their determined fight against this violent extremism which has impacted the country since 1967. A major damage to Naxalism happened in the last decade under the close watch of PM Modi.
Naxalism is a form of insurgency against the state, similar to the armed struggle in India’s North East, with a secessionist agenda to disown the democratically elected government. The thought process of Naxalism was motivated by leftist ideologies; thus ‘Left Wing Extremism (LWE)’ is the official term used by the Ministry of Home Affairs. From 2004 onwards, the LWE in India took a serious turn and the Naxalites carried out a series of violent activities which shook the nation. By this time, the districts affected by LWE were in the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, MP, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and even parts of Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. In fact, the term Red Corridor indicated LWE affected region in India, stretching from Indo-Nepal border in the north to fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. Such was the reach and influence of this Red Terror menace.
Therefore, this form of extremism in the last 49 years has developed roots in various parts of the country which are not necessarily part of the Red Corridor. The ecosystem of LWE has the external linkage, home-grown support system and the armed wing. While the armed cadre by and large has been neutralised, the ecosystem within the country that supports Naxalism including the Urban Naxals would also require deft handling by the government agencies. The external linkage of Naxalism has considerably weakened because of the strict measures initiated by the government. There is much better inter-state coordination in the fight against Naxalism. But to achieve complete success against Naxalism, some challenges still remain to be tackled.
The first challenge is to eliminate the armed cadre operating from remaining 11 districts in the country. In fact, most affected LWE districts have come down to just 6 districts, 4 in Chhattisgarh and one each in Jharkhand and Maharashtra. The security forces have to establish camps in the areas which have been liberated from the influence of LWE. The people in such areas have to be given confidence in the state administrative machinery. The local police and the para military forces have to provide close protection to the vulnerable population. The final phase of operations against the armed Naxals may be violent and the security forces have to be doubly prepared to deal with all the situations.
The next challenge is to recover large cache of arms, ammunition and explosives in the possession of Naxals and their Over Ground Workers (OGWs). It is a known fact that the armed cadre does not surrender with their high-quality weapons and ammunition. Invariably, they surrender with country made crude weapons and hide their main armoury. Many times, the quality weapons are sold to other extremist groups or unlawful elements at a premium. Here the intelligence agencies of the security forces have to step in quickly. The security forces may have to carry out intelligence-based search operations at a large scale.
The next task would to establish effective administration in the districts which have come out of Naxalism. The people in these districts have to be provided all the amenities from scratch, from basic documentation to financial assistance. All these areas have to be provided health care, good connectivity and employment opportunities. In fact, the modified VB RAM G may be a game changer to provide employment in such areas. The states have to proactively engage with the people, bypassing the routine bureaucracy. The local administration may utilise the support of NGOs in such areas, after carefully vetting their credentials. Many of the NGOs have affiliation with the LWE or their ideology and they may exploit the opportunity to revive Naxalism once again. Thus, the local administration and the security agencies have to carefully monitor the assistance being rendered by the NGOs.
It is silencing the Urban Naxals and their well-established network that is going to be the major challenge before the government. The so-called Humans Rights lobby is going to be very active in the coming months. Unlike terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir and insurgency in India’s North East, LWE unfortunately has not been part of much national level discussion. Even though the LWE has been India’s biggest internal security threat, somehow it has remained a localised discourse. The government, therefore has to use all the tools available to highlight the challenges of such extremism.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has outlined a comprehensive national strategy to combat crime and terrorism during the recent Anti-Terrorism Conference 2025 held at New Delhi. Towards that the inter-agency cooperation has to improve significantly. The success of the police and para military to eliminate LWE also proves that security and intelligence agencies have attained that high degree of professionalism. There are some issues which have to be addressed beyond the political differences between the centre and the states. From the national security perspective, the end of Naxalism in India is going to be a major milestone. It is no less significant than the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir. Therefore, the country should remain united in the final chapter of the eradication of the LWE in India.
