Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday, while replying to the discussion in the Lok Sabha on Maoism said Maoist ideology replaced India’s tribal and nationalist icons with foreign ideological influences.
Amit Shah said that “this ideology has nothing to do with development or the demand for development,” questioning, “what is this ideology? What is Maoist ideology?” He stated that their guiding slogan is “Power flows from the barrel of the gun.”
He said that “these people are not fighting for development, but for the survival and victory of their ideology, and to capture power by spreading their ideology among innocent tribals,” adding that “they have no faith in democracy.”
The Home Minister criticised comparisons made by some, stating, “are you comparing Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Bhagwan Birsa Munda, who fought against the British, with those who break the Constitution, pick up arms and kill innocent people?”
वामपंथी विचारधारा के समर्थकों ने भगवान बिरसा मुंडा, शहीद भगत सिंह या सुभाष चंद्र बोस को नहीं, बल्कि “MAO” को अपना आदर्श माना। pic.twitter.com/zIMUAfOK6I
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) March 30, 2026
He added that “this ideology believes that only a prolonged war can spread their ideology” and that “they have no hesitation even in shedding the blood of their own people.”
Shah said that “the supporters of this ideology have not taken Bhagwan Birsa Munda, Shaheed Bhagat Singh or Subhas Chandra Bose as their ideals, but have instead chosen Mao as their ideal.”
He further stated that “they had deliberately chosen the entire Red Corridor because the reach of the state was weak there,” adding that “innocent tribals were misled and weapons were placed in their hands.”
The Home Minister noted that “the tribals who, since before 15 August 1947, had considered Bhagwan Birsa Munda, Tilka Manjhi, Rani Durgavati and the Murmu brothers as their heroes, how did those same tribals start considering Mao as their hero by the time 1970 arrived?”
Shah said that “it was not because of development or injustice, but because of the difficult geography and the absence of the state that the Leftists chose this area to spread their ideology and began misleading the innocent tribals.”
He added that “the Left-wing extremists did not allow development to reach that area for years,” but noted that under Narendra Modi, “development is reaching every household there.”
Reiterating his stance, Shah said that “Naxalism did not spread because of poverty; rather, poverty remained in the entire region for years because of Naxalism,” adding that “the roots of Naxalism are not linked to poverty and lack of development, but are ideological.”
