The more than half a century old Naxalite movement, now often referred to as Maoist insurgency, has been hit hard over last two years. On the basis of tangible successes, as also for several infrastructural developments ushered in the Maoist-affected regions in central-east India, Union Home Minister Amit Shah (UHM) has set 31 March 2026 as the timeline to wipe out Maoist insurgency in India. He has said “a strong and ruthless strategy is required for launching the last assault against such groups.”
While it is always expected of political leadership to lay down objectives and impart directions to the executive, pitfalls in terms of partial achievements may lead to a loss of credibility of the system. The objective, as demanding as fixing an expiry date of a 57-year-old challenge within a short span of time, may result in counterproductive overreach by government agencies functioning on the ground. It is argued that in order to wipe out Maoist insurgency from the country for good, the structural issues that have fuelled the insurgency need to be addressed. Such an approach shall be in line with the government’s declared policy of dealing with the challenge in a holistic manner.
Alienation and insurgency
Since its inception in 1967, the insurgency has survived and spread over several states to include West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh. The roller-coaster journey of Maoist insurgency has been a cause of concern for the government and was identified as the greatest internal security threat by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In spite of suffering severe setbacks at the hands of security forces, earlier in Andhra Pradesh and presently in Chhattisgarh, the insurgents have persevered by retaining their capabilities to strike at will. The prime reason behind the Maoists’ success in preserving their relevance has been their ability to espouse (or pretend to espouse) the cause of the people in the areas where they operate.
In West Bengal, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, the issues centred around land holdings, tribal and dalit rights. Similarly in Dandakaranya (an established Maoist stronghold encompassing thickly wooded regions of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra) the insurgents consolidated their hold by gaining traction amongst the local tribal population in the context of issues like land and forest rights, wages, exploitation by extraction industries and the forest department, displacement, lack of governance etc. It is brought out that Naxal cadres entered Dandakaranya in the 1980s, to diversify and later consolidate, in the context of the mounting pressure on their cadres in undivided Andhra Pradesh from the 1990s to the early years of this century.
