The armed wing of the Maoists is called the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army, mostly equipped with small arms. They have conducted multiple attacks on the security forces and government workers, which have resulted in the deaths of more than 4000 civilians and 2500 security force personnel since the 2000s. The influence zone of the Naxalites is called the red corridor, which consists of about 25 districts in Central and East India in 2021.
The insurgency reached its peak in the late 2000s with almost 180 affected districts and has been on the decline since then due to the counter-insurgency actions and development plans formulated by the Indian government. Naxalite organisations and groups have been declared as terrorist organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of India (1967).[30][31]
In March 1967, a few peasant workers seized a plot of land from its jotedar. In May 1967, the Siliguri Kishan Sabha, of which Santhal was the president, declared their support for the movement initiated by Sanyal and their readiness to adopt an armed struggle to redistribute land to the landless.[37] The group advocated initiation of armed struggle and in Naxalbari in West Bengal, the peasants fought when a sharecropper of tribal background, who had been given land by the courts under the tenancy laws, was attacked by the previous landlord's men. When the police arrived, they were ambushed by a group led by Santhal, and in the ensuing fight, 11 people including a police inspector were killed.[38][39][40] In November 1967, a group led by Sushital Ray Chowdhury organised the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries (AICCCR).[41]
The uprising led to the formation of Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) (CPI-ML) in April 1969, which was announced by Sanyal at a mass meeting in Calcutta.[42] It inspired similar movements in states like Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.[43] In 1971, Satyanarayan Singh revolted against the leadership and split the CPI-ML into two, forming a separate provisional committee.[44] The Naxalites gained presence among the radical sections of the student groups in Calcutta.[45] Students left school to join the Naxalites and Majumdar declared that the revolutionary warfare was to take place not only in the rural areas as before, but now everywhere and spontaneously. He also declared an "annihilation line" and issued a dictum to assassinate individual "class enemies" such as landlords, businessmen, teachers, police officers, politicians and others.[46][47]
In response, the Government of West Bengal instituted countermeasures against the Naxalites. The insurgents clashed with the West Bengal Police and CPI-M cadres. With the public rejection of Majumdar's calls for extrajudicial killings, Naxalites alleged human rights violations by the state government, which responded that "the state was effectively fighting a civil war and that democratic pleasantries had no place in a war, especially when the opponent did not fight within the norms of democracy and civility".[40] With the support of the central government, Operation Steeplechase was launched with the aid of the paramilitary forces of the Indian Armed Forces, which resulted in the killing and imprisoning of suspected Naxalites and their cadres, including senior leaders.[48][49] In July 1972, Majumdar was arrested by the West Bengal Police and he later died in police custody.[50][51] After his death, the CPI-ML split into further factions such as the Mahadev Mukherjee faction and the CPI-ML Liberation in 1972.[52] By 1973, the main leaders of the Naxalites were either eliminated or arrested.[53][54] As a result of both external repression and a failure to maintain internal unity, the movement degenerated into extreme sectarianism and the original party fractured into more than 40 separate small groups.[55]
Further growth and government action (1980s to late 1990s)
The late 1970s saw the spread of Naxalism to other states of India.[56] Though the first wave of insurgent violence ended badly, it did not eliminate the movement altogether. The insurgency arose in South India in the early 1980s and on 22 April 1980, the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People's War, commonly called as People's War Group (PWG) was founded by Kondapalli Seetharamaiah.[57] He sought a more efficient structure in attacks and followed the principles of Majumdar. The insurgents kidnapped landlords and forced them to confess to crimes, apologize to villagers, and repay forced bribes. By the early 1980s, the insurgents had established a stronghold and sanctuary along the Andhra Pradesh–Orissa border.[58]
In 1985, the Naxalites began ambushing police forces and killed N.Yadagiri Reddy, a sub-inspector of police in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh. In response, a special task force called the Greyhounds was formed by the Government of Andhra Pradesh.[59] The governments of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa quelled down the rebels with a variety of counterinsurgency measures. The states established special laws that enabled police to capture and detain Naxalite cadres, fighters and presumed supporters.[60] They invited additional central paramilitary forces, set up organisations to attract youth away from the Naxalites, started rehabilitation programs for those who surrendered.[61] In the 1990s, several incidents of mass murders happened in Bihar wherein Maoists killed members of the land-owning Bhumihar community, who then retaliated through militias.[62][63][64]
Peak of insurgency (2000s)
On 2 December 2000, the armed wing of the Maoists is called the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army was founded and are mostly equipped with small arms.[65][66][67] On 1 October 2003, the Naxalites attacked a convoy of then Chief Minister of Andhra PradeshChandrababu Naidu en route to Tirumala, in which the Chief Minister was injured.[68] In response, the Andhra Pradesh government embarked on a rapid modernisation of its police force and up-gradation of its technical and operational capabilities to fight the insurgents and about 246 insurgents were killed during the year.[69][70] In September 2004, the CPI-Maoist was founded through the merger of the People's War Group, and the Maoist Communist Centre of India.[71] In January 2005, peace talks between the Andhra Pradesh government and the Maoists broke down after the government did not agree to the release of prisoners and redistribution of land.[72] In August 2005, the government of Andhra Pradesh outlawed the CPI-Maoist party and other affiliated organisations and arrested suspected members and sympathizers of the group.[73][74]
The Maoists orchestrated several attacks on government facilities across various states. They freed prisoners after attacks on prisons and stole weapons from government facilities.[75][76][77] They also attacked anti-Maoist protesters, took hostages and killed those who opposed them.[78][79][80] Police men and security forces were targeted in ambushes using automatic weapons and improvised explosive devices.[81] In 2007, the Maoists killed Member of ParliamentSunil Mahato in Jharkhand and a local leader in Andhra Pradesh.[82][83] They were also involved in local protests against the establishment of Special Economic Zones and killed tribal youths of counter militia organisations.[84][85] In 2008, Naxal attacks increased in Orissa, which inflicted multiple casualties on the security forces.[86][87][88][89] On average, 700 people were killed in the conflict every year from 2005 to 2008.[70]
The conflict escalated with the next two years being the deadliest with more than 1000 casualties annually.[70] The Indian government announced a nationwide initiative called the Integrated Action Plan for broad coordinated operations aimed at combatting and undermining support for the Naxalites in selected states. The plan included funding for grass-roots economic development projects in the affected areas and increased special police funding for containment and reduction of Naxalite influence.[90][91]
The Indian government launched a massive military offensive, code named Operation Green Hunt and planned to deploy nearly 50,000 soldiers over two years, with the objectives of eliminating Naxal insurgents and bringing stability to the regions.[92] The Maoists targeted security personnel involved in the operations against them with major attacks such as the Silda camp attack, Dantewada ambush and 2010 Dantewada bus bombing.[93][94][95] They also killed civilians suspected of helping the government and those who were involved in building public infrastructure.[96][97][98] Naxalites carried out a series of attacks, including shootings and bombings across Indian states and the security forces retaliated in response.[99][100] Naxalites were also suspected of attempted train derailments..[101][102]
In early 2010s, Karnataka was removed from the list of Naxal-affected states.[103] The Government of Madhya Pradesh claimed that the Naxal insurgency has reduced in the state and attributed its success to the rural development schemes.[104] In July 2011, the central government announced that the number of Naxal-affected areas were reduced to 83 districts across nine states.[105] Senior Maoist leaders were killed by the security forces, and many were arrested.[106][107] In early 2012, the Naxalites kidnapped foreign nationals and a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Odisha to force the government to release its cadres held as prisoners.[108] In May 2013, a Naxal attack in Chattisgarh resulted in the deaths of 24 Indian National Congress leaders including the former state minister Mahendra Karma and the Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel.[109]
Sporadic attacks such as the 2021 Sukma–Bijapur attack and 2023 Dantewada bombing on security personnel and civilians continued into the 2020s.[118][119][120][121] The anti-insurgency operations also intensified with higher success rate resulting in the death or capture of several insurgent leaders.[122][123][124] The Naxal influence reduced to about 70 districts in 2021 of which only 25 were most affected from a high of 180 districts in the late 2000s.[125][126] Though there was a sporadic increase in Naxal activity in parts of Telangana, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh,[127][128][129][130] the Maoist activity have relatively suppressed due to the increase in anti-terror operations conducted by the security forces in 2024. Operations like the 2024 Kanker clash and the 2024 Abujhmarh clash
resulted in a great loss of personnel and material for the Maoists.
[131][132]
Areas with Naxalite activity in 2007 (left), in 2013 (centre), and in 2018 (right)
The influence zone of the Naxalites is called the red corridor consisting of about 25 most affected and 70 total affected districts in Central and East India in 2021.[126] The most affected districts accounted for 85% of the Left wing extremist incidents in India.[133][134] The insurgency was its peak in the late 2000s with nearly 180 affected districts across an area of 92,000 km2 (36,000 sq mi) and has been on the decline since then.[125] In April 2018, 35 districts were classified as most affected amongst the 126 affected districts.[135][136]
As of the early 2020s, the Naxal activity is largely concentrated in two clusters, the first in and round the forested remote hilly areas of Dandakaranya spread across Chhattisgarh and Odisha and the second in the border region of Jharkhand-Bihar-West Bengal.[137][138] The affected districts include:[139][140]
Then Prime Minister of IndiaManmohan Singh called the Naxalites the "single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country" and in June 2011, he said, "Development is the master remedy to win over people", adding that the government was "strengthening the development work in the 60 Maoist-affected districts.[142] In 2010, Home secretary Gopal Krishna Pillai acknowledged that there were legitimate grievances regarding the local people's access to the forest land and produce and the distribution of benefits from mining and hydropower developments. However, he claimed that the Naxalites' long-term goal was to establish an Indian communist state and the government wanted to tackle the Naxalites head-on to take back the lost areas.[143]
The Indian government launched three schemes–Special Central Assistance (SCA), Security Related Expenditure (SRE), and Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS) for the economic development of the Naxal-affected areas. As of July 2021, ₹375 million (US$4.5 million) had been sanctioned for more than 10,000 projects, of which 85% were complete. About ₹276 million (US$3.3 million) of the funds were earmarked for the most affected districts. Under these SCA and SIS schemes, construction of about 17,600 km (10,900 mi) roads and 234 Eklavya Model Residential Schools were planned. The plan also included the establishment of 5000 mobile telephone towers and 3114 post offices. As a means of financial inclusion of people, 1077 ATMs and 1236 bank branches were operationalised.[144]
Security
In 2018, the central government sought to stem insurgency by earmarking development funds for revolt-hit areas and improving policing. The government planned a ₹250 billion (US$3.0 billion) scheme for the modernisation of central and state police forces in the next three years.[145] Under the SRE scheme, 400 fortified police stations were established at the cost of ₹140 million (US$1.7 million). In addition, funds were utilised to hire helicopters, media services, and for other public relations and community activities.[146] Women self-help groups and industries were established by various state governments. Government of Madhya Pradesh aided 23,113 women self-help groups covering 274,000 families in the affected districts and established 18 industries that would employ 4000 people. Additionally, loans to tribals were waived, and land right ownership documents were granted.[147]
Militia and vigilante groups
Since late 1990, several armed anti-insurgency vigilante groups have been backed by the government to fight against the Maoists. In Chhattisgarh, Salwa Judum was formed as an anti-insurgency vigilante group aimed at countering the violence in the region in 2005. The militia consisted of local tribal youth, who received support and training from the Government of Chhattisgarh.[148] Various other paramilitary vigilante groups had emerged in other states such Andhra Pradesh. These groups were accused of extra-judicial murders of civil liberties activists.[149][150]
The Chattisgarh government came under criticism from pro-Maoist activist groups for the same.[151][152] The groups were claimed to have involved in violence against women, employment of child soldiers, and looting and destruction of property.[153][154][155][156] According to the Institute of Peace and Conflict studies, while Naxal groups recruited children in different capacities and exposed them, the same accusation was levelled at Salwa Judum and the special police officers assisting the government security forces.[157] The allegations were rejected by a fact-finding commission of the National Human Rights Commission of India in 2008. The commission, which had been appointed by the Supreme Court of India, determined that the Salwa Judum was a spontaneous reaction by tribals against Maoist atrocities perpetrated against them.[158]
On 5 July 2011, the Supreme Court declared these militia groups to be illegal and unconstitutional and ordered its disbandment. The court directed the government to recover all the firearms, ammunition and accessories given to the groups. The court criticised the use of these groups, which had complaints of human rights violations and employment of poorly trained youth against them. The court also ordered the government to investigate all instances of alleged criminal activities of the groups.[159]
Casualties
The Naxalites have conducted multiple attacks on the security forces, government workers and civilians, with casualties on both sides.[160] To enforce their control over the population, the Maoists have often convened kangaroo courts to mete out summary justice, death, beatings, or exile.[161] As per the South Asia Terrorism portal, the conflict has resulted in the deaths of more than 11500 people including 4000 civilians, 2500 security force personnel and 4500 Naxalites since the 2000s.[70] As per the BBC, more than 6,000 people were killed in the 20 years between 1990 and 2010.[162][163]Al Jazeera estimated the total death toll as 10,000 between 1980 and 2011.[164]
^K.P. Singh (2008). The Trajectory of the Movement in The Naxal Challenge: Causes, Linkages and Policy Options. Dorling Kindersley. pp. 10–11.
^Anup K. Pahari (2010). Unequal Rebellions: The Continuum of 'People's War' in Nepal and India. Routledge. pp. 208–210.
^P.V. Ramana (2011). Michael Kugelman (ed.). India's Maoist Insurgency: Evolution, Current Trends, and Responses. Woodrow Wilson International Center. pp. 138–141.
