Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has witnessed an historic and unprecedented decline in Left-wing extremism (LWE). The menace of Naxalism, long a national security challenge, is now being defeated through a decisive combination of security action and all‑round development. Data shows that between 2014 and 2024, LWE‑related violence dropped by 53% and resultant casualties (amongst security forces) by 73% compared to the 2004-14 period. This remarkable achievement reflects the sustained commitment of the government’s zero‑tolerance policy towards extremism alongside robust governance and outreach to affected communities.
Representational image (PTI)
Once the red corridor spanned around 180 districts across Central and Eastern India, by 2021 it had shrunk to just 46 districts reporting incidents, with only 25 ‘most affected’ districts accounting for 85% of total LWE-related violence. By early 2025, that number had further diminished to only six districts--Bijapur, Kanker, Narayanpur and Sukma in Chhattisgarh, West Singhbhum in Jharkhand, and Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, were classified by the home ministry as most affected.
The narrative of decline is no abstraction. In Chhattisgarh over 18 months leading up to mid‑2025, over 400 Maoist cadres were neutralised, over 1,300 surrendered, and over 1,400 arrested. Earlier, in 2024, 202 cadres were eliminated, 723 surrendered and 812 arrested, during a time when nearly 14,400 km of roads were laid and close to 6,000 mobile towers established in LWE‑affected zones--a fundamental shift in connectivity and outreach.
Central and State leadership has consistently emphasised a dual‐pronged approach. First, enforcement: High‑intensity security operations, technological intelligence gathering, special forces deployment, and legal measures to dismantle networks, arrest urban sympathisers, freeze funding and break organisational infrastructure. The home minister made it clear that operations ranged from drone surveillance, signal analysis, mapping courier networks, to satellite imagery backed by data analytics, equipping security forces with precise intelligence capabilities. The result has been that fatal incidents dropped from over 1 000 in 2010 to just 138 in 2023, and total violent incidents reached their lowest levels in four decades by 2022.
Second, development: The government ensured 100% saturation of welfare schemes, infrastructure upgrades, compensation for victims of past deprivation, and educational and health outreach. As reported in August 2024, the government committed to full scheme implementation and bridging infrastructure gaps in remote districts, striving for total coverage by March 2025 in Chhattisgarh through collaborative campaigns and new surrender policies aimed at facilitating demobilisation of youths into mainstream society.
Reports confirms that LWE is now in its final stage. Villages are turning away from extremist ideology towards development and integration with constitutional institutions.
Past gaps have been fully addressed: The systematic monitoring of development works by security forces, state‑level surrender campaigns, and saturation policies have ensured not only security but trust. In many states once heavily impacted by extremism, government schemes have reached impoverished Adivasi communities who for decades remained unreached. This has undercut the ideological bait of LWE groups and replaced fear with confidence in governance.
Furthermore, operations such as the elimination of senior insurgent commander Milind Teltumbde in the November 2021 Gadchiroli encounter symbolise the tactical success of the focused deployment of forces. In that operation alone, 26 Maoists were neutralised with minimal casualties on the state’s side. More broadly, Maoist violence had declined by 77% between 2009 and 2021, reflecting a steady erosion of their operational capacity.
Detractors may highlight debates over the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA); however, the government has maintained that strong controls are vital against extremist violence. While criticisms address low conviction rates under UAPA, the fact remains that enforcement, combined with rehabilitation and development, has dramatically degraded extremist influence in rural belts where the constitutional presence was previously absent.
Facts speak more clearly than rhetoric. Deaths from extremist violence have plummeted, districts and the number of incidents have shrunk, and cadre numbers are declining rapidly due to surrenders and arrests. Where tunnels and forests once harboured insurgency in the red corridor, roads, communications, and social services now flourish, painting these regions green with governance and opportunity. LWE is no longer a viable threat to India’s internal security or democratic framework.
Their eradication is a tangible outcome, not a political slogan. As India marches forward towards the March 2026 elimination target, it becomes ever clearer that development, intelligence‑driven enforcement and central‑state synergy have together rendered LWE a spent force in the country’s national narrative.
This article is authored by Prabal Pratap Singh Judev, state vice president, BJP, Chhattisgarh.
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