The Naxalite–Maoist insurgency was part of a conflict between communist groups and the Indian government. The insurgency started after the 1967 Naxalbari uprising and the subsequent split of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leading to the creation of a Marxist–Leninist faction. The faction splintered into various groups supportive of Maoist ideology, claiming to fight a rural rebellion and people's war against the government.
The armed wing of the Maoists is called the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army. They have conducted multiple attacks on security forces and government workers. The influence zone of the Naxalites is called the red corridor, which consists of about 25 districts in Central and East India as of 2021. The insurgency reached its peak in the late 2000s with almost 180 affected districts and was on the decline since then due to counter-insurgency actions and development plans formulated by the Government. Naxalite organisations and groups were declared as terrorist organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of India (1967).
The Naxalite–Maoist insurgency was part of a conflict between communist groups and the Indian government. The insurgency started after the 1967 Naxalbari uprising and the subsequent split of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leading to the creation of a Marxist–Leninist faction. The faction splintered into various groups supportive of Maoist ideology, claiming to fight a rural rebellion and people's war against the government.
The armed wing of the Maoists is called the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army. They have conducted multiple attacks on security forces and government workers. The influence zone of the Naxalites is called the red corridor, which consists of about 25 districts in Central and East India as of 2021. The insurgency reached its peak in the late 2000s with almost 180 affected districts and was on the decline since then due to counter-insurgency actions and development plans formulated by the Government. Naxalite organisations and groups were declared as terrorist organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of India (1967).
1960s–1990s
Early 1967: A faction of the Communist Party led by Charu Majumdar called the "Siliguri group" called for the initiation of armed struggle in the Naxalbari region in West Bengal and many peasant cells were created in response.
3 March 1967: A few peasant workers seized a plot of land from its jotedar (owner) and harvested the crops.
18 May 1967: The Siliguri Kishan Sabha, of which Jangal Santhal was the president, declared their support for the movement initiated by Kanu Sanyal, and their readiness to adopt armed struggle to redistribute land to the landless.
25 May 1967: In Naxalbari, a sharecropper of tribal background who was given land by the courts under tenancy laws was attacked by the previous landlord's men. The confrontation between police and participants in the Naxalbari peasant movement resulted in the death of police inspector. In retaliation, the police opened fire killing ten people.
November 1967: A group led by Sushital Ray Chowdhury organised the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries (AICCCR).
22 April 1969: The foundation of Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) (CPI-ML) was declared by Kanu Sanyal at a mass meeting in Kolkata.
1971: Satyanarayan Singh revolted against the leadership and split the CPI-ML into two, forming a separate provisional committee. Naxalites gained presence among radical sections of the student movement in Kolkata.
1971–72: The Government of West Bengal instituted counter-measures against the Naxalites. With the support of the Indian 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.
16 July 1972: Majumdar was arrested by West Bengal Police.
28 July 1972: Majumdar died in police custody.
December 1972: The CPI-ML split into further factions such as the Mahadev Mukherjee faction and CPI-ML Liberation. The original party fractured into more than 40 separate small groups.
4 July 1975: The Indian government banned 27 organisations which included the majority of CPI-ML factions and other similar parties.
22 April 1980: The People's War Group faction of the CML party was founded by Kondapalli Seetharamaiah.
1985: Naxalites began ambushing police forces and killed a sub-inspector of police in Warangal district, United Andhra Pradesh. In response, a special task force called the Greyhounds was formed by the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
Late 1980s: The Naxal insurgency spread to various parts of Andhra Pradesha and Odisha. The government initiated a variety of counterinsurgency measures and rehabilitation programmes for captured Naxalites.
12 February 1992: Bara massacre: About 38 people belonging to the land owning Bhumihar community were killed by the group in Bara village in Gaya district, Bihar.
1 December 1997: Ranvir Sena, a militia acting for the Bhumihar landlords, killed 58 people, mostly Dalits, in Laxmanpur Bathe village in Arwal district, Bihar, as revenge for the Bara massacre.
18 March 1999: About 34 people belonging to the Bhumihar community were killed by Naxalites in Senari village in Jehanabad district, Bihar. After this several retaliatory massacres were done by Ranvir Sena against Naxals and their sympathizers leading to the decline of Naxals in Bihar.
2000–2023
2000–2004
2000–2002: An estimated 1168 people were killed including 271 members of the security forces and 467 rebels in the fighting between the Naxalites and the government forces.
2 December 2000: The armed wing of the Maoists called the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army was founded.
10 September 2002: Rafiganj train wreck: At least 130 people were killed when the Howrah Rajdhani Express derailed on a bridge over the Dhave River in Rafiganj, Bihar due to sabotage by Naxalites.
1 October 2003: Naxalites attacked a convoy of then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu en route to Tirumala, in which the Chief Minister was injured.
2003: 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. Nearly 246 insurgents were killed during the year.
18 May 2004: 2004 Lahsuna massacre: Four people who had voted in recently conducted electiond were killed by Maoists at Lahsuna village in Patna district, Bihar.
21 September 2004: The CPI-Maoist party was founded through the merger of the People's War Group and the Maoist Communist Centre of India.
2005
January: Peace talks between the Andhra Pradesh state government and the Maoists broke down after the government did not agree to the release of prisoners and redistribution of land.
12 February: The Maoists killed six policemen, a civilian and injured many during a mass attack on a school building in Venkatammanahalli village in Tumkur district, Karnataka.
17 August: The government of Andhra Pradesh outlawed the CPI-Maoist party and other affiliated organisations and arrested suspected members and sympathizers of the group.
13 November: Maoists attacked government facilities and detonated several bombs in Jehanabad in Bihar. They took 20 Indian paramilitary members as prisoners and executed their leader. A prison guard was killed and more than 340 prisoners were freed during the attack on the district prison.
2006
28 February: Maoists attacked anti-Maoist protesters in Erraboru village in Chhattisgarh using landmines and killed 25 people.
24 March: More than 500 armed rebels attacked police camps in Udayagiri in Gajapati district, Orissa and freed 40 prisoners from the jail.
16 July: Maoists attacked a relief camp in Dantewada district, Chhattisgarh and kidnapped several villagers after killing about 29 people.
17-18 October: Maoist forces blocked traffic on the Antagarh–Koylibera Road in Kanker district near Raipur in Chhattisgarh. They also detonated explosives inside four government buildings, including two schools.
2 December: At least 14 policemen were killed by Maoists in a landmine ambush near Bokaro, Jharkhand.
2007
4 March: Sunil Mahato, a Member of Parliament belonging to the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, was shot dead by suspected Maoists. Jharkhand Police suspected that organised criminal groups hired by political rivals of Mahato were involved in the assassination.
5 March: Maoists killed Komati Prakash, a local Indian National Congress leader in Andhra Pradesh while he was inspecting a road construction project in Mahabubnagar district.
15 March: In an attack, 300 to 350 armed Maoists killed 54 people including 15 armed force personnel in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh state. The remaining victims were tribal youths of Salwa Judum, a counter militia organisation.
November: Maoists were involved with local groups in protests against the establishment of Special Economic Zones. Police recovered weapons belonging to Maoists. The involvement saw more than 650 deaths during the year including 218 civilians, 234 security personnel and 195 militants.
2008
6 February: Then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy stated "things are more or less under control. Every now and then, they (Maoists) indulge in high profile attacks but that is just to show their token presence".
16 February: A group of 50 Naxals armed with bombs and firearms raided a police training school, police station and armoury in Orissa and killed 12 police personnel. Before launching the attack, the Naxals announced the public would not be harmed as their target was the police.
29 June: Maoist forces attacked a boat on the Balimela reservoir in Orissa carrying four anti-Naxalite police and 60 Greyhound commandos. The boat sunk resulting in the deaths of 38 troops. The bodies of were found after a two-week search and their weapons were missing.
16 July: A landmine killed 21 policemen in Malkangiri district, Orissa.
2 November: On the way back from laying the foundation stone of Jindal steel plant at Salboni, the convoy of then Chief Minister of West Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and union ministers Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitin Prasada came under a landmine attack by the Maoists. Though the ministers were unharmed, a police jeep in the convoy was hit and six policemen were grievously injured.
2009
February: 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 the containment and reduction of Naxalite influence.
13 April: Ten paramilitary troops were killed in eastern Orissa when Maoists attacked a bauxite mine in Koraput district.
22 May: Naxalites ambushed a police party in Gadchiroli district, Maharashtra after they ventured into the forests to investigate a roadblock, which resulted in the deaths of 16 policemen.
10 June: Nine policemen including a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officer were killed in a Naxalite attack while on routine patrol in Saranda, West Bengal. Superintendent of police Sudhir Kumar Jha said, "As Naxalites are aware of the topography and knew that the convoy would have to return through the same spot, they had planted a powerful can-bomb and ambushed the police vehicle."
13 June: Naxalites launched two attacks near Bokaro, killing 10 policemen and injuring several others using landmines and bombs. Two Naxalites were also injured in the attacks.
16 June: Four policemen were killed and two others seriously injured when Maoists ambushed a patrol party at Beherakhand in Palamau district, Jharkhand.
16 June: At least 11 police officers were killed in a landmine attack followed by shooting between police and suspected Maoist rebels. 7 rebels were also killed in the gunfire in Tongapal.
23 June: Naxalites called for a two-day bandh against intensified paramilitary activity, and a group of motorcycle borne armed Naxalites opened fire at the Lakhisarai district court premises in Bihar and freed four prisoners. The Indian government banned the CPI-Maoist party, which was opposed by the Left Front in West Bengal arguing that "there is a requirement to bring all such outfits back into the mainstream politically."
12 July: Rajnandgaon ambush: At least 29 members of the police including the Superintendent of Police of Rajnandgaon district, Vinod Chaubey, were killed in an ambush attack by Maoists in Chhattisgarh.
15 September: Then Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Maoists had growing appeal and added that dealing with left-wing extremism requires a different strategy and approach rather than a simple law and order problem.
19 September: More than 50 Naxals were killed and 200 were captured after a gun battle in Dantewada between the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action and Naxals, with over 20 soldiers reported missing.
6 October: The body of a policeman, kidnapped a week before by Maoists in Jharkhand, was found.
8 October: At least 17 members of the police including a top commander were killed in an ambush attack by Maoists in Maharashtra. The fighting started after a group of Maoists attacked a police station in Gadchiroli district.
11 November: 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.