The Naxalite–Maoist insurgency is an ongoing conflict between the Government of India and communist groups. The Naxalites are a group of communist organisations following Maoist political sentiment and ideology, and claim to be fighting for rural poor and wage a people's war against the 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 later splintered into various smaller groups. The Naxalites' armed wing, the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army, was declared a terrorist organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of India (1967), and has been responsible for numerous attacks causing several deaths and injuries to civilians and security personnel.
The insurgency reached its peak in the late 2000s and has been on the decline since then due to the counter-insurgency actions and development plans formulated by the Government of India. The Naxal influence zone, known as the "Red Corridor", has shrunk from a peak of nearly 180 districts in the late 2000s to 3 districts by early 2026, with over 5,000 insurgents being killed since the 2000 and more than 10,000 surrendering between 2015 and 2025.
History
In 1967, a faction of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) led by Charu Majumdar, Kanu Sanyal, and Jangal Santhal called the "Siliguri group" wanted a protracted people's war in India similar to the Chinese Communist Revolution and Majumdar wrote the Historic Eight Documents which became the foundation of the Naxalite movement. The party was part of a coalition government in West Bengal. Majumdar believed that the party would support his doctrine with other leaders like land minister Hare Krishna Konar who had been supporting his rhetoric suggesting that "the militant confiscation of land was integral to the party's programme." However, the party did not approve of the armed uprising, which led to internal conflict with the sympathizers of the group.
In March 1967, a few peasant workers seized a plot of land from its jotedar (aristocrat). 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. The group advocated to initiate an armed struggle. 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. In November 1967, a group led by Sushital Ray Chowdhury organised the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries (AICCCR).
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. It inspired similar movements in states like Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. In 1971, Satyanarayan Singh revolted against the leadership and split the CPI-ML into two, forming a separate provisional committee. The Naxalites gained presence among the radical sections of the student groups in Calcutta. 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.
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". 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. In July 1972, Majumdar was arrested by the West Bengal Police and he later died in police custody. After his death, the CPI-ML split into further factions such as the Mahadev Mukherjee faction and the CPI-ML Liberation in 1972. By 1973, the main leaders of the Naxalites were either eliminated or arrested. 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.
Further growth and government action (1980s to late 1990s)
The late 1970s saw the spread of Naxalism to other states of India. 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. 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.
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. 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. They invited additional central paramilitary forces, set up organisations to attract youth away from the Naxalites, started rehabilitation programs for those who surrendered. 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.
Peak of insurgency (2000s)
On 2 December 2000, the armed wing of the Maoists called the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army was founded and mostly equipped with small arms. On 1 October 2003, the Naxalites attacked a convoy of then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu en route to Tirumala, in which the Chief Minister was injured. 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. In September 2004, the CPI-Maoist was founded through the merger of the People's War Group, and the Maoist Communist Centre of India. In January 2005, peace talks between the Andhra Pradesh government and the Maoists broke down after the government had not agreed to the release of prisoners and to redistribution of land. 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.
The Maoists orchestrated several attacks on government facilities across various states. They freed prisoners after attacks on prisons and stole weapons from government facilities. They also attacked anti-Maoist protesters, took hostages and killed those who opposed them. Police men and security forces were targeted in ambushes using automatic weapons and improvised explosive devices. In 2007, the Maoists killed Member of Parliament Sunil Mahato in Jharkhand and a local leader in Andhra Pradesh. They were also involved in local protests against the establishment of Special Economic Zones and killed tribal youths of counter militia organisations. In 2008, Naxal attacks increased in Orissa, which inflicted multiple casualties on the security forces. On average, 700 people were killed in the conflict every year from 2005 to 2008.
Between 2009 and 2010, the conflict escalated turning these two years into the deadliest with more than 1000 casualties annually. 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.
Over 90 percent of weapons used were looted from police armouries. Weapons were taken by ambushing or bribing security personnel. Other weapons were made or smuggled. By 2006 they had 20,000 modern weapons.
Counter-action and decline (2010s–present)
In 2009, 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. 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. They also killed civilians suspected of helping the government and those who were involved in building public infrastructure. Naxalites carried out a series of attacks, including shootings and bombings across Indian states and the security forces retaliated in response. Naxalites were also suspected of attempted train derailments.
In early 2010s, Karnataka was removed from the list of Naxal-affected states. The Government of Madhya Pradesh claimed that the Naxal insurgency has reduced in the state and attributed its success to the rural development schemes. In July 2011, the central government announced that the number of Naxal-affected areas were reduced to 83 districts across nine states. Senior Maoist leaders were killed by the security forces, and many were arrested. 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. In May 2013, a Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh 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.
In the later 2010s, while the Maoists continued to carry out planned attacks such as the 2014 Chhattisgarh attack, the 2017 Sukma attack and the 2018 Sukma attack, the security forces were able to retaliate in response. The security forces engaged in multiple gun battles which resulted in more than 1000 Maoists being killed in the late 2010s. In September 2018, the Naxalites killed Member of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Kidari Sarveswara Rao and former member Siveri Soma in Araku Valley. The Kerala Police eliminated the presence of Maoists in Kerala in 2019.
Sporadic attacks such as the 2021 Sukma–Bijapur attack and 2023 Dantewada bombing on security personnel and civilians continued into the 2020s. The anti-insurgency operations also intensified with higher success rate resulting in the death or capture of several insurgent leaders. 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. Though there was a sporadic increase in Naxal activity in parts of Telangana, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, 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.
Sparse Naxal attacks continued into 2025 such as the IED attack in Bijapur District that killed nine policemen, In April–May 2025, the Indian authorities conducted a 21-day anti-Maoist operation named Operation Black Forest (Operation Kagar) in the Karregutta Hills region in the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border, that resulted in the deaths of 31 insurgents and three security personnel. On 21 May, Nambala Keshava Rao, the general secretary of CPI (Maoist), was killed alongside 26 other Naxals.