India’s Naxal movement, which has waged an armed campaign against the state for around 60 years, is now described as being on the verge of extinction following intensified action by security forces.
The report says the Centre and states have mounted sustained, coordinated operations against the insurgents. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the NDA government has set a target to eliminate Naxal presence from the country by the 31st of this month.
As part of a special drive called Operation Kagar, security forces have stepped up action against Naxal networks. At the same time, governments are offering financial assistance and rehabilitation to cadres who abandon the ideology and surrender.
In Telangana, senior leader Devji—described as a key strategist—along with three others, recently surrendered to police, a development said to have shaken the organisation’s structure. The report notes that in recent years 5,865 Naxals have surrendered in Telangana, while across the country insurgents have lost their forest strongholds over the past decade.
The report adds that only a small number are believed to remain in the Bastar forests, with Naxals largely cleared from other areas. It cites 1,289 killed in encounters and 131 key functionaries arrested, and says only three of the 16 central committee members are now left. Factors such as lack of new recruitment, ageing leadership and a sharp decline in local support are cited as driving the movement toward its final phase.
