3 min readFeb 24, 2026 07:28 AM IST
First published on: Feb 24, 2026 at 07:11 AM IST
The Maoist insurrection in the country appears to be at a terminal stage. There was a time when it was considered the biggest internal security threat to India. During 2009-10, its fire had engulfed 223 districts spread across 20 states. Today, hardly 11 districts are affected, and only three “most affected”.
Security forces have been going hammer and tongs to decimate Maoists by March 2026, the target date given by the Home Minister. The reported surrender of Thippiri Tirupathi, alias Devuji, is a blow to the armed insurgency. Malla Raji Reddy, politburo member of CPI(M), has also surrendered along with 50 cadres before the Telangana police. In the last year, at least 15 central committee members have been killed and another six have surrendered. The Maoists are thus facing a leadership vacuum.
In the last three months, the Maoists have suffered setbacks in quick succession. It started with the annihilation of Madvi Hidma, commander of the central military commission, in an encounter with the Greyhounds of Andhra Pradesh on November 18, 2025. A day later, former Maoist leader Mallojula Venugopal Rao released a video urging the Maoists to surrender their weapons and join the mainstream. He said: “Armed struggle is no longer possible. We must work according to the Constitution.”
On December 25, 2025, Ganesh Uike, “commander” and central committee member, was killed along with three other Maoists in the Kandhamal district of Odisha. Ganesh was in-charge of the Odisha unit of the party. In Jharkhand, on January 22, 15 Maoists, including Patiram Manjhi, a central committee member who served as secretary of the Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee, were killed in an engagement with the security forces.
There were massive surrenders, too. According to partial data collected by the South Asia Terrorism Portal, there were 1,425 surrenders in Chhattisgarh, 486 in Telangana, 103 in Maharashtra, 38 in Andhra Pradesh, 22 in Odisha, 21 in Jharkhand, 13 in Madhya Pradesh, 8 in Karnataka, and five in Bihar in 2025.
The Maoist movement is in shambles. The People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army has been disintegrated. The near defeat of the insurrection is to be attributed to firm political resolve, well-organised security measures, intelligence-based operations, centre-state coordination, improved governance, and socio-economic interventions.
The government deserves credit — this has been the biggest victory on the internal security front after the defeat of terrorism in Punjab. However, there should be no room for complacency. The ghost of Khalistan still haunts us. We have to ensure that mistakes of the past are not repeated. The government will have to be sensitive to the concerns of tribal communities. Corporates are trying to enter the areas cleared by the security forces. Development may be an imperative but as the Supreme Court recently said, it cannot be an absolute goal and the right to a healthy environment should not be sacrificed for economic benefits.
The writer, a retired police chief, is author of The Naxalite Movement in India
