Final Redoubt

India’s largest anti-Naxal operation in decades signals a new resolve against a long-running insurgency.

Chhattisgarh

On the rugged slopes of the Karregutta hills straddling the Chhattisgarh–Telangana border, the Indian state is waging one of its most ambitious counter-insurgency operations in recent history. Four Maoists have been killed and at least seven security personnel injured as ‘Mission Sankalp,’ launched on April 21, intensifies. A staggering 24,000 troops have been mobilised across central and state forces to flush out remnants of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) from what is believed to be their last remaining stronghold in Bastar.

The terrain is punishing and riddled with improvised explosive devices (IEDs). So far, over 112 IEDs have been recovered. Forces say several top Maoist leaders are cornered in the hills, protected by Battalion 1 of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), the rebels’ most formidable military unit. While confirming the destruction of multiple Maoist bunkers and the seizure of large quantities of explosives, medicines, and supplies, police suspect some senior cadres may have been killed or seriously wounded.

For decades, India’s battle with Maoist insurgents has been protracted, bloody, and politically complex. Originating in 1967 in Naxalbari, West Bengal, as a peasant-led rebellion inspired by Mao Zedong’s guerrilla tactics, the movement has since morphed into a violent, underground insurgency spanning several Indian states. By the early 2000s, it had evolved into a serious internal security threat, peaking between 2008 and 2010 when Maoists operated with impunity across the ‘Red Corridor’ - from Andhra Pradesh to Bihar.

At the heart of their operation lies Bastar, a mineral-rich but desperately poor region, where forested hills and underdevelopment have long conspired to shield the insurgents. The Maoists leveraged longstanding tribal discontent over land dispossession, forest rights, police excesses and broken promises of development to build their base. The state’s presence, often sporadic and coercive, did little to challenge their legitimacy in the eyes of marginalised locals.

Yet the insurgency is now clearly in retreat. In 2023 alone, 217 Maoists were killed in Chhattisgarh, most of them in Bastar, and 146 have already been eliminated this year. A combination of better coordination between state and central forces, improved intelligence, the use of drones, and sustained recruitment drives for local police units like the District Reserve Guard (DRG), composed largely of tribal youth, has changed the equation. Armed surrenders have increased. Intercepted communications suggest morale within Maoist ranks is low. And with each new offensive, the red footprint on the map shrinks further.

Mission Sankalp, if successful, may break the back of the insurgency. But it will not be the end of it. The CPI (Maoist) has weathered severe blows before. Its capacity for adaptation and strategic retreat is well known. Past offensives have succeeded tactically but failed to achieve political closure. After the killing of senior Maoist leader Kishenji in 2011, there was optimism about the movement’s collapse. Instead, the group simply regrouped elsewhere. Even today, it retains pockets of influence in Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

The roots of India’s Maoist problem are deeply political and socio-economic. While infrastructure has improved, vast parts of central India remain underdeveloped. Tribals face displacement from mining projects, forest rights continue to be violated, and access to justice is uneven at best. Without meaningful reform, the grievances that fuelled the insurgency will endure. In some cases, they may even intensify.

The government’s challenge is thus twofold. It must pursue its military offensive with precision and restraint, avoiding the alienation of civilians that has in the past pushed locals into Maoist arms. Simultaneously, it must revive stalled welfare schemes, ensure fair land compensation, expand access to education and healthcare and bolster local governance. A development surge in the wake of Mission Sankalp will be the true measure of the state’s long-term success. The victory will only be real when those who live in these remote hills no longer see the state through the barrel of a gun, whether wielded by a rebel or a soldier.