Naxalite–Maoist insurgency

Naxalite–Maoist insurgency
Red Corridor–Naxalite active zones in 2018
Date 18 May 1967 (1967-05-18) – present (57 years, 5 months, 1 week and 4 days) Location India Status Ongoing as a low level insurgency India successfully manages to reduce insurgent activity
Belligerents
India Indian Armed Forces CRPF Border Security Force State Armed Police Forces Militias: (until 2011) Tritiya Prastuti Committee Salwa Judum Sunlight Sena Kuer Sena Ranvir Sena Bhumi Sena Lorik Sena	Naxalites: CPI (Maoist) PLGA Jharkhand Janmukti Parishad People's Liberation Front of India Revolutionary Communist Centre (2006–2019) Odisha Maobadi Party (2002–2015) CPIML Liberation (1974–1992) Lal Sena CPIML Janashakti (1992–2013, merged into CPI(ML) Class Struggle) CPUSI (1997–2005) CPIML ND CPIML MM (Until 2012) ABNES (until 2002) TNLA (until 2005) Supported by: ULFA NSCN PLA-MP MCPM KCP Declared support: International Communist League CPN (Maoist) CPN (Maoist) (2014) NPA PBSP (until 2021) PBCP (until 2021) CIC (until 1977) CCP (Maoist) (until 1976)
Commanders and leaders
Droupadi Murmu (President) Narendra Modi (Prime Minister) Amit Shah (Minister of Home Affairs) Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar (Director General) Pranay Sahay (Former Director General) Mahendra Karma † (Leader of Salwa Judum) Brahmeshwar Singh X (Leader of Ranvir Sena)	Charu Majumdar # Jangal Santhal # Kanu Sanyal # Sabyasachi Panda (POW) Lakshmana Rao Keshava Rao Cherukuri Rajkumar † Katakam Sudarsan # Kondapalli Seetharamaiah # Satyanarayana Reddy † Koteswara Rao † Prashant Bose (POW) Ashutosh Tudu (POW) Naveen Babu † Narmada Akka † Deo Kumar Singh # Milind Teltumbde † Jagdish Mahto † Ravindra Kuswaha (POW) Mahendar Singh † Shankar Rao †
Strength
CRPF: 313,634 State Armed Forces :1,289,900	10,000–20,000 members (2009–2010 estimate) 6,500–9,500 insurgents (2013 estimate)
Casualties and losses
2000–2024: 2,688 killed	2000–2024: 4,515 killed 16,901 Surrendered 16,394 Arrested
1996–2018: 12,877–14,369 killed overall 2000–2024: 4,032 civilians killed

The Naxalite–Maoist insurgency is part of an ongoing conflict between left-wing extremist groups and the Indian government. The Naxalites are a group of communist supportive groups, who often follow Maoist political sentiment and ideology.

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, mostly equipped with small arms. They have conducted multiple attacks on the security forces and government workers, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 4000 civilians and 2500 security force personnel since the 2000s. The influence zone of the Naxalites is called the red corridor, which consists of about 25 districts in Central and East India in 2021.

The insurgency reached its peak in the late 2000s with almost 180 affected districts and has been on the decline since then due to the counter-insurgency actions and development plans formulated by the Indian government. Naxalite organisations and groups have been declared as terrorist organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of India (1967).

Etymology

The term Naxalite originated from the name of the village Naxalbari in West Bengal where an uprising of peasents occurred in 1967. The movement itself is referred to as "Naxalism" and the people engaged are termed as "Naxals" or "Naxalites". The term "Naxalism" is broadly applied to refer to all the communist insurgent movements. The groups are commonly referred to as Maoists as they are supportive of Maoist ideology.

History

Further information: Timeline of the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency

Formation and early years (late 1960s to 1970s)

Further information: Naxalbari uprising

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, and the sympathizers of the group were expelled from the party. The disagreement culminated with calls for the initiation of armed struggle in the Naxalbari region in West Bengal and many peasant cells were created in response.

In March 1967, a few peasant workers seized a plot of land from its jotedar (owner). 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 armed struggle to redistribute land to the landless. In Naxalbari, 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). Mao Zedong provided ideological inspiration for the movement and advocated that Indian peasants and lower class tribals overthrow the government of the upper classes by force. A number of urban elites were also attracted to the ideology, which spread through Majumdar's writings. These writings essayed from the opinions of communist leaders and theorists such as Mao Zedong, Karl Marx, and Vladimir Lenin.

The uprising later 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 also inspired similar movements in other states like Orissa, 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 counter-measures against the Naxalites. The insurgents clashed with the West Bengal Police and CPI-M cadres. With the public rejection of Majumdar's calls for extra judicial killings, Naxalites alleged human rights violations by the state government, who 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 behind bars. 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. By 1980, it was estimated that around 30 Naxalite groups were active, with a combined membership of 30,000 members. 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 is called the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army was founded and are 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 did not agree to the release of prisoners and 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 attack 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.

The conflict escalated with the next two years being 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.

Counter-action and decline (2010s-present)

Further information: Operation Green Hunt

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 special forces in encounters 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 Chattisgarh 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 encounter of key Naxal leaders and the surrender of others. 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 great loss of personnel and material for the Maoists.

Geography

Main article: Red corridor

Areas with Naxalite activity in 2007 (left), in 2013 (centre), and in 2018 (right)

The influence zone of the Naxalites is called the red corridor consisting of about 25 most affected and 70 total affected districts in Central and East India in 2021. The most affected districts accounted for 85% of the Left wing extremist incidents in India. The insurgency was its peak in the late 2000s with nearly 180 affected districts across an area of 92,000 km² (36,000 sq mi) and has been on the decline since then. In April 2018, 35 districts were classified as most affected amongst the 126 affected districts.

As of the early 2020s, the Naxal activity is largely concentrated in two clusters, the first in and round the forested remote hilly areas of Dandakaranya spread across Chhattisgarh and Odisha and the second in the border region of Jharkhand-Bihar-West Bengal. The affected districts include:

Naxal affected districts (2021)

State	No. of districts in State	No. of districts affected	Districts affected
Jharkhand	24	16	Bokaro, Chatra, Dhanbad, Dumka, East Singhbhum, Garhwa, Giridih, Gumla, Hazaribagh, Khunti, Latehar, Lohardaga, Palamu, Ranchi, Saraikela Kharsawan, West Singhbhum
Chhattisgarh	28	13	Balrampur, Bastar, Bijapur, Dantewada, Dhamtari, Gariyaband, Kanker, Kondagaon,  Mahasamund, Narayanpur, Rajnandgaon, Sukma, Kabirdham
Bihar	38	10	Aurangabad, Banka, Gaya, Jamui, Kaimur, Lakhisarai, Munger, Nawada, Rohtas,  West Champaran
Odisha	30	10	Bargarh, Bolangir, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabrangpur,  Nuapada, Rayagada, Sundargarh
Telangana	33	6	Adilabad, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial, Mulugu
Andhra Pradesh	13	5	Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, West Godavari
Kerala	14	3	Malappuram, Palakkad, Wayanad
Madhya Pradesh	55	3	Balaghat, Mandla, Dindori
Maharashtra	36	2	Gadchiroli, Gondia
West Bengal	23	1	Jhargram
Total	369	70

Causes

Access to land and resources

The Maoist movement began in the late 1960s as a conflict between the tribal peasants and the land owners. This was attributed to a failure of the Indian government to implement constitutional reforms to provide for tribal autonomy with respect to natural resources on their lands, implement the land ceiling laws to limit the land possessed by the landlords and distribute the excess land to landless farmers and labourers. According to Maoist sympathisers, the Indian constitution "ratified colonial policy and made the state custodian of tribal homelands" and turned tribal populations into squatters on their own land, denying them their traditional rights to forest produce. Tribal communities participated in Naxalism probably as a means of push back against structural violence by the state, including the usage of land for the purposes of mineral extraction.

Rural development and protection

Impoverished areas with no electricity, running water, or poor healthcare provided by the state probably accepted social services from Naxalite groups, and gave their support to the Naxal cause in return. The state's absence allowed the Naxalites to become the legitimate authority in these areas by performing state-like functions, including enacting policies of redistribution and building infrastructure for irrigation. Testimonies from people and surveys by government officials and journalists have highlighted the protective and developmental work in the villages as a result of Naxalism. Healthcare initiatives such as malaria vaccination drives and medical units in areas without doctors or hospitals have also been documented.

As per an Indian government report, it was indicated that the Maoists “prevent the common villager’s powerlessness over the neglect or violation of protective laws…[from] a trader who might be paying an exploitative rate for forest produce, or a contractor who is violating the minimum wage.” It also mentions that the developmental work done by the Maoists including “mobilizing community labour for farm ponds, rainwater harvesting, and land conservation works in the Dandakaranya region, which villagers testified had improved their crops and improved their food security situation.” A 2010 case study in the Economic and Political Weekly taken from 200 Maoist-affected districts in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand, intended to investigate the government's initiative to increase employment in these Maoist-affected areas. It found that the claims of the government that the Maoists blocked developmental schemes were not valid and the Maoists were responsible for the enforcement of minimum wages in the areas. Although Naxalite groups engaged in coercion to increase membership, the experience of poverty when contrasted with the state's economic growth, could have created an appeal for the Naxal ideology and incentivised the tribal communities to join the Naxal movements out of "moral solidarity".

Naxal organisation and financing

See also: List of Naxalite and Maoist groups in India

The Naxalites focused on the idea of a revolutionary personality while recruiting people to the organisation, which was termed as necessary for maintaining and establishing loyalty among the Naxalites by Charu Majumdar. During the early years of the movement, he believed that the essential characteristics of a recruit must be selflessness and the ability to self-sacrifice, and in order to produce such a specific personality, the organisation recruited students and youth. In addition to entrenching loyalty and a revolutionary personality within these new insurgents, the Naxalites chose the youth also because of other reasons. These were mostly students and it was necessary to include educated youth as these recruits would then be involved in spreading the communist teachings of Mao Zedong. In order to expand their base, the movement relied on these students to spread the communist philosophy to the uneducated rural and working-class communities. Majumdar also believed that it necessary to recruit youth who would be able to integrate themselves with the peasantry and working classes, and by living and working in similar conditions to these lower-class communities, these recruits could carry the communist teachings to the villages and urban centres.

The Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sangathan is a feminist organisation that was formed in 1986 as a result of the party's acknowledgment of extreme inequality against women, both within the party itself and among the tribal villages the party aimed to protect. They campaigned against the tribal tradition of forced marriage, bigamy and violence along with peasant rights. However, Shobha Mandi, a former member who later quit the organisation, wrote in her book Ek Maowadi Ki Diary that she was repeatedly raped and assaulted by her fellow commanders for more than seven years since she wanted to quit. She also claimed that wife-swapping and adultery are the common amongst the Maoists. The Naxalites claim that physical violence and sexual mutilation have been directed at their members by the police and the Salwa Judum, which had forced them to join the group.

Financing

Naxalites conduct detailed socio-economic surveys before operating in a target area and depend on diverse resources. Studies have indicated correlation between the core area of insurgency and the areas with extensive natural resources. The mining industry is a major financial source, wherein they collect about 3% of the profits from each mining company that operates in the areas under Naxal control as a means to continue mining operations and for "protection" services which allows miners to work without having to worry about Naxalite attacks. A 2006 report indicated that the Maoists extorted about ₹14 billion (US$170 million) annually. The organisation also funds itself through the drug trade, where it cultivates psychoactive plants such as marijuana and opium, which are then distributed throughout the country by middlemen who work on behalf of the Naxalites. About 40% of Naxal funding comes through the cultivation and distribution of opium. A surrendered Naxal claimed that they spent some of the money on public infrastructure while the rest is used for the sustenance of the group. In 2011, the Indian police accused the Chinese government of providing sanctuary to the movement's leaders, and claimed that the Pakistani ISI was providing financial support.

Government response

Infrastructure and development

Then Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh called the Naxalites the "single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country" and in June 2011, he said, "Development is the master remedy to win over people", adding that the government was "strengthening the development work in the 60 Maoist-affected districts. In 2010, Home secretary Gopal Krishna Pillai acknowledged that there were legitimate grievances regarding the local people's access to the forest land and produce and the distribution of benefits from mining and hydro power developments. However, he claimed that the Naxalites' long-term goal was to establish an Indian communist state and the government wanted to tackle the Naxalites head-on to take back the lost areas.

The Indian government launched three schemes–Special Central Assistance (SCA), Security Related Expenditure (SRE), and Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS) for the economic development of the Naxal affected areas. As of July 2021, ₹375 million (US$4.5 million) had been sanctioned for more than 10,000 projects, of which 85% were complete. About ₹276 million (US$3.3 million) of the funds were earmarked for the most affected districts. Under these SCA and SIS schemes, construction of about 17,600 km (10,900 mi) roads and 234 Eklavya Model Residential Schools were planned. The plan also included the establishment of 5000 mobile telephone towers and 3114 post offices. As a means of financial inclusion of people, 1077 ATMs and 1236 bank branches were operationalised.

Security

In 2018, the central government sought to stem insurgency by earmarking development funds for revolt-hit areas and improving policing. The government planned a ₹250 billion (US$3.0 billion) scheme for the modernisation of central and state police forces in the next three years. Under the SRE scheme, 400 fortified police stations were established at the cost of ₹140 million (US$1.7 million). In addition funds were utilised to hire helicopters, media services, and for other public relation and community activities. Women self-help groups and industries were established by various state governments. Government of Madhya Pradesh aided 23,113 women self-help groups covering 274,000 families in the affected districts and established 18 industries which would provide employment for 4000 people. Additionally, loans to tribals were waived, and land right ownership documents were granted.

Militia and vigilante groups

Since late 1990, several armed anti-insurgency vigilante groups were backed by the government to fight against the Maoists. In Chhattisgarh, Salwa Judum was formed as an anti-insurgency vigilante group aimed at countering the violence in the region in 2005. The militia consistied of local tribal youth, who received support and training from the Government of Chhattisgarh. Various other paramilitary vigilante groups had emerged in other states such Andhra Pradesh. These groups were accused of extra judicial murders of civil liberties activists.

The Chattisgarh government came under criticism from pro-Maoist activist groups for the same. The groups were claimed to have involved in violence against women, employment of child soldiers, and looting and destruction of property. According to the Institute of Peace and Conflict studies, while Naxal groups recruited children in different capacities and exposed them, the same accusation was levelled at Salwa Judum and the special police officers assisting the government security forces. The allegations were rejected by a fact finding commission of the National Human Rights Commission of India in 2008. The commission, which had been appointed by the Supreme Court of India, determined that the Salwa Judum was a spontaneous reaction by tribals against Maoist atrocities perpetrated against them.

On 5 July 2011, the Supreme Court declared these militia groups to be illegal and unconstitutional, and ordered its disbandment. The court directed the government to recover all the firearms, ammunition and accessories given to the groups. The court criticised the use of these groups, which had complaints of human rights violations and employment of poorly trained youth against them. The court also ordered the government to investigate all instances of alleged criminal activities of the groups.

Casualties

The Naxalites have conducted multiple attacks on the security forces, government workers and civilians, with casualties on both sides. To enforce their control over the population, the Maoists have often convened kangaroo courts to mete out summary justice, death, beatings, or exile. As per the South Asia Terrorism portal, the conflict has resulted in the deaths of more than 11500 people including 4000 civilians, 2500 security force personneland 4500 Naxalites since the 2000s. As per the BBC, more than 6,000 people were killed in the 20 years between 1990 and 2010. Al Jazeera estimated the total death toll as 10,000 between 1980 and 2011.

Casualties by year

Year	Incidents	Deaths
		Civilians	Security Forces	Maoists	Not Specified	Total
1996	—	—	—	—	—	156
1997	—	202	44	102	—	348
1998	—	118	42	110	—	270
1999	—	502	96	261	—	859
2000	—	452	98	254	—	804
2001	199	130	116	169	44	459
2002	182	123	115	163	30	431
2003	319	193	114	246	30	583
2004	127	89	82	87	22	280
2005	343	259	147	282	24	712
2006	248	249	128	343	14	734
2007	274	218	234	195	25	672
2008	246	184	215	228	19	646
2009	407	368	319	314	12	1013
2010	481	630	267	265	18	1180
2011	302	259	137	210	0	606
2012	235	156	96	125	1	378
2013	186	164	103	151	0	418
2014	185	127	98	121	4	350
2015	171	90	56	110	0	256
2016	263	122	62	250	0	434
2017	200	107	76	152	0	335
2018	218	108	73	231	0	412
2019	176	99	49	154	0	302
2020	138	61	44	134	0	239
2021	124	58	51	128	0	237
2022	107	53	15	66	0	134
2023	113	61	31	57	0	149
2024	120	55	21	209	0	285
Total	5364+	5237+	2929+	5117+	243+	13682+

See also

• Timeline of the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency
• Separatist movements of India
• Terrorism in India
• Terrorist incidents in India
• Communist parties in India

Further reading

• Chakravarti, Sudeep (2008). Red Sun: Travels In Naxalite Country (Rev. ed.). New Delhi: Penguin Books India. ISBN 978-0670081332.
• Mukherjee, Shivaji (2021). Colonial Institutions and Civil War: Indirect Rule and Maoist Insurgency in India. Cambridge University Press.
• Roy, Arundhati (2011). Walking With The Comrades. New Delhi: Penguin Books India. ISBN 978-0670085538.
• Shah, Alpa (2019). Nightmarch: Among India's Revolutionary Guerrillas. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226590165.
• Verghese, A. (2016). "British Rule and Tribal Revolts in India: The curious case of Bastar." Modern Asian Studies, 50(5), 1619–1644.

External links

• Naxal insurgency in India, CivilServiceIndia.com.
• Data on Naxalite-Maoist Insurgency fatalities in India, Institute for Conflict Management (South Asia), SATP.
• The political economy of the Maoist conflict in India : an empirical analysis, Joseph Gomes (2012), University of Madrid, Spain.
• Hearts and mines: A district-level analysis of the Maoist conflict in India, Kristian Hoelscher et al., University of Oslo, Norway, doi:10.1177/2233865912447022.
• Targets of Violence: Evidence from India’s Naxalite Conflict Oliver Vanden Eynde (2013), Paris School of Economics.
• India’s Naxalite Insurgency: History, Trajectory, and Implications for U.S.-India Security Cooperation on Domestic Counterinsurgency by Thomas F. Lynch III – Institute for National Strategic Studies.