Consolidating the success against Maoist violence

While meeting the much-anticipated March 31 deadline set by the Union government to elimination Maoist violence, the nation recorded a substantial depletion of capabilities of the left-wing extremists. The setback to their military and political structures brought about by the government is indeed laudable. The sacrifices and toil of security forces have led to the success and enabled administrative outreach in the remote pockets of the residual stronghold of Maoists in Bastar in Chhattisgarh after regions in neighbouring States abutting the Dandakaranya region.

Apart from violence levels that declined by almost 90% over the past 15 years, there has been a significant surge in surrenders. As per the Union Home Ministry, 2,337 Maoists surrendered in 2025 alone, and by March this year, another 633 laid down arms. The political will and integrated approach of the government and the waning ideological traction of the Maoists among the local population are a few of the game-changing attributes contributing to the success.

Notwithstanding the creditable accomplishments, conflict transformation may be some distance away. Of course, the ground is “cleared”, but the challenge ahead is that of “holding” and “building”. The tangible gains of dealing a serious blow to the politico-military structure of the Maoists should not lead to ignoring the intangibles that warrant continued and sustained efforts by the government.

Johan Galtung, father of peace studies, defined negative peace as the mere absence of direct physical violence, whereas positive peace is the active presence of social justice, equity, and harmony, eliminating structural and cultural violence. Negative peace stops violence, while positive peace builds sustainable, just systems that remove the causes of conflict. It is the accomplishment of positive peace that remains an unfinished agenda in the tackling of this 59-year-old internal security challenge, which a former Prime Minister termed the gravest internal security threat.

Joining the mainstream

The erstwhile Maoist leadership that has laid down arms is convinced that its return to the mainstream should not be taken as a surrender. They intend to continue their movement without resorting to arms, through democratic means. These point to a different variety of challenges for the government. One of the demands, as expressed by top Maoist leader Thippari Tirupati, alias Devji, who surrendered on February 24, is that their outfit, Communist Party of India (Maoist), be recognised as a political party. The intent seems to be of continuing the movement by democratic means via contesting elections, as the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation. Founded in 1969 from the Naxalite movement, the CPI(ML) Liberation has evolved from an underground organisation into an active electoral force and is a prominent political party active in Bihar and Jharkhand. A favourable consideration of this demand, subject to terms and conditions, may be one of the viable options for the government to ward off the likelihood of a return to violence.

The Maoist cadres had no option but to surrender, due to the military pressure on them since the beginning of the year 2024. Though the surrender policy of the government has played a role, it will be misplaced to assume that the cadres, particularly the leadership, have surrendered due to a loss of belief in the perceived cause that they claimed to fight for. It is this cause that they aim to fight for, but not as an armed struggle. The government will have to be conscious of the mindset of the former Maoists.

In addition, the government needs to pre-empt the former Maoists from taking up the structural issues regarding the welfare of the local population, such as the genuine implementation of the Forest Rights Act and the PESA Act, greater equity in the extractive economy, and resolving the challenges related to conflict-induced internal displacement. Such issues are beyond the bricks-and-mortar development measures such as building roads and improving mobile connectivity. Maoists were able to gain traction among the local population in vast tracts of areas that were devoid of governance. By running a parallel government known as Jantana Sarkar, they provided the local population with a variety of justice, which offered no choice. The government now, since the ground is cleared, has to fill in the void by providing the people with equitable and fair justice, along with dignity. The Maoists in substantial numbers may have been wiped out, but the task of wiping out Maoism, in fact, has just begun.

Shashank Ranjan is an Indian Army veteran (colonel) with substantial experience of serving in a counter-terrorism environment. He currently teaches at the O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonepat, Haryana. Views expressed are personal.