Is India’s Maoist insurgency finally over?
Security personnel sit next to weapons handed over by Maoist cadres at Dantewada in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar division on March 31 | Photo Credit: AFP
The story so far:
On May 21, 2025, Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavraj, then general secretary of the banned CPI (Maoist), was killed in an encounter in Abujmarh district of Chhattisgarh. The operation was led by the District Reserve Guards and the CoBRA unit of the CRPF. His successor Thippiri Tirupati alias Devji surrendered with his cadres and weapons by February 2026. With most of the Central Committee leaders killed or arrested, the organization is now largely leaderless. With these developments, can the five-decade-old Maoist movement be considered “complete”, as claimed by Home Minister Amit Shah in line with the March 31 deadline to end the insurgency?
It was published – 19 April 2026 03:00 IST
