India declares country free of Maoist insurgency after nearly six decades

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - A security officer carries recovered seized arms taken from killed Maoist insurgents to display at a police facility in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh’s Bastar division on March 30, 2026. India on March 30 declared the country free of the Maoist insurgency, fulfilling a long-standing deadline to defeat the decades-long rebellion. Home Minister Amit Shah told parliament that India was ‘free’ of the rebels, known as Naxals. — AFP pic

BASTAR (India), March 31 — India yesterday declared the country free of the Maoist insurgency, fulfilling a long-standing deadline to defeat the decades-long rebellion.

Home Minster Amit Shah told parliament India was “free” of the rebels, known as Naxals.

“I can say it openly, that we have become Naxal-free — there is no hesitation in saying this,” Shah told parliament, adding that “once the entire operation is completed, I will also inform the country.”

India in the last two years stepped up its campaign against the last remnants of the Naxalite rebellion, named after the village in the Himalayan foothills where the Maoist-inspired insurgency began nearly six decades ago.

The rebellion controlled nearly a third of the country with an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 fighters at its peak in the mid-2000s, but had been dramatically weakened in recent years.

Most armed insurgents were limited to central Chhattisgarh state’s Bastar region, a vast mineral-rich sprawl of dense forests and hills, roughly the size of The Netherlands.

“Bastar is now Naxal-free,” Shah told the parliament during a 90-minute speech detailing the history and tactics employed by security forces to end the insurgency.

“The days of those who commit Maoist violence, of those who perpetrate Naxalism’s violence, are over now,” Shah added.

In 2025, security forces killed 364 insurgents, arrested 1,022, and another 2,337 surrendered, including senior leaders, according to statistics tabled in India’s parliament.

Civilian and security force deaths have dropped by 90 per cent since 2010, and annual Maoist attacks have fallen from more than 1,900 to roughly 200 last year.

Shah said the government strengthened the capacities of local police forces in the states affected by the insurgency and intensified coordination between security forces.

“We adopted an all-agency approach, not just weapons,” Shah said, adding all but two of the Maoist commanders have either been killed or have surrendered.

“They will also surrender soon.”

Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma told AFP earlier the state was entirely free of insurgents.

“Their entire armed cadre has been eliminated,” he said.

All armed militants had been killed or had surrendered, Sharma said, adding that the movement “no longer has any organisational format”.

The Maoists said they were fighting for the rights of marginalised indigenous people in forest regions, where mining companies also eye valuable resources.

More than 12,000 rebels, soldiers and civilians have died in the conflict since a handful of villagers rose up against their feudal lords in 1967.

Former Maoist rebel Vishnu Madvi, 26, surrendered in January after seven years with the guerrillas.

“My commander was killed in 2025 in a police operation — that I barely survived,” Madvi told AFP on Monday, speaking from a rehabilitation camp.

“Our top leaders were all gone, the police was all over us — so there was no option but to give myself up.” — AFP