Home Minister Amit Shah has recently made a big statement about Naxalism. He has said that Naxalism will be eradicated from the country by March 2025. He said that a strong strategy is needed to launch a final attack on Naxalism.
Amit Shah has also asked the Naxalites to surrender by laying down their arms. He also said that a new surrender policy will be announced in Chhattisgarh in a month or two.
At present, Chhattisgarh is the state that is most affected by Naxalism. 15 districts of Chhattisgarh- Bijapur, Bastar, Dantewada, Dhamtari, Gariaband, Kanker, Kondagaon, Mahasamund, Narayanpur, Rajnandgaon, Mohalla-Manpur-Ambagadh Chowki, Khairgarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai, Sukma, Kabirdham and Mungeli are affected by Naxalism.
In fact, an important meeting was called in Chhattisgarh on 24 August to discuss how to deal with Naxalism. DGs and Chief Secretaries of all states were also called in this meeting. In this meeting, Amit Shah had said that Naxalism will be wiped out by March 2026. He had said that now the time has come to make a final attack on left wing extremism with a strong strategy.
In this meeting, Amit Shah had said that left wing extremism is the biggest challenge for the democratic system. In the last four decades, more than 17 thousand people have lost their lives due to this.
Will India be Naxal-free by 2026?
Amit Shah says that the country will be made Naxal-free by March 2026. But can this happen? Let us understand this with some statistics.
On August 7 this year, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai presented the data related to Naxalism or Left Wing Extremism in the Parliament. In this, he had told that in comparison to 2010, Naxalite incidents have reduced by 73% in 2024. Similarly, the deaths in these Naxalite incidents have also reduced by 86%. In 2010, there were 1,005 deaths in Naxalite incidents, while in 2023, 138 people were killed. This also includes the number of martyred soldiers of the security forces.
He had said that till 2013, 126 districts in 10 states across the country were Naxal-affected. By April 2024, Naxalism has been reduced to only 38 districts in 9 states.
How much has Naxalism reduced?
Till three years ago, 10 districts of Bihar used to be the stronghold of Naxalites. But now Naxalites have been completely wiped out from Bihar.
Similarly, in states like Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Telangana, Naxalites are confined to two-four districts. Till 2021, 16 districts of Jharkhand were Naxal-affected, but now only 5 districts here are like this. Alluri Sitaramraju of Andhra Pradesh, Wayanad and Kannur of Kerala, Balaghat, Mandla and Dindori of Madhya Pradesh, Gadchiroli and Gondia of Maharashtra, Bhadradri-Kotagudem and Mulugu of Telangana and Jhargram district of West Bengal are Naxal-affected.
According to the data of the central government, till 2010, Naxalism was spread in 465 police stations of 96 districts. By the end of 2023, it was reduced to 171 police stations of 42 districts. At the same time, by June 2024, there are only 89 police stations in 30 districts of the country where Naxalism is spread.
How will India become Naxal-free by March 2026?
Till a few years ago, more than a dozen districts of Jharkhand used to be the stronghold of Naxalites, but now they have been reduced to just 5 districts. Naxalites are left in Giridih, Gumla, Latehar, Lohardaga and West Singhbhum of Jharkhand.
Jharkhand DGP Anurag Gupta had recently said in a review meeting that if a Naxalite surrenders or someone helps them get caught, a reward of up to Rs 1 crore is given. He had said that work is done on two fronts to deal with Naxalites. Last year, the police had started ‘Operation Octopus’. Under this, Naxalites have been wiped out from Budha Pahad, one of their biggest strongholds. Budha Pahad Development Project has also been started here.
After the meeting on August 24, Amit Shah had said that 277 CRPF camps have been set up in Naxal-affected areas since 2019. Apart from these, agencies like ED and NIA are running operations to end the funding of Maoists.
Currently, Chhattisgarh is the most Naxal-affected state. But operations are being carried out here at a rapid pace. Recently, 25 Naxalites surrendered in Bijapur. Five of them had a reward of lakhs on their heads. Earlier, a Naxal couple had also surrendered in Dhamtari. There was a reward of 10 lakhs on this couple.
Amit Shah had said that since Vishnu Dev Sai came to power in Chhattisgarh, 179 Naxalites have been killed, while 559 have been arrested. At the same time, 540 Naxalites have surrendered. Amit Shah has appealed to the Naxalites to surrender by giving up their weapons. He also said that soon the government will come up with a new surrender policy.
Special DGP RK Vij says that the Maoists are getting weaker in Dandakaranya. Due to continuous surrenders and no new recruitment, it is becoming difficult for the Maoists to protect their areas. The forests of Dandakaranya used to be a big hideout of the Naxalites.
Former Maharashtra IPS officer PK Jain says that if the government has the will, the Naxalites can be controlled. Naxalites are now limited in Gadchiroli of Maharashtra. Anti-Naxal operation has controlled them in Gondia too.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)