For decades, India lived under the shadow of an internal war waged not by foreign enemies but by self-styled revolutionaries with blood on their hands and Marx in their pockets. The Naxalite movement, born in 1967 in Naxalbari, West Bengal, spread like a cancer through India’s tribal belt, feeding off poverty, ignorance, and political apathy. But now, it seems the nation is finally witnessing the last gasp of this outdated insurgency — thanks to one man’s resolve: Narendra Modi. With the killing of 26 top Naxal operatives in Chhattisgarh, including a most-wanted leader with a bounty of ₹25 lakh on his head, the Modi government has come within striking distance of delivering what successive regimes failed to do — a death blow to Left-wing extremism. This is not just another anti-insurgency operation. It is the culmination of a systematic, multi-front war waged by the NDA government — militarily, administratively, and ideologically. Under Home Minister Amit Shah, the Centre adopted an iron-fist approach that previous governments had hesitated to take, not because the enemy was invincible, but because political will was missing. Let’s not forget: Naxalism was kept alive not just by AK-47s in jungles but by microphones in urban “activist” circles. For years, Maoist sympathizers masquerading as civil society warriors provided intellectual cover, legal aid, and ideological oxygen to these violent groups. Crackdowns on urban Naxal networks — from Hyderabad to Pune to Delhi — were as crucial as combing operations in the forests of Bastar. The arrests of known agitators like Varavara Rao and others weren’t just symbolic; they were strategic.
Contrast this with the decades of Congress’s misrule, which either romanticized or ignored the Red Terror. The party’s historical proximity to Left-liberal ideologues meant that Maoist violence was too often dismissed as a cry for justice or a symptom of inequality, instead of being called out for what it truly was: terrorism. Worse, billions in taxpayer money were sunk into so-called development schemes that were either looted or ended up in Naxal hands. Corrupt state administrations had every incentive to keep the conflict simmering. To be fair, some Congress chief ministers in undivided Andhra Pradesh did take notable steps. Dr. M. Chenna Reddy’s initiatives for remote area development and Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s dual approach — talks followed by decisive action — did push the extremists out of Andhra. But the real credit goes to the police force, led by men like Swaranjit Sen and intelligence chief K. Aravinda Rao, who executed precise, intelligence-driven operations that broke the back of Maoist networks in the state. Despite those efforts, the cancer merely migrated to Chhattisgarh, Odisha, parts of Maharashtra, and Jharkhand. And for years, Delhi looked the other way. Until Modi.
This government did what others only talked about — it boxed the Naxal menace into a shrinking geographical area, cut off their financial and ideological lifelines, and brought governance to previously forgotten villages. Initiatives like PM Awas Yojana, free rations, MGNREGA, rural roads and mobile connectivity under the aspirational districts programme are not just welfare schemes — they’re weapons in the battle against extremism. When development reaches where bullets once ruled, Naxalism dies. Today, Naxalite numbers have dropped to double digits. Jungle ambushes have become rare. And the Home Minister has confidently declared that India will be Naxal-free by March next year. It’s not empty rhetoric anymore — it’s a promise close to fulfillment. This is more than a security triumph. It is a civilizational victory over ideology-driven violence that mocked democracy, rejected the Constitution, and butchered innocent civilians and jawans alike. Modi’s government has delivered justice, not through slogans, but through relentless pursuit and principled force. India must say it loud and clear: the Red Terror is on its last legs, and it’s Narendra Modi who broke its spine. Kudos, Prime Minister. Another promise kept. Another war won.