New Delhi: Roads made of deep red letterite clay are rolled with dense forests on both sides and are surrounded by iron-rich Amadai, to Abujamadh region of Chhattisgarh, which extends to about 5,000 sq km. Most of the settlements here are only connected to the treacherous paths.
A Maoist stronghold, very low -populous regions – is placed with revelations and popularly known as “unknown hills” – can be traced using motorcycles or powerful utility vehicles, while some areas are only accessible.
This is where the teams of District Reserve Guard of Chhattisgarh Police started an operation, killing 27 Maoists, including a prominent leader -CPI (Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshav Rao, alias Basavraju, who had been active for almost 50 years. He was the second largest ranking person in the Maoist hierarchy and had a reward of Rs 1.5 crore on his head.
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A few years ago, such a result would have been unimaginable, as the security forces struggled to reach the region due to lack of support from their difficult terrain and local tribal population. But in the last two years, the establishment of security camps inside the region and the continuing continuity of continuous-motherist operations has become quite weak in a rude stronghold.
Operation is reputed as the most successful-naxal action in recent times, undoubtedly a significant shock to the top leadership, striking on the very spine of the Naxalite movement.
The government’s strategy to provide headless to the Maoist movement through continuous operations-as one in the Kargutta hills on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border, resulted in 31 Maoists, including 16 women, and completely disliked their top leadership. It aligns with its goal of achieving “Naxal-free India” by March 2026.
Data shows that the Naxalites killed in operation by security forces in the last two years had increased by 57 percent. In 2023, 58 Naxalites were killed in operation; This number increased to 237 in 2024. In the first five months of 2025, till April, 201 Naxalites have been killed in various works.
In addition, between 2004 and 2014, there were a total of 16,463 incidents of Naxal violence. From 2014 to 2024, the number of violent incidents decreased by 53 percent, which increased to 7,744.
The number of leftist extremism (LWE) also fell-126 to 90 before 2014 in April 2018, 70 in July 2021, and 38 in April 2024. In April this year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Naxal issue is now limited to only six districts, below 12. These include four districts in Chhattisgarh (Bijapur, Kankar, Narayanpur, and Sukma), one in Jharkhand (West Sinhabhem), and one of Maharashtra (Gadchiroli).
The movement is clearly on the spiral at a bottom, but how soon will it lead to its collapse? Maoists appear on the back leg – half of its strength with the central committee decreased, the Polit Bureau is just three members (over 60 years of age), and young cadres are not getting any new recruitment.
These developments make the newsmaker of Basavaraju Thrint of the week.
Who was Basavaraju and why was he important?
Basavaraju was some of the Maoist hierarchy to be a member of all three top bodies- Central Committee, Polit Bureau and the Restricted Organization of the Central Military Commission.
After Ganapati suffered from prolonged illness, Basavaraju reached the top position in the Maoist hierarchy as the General Secretary of the CPI (Maoist) in 2018.
He led the Central Military Commission for nearly a decade and led the cadre during the most violent periods of Maoist attacks on security forces in Central India between 2005 and 2013, including the 2010 Dantewada attacks, killing 76 CRPF personnel. He also suspected a convoy of Congress leaders to be the main conspirators behind the ambush in May 2013, including 29 leaders, including Nand Kumar Patel, the head of the Chhattisgarh unit, were killed in the Darkhi Valley.
Baswaju, born in a peasant family in Jianapeta village in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, was one of the five children. While his family was mainly engaged in farming, he chased the Bachelor of Technology in Chemical Engineering from Regional Engineering College, now National Institute of Technology, Warangal.
It was during this time that he came in contact with the cadre of the CPI (MAOIST), the cadre of the Radical Students Union.
According to security establishment sources, in addition to providing ideological leadership, he soon increased through rank for his military aggressive strategies, focusing on guerrillas and mobile war and strengthened the PLGA (People’s Liberation Guerrilla Sena).
A senior police officer said, “He was an expert on explosives, IEDs, military structures and police stations.”
The official said, “What he was made important was also his important role in the integration of erstwhile groups – People’s War Group (PWG) and Maoist Communist Center of India (MCCI) – to make CPI (Maoist) in 2004,” said the official. “He played a major role in the creation of the Maoist Party and its military wing.”
The official also said that Basavaraju was the main conspirator behind almost all the major Maoists ambush against the security forces in the last two decades.
The official said, “This is a major setback for them as it makes the cadre without head. No new recruitment is being done and the old leaders are not taken out, it comes as a major success in weakening the development movement,” the official said.
Apart from Basavaraju, two other prominent leaders -Prag Manjhi alias Vivek Da and Ramchandra Reddy Uffia Chalpati also died in operation in 2025.
While Manjhi controlled the Parasnath Hills region and was a state-level commander, a member of the CPI (Maoist) Polit Bureau, a member of Prashant Bose alias Kishan Da (arrested in November 2021), was considered a “successor”, a member of a central committee who led the Odisha State Committee of Band Outfits.
What is the work for security forces?
According to security establishment sources, what work has been done in their favor – and helped reduce the Maoist dominance, limited them to isolate – the establishment of new security camps in weak areas, in collaboration with the implementation of state development plans.
A senior official explained, “In addition to starting effective operations, we have ensured the implementation of development schemes in Maoist affected districts to promote overall development for local population. As a result, there is important local support for forces, which have greatly weakened areas of MAOists’ influence,” a senior official explained. The official said, “Now, respect cards are being issued to tribals, healthcare is reaching remote interiors, and schools are being run by forces – these changes have created a significant difference,” the official said.
This outreach has also contributed to better intelligence assembly.
Another major factor behind the success of these works is the role of the District Reserve Guard, who is made up of police personnel, surrendered to Maoist cadres and “Bastar fighters”.
“These are local personnel who understand the area, speak language, and are familiar with the strategy. This gives them a different benefit on the forces deployed from outside. This is a major reason for recent operating successes,” the official said.
With gradual operations against the Maoists, the march appears on the march track towards ending Naxalism. However, to maintain these benefits, security efforts should be complemented by effective policies and political outreach for tribal communities.
For a permanent solution to the Naxal problem, the continuous operation should be focused on the long -standing development gap with administrative efforts and ensure that essential services reach these historically neglected areas.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)