"Senior Maoist Politburo arrest signals near-collapse of CPI (Maoist) leadership"
Left Wing Extremism (LWE)
insurgency rooted in Maoist ideology targeting governance deficits in tribal/rural India
CPI (Maoist)
formed in 2004 by merger of MCC and PWG; designated terrorist organisation under UAPA
Left Wing Extremism (LWE), commonly referred to as Naxalism, traces its ideological origins to the Naxalbari peasant uprising of 1967 in West Bengal, which inspired a revolutionary communist movement drawing on Maoist doctrine. Over subsequent decades, the movement fragmented and reconsolidated through mergers of regional outfits. The most significant consolidation occurred when the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) and the People's War Group (PWG) merged in 2004 to form the Communist Party of India (Maoist), creating a unified national organisation with a Central Committee, Politburo, and regional bureaus directing armed operations across multiple states.
At its peak, the CPI (Maoist) operated across a contiguous belt of states — Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, and West Bengal — collectively termed the 'Red Corridor'. The Dandakaranya region, spanning Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, served as the principal military theatre. The organisation exploited governance deficits, land alienation of Adivasi communities, and the absence of state infrastructure to build a parallel administration and armed force. The UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) designates the CPI (Maoist) as a terrorist organisation, enabling special investigative and prosecutorial powers against its members.
Government strategy evolved from reactive policing to a dual-track approach combining security operations with developmental intervention. The National Policy and Action Plan to Address Left Wing Extremism (2015) formalised this integrated approach, while schemes such as SAMADHAN (a comprehensive strategy acronym) and the Aspirational Districts Programme targeted the socioeconomic roots of the insurgency alongside kinetic operations.
The CPI (Maoist)'s organisational structure mirrors a conventional communist party-army model. The Politburo is the apex decision-making body, overseeing the Central Committee, which in turn directs regional bureaus — the Eastern Regional Bureau, Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, and others — down to state committees and armed squads. This hierarchical structure was both the organisation's strength (enabling coordinated multi-state operations) and its vulnerability (decapitation of leadership disrupts command and control).
The armed wing, the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), operated in battalion formations in core areas such as Abujhmad and Bastar. Tactics included IED ambushes targeting security convoys, attacks on police stations, and extortion of contractors and businesses operating in LWE-affected areas. The organisation also maintained an overground network for logistics, propaganda, and recruitment, making it a hybrid insurgent-criminal enterprise. …
With reference to the Communist Party of India (Maoist), consider the following statements:
1.It was formed by the merger of the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) and the People's War Group (PWG).
2.Its armed wing is called the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA).
3.It is designated as a terrorist organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Which of the following best describes the 'Dandakaranya region' in the context of Left Wing Extremism in India?
Consider the following statements about the CoBRA battalions:
1.CoBRA stands for Commando Battalion for Resolute Action.
2.They are specialised units of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) trained for jungle and counter-insurgency warfare.
3.They were raised specifically to address Left Wing Extremism in the Red Corridor.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
With reference to India's counter-insurgency strategy against Left Wing Extremism, which of the following represents the most accurate characterisation of the shift in approach that proved decisive in the recent phase of operations?
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