Oct 16, Home Minister Amit Shah has spearheaded India’s campaign to eradicate Naxalism, enforcing a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism while promoting rehabilitation for surrenders, aiming for a Naxal-free India by March 31, 2026.
He recently declared Abujhmarh and North Bastar in Chhattisgarh free of Naxal influence and commended the surrender of 258 insurgents in just two days in October 2025, signalling that Naxalism is on its way out.
Since Prime Minister Modi’s government came to power in 2014, over 2,000 Naxals have been neutralized, more than 10,000 have surrendered and thousands have been apprehended.
In 2010, Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) affected 126 districts across 11 states, causing 1,005 deaths. By Oct 2025, the Ministry of Home Affairs reports only 11 Naxal-affected districts remain—a 91% reduction—with just 3 classified as highly affected.
A map circulating online vividly illustrates the shrinking LWE influence in India. Attributed to the Ministry of Home Affairs, it reports 182 districts were affected by Naxalism (with 126 reporting violence) in 2013 and this is down to 18 in March 2025. It has reduced further to 11 districts by October.
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