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LWE Decline: 260+ Maoists Killed in 2025, 1,500+ Surrendered in 2 Years; Focus Shifts to Rehabilitation

Target:UPSC GS-IIIMPSCTeachingSSC GAPrelims HighMains HighStatic GK Link
17 Feb 2026
~2 min
Source: Indian Express
Key Data:1967Over 260 killed in 2025More than 1,500 surrendered (2 years)May 2025November 2025
Bodies:CRPFIntelligence Bureau (IB)District Reserve Guards (DRG)
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What This Article Covers

1.The Naxalite movement is at its lowest ebb after 5+ decades, with key leaders eliminated and a top leader publicly denouncing its ideology.

2.Operational success is attributed to coordinated security operations (COBRA, DRG) and a shift from 'clearing' to 'holding' territory, gaining tribal trust.

3.The final challenge is sustainable rehabilitation, requiring lessons from past failures (Salwa Judum) and a focus on tribal livelihood, land rights, and empathetic governance.

The Big Picture
Prelims · HighMains · High

The Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) movement in India is at its weakest point in decades, with significant leadership losses and mass surrenders in 2024-25. This presents a critical juncture for government aspirants, as the focus shifts from military strategy to post-conflict rehabilitation, a key area for GS Paper 3 (Internal Security). Understanding the factors behind this decline and the new challenges of reintegration is essential for both Prelims and Mains.

Exam Lens

Quick Exam Facts From News

Year of Naxalbari Uprising1967
Maoists Killed in 2025Over 260
Cadres Surrendered (2 Years)More than 1,500
Key Security ForcesCRPF COBRA, District Reserve Guards (DRG), IB

1-Minute Revision

  • ›Year of Naxalbari Uprising: 1967
  • ›Maoists Killed in 2025: Over 260
  • ›Target this Data: Over 260 Maoists killed in 2025; More than 1,500 cadres surrendered in two years.
  • ›Target this Nodal Body: Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and its COBRA battalion; Intelligence Bureau (IB).
  • ›Target this Legal Point: Forest Rights Act, 2006 (for tribal land rights context in rehabilitation).

Mastered this topic? Test your knowledge with a full MCQ quiz.

Practice exam-style questions, track your score, and strengthen your recall.

Q1Static LinkageEasy

Which central armed police force's specialized battalion, COBRA, is primarily deployed for anti-Naxal operations?

Q2Statement-basedHard

Consider the following statements regarding the decline of Left-Wing Extremism in India:

1. The surrender of Central Committee member Venugopal Rao signaled an ideological crisis within the Maoist movement.

2. The 'Salwa Judum' initiative of the 2000s is widely considered a successful model of people-centric counter-insurgency.

3. The current strategy's success is partly due to security forces shifting from merely 'clearing' areas to permanently 'holding' them.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Q3Data-centricMedium

According to the article, how many Maoist cadres surrendered across affected regions in the two years leading up to 2026?

Q4Application/ImpactMedium

What is identified as the most critical factor for ensuring long-term peace in LWE-affected areas, now that military success has been achieved?

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