Record fatalities, arrests, surrenders signal decline of Maoist insurgency, Pg9

Key Highlights:

• In 2025, 1,849 militants surrendered, marking the third-highest annual total since 2000.
• 836 Maoists were arrested in 2025, the highest number since 2017.
• 333 Maoists died in 2025, making it the second-deadliest year for Maoists since 2000, after 2006.
• The number of districts affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) has decreased from 175 in 2013 to 11 in 2025.

Detailed Insights:

• The average number of Maoists arrested per year has decreased from 663 in the 2000s and 777 in the 2010s to 496 in the 2020s.
• In 2013, the 175 LWE-affected districts included areas in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and West Bengal.
• By 2018, the number of affected districts had reduced to 60, primarily concentrated in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Bihar.
• As of 2025, only 11 districts are affected by LWE, with a majority of them located in Chhattisgarh.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Maoist Insurgency: An armed rebellion inspired by Maoist ideology, aiming to overthrow the existing government.
• Left Wing Extremism (LWE): Ideologies and movements that seek radical socio-political changes through revolutionary means.
• Counter-Insurgency Operations: Military and political strategies employed by a government to suppress an insurgency.