MARKING A SHIFT, Pg10.

Key Highlights:

• Mallojula Venugopal Rao, alias Sonu, along with 60 Maoist cadres, surrendered in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra.
• Maoist-related violence saw a 48% drop between 2013 and 2023, with deaths declining by 65% from 397 to 138.
• The killing of CPI (Maoist) General Secretary Nambala Keshava Rao, alias Basavaraju, in Chhattisgarh in May significantly impacted the organization.
• From 2024 to October 2025, 1,850 Maoists surrendered, compared to around 800 in 2022 and 2023, due to the Centre’s surrender policy.
• The Centre has set March 2026 as the deadline to eradicate Naxalism.

Detailed Insights:

• The surrender indicates a decline in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) due to multi-pronged strategies, including security crackdowns by central and state forces.
• Mallojula Venugopal Rao, a CPI (Maoist) Politburo member, advocated discarding violence, highlighting ideological rifts within the party.
• The success in eliminating Basavaraju demonstrated the state's enhanced intelligence network within the "heart of the red belt".
• The Centre's surrender policy has encouraged Maoists to lay down arms, with numbers increasing from 800 in 2022-2023 to 1,850 by October 2025.
• Eradicating LWE requires balancing security measures with development policies that involve local populations.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Left Wing Extremism (LWE): Ideologies and movements that seek socio-political change through revolutionary means, often involving violence.
• Surrender Policy: Government initiatives that incentivize members of extremist groups to lay down arms and reintegrate into society.
• Red Belt: A geographical region marked by significant influence or activity of Maoist insurgents.