For decades, guerrilla communist warfare has raged deep in India’s jungles. What began as an uprising in the 1960s, fuelled by inequality and discontent among the poorest, is now a fully fledged Maoist armed struggle vowing to overthrow the Indian state.
But after decades of insurgency and a corresponding state-led crackdown that has left almost 12,000 civilians, militants and security personnel dead, India’s home minister Amit Shah gave a clear-cut deadline earlier this year; the Maoist insurgency would be “completely eradicated” by March 2026.
