Terrorism, Extremism & Left-Wing Extremism
GS Paper: GS Paper III | Subject: Internal Security
Prelims
India Declared Maoist-Free (March 31, 2026) (The Hindu, 04-06-2026)
- India officially declared Maoist-free: March 31, 2026
- Home Minister press conference in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, May 19, 2026
- Next milestone: 2031 — full integration of Bastar residents into mainstream
- Approach post-2031: democratic values, cooperation, development, welfare delivery through security-force-operated centres
- 16,000+ security operations in Bastar since 2017 (related: Operation Langda — 16,000+ UP encounters also in same period)
- PESA Act (1996) implementation identified as key unfinished agenda — Gram Sabha empowerment on jal, jungle, zameen
- Fifth Schedule areas (Art. 244) + PESA + Forest Rights Act (2006) form constitutional framework for Adivasi protection
Mains
Post-Maoism Strategy — Bastar (The Hindu, 04-06-2026)
- Tactical vs structural: Security forces achieved tactical victory over Maoist armed presence. But structural causes — land dispossession, forest rights denial, absence of governance, exploitative contractors — remain. Without structural fixes, the vacuum that Maoism filled will be occupied again
- Adivasi trust: The state won Adivasi support through security operations' benefits (roads, mobile towers, welfare delivery). But Adivasis know PESA promises them jal-jungle-zameen rights. If those rights are not delivered, trust will erode
- PESA as the test: PESA grants Gram Sabha decisive powers over community resources and consent on development projects. States have systematically bypassed this. Post-Maoism, Centre must enforce PESA implementation — this is the real test of sincerity
- Home Minister's blueprint vs ground reality: Press conference outlined welfare schemes, roads, mobile towers. But no mention of: Gram Sabha empowerment, land rights regularisation, forest rights implementation, accountability for past atrocities. These silences are significant
- Historical parallel: Naxalbari movement (1967) was also declared suppressed multiple times before resurgence. Each resurgence linked to unresolved land and rights issues
- GS3 exam angle: Linkage between development deficit and extremism (classic UPSC question); role of governance in preventing insurgency; Fifth Schedule and PESA; tribal rights and development conflict