Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'dimagi Naxal' (intellectual Naxal) remark, made during his Independence Day address, has ignited a significant political debate, with Union Minister Kiren Rijiju clarifying that the comment targets those who support Maoists and separatists, not opposition leaders, while opposition figures like P Chidambaram have embraced the label in defiance.
A new satirical Instagram page, 'Dimagi Naxal Party,' has emerged following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'dimagi Naxal' remark.
Many people in Andhra Pradesh feel that the Centre had acted in haste while giving in to the demand for a separate Telangana. While the deterroiating health of K Chandrashekhar Rao and also the intense protest by the students was one of the main reasons, another worry was the emergence of the Naxal movement in parts of Telengana.
The Naxal movement is today facing leadership issues, losing favour with the Tribals and is confused about its future agenda and course of action.
Five Naxal functionaries, carrying a total bounty of Rs 38 lakh, surrendered in Gadchiroli district, Maharashtra. Additionally, eight Maoists from Maharashtra, Telangana, and Chhattisgarh were arrested during joint operations with the CRPF.
Bollywood has captured the essence of India's youth activism and student protests, from fighting corruption in Yuvaa to demanding accountability in Rang De Basanti.
From guns to handlooms. From forest trails to a public runway. Women who had once been associated with that conflict walked into the spotlight wearing Bastar's traditional textiles.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Tuesday accused the Centre of resisting the Supreme Court's bid to facilitate quashing of FIRs against students and protesters and demanded that the outfit's members be included in the high-powered committee announced by the court to examine allegations of police excesses and violence against cops.
In her address to the nation on the eve of the country's 80th Independence Day, the president stressed that just as government and society remain united to ensure national security, everyone must contribute through joint and concerted efforts to safeguard the present and future of students.
'After more than 12 years in power, he has been forced to retreat under public pressure. The education minister's resignation is the biggest political climbdown of his government so far.'
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has implemented a revised Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) for its personnel in Manipur, mandating the use of bulletproof vehicles and restricting stray movements, following recent ambushes on Assam Rifles troops. Concurrently, two elite CoBRA battalions have been deployed to conduct operations against armed miscreants, aiming to strengthen security and restore peace in the violence-hit state.
Gadchiroli police recovered and destroyed items used in the manufacture of weapons, secretly buried by Maoists in a forest area.
After more than four decades, Chhattisgarh's Bastar region has been declared free of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), marking the end of the armed Maoist rebellion in the area. The decline is attributed to sustained security operations, improved governance, and socio-economic development initiatives.
Once the might of the Indian establishment turned completely against the Maoists, there was no way they could survive -- either in Gadchiroli or anywhere else, points out M R Narayan Swamy.
If the threat from the 'Maovadis' (Maoists) is fading, the danger now lies with the 'MoUvadis' -- those who might exploit the resource-rich Abujhmad region through corporate or State-backed projects.
A combination of security pressure and rehabilitation efforts has significantly weakened Naxalism in India, leading to numerous surrenders and the elimination of key leaders.
Action and war films from Hollywood are being used as a training tool by Naxals, a senior police official has said.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating the use of foreign debit cards by a global Christian mission to withdraw crores of rupees in Naxal violence-hit regions of India. Searches were conducted in multiple states, and foreign debit cards, cash, and digital devices were seized.
A senior Maoist commander, Papa Rao, surrendered with his team in Chhattisgarh, signalling a significant blow to Left-Wing Extremism in the region. This event underscores the impact of sustained security pressure and rehabilitation efforts on the Maoist movement.
Security forces in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district recovered a significant cache of cash, arms, and ammunition from Maoist hideouts, acting on information from surrendered Naxalites.
Senior Naxalite Mallojula Venugopal Rao, also known as Bhupathi, surrendered to police in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district along with 60 other cadres. Bhupathi, a key strategist in the banned organization, carried a significant bounty.
The Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, India, is transitioning away from decades of Maoist conflict, with plans to convert security camps into public infrastructure. A senior Maoist commander recently surrendered, marking a significant step in the government's efforts to eliminate Naxalism.
Fifteen Naxalites, including a veteran ultra with a significant bounty, surrendered in Chhattisgarh, effectively dismantling the Maoist movement in the Raipur-Sambalpur region.
At the local level, resentment has risen over the rampant corruption in payment of money for tribal land, acquisition of arable land (half the land sought to be acquired for industry in Orissa, for instance, happens to be farmland) and lack of any support for resettlement of the displaced.
'The law under the guise of security represents a grave and unnecessary expansion of State power at the cost of fundamental rights,' asserts Aakar Patel.
After recent high-intensity operations in the Bastar region and the neutralisation of several senior Maoist leaders, officials say the insurgency has lost its ability to mount large-scale coordinated attacks.
The Naxal movement has such a complex history that several books have been written to understand it. Bastar: The Naxal Story seeks to reduce it to bullet points and stereotypes, observes Deepa Gahlot.
139 Naxalite cadres surrendered in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, marking a significant turning point in the fight against Left Wing Extremism. The surrenders included a top Maoist strategist and were hailed as a sign of the movement's decline.
'From every point of view, they have faced an extremely difficult couple of years, and the setback they have suffered is irreversible.' 'This reality has begun to set in even amongst the top-level cadres. That is why, in recent times, we have witnessed a huge number of senior-level cadres emerging from the jungle and deciding to renounce violence and join the mainstream.'
Inspector general of police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj P said that bodies of seven Maoist cadres have been recovered from the encounter site so far.
The Maoists in Bastar went from one village to another with kits providing badly needed medical intervention. The medical help was one key reason why the tribals were attracted to the Maoists, points out M R Narayan Swamy.
'For the remaining Maoist cadres, they shall soon confront one of two outcomes: Either surrender or face neutralisation.'
'The watershed moment was June 22, 2024, when the divisional in-charge of Gadchiroli, Giridhar Tumreti, who was their senior-most commander, along with his wife, came forward to surrender before the then deputy chief minister and home minister Devendra Fadnavis.'
When the fierce encounter ended around 3:30 PM on Saturday after almost 10 hours, senior cadre Milind Teltumbade and 25 ultras had been killed.
A violent clash broke out between two groups of students at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus on Friday during a 'Visarjan Shobha Yatra' organised on the occasion of Vijayadashami, following the nine-day Navratri celebrations.
Top Naxalite commander Madvi Hidma, who had masterminded several attacks over the last two decades, was killed in an encounter in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday, a breakthrough Chhattisgarh Police described as the 'last nail in the coffin' of the insurgency.
Terming Naxals the biggest human rights violators, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said security forces have been carrying out 'offensive operations' instead of defensive against the insurgents and have achieved big successes in recent times.
Senior Maoist leader Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Bhupathi surrendered to police in eastern Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district after negotiations. He was a founding member of the People's War Group (PWG) and carried a bounty of Rs 6 crore on his head.
The Congress's performance in the Lok Sabha elections showed that it may be down but not out, and Modi is determined to ensure that in the next round in 2029, it is consigned to irrelevance, points out Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
