Shah: Surrender sole option for Naxals

Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday declared that India will be “completely free from Naxalism” by March 31, 2026, crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decade-long strategy for breaking the backbone of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) across the country.

Speaking at the concluding session of Bharat Manthan-2025 titled “Naxal-free India: Ending Red Terror under PM Modi’s Leadership” here, Shah asserted that the fight against Naxalism would not be won until Indian society recognises those providing “ideological, legal and financial support” to armed insurgents.

“No ceasefire will be offered,” Shah vowed. “The only path is surrender. If they lay down arms, not a single bullet will be fired. But if they choose violence, our forces will ensure Naxalism ends by March 2026,” he added.

“Internal security, border security and cultural nationalism are the core pillars of our ideology. When Modiji became Prime Minister, three hotspots — Jammu and Kashmir, the North-East and the Red Corridor — had crippled national security. Thousands had died over decades of unrest, but today, we can proudly say India is on the verge of eliminating armed Naxalism,” Shah said.

Tracing the origins of Naxalite violence to the 1970s, Shah recalled how the People’s War Group expanded across states in the 1980s, culminating in the formation of CPI (Maoist) in 2004. At its peak, the so-called “Red Corridor” stretched from Pashupati to Tirupati, spanning 17 per cent of India’s land area and affecting over 120 million citizens. By contrast, he noted, J&K and the North-East comprised 1 per cent and 3.3 per cent of India’s territory, respectively.

“When Modi ji assumed office in 2014, the government replaced incident-based, scattered responses with a unified and ruthless strategy built on security, dialogue and coordination,” Shah said.

According to him, strengthened intelligence, coordinated operations and financial warfare against Maoist sympathisers have “shifted the steering wheel from Naxalites to the Government of India”.

Shah underlined the government’s twin-track policy: “We give a red-carpet welcome to those who surrender, but if they choose to kill innocent tribals, security forces will meet them with bullets.”

Figures cited by the Home Minister showed that in 2024 alone, 290 Naxalites were neutralised, while 1,090 were arrested and 881 surrendered — the “highest turnaround” in four decades. In 2025 so far, security forces have neutralised 270 insurgents, arrested 680 and secured 1,225 surrenders.

With the Chhattisgarh Government under BJP control since 2024, Shah said the “longstanding roadblock” in counter-Naxal action had been cleared, enabling record neutralisations and coordinated offensives.

Rejecting claims that underdevelopment fuels extremism, Shah said: “Wherever leftist ideology has entrenched itself globally, violence has followed. It is not poverty, but ideology that keeps tribals from accessing schools, roads and hospitals. Who prevented teachers from reaching Sukma? Who killed contractors building roads? It is the Naxalites, not lack of government will.”

Shah added that targeted actions by agencies like the NIA and ED had cut off Maoist finances and legal networks, while joint training of CRPF, CoBRA, STF and state police had ensured sharper, coordinated operations.