Key figures
Who is fighting
India (central and state forces)
- Central Reserve Police Force incl. CoBRA
- Border Security Force and ITBP
- Chhattisgarh District Reserve Guard and Bastar Fighters
- Andhra Pradesh Greyhounds, Odisha SOG, Jharkhand Jaguar, Telangana and Maharashtra police
- None
Communist Party of India (Maoist)
- People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA)
- Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee remnants
- Smaller groups (PLFI in Jharkhand)
- None
Force sizes are estimates of personnel or fighters, usually from IISS, government statements or specialist reporting; irregular forces are especially hard to count. "(reported)" marks external support that the backer disputes or has not confirmed.
Background
The movement takes its name from the 1967 peasant uprising at Naxalbari, West Bengal. The current phase began when the People's War Group and the Maoist Communist Centre merged into the Communist Party of India (Maoist) in September 2004 and its People's Liberation Guerrilla Army waged war from the forests of central and eastern India, exploiting tribal grievances over land, mining and state neglect. At its peak around 2009–2010 the insurgency affected about a third of India's districts and killed over 1,000 people a year; the government called it the country's biggest internal security threat.
Sustained paramilitary deployment, roads and camps in the Bastar region, and the 2014–2024 shrinking of 'affected' districts reduced violence. In 2024 the Modi government set a target of ending Left-wing extremism by 31 March 2026 and launched the largest operations in the insurgency's history, including Operation Black Forest on the Karreguttalu Hills (April–May 2025). Security forces killed about 290 Maoists in 2024 and 390 in 2025 (SATP), including Basavaraju on 21 May 2025, while thousands surrendered.
On 31 March 2026 Chhattisgarh's government declared the state's armed Maoist cadres 'completely eliminated' with the last 15–20 in rehabilitation; Union Home Minister Amit Shah said a formal nationwide declaration would follow. The Red Corridor was reduced from nearly 180 districts to three. Independent analysts caution that small armed groups remain in border forests and that weapons and IEDs are still being recovered; encounters killed Maoists in Kanker (13 April 2026) and Hazaribagh, Jharkhand (17 April 2026) after the deadline. Government estimates put remaining armed cadres at a few hundred.
Recent developments
- 17 October 2026SATP data: 83 insurgency-related deaths in 2026 (75 Maoists, 4 civilians, 4 security personnel), the lowest annual toll in two decades. source ↗
- 17 April 2026Encounter in Hazaribagh's Batuka forest kills four Maoists including a cadre with a Rs 15 lakh bounty. source ↗
- 13 April 2026A woman Maoist area-committee member is killed in Kanker days after Chhattisgarh was declared free of armed Maoists; combing operations continue. source ↗
- 2 April 2026The Diplomat: the government appears to have met its 31 March deadline, but residual armed groups in border forests mean it is too early to declare the insurgency over. source ↗
- 31 March 2026Chhattisgarh deputy chief minister says over 2,000 Naxalites were arrested and more than 500 killed in the state during the campaign; 400 interior security camps will be converted to civilian infrastructure. source ↗
Timeline
- 18 May 1967Naxalbari uprising in West Bengal gives the movement its name.
- 21 September 2004CPI (Maoist) formed by merger of the People's War Group and the Maoist Communist Centre; the current insurgency phase begins.
- 6 April 2010Maoists kill 76 CRPF personnel at Dantewada, the deadliest attack on Indian security forces by the insurgency.
- 1 January 2024Security surge begins in Bastar; forces kill a record 296 Maoists in 2024 (SATP).
- 6 January 2025IED attack in Bijapur kills eight District Reserve Guard personnel and their driver.
- 21 April 2025Operation Black Forest on the Karreguttalu Hills on the Chhattisgarh–Telangana border; dozens of Maoists killed by May.
- 21 May 2025General secretary Nambala Keshava Rao ('Basavaraju') and 26 others killed in Narayanpur district.
- 3 January 2026Fourteen Maoists killed in two encounters in Bijapur and Sukma.
- 31 March 2026Government deadline: Chhattisgarh declares its armed Maoist cadres eliminated; Amit Shah says a formal national declaration will follow.
- 17 April 2026Four Maoists including Sahdeo Mahto killed in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, showing residual activity after the deadline.
Casualties and displacement in detail
| Measure | Low | High | What the figure covers · source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total killed (cumulative) | 11,942 | 11,942 | SATP tally 2000–2026: 4,140 civilians, 2,726 security personnel and 5,076 Maoists killed (figures compiled from news reports; provisional). en.wikipedia.org ↗ |
| Combatants killed | 2,726 | 2,726 | Security forces killed 2000–2026 (SATP); 33 in 2025 and 4 in 2026 to 17 Oct. satp.org ↗ |
| Civilians killed | 4,140 | 4,140 | Civilians killed 2000–2026 (SATP); 54 in 2025 and 4 in 2026 to 17 Oct. satp.org ↗ |
| Wounded | – | – | No consolidated figure. |
| Deaths in the last 12 months | 83 | 200 | SATP: 83 deaths in 2026 to 17 Oct; adding the Oct–Dec 2025 share of 2025's 477 deaths (the year's killings were heavily front-loaded) gives a trailing-12-month figure of roughly 100–200. satp.org ↗ |
| Internally displaced | – | – | No current figure; tens of thousands of Adivasis were displaced in Chhattisgarh during the 2005–2011 Salwa Judum period. |
| Refugees abroad | – | – | Not applicable. |
Intensity classification: SATP: 83 fatalities in 2026 to 17 October (4 civilians, 4 security personnel, 75 Maoists) after 477 in 2025 and 397 in 2024; the trailing 12-month total is in the low hundreds and falling fast as the insurgency collapses..
Countries affected
Frequently asked questions
Who is fighting in the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency (India)?
India (central and state forces) (Central Reserve Police Force incl. CoBRA, Border Security Force and ITBP, Chhattisgarh District Reserve Guard and Bastar Fighters, Andhra Pradesh Greyhounds, Odisha SOG, Jharkhand Jaguar, Telangana and Maharashtra police), supported by None; against Communist Party of India (Maoist) (People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee remnants, Smaller groups (PLFI in Jharkhand)), supported by None.
How many people have been killed?
Estimates range from 11,942 killed as of 17 October 2026. SATP tally 2000–2026: 4,140 civilians, 2,726 security personnel and 5,076 Maoists killed (figures compiled from news reports; provisional). Civilian deaths are put at 4,140. Figures come from the sources listed on this page and differ in method; see the caveats above.
Is the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency (India) still ongoing in 2026?
Status as of 19 October 2026: Low intensity — India's Maoist (Naxalite) insurgency, once active across a 'Red Corridor' of nearly 180 districts, has been reduced to small forest pockets by a security surge launched in 2024. The government's deadline to 'eliminate' Naxalism by 31 March 2026 was declared met in Chhattisgarh, after the killing of CPI (Maoist) general secretary Basavaraju in May 2025 and the surrender or death of most of the Politburo. Sporadic encounters continue in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and the Odisha–Andhra borderlands, but 2026 is on course to be the least deadly year since the insurgency's current phase began in 2004.
When did it start?
The current phase began on 21 September 2004, but the underlying conflict dates back to 1967 — 22 years ago.
Sources
- SATP — Maoist insurgency fatalities datasheet satp.org
- The Diplomat — India's 59-year Maoist insurgency collapses (Apr 2026) thediplomat.com
- India Foundation — Naxal security tracker, March 2026 indiafoundation.in
- Wikipedia — Naxalite–Maoist insurgency en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia — Operation Black Forest en.wikipedia.org
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Glostats. (2026). Naxalite–Maoist insurgency: Casualties & Timeline (2026). Retrieved October 19, 2026, from https://glostats.com/conflicts/india-naxalite-maoist-insurgency/<a href="https://glostats.com/conflicts/india-naxalite-maoist-insurgency/">Naxalite–Maoist insurgency: Casualties & Timeline (2026)</a> — GlostatsFigures on this page may be quoted, charted or republished as long as the page is credited with a link. Terms · Download the data as CSV · Embed a live counter.
This page summarises publicly available reporting and does not take sides. Casualty and force figures are estimates compiled on 19 October 2026; see each figure's source for its method and date. Page generated 2026-10-19. How this tracker works.