Red corridor

The Naxalite–Maoist insurgency is part of an ongoing conflict between Left-wing extremist groups and the Indian government.{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7799247 |title=India's Naxalites: A spectre haunting India |newspaper=The Economist |date=12 April 2006 |access-date=13 July 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523074605/http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7799247 |archive-date=23 May 2010 }} The insurgency started after the 1967 Naxalbari uprising and the subsequent split of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leading to the creation of a Marxist–Leninist faction.{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/history-of-naxalism/story-4f1rZukARGYn3qHOqDMEbM.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814222816/http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/history-of-naxalism/story-4f1rZukARGYn3qHOqDMEbM.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 August 2016|title=History of Naxalism|work=The Hindustan Times|access-date=1 June 2024}} The faction splintered into various groups supportive of Maoist ideology, claiming to fight a rural rebellion and people's war against the government.{{cite web |url=http://mccaine.org/2009/06/24/communists-fight-in-india/ |title=Communists Fight in India « Notes & Commentaries |date=24 June 2009 |work=Mccaine.org |access-date=13 July 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727073230/http://mccaine.org/2009/06/24/communists-fight-in-india/ |archive-date=27 July 2011}}{{cite web|last=Agarwal|first=Ajay|title=Revelations from the red corridor|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/Map/Revelations-from-the-red-corridor/Article1-847288.aspx|access-date=27 April 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120054203/http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/Map/Revelations-from-the-red-corridor/Article1-847288.aspx|archive-date=20 January 2013}} Naxalite organisations and groups have been declared as terrorist organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of India (1967).{{cite web|url=http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/maoist/terrorist_outfits/Janashakti.htm|title=Maoist Communist Centre – Extremism, India|work=South Asia Terrorism Portal|access-date=1 April 2015|archive-date=26 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426151124/https://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/maoist/terrorist_outfits/Janashakti.htm|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/maoist/terrorist_outfits/PWG.htm|title=People's War Group – Extremism, India|work=South Asia Terrorism Portal|access-date=1 April 2015|archive-date=25 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125074700/https://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/maoist/terrorist_outfits/PWG.htm|url-status=live}}

The influence zone of the Naxalites is called the red corridor.{{cite news|last=Bhattacharjee|first=Sumit|date=26 June 2021|title=When Greyhounds struck in Andhra Pradesh's fading red zone|newspaper=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/when-greyhounds-struck-in-andhra-pradeshs-fading-red-zone/article34979972.ece|access-date=19 November 2021|issn=0971-751X|archive-date=19 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119064558/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/when-greyhounds-struck-in-andhra-pradeshs-fading-red-zone/article34979972.ece|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title= Naxal affected Districts|url=https://crpf.gov.in/writereaddata/images/pdf/815072021.pdf|work=Government of India|access-date=1 July 2021}} The armed wing of the Maoists is called the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army,{{cite web|work=Uppsala Conflict Data Program|title=Conflict Encyclopedia, India: government, Government of India – CPI-Maoist, Actor Information, CPI-Maoists|access-date=29 May 2013|url=http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=74®ionSelect=6-Central_and_Southern_Asia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203162633/http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=74®ionSelect=6-Central_and_Southern_Asia |archive-date=3 February 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://us.rediff.com/news/2003/oct/02spec.htm |title=Primer: Who are the Naxalites?: Rediff.com news |work=Rediff |access-date=13 July 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504151532/http://us.rediff.com/news/2003/oct/02spec.htm |archive-date=4 May 2009 }} which has conducted multiple attacks on the security forces and government workers in the corridor.{{cite news|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/07/200971214640798718.html |title=Maoist attacks kill Indian police |work=Al Jazeera |date=15 March 2007 |access-date=13 July 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713012830/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/07/200971214640798718.html |archive-date=13 July 2009}}

Some of the states that form a major part of the red corridor such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha have a low Human Development Index and a high poverty rate.{{cite web |title=Subnational HDI (v8.0): India |url=https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/table/shdi/IND/?levels=1+4&interpolation=0&extrapolation=0 |work=Global data lab|access-date=13 October 2024}}{{Cite web|title=Handbook of Statistics on Indian Economy. Table 154 : Number and Percentage of Population Below Poverty Line. (2011-12)|url=https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/PublicationsView.aspx?id=19887|access-date=13 September 2021|work=Reserve Bank of India}} The key characteristic of these regions is that these regions are overpopulated and solely dependent on the primary sector activities such as agriculture, with the majority of the population does not own lands.Fernando Franco, "Pain and Awakening: The Dynamics of Dalit Identity in Bihar, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh", Indian Social Institute, 2002, {{ISBN|81-87218-46-0}}. ... Land deprivation is the major cause of mass poverty especially in view of the low level of economic diversification in rural areas. Amongst all major states, Bihar has the second highest proportion (55 per cent) of landless or quasi-landless households in the rural population ...Dietmar Rothermund, "An Economic History of India: From Pre-colonial Times to 1991", Routledge, 1993, {{ISBN|0-415-08871-2}}. Snippet: ... Eastern India has been bypassed by the 'Green revolution' to a great extent ... Instead of urbanization, we can find rural areas with an amazing degree of overpopulation ... The Maoist movement began in the late 1960s as a conflict between the tribal peasants and the land owners, which was attributed to the lack of tribal autonomy with respect to natural resources on their lands, and land ownership.{{cite web|author=E.N. Rammohan|date=16 July 2012|title=Unleash The Good Force|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/unleash-the-good-force/281554|access-date=26 April 2017|work=Outlook|archive-date=3 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803125945/https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/unleash-the-good-force/281554|url-status=live}}Magnus Öberg, Kaare Strøm, "Resources, Governance and Civil Conflict", Routledge, 2008, {{ISBN|0-415-41671-X}}. Snippet: ... the general consensus is that the insurgency was started to address various economic and social injustices related to highly skewed distributions of cropland ... While the region has significant natural resources,{{cite web|url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/forbes-india-industry-vs-tribals-in-battleground-orissa/96185-3.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090704050749/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/forbes-india-industry-vs-tribals-in-battleground-orissa/96185-3.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 July 2009|title=Forbes India: Orissa's war over minerals|work=IBNLive|access-date=1 April 2015}} tribal communities participated in Naxalism probably as a means of push back against the state, including the usage of land for resource extraction.Debal K. SinghaRoy, "Peasant Movements in Post-colonial India: Dynamics of Mobilization and Identity", Sage Publications, 2004, {{ISBN|0-7619-9826-8}}.{{cite journal |first=Anthony |last=Loyd |year=2015 |title=India's insurgency |journal=National Geographic |issue=April |pages=84 |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2015/04/india-coal-conflict-minerals-maoist-insurgency/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314104526/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2015/04/india-coal-conflict-minerals-maoist-insurgency/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 March 2018 |access-date=13 March 2018 }}{{cite book|title=Shifting perspectives in tribal studies : from an anthropological approach to interdisciplinarity and consilience|date=25 June 2019|others=Behera, M. C., 1959|isbn=978-9-811-38090-7|location=Singapore|oclc=1105928010}}

Impoverished areas with no electricity, running water, or poor healthcare provided by the state probably accepted social services from Naxalite groups, and gave their support to the Naxal cause in return.{{cite journal|last=Shah|first=Alpa|date=2013-08-01|title=The intimacy of insurgency: beyond coercion, greed or grievance in Maoist India|journal=Economy and Society|volume=42|issue=3|pages=480–506|doi=10.1080/03085147.2013.783662|issn=0308-5147|s2cid=143716444}} The state's absence allowed the Naxalites to become the legitimate authority in these areas by performing state-like functions, including enacting policies of redistribution and building infrastructure for irrigation.{{cite journal|last=Walia|first=H.S.|date=2018-04-25|title=The Naxal Quagmire in Bihar & Jharkhand – Genesis & Sustenance|journal=Learning Community|volume=9|issue=1|doi=10.30954/2231-458X.01.2018.7|doi-access=free}} The Indian government states that the Naxalites prevent the common people from access to public services.{{cite web|last1=Dandekar |first1=Ajay |last2=Choudhury |first2=Chitrangada |date=January 2010 |title=PESA, Left-Wing Extremism and Governance: Concerns and Challenges in India's Tribal Districts |url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265000754}}{{cite journal |last1=Banerjee |first1=Kaustav |author1-link=Kaustav Banerjee |last2=Saha |first2=Partha |date=10 July 2010 |title=The NREGA, the Maoists and the Developmental Woes of the Indian State |url=https://www.epw.in/journal/2010/28/perspectives/nrega-maoists-and-developmental-woes-indian-state.html |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=45 |issue=28 |pages=42–47 |access-date=23 June 2023 |archive-date=23 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230623201849/https://www.epw.in/journal/2010/28/perspectives/nrega-maoists-and-developmental-woes-indian-state.html |url-status=live }}

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The insurgency reached its peak in the late 2000s with almost 180 affected districts and has been on the decline since then due to the counter-insurgency actions and development plans formulated by the Government.{{cite web|url=http://www.pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=50833|title=Naxal Problem needs a holistic approach|work=Press Information Bureau|access-date=8 August 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090908173208/http://www.pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=50833|archive-date=8 September 2009|df=dmy-all}} As of April 2024, 38 districts across nine states are affected by Naxalist extremism.{{cite web|title=Naxal affected Districts|url=https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2042128|work=Government of India|access-date=1 October 2024}} In March 2025, the home minister informed the parliament that the naxalism was mostly limited to 18 districts of which six of them were classified as 'most affected'.{{cite web|title= 'Most affected' Naxal districts down to just six from 12: Amit Shah|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/most-affected-naxal-districts-down-to-just-six-from-12-amit-shah/articleshow/119888805.cms|access-date= 2 April 2025}} The corridor is largely spread across areas of Central and East India.{{cite web |url=http://www.mo.be/index.php?id=61&no_cache=0&tx_uwnews_pi2%5Bart_id%5D=21704 |title=Armed revolt in the Red Corridor |publisher=Mondiaal Nieuws, Belgium |date=25 June 2008 |access-date=17 October 2008 |archive-date=22 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722224433/http://www.mo.be/node/18076 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.asianpacificpost.com/portal2/ff8080810ba5e679010bbae9487b017f_Indian_woman_red_fighter.do.html |title=Women take up guns in India's red corridor |work=The Asian Pacific Post|date=9 June 2008 |access-date=17 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060622224400/http://www.asianpacificpost.com/portal2/ff8080810ba5e679010bbae9487b017f_Indian_woman_red_fighter.do.html |archive-date=22 June 2006 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpolitician.com/22790-india |title=Rising Maoists Insurgency in India |publisher=Global Politician |date=13 May 2007 |access-date=17 October 2008}}

{{Table alignment}}

• List of Naxalite and Maoist groups in India
• List of terrorist incidents in India
• Revolutionary base area
• Separatist movements of India
• Terrorism in India
• Timeline of the Naxalite-Maoist insurgency

{{reflist}}

{{coord missing|India}}

{{Naxalite-Maoist insurgency}}

Category:Communist Party of India (Maoist)

Category:Regions of India

Category:Maoism in India

Category:Naxalite–Maoist insurgency

Category:Mining in India