Revision summary
Left Wing Extremism has declined in incidents and affected districts but still holds core forest pockets. SAMADHAN (2017) is the Union's combined doctrine: leadership, force, intelligence, dashboards, holistic development and cutting finance. CRPF/CoBRA, SRE, fortified stations and UAPA form the security track. Special Central Assistance, road plans, Aspirational Districts and Forest Rights work form the development track. Surrender-cum-rehabilitation is the exit door; civilian harm and missing rights can reverse gains.
Model answer
Introduction
Left Wing Extremism (LWE), rooted in the Naxalite movement, still affects pockets of the central Indian tribal belt, even as the number of incidents and affected districts has fallen. The Government of India's line is not only more battalions. It is security plus development plus legitimacy: dominate the forest, build the road and the school, and offer a way out of the dal. SAMADHAN is the 2017 label for that mix.
Body
The challenge that remains
- LWE groups, chiefly the Communist Party of India (Maoist), use forest cover, poor administration and tribal grievance over land, mines and forest rights to run a parallel tax and court.
- Violence has trended down on Ministry of Home Affairs counts, and the map of 'worst-affected' districts has shrunk, but Chhattisgarh, parts of Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra and Bihar still see ambush and IED risk.
- The challenge is therefore residual but sharp: fewer districts, harder core areas, and a political need not to confuse quiet with victory.
Security approach
- SAMADHAN (2017) is the Union mnemonic: Smart leadership, Aggressive strategy, Motivation and training, Actionable intelligence, Dashboard-based key performance indicators, Holistic approach, Action plan for each theatre, and choking No access to financing (extortion and illegal mining).
- Central Armed Police Forces, especially CRPF and specialised units such as CoBRA, support State police; Greyhounds-type State forces remain the local spear.
- Security Related Expenditure (SRE) reimburses States; Special Infrastructure Scheme and fortified police stations fill the camp-and-road gap in interiors.
- Ban under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, action against overground workers, and disruption of arms and IED supply are the legal-kinetic track.
- Civic Action Programme of CAPFs funds small local works so the camp is not only a gun.
Development and rehabilitation
- Road Requirement Plan, mobile towers, banks, hostels and Aspirational Districts (2018) target the same blocks the insurgency used as a vacuum.
- Integrated Action Plan / Special Central Assistance to LWE districts finances school, anganwadi and livelihood gaps that a normal State plan missed.
- ROSHNI and skill programmes, Forest Rights Act implementation, and mining-affected area funds try to cut the recruitment story of dispossession.
- Surrender-cum-rehabilitation policies of the Union and States offer stipend, skill and housing so cadres can exit.
- Intelligence fusion and district action plans are meant to stop a see-saw in which security clears a valley and development never arrives.
Comment
- The downward trend shows the mix can work where the State stays. It fails if roads are built without rights and jobs, or if operations ignore civilian harm and recreate grievance.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD L[LWE residual core] --> S[SAMADHAN security intel finance] L --> D[Roads SCA Aspirational Districts] L --> R[Surrender rehabilitation] S --> Q[Fewer incidents] D --> Q R --> Q
Conclusion
LWE is weaker on the map but alive in core forests. India's approach is SAMADHAN: intelligence-led force, choke on finance, and a development-and-surrender package through SRE, special assistance, roads, Aspirational Districts and rehabilitation. Quiet districts stay quiet only if the school and the title deed follow the camp.
Quick related
Students also ask
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The north-eastern region of India has been infested with insurgency for a very long time. Analyze the major reasons for the survival of armed insurgency in this region.
Next question on this syllabus topic (2017 · Q10). View answer →
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Has LWE ended because numbers fell?
No. The map shrank. Core areas can still stage lethal attacks if the State thins out.
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Is SAMADHAN only a military plan?
No. The H and A also stand for a holistic approach and action plans that include development and choking of finance, not only operations.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
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2025 · Q10 · GS III · 10 marks
The Government of India recently stated that Left Wing Extremism (LWE) will be eliminated by 2026. What do you understand by LWE and how are the people affected by it? What measures have been taken by the government to eliminate LWE? -
2015 · Q19 · GS III · 12 marks
The persisting drives of the government for development of large industries in backward areas have resulted in isolating the tribal population and the farmers who face multiple displacements. With Malkangiri and Naxalbari foci, discuss the corrective strategies needed to win the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) doctrine affected citizens back into mainstream of social and economic growth.
More from this topic
Q19 · UPSC Mains 2025 · GS III · 15 marks
What are the major challenges to internal security and peace process in the North-Eastern States? Map the various peace accords and agreements initiated by the government in the past decade.
Internal Security and Extremism
The Northeast’s security problems mix leftover insurgency, ethnic conflict, drugs, migration and Myanmar-China borders. The 2020 Bodo Accord and 2021 Karbi Accord were the big Assam settlements of the decade. The 2015 Naga framework agreement is still not a final peace. The 2020 Bru-Reang deal and 2023 UNLF pact sit beside Manipur’s 2023 ethnic violence. Assam’s border agreements with Meghalaya and Arunachal tried to quiet inter-State maps.
Q10 · UPSC Mains 2025 · GS III · 10 marks
The Government of India recently stated that Left Wing Extremism (LWE) will be eliminated by 2026. What do you understand by LWE and how are the people affected by it? What measures have been taken by the government to eliminate LWE?
Internal Security and Extremism
Left Wing Extremism in India means the Maoist insurgency centred on central Indian forest-tribal belts. Villagers suffer killings, extortion, closed schools and the crossfire of operations. Official figures show fewer severely affected districts and fewer deaths than at the peak. SAMADHAN combines intelligence, camps, surrenders and connectivity. A 2026 ‘end’ is credible as a shrinking map, not as the death of every idea; development and forest rights decide whether the map stays quiet.
Q20 · UPSC Mains 2023 · GS III · 15 marks
Give out the major sources of terror funding in India and efforts being made to curtail these sources. In the light of this, also discuss the aim and objective of the ' No Money for Terror [NMFT]' Conference recently held at New Delhi in November 2022.
Internal Security and Extremism
Major sources are overseas patronage, hawala, narcotics, counterfeit notes, extortion, misuse of non-profits, and emerging crypto rails. India uses UAPA, PMLA, NIA, FIU-IND, FCRA, narcotics and fake-currency drives, and FATF standards. The No Money for Terror conference in New Delhi in November 2022 was the third ministerial on terror finance. Its aim was joint investigation, freezing, and no safe haven for financiers, including new payment tech. International cooperation is required because the money chain is rarely inside one country.
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