For nearly 60 years, the writ of Left-Wing Extremism held sway over 182 districts—spreading across 10 states of India. After sustained action, which accelerated in the last decade, India has broken the back of Naxalism, which was birthed in 1967 in Naxalbari in West Bengal.
As on 1 April, as Home Minister Amit Shah informed Parliament, presence of Naxalites had shrunk to a few districts of Chhattisgarh. How was this battle won? More importantly, does this signal a new dawn for this large swathe of India, which is also mineral rich?
To answer all this and more, StratNewsGlobal.Tech spoke to Vijay Kumar, the highly decorated officer from the Indian Police Service (IPS) who was deeply involved in anti-Naxal operations. Kumar was also the leader of the delegation that eliminated Veerappan, the notorious bandit who had till then successfully eluded authorities for decades.
