New Delhi: Left-wing extremism in India has suffered a massive setback following the killing of dreaded Maoist commander Madvi Hidma – the mastermind behind several deadly attacks and a symbol of red terror – in a fierce encounter on Monday, marking one of the most successful anti-Naxal operations till date.
The joint operation by Andhra Pradesh’s elite Greyhounds force and local police unfolded in the dense forests along the Andhra Pradesh-Chhattisgarh-Odisha tri-junction, where security forces neutralised Hidma, a top leader carrying a huge bounty. But what fuels this decades-old insurgency? Experts clarify that while often used interchangeably, naxalism and Maoism are not identical. Naxalism began as a peasant uprising in 1967 in West Bengal’s Naxalbari village. It was sparked by landless farmers revolting against feudal exploitation, high rents and social injustice under leaders like Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal.
Maoism, however, is the ideological engine – drawn from Chinese leader Mao Zedong’s doctrine of protracted armed struggle to seize state power through guerrilla warfare. After the 1967 CPI(M) split, the radical faction embraced Maoism, transforming the movement from socio-economic demands into a full-scale war against the Indian state.
Their signature methods remain chillingly ruthless: improvised explosive device (IED) blasts, lightning ambushes on security forces, looting arms, running kangaroo courts called ‘jan adalats’, and terrorising villagers to establish liberated zones. Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and bordering areas continue to bear the brunt.
Hidma’s elimination is hailed as a body blow to the CPI (Maoist), signalling the shrinking corridor of red terror.