Red corridor designates the districts of India which have the presence and influence of Naxalites. As of March 2025, the corridor encompasses 18 districts across seven states, predominantly in Central and East India.
History
The Naxalite–Maoist insurgency is part of an ongoing conflict between left-wing extremist groups and the Indian government.[1] 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.[2] The faction splintered into various groups supportive of Maoist ideology, claiming to fight a rural rebellion and people's war against the government.[3][4] Naxalite organisations and groups have been declared as terrorist organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of India (1967).[5][6]
Red corridor
The influence zone of the Naxalites is called the red corridor.[7][8] The armed wing of the Maoists is called the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army,[9][10] which has conducted multiple attacks on the security forces and government workers in the corridor.[11]
Socio-economic conditions
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.[12][13] 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 not owning lands.[14][15] 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.[16][17] While the region has significant natural resources,[18] tribal communities participated in Naxalism probably as a means of push back against the state, including the usage of land for resource extraction.[19][20][21]
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.[22] 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.[23] The Indian government states that the Naxalites prevent the common people from access to public services.[24][25]
Affected districts
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.[26] As of April 2024, 38 districts across nine states are affected by Naxalist extremism.[27] In March 2025, the Home Minister informed Parliament that Naxalism was mostly limited to 18 districts of which six of them were classified as 'most affected'.[28] The corridor is largely spread across areas of Central and East India.[29][30][31]
| State | No. of districts in the state | No. of districts severely affected | No. of districts affected | Districts affected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chhattisgarh | 28 | 4 | 7 | Severe: Bijapur, Kanker, Narayanpur, Sukma Moderate: Dantewada, Gariyaband, Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki |
| Jharkhand | 24 | 1 | 2 | Severe: West Singhbhum Moderate: Latehar |
| Maharashtra | 36 | 1 | 1 | Severe: Gadchiroli |
| Andhra Pradesh | 26 | 0 | 1 | Marginal: Alluri Sitarama Raju |
| Madhya Pradesh | 55 | 0 | 1 | Marginal: Balaghat |
| Odisha | 30 | 0 | 4 | Moderate: Nuapada Marginal: Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Malkangiri |
| Telangana | 33 | 0 | 2 | Moderate: Mulugu Marginal: Bhadradri Kothagudem |
| Total | 232 | 6 | 18 |
See also
- 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
References
- ^ "India's Naxalites: A spectre haunting India". The Economist. 12 April 2006. Archived from the original on 23 May 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- ^ "History of Naxalism". The Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Communists Fight in India « Notes & Commentaries". Mccaine.org. 24 June 2009. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- ^ Agarwal, Ajay. "Revelations from the red corridor". Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
- ^ "Maoist Communist Centre – Extremism, India". South Asia Terrorism Portal. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- ^ "People's War Group – Extremism, India". South Asia Terrorism Portal. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- ^ Bhattacharjee, Sumit (26 June 2021). "When Greyhounds struck in Andhra Pradesh's fading red zone". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ "Naxal affected Districts" (PDF). Government of India. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
- ^ "Conflict Encyclopedia, India: government, Government of India – CPI-Maoist, Actor Information, CPI-Maoists". Uppsala Conflict Data Program. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
- ^ "Primer: Who are the Naxalites?: Rediff.com news". Rediff. Archived from the original on 4 May 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- ^ "Maoist attacks kill Indian police". Al Jazeera. 15 March 2007. Archived from the original on 13 July 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- ^ "Subnational HDI (v8.0): India". Global data lab. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
- ^ "Handbook of Statistics on Indian Economy. Table 154 : Number and Percentage of Population Below Poverty Line. (2011-12)". Reserve Bank of India. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ 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 ...
- ^ E.N. Rammohan (16 July 2012). "Unleash The Good Force". Outlook. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
- ^ 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 ...
- ^ "Forbes India: Orissa's war over minerals". IBNLive. Archived from the original on 4 July 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
- ^ Debal K. SinghaRoy, "Peasant Movements in Post-colonial India: Dynamics of Mobilization and Identity", Sage Publications, 2004, ISBN 0-7619-9826-8.
- ^ Loyd, Anthony (2015). "India's insurgency". National Geographic (April): 84. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
- ^ Shifting perspectives in tribal studies : from an anthropological approach to interdisciplinarity and consilience. Behera, M. C., 1959. Singapore. 25 June 2019. ISBN 978-9-811-38090-7. OCLC 1105928010.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Shah, Alpa (1 August 2013). "The intimacy of insurgency: beyond coercion, greed or grievance in Maoist India". Economy and Society. 42 (3): 480–506. doi:10.1080/03085147.2013.783662. ISSN 0308-5147. S2CID 143716444.
- ^ Walia, H.S. (25 April 2018). "The Naxal Quagmire in Bihar & Jharkhand – Genesis & Sustenance". Learning Community. 9 (1). doi:10.30954/2231-458X.01.2018.7.
- ^ Dandekar, Ajay; Choudhury, Chitrangada (January 2010). "PESA, Left-Wing Extremism and Governance: Concerns and Challenges in India's Tribal Districts".
- ^ Banerjee, Kaustav; Saha, Partha (10 July 2010). "The NREGA, the Maoists and the Developmental Woes of the Indian State". Economic and Political Weekly. 45 (28): 42–47. Archived from the original on 23 June 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- ^ "Naxal Problem needs a holistic approach". Press Information Bureau. Archived from the original on 8 September 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
- ^ "Naxal affected Districts". Government of India. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ a b "'Most affected' Naxal districts down to just six from 12: Amit Shah". Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ "Armed revolt in the Red Corridor". Mondiaal Nieuws, Belgium. 25 June 2008. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
- ^ "Women take up guns in India's red corridor". The Asian Pacific Post. 9 June 2008. Archived from the original on 22 June 2006. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
- ^ "Rising Maoists Insurgency in India". Global Politician. 13 May 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
- ^ "Naxalmukt Bharat Abhiyan: From Red Zones to Growth Corridors". Press Information Bureau (Press release). 10 April 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
