Government Declares India Effectively Free from Left-Wing Extremism

On 31 March 2026, the Union government declared that India had become effectively free from Left-Wing Extremism, marking fulfilment of a target it had set for eliminating the country’s remaining LWE-affected areas by that date. Government assessments pointed to a sustained reduction in violence, territorial contraction of Maoist influence, security operations, surrenders and expansion of state infrastructure and welfare access in affected districts. The milestone should be read as the government’s formal status assessment rather than a claim that every Maoist organisation, grievance or security risk permanently disappeared; it nevertheless marked a major turning point in a conflict that had shaped internal security policy for decades.