DC Edit | Devji’s Surrender Huge Blow to India’s Naxals

The surrender of Thippiri Tirupati alias Devji, one of the most senior strategists in the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist), who was widely expected to succeed the late general secretary Basavaraju, to the Telangana police is one of the defining moments in India’s decades-long counter-insurgency operations.

Devji’s surrender is far more than the simple loss of a commander. It is a symbolic and strategic blow to the command structure of Maoist extremism in the country and helps the Central government achieve its March 31, 2026, deadline to eliminate Left Wing Extremism in the country.

Others who surrendered to the police were central committee member Malla Raji Reddy alias Sangram; Bade Chokka Rao alias Damodar, Telangana committee secretary; and Nune Narsimha Reddy alias Ganganna, state committee member. Devji and Sangram carried rewards of Rs 25 lakh each, and Damodar and Ganganna Rs 20 lakh each.

For over half a century, Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) has been India’s longest-running internal security challenge, which was fomented by deep-rooted social inequalities and sustained by a mix of ideology and rural grievances. However, Maoism soon lost its ideological moorings, and the two-pronged efforts by successive governments — involving welfare policies and developmental work — steadily weakened its allure before the rural masses.

There have been no new recruitments to the outlawed party since 2019. The Maoists received a deadly blow in Karregutta when a 21-day hi-tech security operation, one of the largest ever in the country, dismantled their last stronghold in 2025. The national flag was raised for the first time after several decades in the erstwhile bastions of the Maoists on Independence Day 2025.

Over the last year alone, hundreds of Maoist cadres have either surrendered or been neutralised, reducing the active fighting force to a shadow of its former strength. According to Telangana director-general of police (DGP) Shivadhar Reddy, only 11 Maoist leaders from the state are still active in Maoist operations — a steep fall for a state that led Naxalism in the 1980s and 1990s.

It is important to note that the Maoist decline is not merely a product of battlefield reversals. Defectors have pointed to growing disillusionment within the ranks, which has eroded the ideological allure of armed struggle. The end of Left-Wing Extremism offers a rare opportunity to rebuild areas and societies that were beyond the reach of official mechanisms and erase even faint memories of Maoism from people’s minds.

Going by the trend, Maoism could be eliminated by the March 31 deadline. However, the moment of triumph should not make politicians complacent. There is a tendency among some politicians to dismiss widening income inequalities in India — an approach that is patently wrong. Income equality does not mean socialism or the end of entrepreneurship.

As long as people at all levels benefit from the country’s economic growth, no insurgency will take root. But if people feel deprived of the fruits of growth or the voices of resentment are stifled, extremist tendencies could germinate once again. The ruling classes must be watchful against old mistakes being repeated.