New Delhi, Jan 26 : As India marked the 77th year of its Republic, an old insurgency that once threatened to fracture the countryâ??s internal security architecture showed unmistakable signs of collapse.

Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), rooted in the Maoist insurgency that erupted in Naxalbari in 1967, has for decades tested the endurance of Indian democracy.

In 2025, however, a sequence of decisive security operations combined with unprecedented mass surrenders revealed something deeper than battlefield success: the strengthening of institutions and the reassertion of constitutional authority in regions long governed by fear.

The Year the Maoist Command Structure Cracked

The turning point came not through a single operation, but a sustained campaign that methodically dismantled the Maoist leadership.

On 21 May 2025, deep inside the Abujhmad forests, security forces eliminated Basavaraju, the Supreme Commander of the CPI (Maoist), carrying a Rs 1.5 crore bounty.

For decades, Basavaraju had been the strategic brain behind Maoist expansion, arms procurement, and large-scale ambushes. His death was widely seen as the collapse of the organisationâ??s apex command, comparable to the neutralisation of top insurgent leaders in other global counter-insurgency theatres.

What followed was a rapid unravelling. On 11 September 2025, in Gariaband, ten Maoists were killed in a single operation, including Modem Bala Krishna, a Central Committee member active since 1983 and one of the last surviving ideological architects of the movement.

His death marked not just a tactical win, but the erosion of doctrinal continuity within Maoist ranks.

The blows intensified in November. On 12 September 2025, another senior commander with a Rs 1 crore bounty was neutralised in Bijapur.

Two months later, on 11 November, six Maoists were killed in the same region, with security forces recovering an INSAS rifle and high-grade explosives - evidence that large-scale attacks were imminent but thwarted in time.

The most symbolic moment came on 18 November 2025, in Andhra Pradeshâ??s Alluri Sitharama Raju district, when Madvi Hidma was killed along with five others. Hidma, carrying a Rs 1 crore bounty, was the mastermind behind 26 deadly attacks, including the 2010 Dantewada ambush that killed 76 CRPF personnel.

His elimination closed a grim chapter that had haunted Indiaâ??s security forces for over a decade.

Surrenders as Strategy, Not Spectacle

Yet the real story of 2025 lies not only in encounters but in the quiet, almost unprecedented wave of surrenders.

Counter-insurgency experts have long argued that durable peace is achieved when armed movements lose legitimacy among their own cadres (Kalyanaraman, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 2022). That theory played out vividly across Bastar and its adjoining districts.

On 3 October 2025, Bijapur witnessed a record-breaking surrender as 103 Naxalites laid down arms.

The cumulative figures were staggering: since January 2024, 924 were arrested, 599 surrendered, and 195 neutralised in Bijapur alone. That this occurred in Bastar - the ideological birthplace of Naxalism - underscored the depth of the collapse.

The momentum continued. On 14 October, in Gadchiroli, top leader Bhupathi, also known as Sonu, surrendered along with nearly 60 cadres, handing over 54 weapons.

On 29 October, in Kanker, 21 insurgents surrendered with 18 weapons, receiving copies of the Indian Constitution from authorities - a symbolic but powerful gesture of reintegration into the democratic framework.

The following day, 51 Maoists surrendered in Bijapur, including 20 with bounties totalling Rs 66 lakh.

Perhaps the most telling moment came on 24 September 2025, when 71 Maoists surrendered in Dantewada under the Lon Varratu and Puna Margem rehabilitation programmes.

Beyond the numbers, the state offered Rs 50,000 in immediate assistance, skill training, and land support, signalling that surrender was not merely an end to violence, but the beginning of livelihood security (Government of Chhattisgarh, Rehabilitation Framework, 2024).

Institutions Over Insurgency

These developments did not occur in a vacuum. They reflect a decade-long recalibration of Indiaâ??s LWE strategy, shifting from reactive militarisation to integrated governance.

The expansion of road networks, mobile connectivity, and welfare delivery in previously inaccessible areas weakened the Maoistsâ?? ability to control information and movement.

Security forces, meanwhile, improved intelligence coordination and reduced collateral damage - an essential factor in winning civilian trust.

Crucially, institutional credibility replaced coercive dominance. When surrendered cadres were handed the Constitution in Kanker, it reinforced the idea that the stateâ??s authority flows from law, not the barrel of a gun.

This symbolism matters in regions where Maoists long portrayed the Indian state as an alien force. By restoring schools, healthcare centres, and local governance mechanisms, the state undercut the insurgencyâ??s core narrative of perpetual exploitation.

A Republic Tested, a Republic Strengthened

At 77, Indiaâ??s battle against Left-Wing Terrorism offers a broader lesson about democratic resilience. Insurgencies rarely end with a final shot; they dissolve when institutions prove more persuasive than violence.

The deaths of figures like Basavaraju and Hidma closed an era of fear, but the mass surrenders signalled something more profound: the exhaustion of an armed ideology in the face of a functioning republic.

This does not mean complacency is warranted. History shows that insurgent movements can mutate if grievances remain unaddressed.

Yet, the year 2025 demonstrated that Indiaâ??s institutions - security forces, civil administration, and constitutional frameworks - can adapt without abandoning democratic norms.

As India looks ahead, the quiet dismantling of Maoist power stands as a reminder that national strength is not measured only by territorial integrity, but by the ability to reclaim citizens once lost to violence.

In the forests of Bastar, the sound of gunfire gave way, finally, to the possibility of peace - and to the enduring promise of the Republic itself.

(Zahack Tanvir, founder and editor of Milli Chronicle Media (UK), is an analyst and geopolitical commentator. He frequently appears on Indian and international media, offering insights on the Middle East, extremism, and the politics of South Asia. He tweets under @ZahackTanvir.)

/IANS