New Delhi, Oct 13 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah had set a deadline of March 2026 for the end of the Maoist movement in India. While there are a couple of months to go for this deadline, security officials are confident that the menace may end before it.

A clear sign that the movement is on the decline can be seen from the letter written by the 70-year-old Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Sonu, who is a top Maoist leader. He publicly sought the cessation of armed struggle to save the CPI-Maoist.

While it is unclear whether he has support from all the ranks regarding this offer, one message is clear, and that is the end of the movement which began in 1967 is set to end soon.

Rao, from his underground base, had apologised to all those who are part of the movement and said that it is time to change according to the circumstances.

The Narendra Modi government has, however, stuck to its stand that there will be no negotiations.

Union Home Minister Shah, who is overseeing these operations, says that the only option is to surrender or be killed in an encounter.

An official, who is part of devising the strategy against Maoists, said that when the letter from Rao first surfaced, there were discussions about how to go forward. However, the government was clear that such tactics have been used in the past, and this time around, the security forces are not going to bite the bait.

During earlier times, Maoists would call for talks with the government when they suffered setbacks. This gave them time to recoup, and the governments in the past would realise that they had been fooled.

Security analysts say that the Maoists this time around misread the situation. When the Narendra Modi government took over in 2014, many, including the Maoists, thought that it would not last too long. The Maoists, who fought a fierce battle, only began taking the government seriously when it came back to power in 2019. Since then, the battle against the Maoists has been a fierce one. The government not just used men and firepower to tackle the menace, but invested heavily in development. This changed the mindset of the locals, and they stopped being the eyes and ears of the Maoists.

This was one of the biggest setbacks for the Maoist movement, and one can see how fast they are crumbling today. Officials say that they expect Bastar, the last Maoist fortress, to fall soon.

"We believe that Rao is hiding there, and his letter sends a clear message that the movement is on its last leg," the official also noted.

Another official added that the Maoists have seen several governments in the past. There has always been a give-and-take approach when it came to dealing with this menace. However, this time around, the approach has been entirely different, and the government has not given in.

When the Modi government first came to power, it was clear that there would be a zero-tolerance policy on terror. The same applied to the Maoist movement as well, and the analysts made it clear that this threat was worse than what was posed by terrorism from Pakistan. Since then, a strategy had been worked out to end this menace.

An Intelligence Bureau official says that the Maoists have tired out. They are just holding on for the sake of pride. Rao's letter clearly indicates that they are out of steam. The communication was one last-ditch attempt by the Maoists to save themselves and their party. The government is, however, in no mood to negotiate so that the movement co-exists in the ecosystem.

The Home Minister has made it clear that he wants nothing else but an end to the movement. This could only be achieved through force or a peaceful surrender. The question of any negotiation does not exist, and this is the approach that security forces believe will end the movement much before the said deadline set by Amit Shah.

/IANS