Red Terror or Dead Terror | Ft. Sandeep Unnithan | IOD S3 Ep 10

Inside India’s Fight Against Naxalism | Is This the End of Red Terror? | Ft. Sandeep Unnithan 

In this deep-dive episode of In Our Defence, veteran defence journalist Sandeep Unnithan joins host Dev Goswami to unpack India’s decades-long battle with Left Wing Extremism (LWE) — often called Naxalism or Red Terror — and the recent decisive push to eradicate it by March 2026.

Dev and Sandeep explore the evolution of the Naxal movement from its origins in Naxalbari in 1967 to its spread across India’s infamous “Red Corridor”, and the multi-pronged strategy that has brought the insurgency to its lowest levels in decades.

Key topics include:

The historic neutralisation of CPI (Maoist) General Secretary Basavaraju in Operation Black Forest

The spike in encounters and surrenders in 2024–25

Why counter-insurgency in jungles is as deadly — and complex — as high-tech border warfare.

Why the Indian Army was never deployed against Naxals — and what could have happened if they had.

The role of urban intellectual support in sustaining the movement — and why that’s now faded.

This episode is an eye-opening look at one of India’s longest-running internal conflicts, now seemingly entering its final phase. Tune in.

Produced by Garvit Srivastava

Sound mixed by Rohan Bharti