On May 21, 2025, Indian security forces achieved one of the most significant victories in the long and arduous counterinsurgency campaign against Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) by eliminating Nambala Keshava Rao, better known by his alias Basavaraju. As the General Secretary and de facto military commander of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), Basavaraju's death marks not just the end of a man but potentially the collapse of a militant ideology that has haunted India's hinterlands for over five decades.
The Rise of Maoism in India: Origins and Spread
To understand the significance of Basavaraju’s elimination, one must revisit the ideological and historical foundations of the Naxalite movement. The movement originated in 1967 in Naxalbari, a village in West Bengal, when a group of armed peasants led by Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal launched a violent uprising against feudal landowners. Inspired by Mao Zedong’s revolutionary principles of protracted people’s war, the Naxalites believed in overthrowing the Indian State through armed struggle.
Throughout the 1970s and ’80s, the movement evolved, fractured, and regrouped. By 2004, two major groups — the People’s War Group and the Maoist Communist Centre of India — merged to form the CPI (Maoist), giving the insurgency a unified command. At its height, the group operated across the so-called “Red Corridor” spanning Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Bihar.
Who Was Basavaraju? From Engineer to Extremist Commander
Nambala Keshava Rao was born in 1955 in Jiyannapet, Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, into a modest family. A bright student, he pursued electrical engineering at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Warangal. Despite his promising future, Keshava Rao was deeply influenced by the social inequalities and agrarian injustices he witnessed during his formative years.
He joined the CPI (ML) in the 1970s and later gravitated toward the People’s War Group, bringing with him a rare combination of ideological zeal and technical proficiency. His knowledge of engineering made him instrumental in developing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and training cadres in guerrilla warfare tactics. Reports suggest he also underwent specialized training with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), acquiring advanced jungle warfare techniques.
Basavaraju rose through the ranks quickly. Known for his austere lifestyle, strategic brilliance, and ruthless operational planning, he became Chief of the Central Military Commission of CPI (Maoist), and after Ganapathy stepped down in 2018, he took over as the General Secretary.
Maoist Atrocities Under Basavaraju’s Leadership
Under his command, the Maoist movement intensified its attacks, most notably:
1. The 2010 Dantewada Massacre: On April 6, 2010, in one of the bloodiest ambushes in Indian counterinsurgency history, 76 CRPF personnel were killed by over 300 Maoists in Chhattisgarh. The attack shocked the nation and forced a strategic rethink.
2. The 2013 Jheeram Ghati Attack: On May 25, a convoy of Congress leaders campaigning in Chhattisgarh was ambushed in Sukma district. Over 27 people, including senior leaders Mahendra Karma and Nand Kumar Patel, were brutally killed.
3. The 2021 Sukma-Bijapur Ambush: On April 3, over 400 Maoists launched a surprise attack, killing 22 security personnel and injuring 31. This was among the most coordinated ambushes in recent years and displayed the group’s enduring lethality.
Each of these incidents bore Basavaraju’s signature: careful planning, exploitation of terrain, psychological warfare, and propaganda value.
Operation Kagar and Operation Black Forest: Turning the Tide
In response to repeated atrocities, the Indian state, both at the central and state levels, recalibrated its strategy.
Operation Kagar, launched in early 2024, was the most ambitious counter-Maoist campaign ever undertaken. It involved:
Deployment of over 100,000 personnel from CRPF, CoBRA, DRG, and state police.
Integration of satellite surveillance and drone intelligence.
Strategic construction of forward operating bases (FOBs) in core Maoist areas.
Civic engagement initiatives to break the support base of Maoists.
Operation Black Forest, launched in early 2025, targeted the Kurraguttalu Hills — the heart of the Maoist command center. The 21-day high-intensity mission led to the neutralization of 47 top Maoist commanders and destruction of several weapon factories, food storage camps, and propaganda units.
It was during the second phase of this operation that Basavaraju and 26 others were killed in a 50-hour gun battle in Abujhmad — one of the last Maoist bastions.
External Support and Foreign Influence
While there is little direct evidence of ongoing foreign state support, intelligence agencies have long speculated about sporadic links between Maoists and international leftist groups. Training modules allegedly borrowed from LTTE and coordination with other South Asian Maoist groups suggest at least a regional ideological exchange.
Some reports even hinted at arms procurement routes through Myanmar and possible financing via illegal mining and extortion. However, increasing intelligence penetration has choked these channels.
Decline of the Movement: A Tale of Internal Cracks and External Pressure
The decline of the Maoist movement is attributable to multiple converging factors:
Leadership decimation: Over 90% of the original Politburo has been neutralized or arrested.
Ideological erosion: With newer generations disconnected from the original vision, the movement increasingly relies on coercion rather than volunteerism.
Loss of popular support: Villagers once sympathetic now view Maoists as oppressive forces obstructing development.
Effective governance: Flagship government schemes like PMGSY (rural roads), Jan Dhan Yojana, and electrification have reached deep into previously neglected areas.
The number of LWE-affected districts has dropped from 106 in 2010 to just 6 in 2025. Annual fatalities due to Maoist violence have decreased by over 85% in the last decade.
The Human Cost and the Road to Healing
Despite strategic victories, the insurgency has left scars. Thousands of civilians, tribals, and security personnel have died. Villages have been displaced. Infrastructure has been destroyed.
Healing will require more than roads and schools. It demands sustained psychological counseling, community reconciliation programs, and proactive measures to reintegrate surrendered militants. The government has ramped up its Surrender and Rehabilitation Policy, offering education, employment, and housing support to those who lay down arms.
Is This the End? A Tentative Prognosis
Chhattisgarh’s Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai called Basavaraju’s death “the last nail in Maoism’s coffin.” While celebratory, such declarations must be tempered with caution.
Insurgencies rarely die immediately. They fade through a combination of military suppression, ideological atrophy, and socio-economic upliftment. Though militarily decapitated, the Maoist movement retains some dormant cells in Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Odisha.
Experts warn against complacency. “History teaches us that insurgencies adapt. We must not just kill the ideology; we must outgovern it,” says former BSF chief Prakash Mishra.
Conclusion: The Lessons of Basavaraju’s Fall
The story of Basavaraju — an engineer who became a guerrilla general — is also the story of a nation grappling with the fault lines of inequality, governance gaps, and ideological conflict.
His death is a victory. But a fuller triumph will only come when tribal children walk to school without fear, when development outpaces destruction, and when the idea of India outshines the call of armed revolution.
