Red corridor

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title: "Red corridor" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["communist-party-of-india-(maoist)", "regions-of-india", "maoism-in-india", "naxalite–maoist-insurgency", "mining-in-india"] description: "Region in eastern India that experiences considerable left-wing extremist violence" topic_path: "geography/india" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_corridor" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Region in eastern India that experiences considerable left-wing extremist violence ::

Red corridor designates the districts of India which have the presence and influence of Naxalites. As of March 2025, the corridor encompasses 18 districts across seven states, predominantly in Central and East India.

History

The Naxalite–Maoist insurgency is part of an ongoing conflict between left-wing extremist groups and the Indian government. The insurgency started after the 1967 Naxalbari uprising and the subsequent split of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leading to the creation of a Marxist–Leninist faction. The faction splintered into various groups supportive of Maoist ideology, claiming to fight a rural rebellion and people's war against the government. Naxalite organisations and groups have been declared as terrorist organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of India (1967).

Red corridor

The influence zone of the Naxalites is called the red corridor. The armed wing of the Maoists is called the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army, which has conducted multiple attacks on the security forces and government workers in the corridor.

Socio-economic conditions

Some of the states that form a major part of the red corridor such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha have a low Human Development Index and a high poverty rate. The key characteristic of these regions is that these regions are overpopulated and solely dependent on the primary sector activities such as agriculture, with the majority of the population not owning lands. The Maoist movement began in the late 1960s as a conflict between the tribal peasants and the land owners, which was attributed to the lack of tribal autonomy with respect to natural resources on their lands, and land ownership. While the region has significant natural resources, tribal communities participated in Naxalism probably as a means of push back against the state, including the usage of land for resource extraction.

Impoverished areas with no electricity, running water, or poor healthcare provided by the state probably accepted social services from Naxalite groups, and gave their support to the Naxal cause in return. The state's absence allowed the Naxalites to become the legitimate authority in these areas by performing state-like functions, including enacting policies of redistribution and building infrastructure for irrigation. The Indian government states that the Naxalites prevent the common people from access to public services.

Affected districts

| align = center | footer = Extent of Areas with Naxalite activity from 2007 to 2024 | image1 = Naxalite affected districts of India map 2007.svg | width1 = 195 | image2 = Naxalite affected districts of India map 2013.svg | width2 = 200 | image3 = Naxalite affected districts of India map 2018.svg | width3 = 195 | image4 = India Naxal Affected Districts 2024.svg | width4 = 204 The insurgency reached its peak in the late 2000s with almost 180 affected districts and has been on the decline since then due to the counter-insurgency actions and development plans formulated by the Government. As of April 2024, 38 districts across nine states are affected by Naxalist extremism. In March 2025, the Home Minister informed Parliament that Naxalism was mostly limited to 18 districts of which six of them were classified as 'most affected'. The corridor is largely spread across areas of Central and East India.

::data[format=table title="Naxal affected districts (2025){{cite press release|url=https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2120771#:~:text=Out%20of%20total%20Naxalism%2Daffected,one%20from%20Maharashtra%20(Gadchiroli)|title=Naxalmukt Bharat Abhiyan: From Red Zones to Growth Corridors|date=10 April 2025|access-date=1 June 2025|work=[[Press Information Bureau]]}}"]

State	No. of districts in the state	No. of districts severely affected	No. of districts affected	Districts affected	Total	232	6	18
Chhattisgarh	28	4	7	Severe: Bijapur, Kanker, Narayanpur, Sukma
Moderate: Dantewada, Gariyaband, Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki
Jharkhand	24	1	2	Severe: West Singhbhum
Moderate: Latehar
Maharashtra	36	1	1	Severe: Gadchiroli
Andhra Pradesh	26	0	1	Marginal: Alluri Sitarama Raju
Madhya Pradesh	55	0	1	Marginal: Balaghat
Odisha	30	0	4	Moderate: Nuapada
Marginal: Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Malkangiri
Telangana	33	0	2	Moderate: Mulugu
Marginal: Bhadradri Kothagudem
::

References

References

1. (12 April 2006). "India's Naxalites: A spectre haunting India". [[The Economist]].
2. "History of Naxalism". [[The Hindustan Times]].
3. (24 June 2009). "Communists Fight in India « Notes & Commentaries". Mccaine.org.
4. Agarwal, Ajay. "Revelations from the red corridor".
5. "Maoist Communist Centre – Extremism, India". South Asia Terrorism Portal.
6. "People's War Group – Extremism, India". South Asia Terrorism Portal.
7. Bhattacharjee, Sumit. (26 June 2021). "When Greyhounds struck in Andhra Pradesh's fading red zone". [[The Hindu]].
8. "Naxal affected Districts". [[Government of India]].
9. "Conflict Encyclopedia, India: government, Government of India – CPI-Maoist, Actor Information, CPI-Maoists". [[Uppsala Conflict Data Program]].
10. "Primer: Who are the Naxalites?: Rediff.com news". [[Rediff]].
11. (15 March 2007). "Maoist attacks kill Indian police". [[Al Jazeera]].
12. "Subnational HDI (v8.0): India". Global data lab.
13. "Handbook of Statistics on Indian Economy. Table 154 : Number and Percentage of Population Below Poverty Line. (2011-12)". [[Reserve Bank of India]].
14. Fernando Franco, "Pain and Awakening: The Dynamics of Dalit Identity in Bihar, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh", Indian Social Institute, 2002, {{ISBN. 81-87218-46-0. ''... Land deprivation is the major cause of mass poverty especially in view of the low level of economic diversification in rural areas. Amongst all major states, Bihar has the second highest proportion (55 per cent) of landless or quasi-landless households in the rural population ...''
15. Dietmar Rothermund, "An Economic History of India: From Pre-colonial Times to 1991", Routledge, 1993, {{ISBN. 0-415-08871-2. ''Snippet: ... Eastern India has been bypassed by the 'Green revolution' to a great extent ... Instead of urbanization, we can find rural areas with an amazing degree of overpopulation ...''
16. E.N. Rammohan. (16 July 2012). "Unleash The Good Force". [[Outlook (Indian magazine).
17. Magnus Öberg, [[Kaare Strøm (political scientist). Kaare Strøm]], "Resources, Governance and Civil Conflict", Routledge, 2008, {{ISBN. 0-415-41671-X. ''Snippet: ... the general consensus is that the insurgency was started to address various economic and social injustices related to highly skewed distributions of cropland ...''
18. "Forbes India: Orissa's war over minerals". IBNLive.
19. Debal K. SinghaRoy, "Peasant Movements in Post-colonial India: Dynamics of Mobilization and Identity", Sage Publications, 2004, {{ISBN. 0-7619-9826-8.
20. Loyd, Anthony. (2015). "India's insurgency". National Geographic.
21. (25 June 2019). "Shifting perspectives in tribal studies : from an anthropological approach to interdisciplinarity and consilience".
22. Shah, Alpa. (2013-08-01). "The intimacy of insurgency: beyond coercion, greed or grievance in Maoist India". Economy and Society.
23. Walia, H.S.. (2018-04-25). "The Naxal Quagmire in Bihar & Jharkhand – Genesis & Sustenance". Learning Community.
24. (January 2010). "PESA, Left-Wing Extremism and Governance: Concerns and Challenges in India's Tribal Districts".
25. (10 July 2010). "The NREGA, the Maoists and the Developmental Woes of the Indian State". Economic and Political Weekly.
26. "Naxal Problem needs a holistic approach". [[Press Information Bureau]].
27. "Naxal affected Districts". [[Government of India]].
28. "'Most affected' Naxal districts down to just six from 12: Amit Shah".
29. (25 June 2008). "Armed revolt in the Red Corridor". Mondiaal Nieuws, Belgium.
30. (9 June 2008). "Women take up guns in India's red corridor". The Asian Pacific Post.
31. (13 May 2007). "Rising Maoists Insurgency in India". Global Politician.
32. (10 April 2025). "Naxalmukt Bharat Abhiyan: From Red Zones to Growth Corridors". [[Press Information Bureau]].

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