Intelligence agencies warn of growing ideological revival of Naxalism in Indian cities

Intelligence agencies have warned of a renewed push to revive Naxalism in urban centres, particularly universities, as operations in the jungles weaken. Officials say sympathisers are raising domestic funds, using social media, and attempting to provoke protests for propaganda

New Delhi: A sustained effort is on to revive the Naxalite movement in the cities, with their game soon coming to a close in the jungles, Intelligence agencies have warned. The agencies are keeping a close watch on several universities as attempts are being made to revive the movement at least on the ideological front.

This fresh push is being made after Union Minister Amit Shah said that the security forces would eliminate the problem by March 2026. Going by the speed at which the security agencies are acting, it appears that the problem would be eliminated much before the deadline that the Home Minister has set.

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Intelligence agencies are keeping a close watch on activities in universities, among other places, with fresh inputs suggesting that a desperate push is being made to ideologically keep the movement alive.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that those attached to the movement are trying to bring in funds to revive the movement. A couple of years back, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) cracked down on the funding that was coming in to keep the Naxalite movement alive.

Those attempting to revive the movement are finding it hard to bring in funds from abroad. The Narendra Modi government has tightened the rules around foreign funding after it was found that the money was being diverted for purposes other than what it was intended for.

The tightening of the rules under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) has made it almost impossible to get foreign funds without a proper explanation. Now, those looking to revive the movement ideologically in the cities are arranging funds from within the country. They are holding meetings to plan the next course of action and how to go about it when it comes to raising funds.

While Prime Minister Narendra had flagged this issue in April itself, the agencies say that as the March 2026 deadline gets closer, attempts are being made to keep the movement alive.

While the movement in the jungles was dangerous, the ideological spread can be worse, explained an official. The plan is to form groups in major cities and then create trouble by staging protests and ensuring that they turn violent.

The idea is to rope in students and get them to cause a ruckus so that the police act. This would then be used as a propaganda tool to suggest that the government is using force against the students.

This is a tactic that has been used in the past, and now, as per the agencies, it would be used more as the movement is set to die in the jungles. An example of this was seen in the recent protests against the rising pollution levels in Delhi.

The Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch (BSCEM), which calls itself a students’ rights group, is being probed for possible Naxalite links. While the protests were about pollution, the police are probing why slogans were raised in favour of slain Maoist commander Madvi Hidma.

The police are trying to ascertain if the organisation members had raised these slogans or could have had someone infiltrate the protest and chanted these slogans. The police arrested 22 persons following the protests after the protesters allegedly attacked police personnel with chilli spray. This is a clear sign that the intention was to make the police use force and then use it as a propaganda tool.

The police are also scanning the social media accounts of the BSCEM. On November 19, on its Instagram page, it had put up a post calling for a protest for clean air. On the same day, another post was put up with a red salute for Hidma. They termed the encounter against him as fake.

While the Intelligence agencies are keeping close tabs on the activities of the sympathisers, there is a thorough scrutiny of the social media accounts as well. Officials say that these elements would use social media to its full potential to spread the message, call for protests, and also raise funds.

A senior officer pointed out that the 2026 deadline would be met, and there is no doubt about it. The headache would, however, linger on for some time, more so as there is a massive push to keep the ideology alive in the cities.