Opinion: 25 years of Maoist PLGA—Rise, expansion, and decline
With most PLGA leaders eliminated and zones dismantled, the group’s influence is at its weakest
By PV Ramana
It has been 25 years since the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) of the naxalites of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), or CPI (Maoist), was founded on December 2, 2000, the first anniversary of the death of three of its Central Committee Members in an alleged encounter in Koyyuru, Karimnagar district, Telangana.
The PLGA was originally established as the People’s Guerrilla Army (PGA) by the then Communist Party of India–Marxist-Leninist (People’s War), or PW. Those killed in the Koyyuru encounter were Malla Raji Reddy, Yerramreddy Santosh Reddy, and Seelam Naresh. Following the merger of the PW and the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI) on September 21, 2004, the PGA was renamed the PLGA.
Basis of Foundation
At the time of launching the PLGA, Nambala Kesava Rao alias Basava Raju, the then lynchpin of the Central Military Commission and later General Secretary, said it was founded to “smash the rule of imperialism, feudalism, comprador bureaucrat capitalism, and to seize political power by setting up a new democratic state as a first step in the path to socialism”. Its flag, as distinct from the party flag (hammer and sickle), carries a hammer and sickle cut across by a gun, signifying the resolve to overthrow the state through the force of arms.
Then general secretary of the CPI (Maoist), Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathy, said: “The PGA must mingle with the masses and become a part of their lives and their aspirations. In this way, the PGA will grow and equip itself to take on the multi-pronged attack by the government…”
In fact, this is in consonance with what Mao Tse Tung said in 1934, “… all the practical problems in the masses’ everyday life should claim our attention. If we attend to these problems, solve them and satisfy the needs of the masses, we shall really become organisers of the well-being of the masses, and they will truly rally round us and give us their warm support …”
Scheme of Things
The PLGA consists of three types of forces: primary force (platoons), secondary force (guerrilla squads) and base force (people’s militia). The people’s militia comprises people who otherwise have an avocation in life and are imparted rudimentary military training.
Commenting upon the significance of the people’s militia in the Maoist scheme of things, a Central Committee member had this to say: “The people’s militia is at the very foundation of the PGA. The armed struggle cannot be advanced unless the people’s militia was built in a big way and there is mass participation”. According to the Maoist strategy, expanding the PLGA mass base is key to ultimately transforming it into a People’s Liberation Army.
Over the past two-and-a-half decades, the PLGA has lost much of its strength and as of 2025, it has an estimated 3,000 armed cadre (primary and secondary force) and 30,000 people’s militia (base force)
Azad, then CPI (Maoist) spokesperson, summarised the PLGA’s operational straegy in a press release on November 14, 2005: “…well-equipped, well-trained, and numerically superior [security] forces can be dealt heavy blows by a numerically weaker but determined, fearless and politically motivated armed force of the people through concrete survey of the weak points of the enemy force, meticulous planning and effective execution based on the principle of taking on the enemy through surprise and lightening speed.”
Over time, the people’s militia acquired the expertise needed to plant and set off landmines without any guidance from armed underground squads. It played an important role in major synchronised attacks after 2004, including:
• Koraput raid, Odisha, February 6, 2004, in which 528 weapons were looted
• Madhuban raid, Bihar (June 23, 2005)
• Giridih Home Guards training centre raid, Jharkhand, (November 11, 2005), in which 280 weapons were looted
• Jehanabad Jail Break, Bihar, (November 13, 2005), during which over 900 prisoners, including Maoist cadres and leaders, escaped
• R Udayagiri raid, Odisha, (March 26, 2006), in which the police station was overrun, and 17 SLRs were looted
• Riga block raid, Sitamarhi district, Bihar (March 31, 2007)
• Nayagarh Armoury raid, Odsiha, (February 15, 2008): 1,100 weapons –– including pistols, SLRs, AK series rifles, INSAS rifles and LMGs –– and 2,00,000 rounds of ammunition looted
Losing Strength
However, over the past two-and-a-half decades, the PLGA has lost much of its strength, suffering repeated setbacks. Since 2015, there has been all-around repression by the States to launch a clampdown. As of 2025, it has an estimated 3,000 armed cadre (primary and secondary force) and 30,000 people’s militia (base force). In 2025 alone, the Central Committee has lost nine members while two surrendered. In 2004, the Central Committee consisted of 49 members, and all except two, who surrendered, were killed. The Central Committee now has seven members.
By 2005, Maoists were nearly eliminated from North Telangana. An internal Maoist document admitted losses in all Guerrilla Zones and Bureaus: South West (Kerala, Karnataka), Andhra-Odisha Border, Dandakaranya in Chhattisgarh (except in Abujhmad that comprises approximately 4,000 km of riverines, rivulets, hills and hillocks), East (Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, except Saranda), and the North (Punjab, Haryana).
The remaining underground cadres operate in isolation, with communication virtually impossible. Security forces maintain a tight vigil in all the affected States. While the primary force is targeted, it is important to mainstream the people’s militia (base force)—the largest and the foundation on which the CPI (Maoist) rests.
Speaking in Raipur on November 30, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that finding an early solution to Left-wing Extremism was among the primary tasks for the country’s vision of Vikisit Bharat 2047. He emphasised that swiftly addressing development gaps in regions where Maoists have been eliminated is crucial, especially as the government plans a phased withdrawal of the Central Paramilitary Force (CAPF).
To achieve this, good governance and sustainable investment are essential. While some discontent may persist, people will increasingly recognise that offers hope and that a ‘Developed India’ is not a distant dream.
(The author specialises in Internal Security studies)
