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How SAMADHAN crushed Naxalism. IPS officers led the aggressive final assault

The might of the state has won through the SAMADHAN strategy, but now it must do what is right.

In my previous columns on the defeat of Left-Wing Extremism, I discussed how laws, welfare schemes, and institutions such as well-run schools, hospitals, forest produce collection centres, and skilling programmes helped the development discourse gain strength and draw larger numbers into the governance framework.

However, the final assault on LWE came through a well-coordinated anti-insurgency operation known by the acronym SAMADHAN, which is appropriately translated as “solution” in English.

The eight-pronged action plan, represented by the eight letters of SAMADHAN, marked a comprehensive strategy for the ‘final assault’. S was for “smart leadership”, A for “aggressive strategy”, M for “motivation and training”, A for “actionable intelligence”, D for “dashboard-based KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and KRAs (Key Result Areas)”, H for “harnessing technology”, A for “Action Plan for Each Theatre”, and N for “No Access to Financing”.

Also Read: How IAS-IPS officers turned PESA, FRA, TRIFED into tools against Naxalism

The commanders of the CAPF and the concerned state police forces led from the front, and did not shy away from ground-level engagement with LWE.

 Among them were officers such as DG CRPF Gyanendra Pratap Singh (IPS, 1991 batch), Chhattisgarh DGP Arun Dev Gautam (1992 batch), ADG Vivekanand Sinha (1996 batch), and P Sundarraj (2003 batch), the long-standing IGP of Bastar. These officers led frontline anti-Naxal operations, coordinated local intelligence and commando raids, strengthened ground-level strike capabilities, and ensured area domination.

Here, one must make a special mention of the Greyhound force created in Andhra Pradesh by IPS officer KS Vyas to tackle rising Maoist threats. They were credited with neutralising top Maoist leadership, leading to a significant decline in Left-Wing Extremism in Andhra Pradesh. The force was well-trained, well-armed, combat-ready, typically under 35, and drafted into the civil police after their tenure. In Jharkhand, LWE was decimated in operations led by high-ranking officials such as ADGP (L&O) Madhusudhana Reddy........

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