The Indian security forces just dealt a major blow to the Maoist movement. Madvi Hidma, a ruthless tactician, the most feared battlefield commander and one of the last towering figures of the movement, was gunned down in Andhra Pradesh.
He wasn't just any leader. His rise to the top ranks had almost taken mythical proportions. He was the only tribal leader to rise from a child recruit to the organisation’s top decision-making bodies.
Hidma, last towering figure
So, how does his death matter now? Well, much of the Maoist movement is now a pale shadow of its former lethal self. Most of the top leadership has either surrendered or been killed. And there's no fresh recruitment, what with the ideological appeal being lost.
In this backdrop, Hidma’s presence had offered the last beacon of hope to the cadres. And that makes his fall significant.
Remember, Hidma’s encounter also comes after a series of big losses for the Maoist outfit.
Earlier this year, the CPI (Maoist) party's general secretary -- Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju -- was killed in an encounter in Chhattisgarh.
Just last month, Mallojula Venugopal Rao, alias Sonu, surrendered in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli. He was a politburo member of the Maoist party and its ideological head.
End of Maoism?
With very little of the leadership still active, are we staring at the end of Maoism?
Well, Hidma's fall does bring the security forces closer to achieving Home Minister Amit Shah's target. The promise to eliminate left-wing extremism by March 2026.
