Left Wing Extremism in India traces its name to the Naxalbari uprising of March 1967 in West Bengal's Darjeeling district, led by Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal, which spread into a wider Maoist-inspired insurgency across central and eastern India. Its principal current organisation, the Communist Party of India (Maoist), was formed on 21 September 2004 through the merger of the People's War Group and the Maoist Communist Centre of India. Since 'Police' and 'Public Order' are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, the Union Government's role has been to supplement State efforts. The 2015 National Policy and Action Plan set out a 'Whole of Government' approach — security operations paired with development interventions and community rights — while the 2017 SAMADHAN doctrine gave it an operational, security-focused edge. The Ministry reports that after nearly six decades of violence, no district remains categorised as LWE-affected as of 2026, though continued vigilance is planned for the 37 'Legacy & Thrust' districts and the 1 'District of Concern' to prevent any relapse.

Maoist-inspired insurgencies have also occurred elsewhere and were resolved differently. Nepal's decade-long Maoist insurgency (1996-2006) ended through negotiation — the Comprehensive Peace Accord signed on 21 November 2006 between the Government of Nepal and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) integrated the rebels into mainstream politics. India's approach has instead combined sustained security operations with development spending, without a formal negotiated settlement with the CPI (Maoist).