Red corridor


The Red Corridor is the region in the eastern, central and the southern parts of India that experience considerable Naxalite–Maoist insurgency.
The Naxalite group mainly consists of the armed cadres of the Communist Party of India. These are also areas that suffer from the greatest illiteracy, poverty and overpopulation in modern India, and span parts of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, and West Bengal and eastern Uttar Pradesh states. As per Ministry of Home Affairs, altogether 1,048 incidents of Left-wing extremism violence took place in these 10 states in 2016.
All forms of Naxalite organisations have been declared as terrorist organizations under the Unlawful Activities Act of India.
According to the Government of India, as of July 2011, 83 districts across 10 states are affected by left-wing extremism down from 180 districts in 2009. As of February 2019, 90 districts across 11 states are affected by left-wing extremism.

Economic situation

The districts that comprise the Red Corridor are among the poorest in the country. Areas such as Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, are either impoverished or have significant economic inequality, or both.
A key characteristic of this region is non-diversified economies that are solely primary sector based. Agriculture, sometimes supplemented with mining or forestry, is the mainstay of the economy, which is often unable to support rapid increases in population. The region has significant natural resources, including mineral, forestry and potential hydroelectric generation capacity. Odisha, for example, "has 60 percent of India’s bauxite reserves, 25 percent of coal, 28 percent of iron ore, 92 percent of nickel and 28 percent of manganese reserves."

Social situation

The area encompassed by the Red Corridor tends to have stratified societies, with caste and feudal divisions. Much of the area has high indigenous tribal populations, including Santhal and Gond. Bihar and Jharkhand have both caste and tribal divisions and violence associated with friction between these social groups. Andhra Pradesh's Telangana region similarly has deep caste divide with a strict social hierarchical arrangement. Both Chhattisgarh and Odisha have significant impoverished tribal populations.

Affected Districts

As of February 2019, 90 districts across 11 states are affected by left-wing extremism. As of December 2017, 105 districts across 9 states are affected by left-wing extremism. The districts affected by left wing extremism stand at 106 in 10 states as on 12 February 2016.
StateNo.of Districts in StateNo. of Districts AffectedDistricts Affected
Jharkhand2419Bokaro, Chatra, Dhanbad, Dumka, East Singhbhum, Garhwa, Giridih, Gumla, Hazaribagh, Khunti, Koderma, Latehar, Lohardaga, Palamu, Ramgarh, Ranchi, Simdega, Saraikela Kharsawan, West Singhbhum
Bihar3816Arwal, Aurangabad,  Banka,  East Champaran,  Gaya, Jamui,  Jehanabad,  Kaimur,  Lakhisarai, Munger, Muzaffarpur,  Nalanda, Nawada,  Rohtas,  Vaishali,  West Champaran
Chhattisgarh2814Balod,  Balrampur,  Bastar, Bijapur, Dantewada, Dhamtari, Gariyaband, Kanker,  Kondagaon,  Mahasamund,  Narayanpur, Rajnandgaon,  Sukma, Kabirdham
Odisha3015Angul, Bargarh,  Bolangir, Boudh,  Deogarh, Kalahandi, Kandhamal,  Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabrangpur, Nayagarh,  Nuapada, Rayagada,  Sambhalpur, Sundargarh
Kerala143Malappuram, Palakkad, Wayanad
Andhra Pradesh136Guntur, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, West Godavari
Telangana338Adilabad, Bhadradri-Kothagudem, Jayashankar-Bhupalpally, Khammam, Komaram-Bheem, Mancherial, Peddapalle, Warangal Rural
Maharashtra363Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Gondia
Uttar Pradesh753Sonbhadra, Mirzapur, Chandauli
West Bengal231Jhargram
Madhya Pradesh
552Balaghat, Mandla
Total
36990

The Odisha gap

The Red Corridor is almost contiguous from India's border with Nepal to the absolute northernmost fringes of Tamil Nadu. There is, however, a significant gap consisting of coastal and some central areas in Odisha state, where Naxalite activity is low and indices of literacy and economic diversification are higher. However, the non-coastal districts of Odisha which fall in the Red Corridor have significantly lower indicators, and literacy throughout the region is well below the national average.