Every nation has a story, but some chapters are written in blood. For decades, India fought an enemy that didn't wear a uniform - an ideology that spread through forests, cities and silence, in one of the longest internal-security battles in the country's history. Roshan Cariappa sits down with Tuhin A. Sinha - BJP National Spokesperson, author of 14 books, and now the writer of a comprehensive new book "Naxal Terror Vanquished: The Long War against Maoism, and the Doctrine That Ended It." This book discusses how India confronted and pushed back Naxal terror. We've had Tuhin on the show before - last time, to talk delimitation, the women's reservation bill and the coalition arithmetic of the Monsoon Session. This time the conversation turns to something bigger and bloodier. His starting point is a memory gap: Gen Z and Gen Alpha never saw this threat at its peak, and the country readjusted so fast that few remember how bad it got. In 2010 alone, over a thousand people were killed in Naxal violence - 74 CRPF jawans ambushed at Dantewada, and the Gyaneshwari Express sabotaged in West Bengal, killing 150. This, he argues, was never a "socio-economic problem" - it was an out-and-out terror movement. From there the conversation traces the full arc: the origins in Naxalbari in 1967, the role of "urban Naxals" in supplying funds and arms, the Salwa Judum movement and the price its leaders paid, and the turnaround that followed - the convergence of security agencies across a seven-state Red Corridor, the surrender-and-rehabilitation policy, Operation Kagar's final push, and the development story behind it. Tuhin's central claim is a bold one: that Naxalism has been pushed to the brink of extinction. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - The enemy that didn't wear a uniform 01:20 - Welcome back to Bharatvaarta 02:08 - How serious a threat was Naxalism, really? 03:06 - Dantewada & the Gyaneshwari Express: how deadly it got 04:36 - When a leader calls a Naxal his role model 05:10 - Where it began: Naxalbari, 1967 06:30 - How it evolved - students, Bihar & caste 08:05 - The UPA years: scrapping POTA & the NAC 08:36 - Salwa Judum, and the myth about tribal support 11:37 - Struck down: the fresh wave of violence & the leaders killed 12:54 - Why "socio-economic problem" was a fatal misreading 13:47 - Urban Naxals: the supply of funds and arms 17:52 - What this government did differently 20:26 - The surrender & rehabilitation policy 21:16 - Operation Kagar: the final phase 22:45 - Bastar Olympics & bringing fighters into the mainstream 24:46 - Development as the closing chapter: Modi for tribals 26:02 - Will Naxalism ever return? 📚 ABOUT THE GUEST Tuhin A. Sinha is a National Spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party and one of India's most prolific authors, with 14 books spanning political thrillers, romance, non-fiction and historical narrative. Born in Jamshedpur and educated at Hindu College, Delhi University, he was a novelist and screenwriter before joining the BJP in 2014, becoming Mumbai unit spokesperson in 2016 and later National Spokesperson. His work includes a trilogy on India's unsung subaltern freedom fighters - The Legend of Birsa Munda, The Great Tribal Warriors of Bharat and Sido Kanhu - plus Modi's Northeast Story and Climate Action India. Earlier books include Of Love and Politics, The Edge of Desire, The Captain and Daddy. He co-authored India Aspires with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Mission Shenzhen with Clark Prasad, and writes columns for The Times of India and DNA. His latest book, examines the rise and fall of Naxal terror in India. 📖 Browse and buy all of Tuhin A. Sinha's books (authored & co-authored) on his official Amazon Author Page: 👉 https://www.amazon.in/stores/Tuhin-A.-Sinha/author/B008HTR2DY 🎙️ ABOUT BHARATVAARTA Bharatvaarta is a podcast on politics, policy and culture, focused on India. Hosted by Roshan Cariappa, it brings together academics, authors, entrepreneurs, technologists, policymakers and politicians for long-form conversations that don't fit into a nine-minute news segment. New episodes every week. 🔔 SUBSCRIBE: [Hit the bell icon] 🌐 Website: https://www.bharatvaarta.in 🐦 Twitter/X: @bharatvaarta 📸 Instagram: @bharatvaarta #TuhinSinha #BJP #Naxalism #NaxalTerror #Naxalbari #RedCorridor #InternalSecurity #AmitShah #NarendraModi #Chhattisgarh #Bastar #IndianPolitics #Bharatvaarta #PoliticalPodcast #maoistnews Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfBfBd-1kvCOPxVll8tBJ9Q/join
