J&K, Maoist-hit areas, Northeast saw dramatic dip in violent incidents since NDA came to power: Sources

New Delhi: All three prominent internal security theatres -- Jammu and Kashmir, Maoist-affected regions and the northeast -- have seen a dramatic dip in violence after the BJP-led NDA came to power at the Centre in 2014, with such incidents dropping by 53 to 70 per cent in the following decade as compared to the period from 2004 to 2014, sources said.

Data shows that the Maoist-affected regions reported 16,463 cases of violence from 2004 to 2014, which came down to 7,744 between 2014 and 2024, showing a drop of 53 per cent.

The number of security personnel killed in the region also declined by 73 per cent during the period -- from 1,851 to 509. Maoist violence claimed the lives of 4,766 civilians from 2004 to 2014. This number also dropped by 70 per cent -- to 1,495 -- between 2014 and 2024, the sources said.

A major crackdown of security forces on Maoist ultras in 2025 has so far resulted in the killings of 226 cadres, including two central committee members, arrest of 418 and surrender of 896. Last year, 290 Naxals were neutralised, 1,090 arrested and 881 had surrendered. The security forces have managed to neutralise the top 18 Naxal leaders so far, following the approach of "trace, target and neutralise", the sources said.

"Strategic intel and close coordination" among the forces resulted in the killings of 27 hardcore Naxals during Operation Black Forest recently. At the same time, 24 such operatives surrendered on May 23, according to the sources.

The impact of the action against Naxals was evident on the ground as the local body elections were conducted successfully this year, with the first-ever voting reported from 66 locations in Sukma, Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur, Kondagaon and Kanker in Chhattisgarh. People in the Naxal-infested village of Puvarti, known as the birthplace of dreaded Maoist Hidma, exercised their franchise for the first time after Independence during the local bodies poll on February 23, the sources said.

Jammu and Kashmir, which has been reeling under Pakistan-sponsored terrorism for nearly four decades, witnessed a sharp 69-per cent decline in the number of violent incidents -- from 7,217 between 2004 and 2014 to 2,242 from 2014 to 2024 -- they said.

The number of deaths in terror incidents came down by 68 per cent -- from 2,829 to 920 -- according to the decadal comparison.

The valley did not report a single incident of stone pelting in 2024 as compared to 2,654 incidents of organised stone pelting in 2010, a year in which 132 organised strikes were observed and 112 civilians lost their lives, while 6,235 civilians and security forces' personnel got injured in stone-pelting incidents, the sources said.

The insurgency in the northeast also reported a 70-per cent decline in violence, a 70-per cent decline in the number of security forces' personnel killed and an 85-per cent decline in the number of civilians killed between 2004-14 and 2014-24, the sources said.

From 2004 to 2014, 11,327 violent incidents, 456 deaths of security personnel and 2,651 deaths of civilians were reported. The numbers fell to 3,493 violent incidents, 135 deaths of troops and 397 deaths of civilians from 2014 to 2024, the sources added.

The Centre signed around 12 important peace agreements with insurgent groups between 2019 and 2024, they said.