India, April 16 -- The Centre has formally declared that Naxalism, once called the biggest challenge to India's internal security, is history now, and no district in India now falls under the category of Naxal violence-affected areas.

This announcement, issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to nine affected States, marks the end of more than five decades of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) that first erupted in the country in 1967.

The declaration follows an intensive high-level security review conducted by the MHA in early April under the National Policy and Action Plan to Address Left Wing Extremism, formulated in 2015. The review, completed after the March 31 deadline set by the Government to eradicate LWE, assessed the ground situat...