India, April 5 -- There was a time, not too long ago, when vast stretches of India functioned under the shadow of a parallel authority-an armed insurgency that openly challenged the sovereignty of the Indian state. Left-Wing Extremism, once described by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the "single biggest internal security threat," was not merely a question of law and order; it represented a deep fracture in India's democratic framework. The so-called Red Corridor extended across more than 200 districts, cutting through central and eastern India and leaving behind a landscape marked by violence, fear, and the near-total absence of governance.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in his March 30 address, stated: "Naxalism in the country ...