Dip in J&K terror, NE insurgency & Red menace from 2018 to 2020

NEW DELHI: Terror-related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir saw a 60% decline from a high of 614 incidents in 2018 to 244 and 2020, while violent incidents of Left-wing extremism (LWE) fell by 41% between 2013 and 2020, according to the home ministry’s annual report for the year 2020-21 released last week. Also, insurgency incidents in northeastern states recorded a steep decline of 80% in 2020 as compared to 2014.
In J&K, not only have the incidents of terrorist violence steadily declined after the spike in 2018, but also the number of security forces killed came down from 91 in 2018 to 62 in 2020, though civilian killings fell only marginally from 39 to 37 during this three-year period. Fatalities among terrorists in J&K however rose sharply from 110 in 2014 to 221 in 2020. Infiltration, which the MHA report said is intricately linked to terrorist violence in J&K, also fell from 222 attempts in 2014, of which 65 were successful, to 99 in 2020, of which 51 ended in success.
According to the MHA annual report, from the advent of militancy in J&K in the 1990s till 2020, 14,091 civilians and 5,356 security forces personnel have lost their lives.
The last six years also saw a significant decline in LWE violence as well as the geographical spread of LWE. In 2020, LWE violence was reported from 226 police stations across 53 districts in nine states as compared to 328 police stations in 76 districts spread over 10 states in 2013. The arc of violence has been considerably restricted with just 30 districts accounting 88% of the LWE violence, said the MHA report.
There was an overall 41% reduction in violent incidents and 54% fall in LWE-related deaths in 2020 as compared to 2013. In 2020, Chhattisgarh with 315 incidents and 111 deaths remained the worst-affected state.