Activists across multiple countries staged coordinated protests on March 28 denouncing India’s ongoing counterinsurgency campaign known as Operation Kagaar, as international groups warned of escalating human rights violations in affected regions.
The global day of action was led by the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS), which called on supporters worldwide to oppose what it described as a violent crackdown by the government of Narendra Modi. The call is aligned with the international solidarity appeal of the International Committee to Support the People’s War in India (ICSWPI), which has urged global support for the Indian peoples resisting what it describes as fascist rule under the Modi regime.
“Today, March 28, ILPS enjoins the peoples of India in condemning the Modi regime’s violent crackdown against peoples’ resistance under the banner of Operation Kagaar,” ILPS said in a statement. “This frustrated attempt at crushing the just peoples’ movement has led to countless violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.”
ILPS Netherlands, alongside the Rotterdam Front for Liberation and the Communistisch Comité van Nederland, held a demonstration outside the Peace Palace in the Hague. In the United States, ILPS and allied groups rallied in New York City, while actions in the United Kingdom took place in London, Manchester, and Glasgow. In the Philippines, protests were organized in Quezon City by the ILPS Commission on Indigenous Peoples Struggles and the Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL).
Operation Kagaar, launched in early 2024, is a large-scale military campaign targeting Maoist armed groups in central and eastern India. Activists say the operation has disproportionately affected Adivasi communities, peasants, and activists living in resource-rich regions.
The campaign’s onset was marked by the killing of a six-month-old Adivasi child, Mangli Sodi, who was shot while being breastfed by her mother on January 1, 2024. Activists say the incident signaled the beginning of a wider pattern of violence.
Reports indicate that the Indian state has deployed up to 100,000 paramilitary troops, including the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), elite CoBRA units, District Reserve Guards (DRG), and state police across more than 200 districts, with large-scale operations involving thousands of soldiers sweeping through villages. In some cases, troop presence has reportedly exceeded local populations.
Data cited by the group indicates that between January 2024 and March 2026, more than 1,000 arrests of suspected rebels or sympathizers have been recorded, alongside hundreds of forced surrenders and hundreds of alleged extrajudicial killings. Activists warn that the true figures may be higher due to limited access and heavy militarization in affected areas.
Critics link the operation to the broader ideological framework of Hindutva, a nationalist doctrine associated with Modi’s ruling party that has been accused of marginalizing religious and ethnic minorities, including Muslims, Christians, and Indigenous communities.
The Indian government has framed Operation Kagaar as a final push to eliminate Maoist insurgency by March 2026.
“Operation Kagaar is bound to fail,” ILPS said. “Such programs disregard the urgent political, social, and economic roots of armed conflict.”
