Naxalism In India Perception And Responses Politics Essay

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23 Mar 2015

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Widespread discontent apathy among the common populace has plagued the Indian polity since independence. This discontent has often led to unrest and resentment sometimes resulting in violence also. Since independence various statutory enactments and institutional mechanisms for addressing the aspects of deprivation and neglect have been brought into being but the irony is that discontent and unrest continue to surface inspite of the measures undertaken. Today, even after six decades of independence, for a large section of the populace, basic survival and making the two ends meet is still the biggest challenge. "As 58 per cent of the Indian labour force is still engaged in agriculture and allied occupations, landlessness is an important root of poverty. The Indian State recognized the vital link between land and livelihood soon after independence and launched land reform measures which included three components: abolition of intermediaries such as zamindars, security of tenancy and a ceiling on agricultural holdings for distribution of the surplus to the landless. However, as time passed the commitment to land reform has weakened and it remains an unfinished agenda of governance." [1] The poor population in order to meet their livelihood had to depend upon common property resources such as forests, pastures and water sources. The government having

realised such resources as sources of profit started exploiting them, thus resulting in the poor being deprived of the access they had to these resources .

2. Today the nation is boasting of an above 9 per cent growth rate and is aspiring to become an economic powerhorse. But the fact of the matter is that the inequalities between the rich and the poor is increasing. With globalisation, awareness of opportunities and possible lifestyles are spreading but the entitlements are receding. The directional shift in Government policies since the early nineties towards modernisation and mechanisation, export orientation, withdrawal of subsidies and exposure to global trade has been an important factor in hurting the poor and increasing their miseries. Equal status and equal dignity is not only a Constitutional right but also a basic human right. The inherited institutions of caste, gender, religion and unequal property have been depriving the majority of the society of this right. The continued practice of social discrimination, untouchability and atrocities against the weaker sections truly reflects the failure of the promises made to the oppressed people of this nation by the government.

3. This has led to a situation where in a large section of the people have lost faith in the polity and institutions of this country. However the irony is that there has been no sustained effort to eliminate the causes and reduce the discontent of the masses. It is these causes of discontent among the people that has led to the meteoric rise and spread of the Naxalite movement in the country. The Naxalite armed movement which has been challenging the Indian state since more than four decades is based on Maoist ideology and gains its strength through mobilising the poor, underprivileged, discouraged and marginalised especially in the rural and underdeveloped parts of the country. The Naxalite movement are a serious threat to the Indian state and is fast threatening to engulf almost the whole nation under its influence. The dreams of the nation of becoming a regional superpower and economic giant in the near future seems to be a distant reality with Naxalism challenging the inherent ideals of the state.

4. The menace of Left Wing Extremism after making a modest start in 1967 from remote village named Naxalbari in West Bengal plagues almost 235 districts [i] across the country in 2011. In some of these districts, the situation has deteriorated to such an extent that the writ of the government cease to exist and can be termed as liberated zones. The Maoists run a parallel government in these areas and are located in most underdevloped parts of the country. Despite being referred to as the most serious internal security threat faced by the nation by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself in 2006, not much has translated at the grass root level to address the issue. On the contrary, the Maoists have been able to strike at targets with impunity and at will causing panic amongst the state and central security forces.

5. The Naxalites with their control over certain areas and their armed fight against the security forces, are challenging the inherent ideals of the state, namely soverignity and monopoly on use of force. In order to fight this menace, the state is focusing on re-establishing of law and order by encountering the Naxalites violently by use of force. However, this approach of the government seems to lack foresight, since the roots of Naxalism are located within the Indias numerous social and economic inequalities. Without addressing the root causes merely use of force will not help the state in solving the problem.

"If the country does not belong to everyone, it will belong to no one."

Tupamaro Manifesto

17. The nation as a concept is universally recognized and .internationally valid for soverign aggregate of human beings in a modern state. If modern states are nation states, then the territorial integrity, political stability and the legitimacy of the state is a basic prerequisite for political and emotional integration of the citizens. [2] The collapse of the communist states in the early nineties point to the truth about this statement. It is the collective will of the population of the state that is the sole and most important determinant of contours of a state. India is a nation with vast cultural diversities and geographical.landscapes. The quote from Gitanjali written by noble laureate RabindraNath Tagore aptly sums up the importance of a nation wherein the true values of nationalism can take root:

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

Where knowledge is free;

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;

Where words come out from depth of truth;

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;

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Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever widening thought and action;

Into that heaven of freedom my father, let my country awake.

18. The Constitution of India guarantees the protection of all states against external aggression and internal disturbance by the Union of India, however the security being a state subject is rarely given the importance it requires till the situation blows out of proportion and many a times this turns out to be too little too late for the masses which suffer due to these security problems. The nation has faced numerous internal security problems since getting independence in 1947. These have been mainly due to secessionist movements initiated by a certain section of the population, wherein the government failed to provide solutions to their long pending issues. Since independence the country has faced problems in states of Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Assam, Tripura, Punjab and J&K. Though, as on date these states have not been posing serious existential threat to the worlds largest democracy but before coming to some serious resolution of these conflicts a new danger of Naxalism has plagued vast areas of the country.

19. The Naxal movement presently having its influence over some 231 districts in 21 states of our country has been identified as the single largest internal security threat to the nation by the prime minister. [3] The Naxal movement as it is known is essentially an ideological movement and not an ethnic or a religious one. It gets its sustenance from social evils such as poverty, unemployment, exploitation of the poor classes and social discrimination. It has drawn vast support of population from the tribal belt into the movement. Before we can find the ways of tackling this issue, there is a need to understand the reasons why this

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problem has come into existence. This will not only help in finding the real cause of this problem but also the ways and means to eradicate it.

20. To understand the spread of Naxalism in the country, we will have to analyse communism and its evolution in India. The communist Party of India came into existence on 26th Dec 1925 based on the thought that communism was ideally suited for the country with such vast demographic diversity and difference between the have's & have not. However, the ban on communist ideology during the British rule prohibited the rise of the party and its ideology. Two notable movements led by communists during the pre independence era needs a mention are, firstly, the "Tebhaga Movement" led by peasants front of CPI "Kisan Sabha" in 1946, with the aim to increase the share of peasants in crops from half to two-third and second being the "Telangana Uprising" against the brutal repression of peasants by feudal landlords during the regime of Nizam in the Telangana region. [4] 

21. The birth and rapid rise of Naxalite movement can also be traced to the development which took place around the globe during the decade of 1960. This was a period in Europe, Asia and America when new radical struggles were breaking out, marked by the reading of Marx. These trends were reflected in the national liberation struggle of the Vietnamese people; the civil rights and anti-war movements in USA; in the students agitations in Western Europe; Che Guevara's self sacrifice in the jungles of Bolivia; and in China's cultural revolution. The Naxalite movement was part of this contemporary, worldwide impulse among the radicals to return to the roots of revolutionary idealism. [5] 

22. The year 1967 marks a turning point in terms of the revolutionary armed struggle in India. On 24 May the persistent social and political tensions in the

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small village Naxalbari in the Darjeeling District of the West Bengal unloaded after a landlord was attacked which led to a full-scale peasant riot. This event has its deep roots in the socio-economic conditions, namely unequal land distribution and forced labour that had persisted since the British rule. At that moment, the general perception of people in these regions remained that the level of economic development, social justice and quality of governance in the states was plagued with a variety of maladies and there was complete lack of concern of the government towards these downtrodden people of the society .

23. The Naxalites, as they are called today emerged on scene as CPI(ML) after splitting from CPI(M). Their pronounced agenda has been to capture political power through an armed and violent revolution. Within a few years of its formation, the organisational network of CPI(ML) and its propagated violence spread in the whole of West Bengal. The campaign spread to parts of Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. In 1971 there was maximum violence with killing of 850 so called class enemies - landlords, moneylenders, police informers, political activists [6] . However, joint operations launched by the state police of West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa quickly curtailed the movement, leading to serious decline in capabilities and influence of the Naxalites. By mid 1970s, the belief was that the movement was dead in totality. During this phase, however, the ideological motivation was existing in top leadership and middle level activists. The supporters consisted of the political class as well as the student base of Delhi University, who were motivated by their ideology. There were large number of journals in English and vernacular languages which were published periodically during that period to increase the ideological fervour in the common populace. The leaders of the movement were provided training, financial support and guidance by active support from China. However post 1972, the arrest and subsequent death of Charu Majumdar led to the total collapse of the movement.

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24. After the period of emergency, the remnants of the Naxalite groups made discreet attempts to revive itself primarily, through an agrarian agitation movement, supporting their woes and highlighting the issues plaguing the poor and the downtrodden. In 1980, Peoples War Group(PWG) was formed in Andhra Pradesh under the leadership of Kondapalli Seetharamaiah with a violent agenda. The group clandestinely established underground dalams, operating apparatus in North Telangana and Dandakaranya region. Even Bihar was under revival phase with three naxal groups on the forefront. [7] These groups had a sizeable ground level base of revolutionary peasants taking part in violent actions. The groups operating in Bihar were Maoist Communist Centre, Unity Party and anti-Lin Piao group. This concerted effort led to revival of the movement in Andhra Pradesh, Dandakaranya and Bihar. However, these groups were affected by dissentions and splits on one side and unification processes occurring simultaneously. This process of splitting though a setback in the intial stages but however it ensured increase of mass support at ground level as each entity tried its best to gain more and more support of the population in the area, thus ensuring organizational progress. The Naxal violence continued to increase from this period and finally reached its pinnacle in 1991 for a second time when they were able to eliminate sucessfully large number of class enemies. Since then, the organized killing of selected targets has continued. [8] The targets of Naxal violence also included those people whose agenda differed that of the Naxalites. Since, this has been a ground level movement, the solution too lies in dealing at that level and conceptualizing strategies at higher levels are of little or of no significance. At the moment every year there are more than 1500 Naxal violence incidents from the affected states involving killing of more than 500 class enemies. There has been a sophistication in the means employed by them in detonating the landmines negating their vulnerabilities to electronic countermeasures. The daring means employed by them to attack police posts and patrols has brought out the vulnerabilities of security forces in the area and the growing might of Naxals. The Naxalites have been running a parallel government in these areas by holding jan

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adalats wherein they resort to on the spot dispensing of justice. These are notundertaken in any covert manner but in full public view and with advance warnings of a few days. This state clearly highlights the failure of govt at the grass root level. The present strength of armed cadre stands at 8000 excluding 15000 cadres of peoples militia who carry on their routine work, but are ready to serve when the situation demands. [9] 

25. The Naxalites have a design of establish a Compact Revolutionary Zone, from Nepal running across Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. These areas will be under their total control with administration and governance of their own. Unlike the first phase of the movement, the present phase entails unification and consolidation. In 1998, Unity Party and PWG merged to form CPI(ML)(PW), thereafter, RCCI-Maoist merged with MCC & MCCI came into existence. Later, PW and MCCI came together to form CPI(Maoist). This gave the org a backing on ideological front from the Communist Party of Nepal(Maoist), thus complicating the problem and making it trans-border and trans-national. The party has got international linkages through Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organisation of South Asia which includes the Communist parties of Sri Lanka, Nepal Bangladesh and India. The spread of Naxalism has been phenomenal in the recent years. Starting from the peasant movement, the Naxal issue today has a large spatial spread and much better resistance capability. The initiatives undertaken by the Centre and the to contain the movement & prevent violence has been a failure. It has not been able to rein in the movement and lower the violence levels.

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CHAPTER-III

SOCIO-ECONOMIC MILIEU OF NAXALISM

26. Poverty and lack of development extract terrible prices and the glaring example of this has been the rapid rise of Naxalism. Naxalite violence in India has claimed thousands of lives till date and the graph is on the upward swing with each passing year. In his address to the nation on 15August 2006, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh termed Naxalism as a threat to India's national security. Less than a month after this pronouncement, one of his predecessor former Prime Minister V P Singh came up with a completely different viewpoint. He saw no option but to embrace Naxalism in the present model of development, where forceful acquisition of land and displacement of thousands by the State are the order of the day. Both these statements, however, made in their respective contexts, but , both of them are revealing. They clearly indicate towards the rise of Naxalism as a movement that is giving sleepless nights to the highest echelons of governance of this nation. They clearly indicate towards the acceptance of the fact among our leaders of the strength and undisputed popularity of this movement.

27. Naxalism started as a peasant movement in 1967, in the tiny and remote hamlet of Naxalbari in West Bengal. The main demand was that of radical land reform and land to the tiller. The only means of realizing this was seen as the violent takeover of power. However, the govt was completely unwilling to yield to the demands, and the movement was brutally crushed. The character of Naxalism has changed with the times. Forced out of West Bengal, it has now regrouped itself outside the state. The movement is threatening to engulf whole of the nation and has got strong presence, largely in heavily forested areas dominated by tribals in the states of Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh,

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Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

28. "Today,around 42% of India's total population, lives under the poverty line. One third of the global poor lives in India, 75% in rural areas . The increasing high numbers of farmer suicides because of indebtedness, harassment and discrimination, particularly in the Naxalite affected areas, potrays the miserable condition of large parts of India's rural population.The lack of human development causes anger and resentments amongst the people. They feel alienated and excluded. In addition often local elites are engaged in exploiting, harassing and even torturing the tribal population [10] .

29. Dalits and Tribals form the major support base of Naxalism. The Dalits and tribals together amount for nearly one fourth of India's population and most of them live in rural India . Their reasons for supporting the Naxal movement are manifold: there is low degree of employment and qualification, new forest policies posing restriction for their livelihoods, cultural humiliation, lack of access to health care, education and power, restriction on access to natural resources, numerous forms of exploitation, social discrimination, frequent displacements, political isolation and suppression. The states which are the most affected have a huge number of people facing deprivation and a high record of crimes that are committed against them as well as displacement owing to economic and development projects

30. In fact 80% of the total displaced persons within the period of 1947- 2000 were tribals. A large number of tribals remained neglected from the various governmental development projects. Attempts by the government to increase its influence in these backward areas resulted in repression of the inhabitants by the various state authorities, such as by the forest department resulting in the destruction of their traditional social bonds. The era of globalization with the liberalisation of Indian economy gave new life to the conflict. There are numerous

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Indian and foreign companies that are operating in the mineral rich areas of Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Orissa which are among the poorest states in India and show a high degree of Naxal affection. Several of these companies have signed memoranda of understanding with the government worth billions for exploiting the mineral resources. However, the irony is that the inhabitants of these areas generally do not benefit from the mineral wealth of their areas. Besides mining, the establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and construction of huge dam projects results in the displacement of thousands of people.

31. Today, the focus of Naxalism has changed from being an agrarian movement to that of fighting for the attainment of tribal self- determination, control over local resource issues and continued neglect of governmentt towards these areas. This cause of theirs has found ready sympathisers among local communities. In tribal-dominated areas development is largely synonymous with the exploitation of forest resources for commercial gains, primarily controlled by the forest department and other govt agencies. This has almost obliterated traditional community control over forests and forest resources. The successive Government policies have made the very existence of tribals in their own areas difficult, and displaced them from their lands. The Forest Conservation Act, 1980 has barred tribals from using the forest resources, thus forcing them to be termed as encroachers on the land they have inhabited for centuries. However, this tribal alienation from land is not only the outcome of the country's conservation policy only but also the development projects including mining projects. The Naxal movement cleverly tapped and exploited the often justified tribal anger and frustration against this oppression of the government.

32. With India's major mineral resources concentrated under tribal dominated forestlands, mining and related projects have naturally come into the crosshairs of the Naxals. Today, five of India's top mineral-producing state Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are fighting the rise

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of the red brigades in most of their mineral-rich districts."It's not development. It is an express highway to speed up exploitation… What they have left for the local people is just air and water pollution," says Communist Party of India (Maoist) central committee member Kosa, while referring to the mega mining projects in Bastar, Chhattisgarh. The Naxal opposition has unnerved the mining industry in this part of the country. According to a report by the risk management consultancy, Hill and Associates based in Hong Kong the viral spread of Naxalism in India has an adverse impact on the development and has termed it as a "grave operational risk affecting investment climate in the core extractive sector". The report also points that Naxalism is likely to impact foreign direct investment in the country. It further says "The risk exposure would be greater in pockets where Naxalites have joined the tribals in opposing project-induced human displacement. Areas where industrialisation is in the initial stages of development are more prone to stiff opposition by Naxalites". Traditionally, the Naxals have been targeting the govt symbols and its institutions but with the present trend Industrial establishments are likely to bear the brunt in the future. In fact, at their ninth congress held in the beginning of 2007, Naxalites clearly expressed their intention of intensifying their operations in areas where mega development projects including special economic zones, irrigation projects and mining enterprises are coming up.

33. The Naxals have used varied tactics for opposing this industrial investment. The rise of Naxalism can be directly linked to the crisis of faith: India's marginalised population, the poors including its tribals, have lost their trust on governmentt for their livelihoods. The development projects coming in these areas are threatening the very existence of locals and have become synonymous with poverty and insecurity. With no alternative left, these communities have started believing that the only way they can fight for their survival is by adopting the violent ways of the Naxals. The rapid rise and popularity of Naxalism is not only a crisis of political empowerment but also that of sheer economic backwardness of these areas. The irony is that the marginalized have

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started believing that it is one of the rare opportunities still available to them to

express their aspirations.

34. The government and its planners have described Naxalism, as an internal security threat and are of the opinion that Naxalism and its sympathisers must be to be stamped out decisively by use of the State's police and army. On one hand the govt claims that the path of violence is not the solution of the problems of the poor. On the other hand, it strongly advocates use of force to suppress the movement and solve the problems of the govt. It is precisely this myopic vision of the govt and its planners which is the real cause of the problem. Poverty, starvation, malnutrition, unemployment, lack of access to basic necessities like health and education, forced eviction of people from their lands in the name of developmental projects do not qualify as threats to internal security for the government. However, reactions and resistance and protests against them raise the hackles and eyebrows. A prime reason for the spread of Naxalism has been the acute failure of the State to provide remote and underdeveloped areas with facilities for health and education, and the prospect for dignified employment. People in these areas have had to cope with an administration that is indifferent, corrupt, an brutal. Meanwhile, the economic development in these areas has been powered by wood, water and minerals found on these lands, and for whose profitable exploitation the locals are forced to make way involuntarily or by force. It is important to understand the fact that the forced eviction of people from their land and livelihood for projects like mining will only bring more poverty and not prosperity as our planners think.

35. Governments need to be sensitive about these issues. They must work to make people in Naxal-infested areas true partners in the development process - by assuring them titles on lands cultivated by them, by allowing them the right to manage forests sustainably, and by giving them a solid stake in industrial or mining projects that come up where they live and at the cost of their homes.Thus the locals are not interested into the so-called development projects by the

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government and even resort to attacking the employees of these companies.

These processes create conducive conditions for the support of Naxals and give them ready cadres and recruits. The Naxals only need to exploit the prevailing frustration .

36. Although the nation is enjoying a steadily solid economic growth during the past two decades but the distribution of these benefits is uneven among various social groups and geographic regions. Income disparities have increased and there is huge distinction between living conditions of the people in the rural areas and the metropolis in India. But these contradictions not only exist between rural and urban areas but also within the cities. The Naxals taking advantage of the situation and have started building up popular support in the cities through infiltrating labour unions and targeting the unemployed and students as well as exploiting the socio-economic disparities. Today, big cities like Delhi, Patna and Kolkata have come up as big hubs for Maoist sympathising intellectuals.According to Ernst Bloch the development of Modernity and capitalism can create contradictions within a society. These contradictions are often a consequence of social progress that is not shared by the whole population. Bloch calls this asymmetric development "the simultaneity of the nonsimultaneous". This process can be conflict-promoting especially when the contradictions are exploited by a political force. This concept can be well applied to the Naxalite conflict.

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CHAPTER-IV

IMPACT OF NAXALISM ON THE NATION

37. The spread and influence of Naxalism has almost captured half of Indian territory. The speed with which this menace is spreading its tentacles, the day is not far when the whole of the nation will be under its firm grip. Today, the violence related to Naxalism is a real cause of concern which is degenerating the security fabric of the country. The under mentioned paragraphs highlight the direct and indirect effects of the menace on the nation.

Security Implications

38. Shift from ideology. The facts clearly indicate the rising menace of Naxalism and bring to fore that Naxalism in its present form fail to tow their novel ideology conceptualized in the native years, ie, working with a determined and undivided aim of establishing social equality. In fact Left Wing extremists are transforming the movement from "menace" to "serious threat". [11] 

39. Increasing Influence. The viral spread of Naxalism is a growing concern. The Naxal threat seems to have surpassed all other insurgencies in the nation at least from the geographical point of view. Today the Naxalites are dreaming of establishing a red corridor and are putting all their energies towards fulfillment of their goals in this concern. Going with the present pattern they might soon gain a continuous presence along the length and breadth of the nation.

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40. Virtual Control. The situation today is such that If partial the Naxalites ever plan to launch coordinated, simultaneous attacks, they would not only be able to drive a wedge through the vital areas of the country but will also give them complete control over huge deposits of minerals, oils and industrialised territory and put them at a position from where they can bargain on their terms.  Gen Shankar Roy Chowdhury former Army Chief had this to say "The Naxalite movement is the main threat which is affecting the states today. It is more dangerous than the situation in Jammu and Kashmir or the situation in the North-East. You won't be able to go from Delhi to Kolkata or from Mumbai to Chennai if this movement catches on."

41. Challenge to Government Authority. The Naxal cadres and even people under their influence are openly challenging the writ of the government. The Naxals are collecting taxes, redistributing cultivable land and extorting money from the rich. Apart from dispensing justice through Jan Adalats [12] , kidnapping and killing of government officials has become routine. Today the Naxals have become so powerful that they are carrying out indiscriminate attacks on police forces and CPOs. This is also resulting in large scale destruction of public and private property.

42. Uncontrolled Violence. Numerous groups with Left Wing Extremist lineage are active in many parts of the country for past many years. The aim of these groups is to overthrow the elected government of the country and its democratic form with and an armed rebellion. This philosophy is not only against the very fundamentals of the constitution but is also posing a big threat to the national existence with each passing year. The very basic foundation of their philosophy rests on the quote of Mao Tse Tung "power flows from the barrel of the gun." Thus there has been a marked increase in the level of violence in the affected parts of the country for past few years. The result is that Maoists have upped their ante against the security forces, suspected police informers, government officials in the region as well as against the elected representatives of

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the state and centre. The fear of Maoists reigns supreme in the region and same is highlighted by the statistics of so called Naxal violence in the affected states [13] 

WISE LEFT WING EXTREMIST VIOLENCE FROM 2008 STATE- TO 2011

STATE

2008

2009

2010

2011

INCIDENTS

DEATHS

INCIDENT

DEATHS

INCIDENT

DEATHS

INCIDENTS

AP

92

46

66

18

100

24

54

BIHAR

164

73

232

72

307

97

314

CHATTISGARH

620

242

529

290

625

343

465

JHARKHAND

484

207

742

208

501

157

517

MP

07

00

01

-

07

01

08

MAHARASHTRA

68

22

154

93

94

45

109

ODISHA

103

101

266

67

218

79

192

UP

04

-

08

02

06

01

01

WEST BENGAL

35

26

255

158

350

258

90

OTHERS

14

04

05

-

05

00

05

TOTAL

1591

721

2258

908

2213

1005

1755

43. Attacks on Security Forces. Today, the situation is such that Naxalites , carry out attacks on security forces and symbols of governance at will. The situation has come to a point where the Naxals are openly challenging the security forces. They are carrying out routine attacks on the security forces. These attacks carried out with impunity demonstrate the growing might and confidence of Naxalites.

44. Human Rights Violation. Study of history amply demonstrates that areas with civil war, insurgencies, militancies and other such hazards are prone to Human Rights violation. The actions of Naxalites and security forces together with actions by Salwa Judum activists has plunged the region into bedrock of human rights violation and abuse.

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45. Full Blaze Insurgency. Today the Naxalite threat has practically overtaken all other insurgencies in the country. According to own admission of the government, the Naxal menace in India is more threatening and causing more disruption than the Pakistan sponsored terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir. The fact that almost half of the nation is affected by Naxalism shows the ramification of this menace in the sphere of insurgency. In a sharp contrast, terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir affects 12 districts, while the combined influence of insurgencies in the North East states measures to 54 districts. Over the past years, the incidents and fatalities in various other insurgencies have tended to decline sharply, while on the other hand the fatalities resulted by Naxal violence incidents are on the upward swing with each passing year.

46. Benefits to Adversaries. One of the most disturbing trends within the problem is the linkages of Naxalites with ISI and other militant organisations operating in our neighbouring countries. This has undoubtedly a serious security implications. The nexus is not only going to further strengthen the Naxalites but will also create a problem for the government and security forces who will now have to deal with a well armed and trained Naxal cadre.

Socio-Economic Implications

47. Indoctrination of Masses. The leadership of Naxals generally consist of students and middle-class intellectuals and their support base and recruits are the tribals and poor masses of the society. The tribals which constitute their biggest support base are among India's poorest: "the most exploited the bottom rung", according to Ajit Jogi, former chief minister of Chhattisgarh. These tribals live in forests and have virtually no rights to their land. The only means of earning meagre cash income is from selling forest products. Most of the young recruits-illiterate tribal people have never read Mao. These people get affected by a different ideology of governance and thus start losing

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faith and confidence in democratic institutions and constitutional government. This indoctrination is going to have serious ramifications, aiding the Naxalites of fulfilling their agenda of establishing Communist order in this democratic country.

48. Negative Impact on Economy. The regions which are seriously affected by Naxalism are very rich in natural resources. They hold unexploited reserves of huge deposits of minerals, oils and industrialised territory. However, the pace of development and true exploitation of these resources has not materialised to its fullest owing to the very basic existence of the menace. Indirectly, this is going to have a negative impact on the economy of the country. A lot of Investors from foreign countries as well Indian corporate houses are reluctant to exploit this mineral rich area due to security concerns. This has also led to deterioration of living conditions in the area due to poor economic opportunities.

49. Additional Burden on State Exchequer. Today the government has to spend an enormous amounts of funds to fight the menace of Naxalism. The amount averages to 12% of the state expenditure considering all the affected areas put together. This money could have been to diverted to other developmental schemes if not used for fighting Naxalism.

50. Adverse Impact on Developmental Activities. Today, large finances of the government are being funneled towards security forces which are operating in these areas to control Naxalism, resulting in development activities taking a back seat. Ultimately, the time and energy of the government is diverted towards security issues as against more important issues of development and social progress. Naxals are blocking development by collaborating to dissuade government/ private sector from setting up Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in areas under their control.

51. Setback to Agricultural Sector. Normal activity in the agricultural sector has come to stand still due to the tactics of 'land redistribution' adopted by Naxalites. While the Naxalites make the landless tillers to occupy the redistributed land, they are seldom cultivating this land due to fear of police action and at the

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same time, the landlords are abandoning the area and settling in urban areas due to Naxalite terror.

Effects of Merger; Formation of CPI (Maoist)

52. The merger of MCC (I) and PWG to form the CPI (Maoist) has resulted in the consolidation of their military and political wings and consequently in the emergence of a potent threat to internal security.Today, the Naxals are following the policy of coercion and elimination.

53. It is forcing the other LWE groups to either join CPI (Maoist) or be prepared to be eliminated, in this process; it has killed large number of cadres of other groups. The merger is going to have following implications:-

(a) Larger Base. CPI (Maoists) presently has emerged as the dominant LWE group with its clout and influence extending over a sizeable portion of the country. It has made the other groups meaningless and is proclaiming as the sole representative of the oppressed, poor and landless classes.

(b) Increased Bargaining Power. With its emergence as the most dominant group, it is surely going to yield greater bargaining power with the Governments in states and centre and in the process legitimising its existence, policies and representation.

(c) Stong Military Wing. It is estimated that the merger has increased the cadre strength from 7,000 to approx 12 - 14000. Even if 25% of these are capable of armed struggle, then also the strength goes upto 3500 to 4000 which is much larger than the terrorist at any time in J & K. [14] 

(d) Global Limelight. The Naxals are trying desperately to find a voice and sympathisisers in international forums in order to get world wide recognition and acceptance. Today, it has found a platform in "World Social

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Forum" the organization which vehemently opposes WTO, globalisation, MNC and capitalism. The participation of Naxal leaders in world social forum meeting held in Mumbai in the year 2003 and their speeches are indicative of future tie ups.

Analysis: Present State

54. In present context it has become imperative to root out the Naxalite menace from the country at the earliest. It is a known fact that armed action by itself is never going to solve this problem, whose roots go much deeper and are essentially related to the socio-economic conditions of the poor and landless farmers and the dispossessed and alienated tribals. The stress must be on addressing the basic issues. Unfortunately, this is an area where pious sentiments are expressed, elaborate plans are made, but the vested interests supported by an obliging bureaucracy frustrate the implementation of the plans. Unless that is ensured, popular sentiments continue to come to fore from time to time leading to violence and bloodshed. [15] Therefore the measure need to be both security and those related to socio-economic upliftment, at the same time encompassing effective developmental strategies.The timeliness of these steps cannot be overemphasized as sophistication of attacks and the interrelated with it the alleged and established links with various regional and international groups is boomeranging the situation towards no return.

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CHAPTER-V

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO NAXAL CHALLENGE AND DRAWBACKS

55. The government has always considered Naxalism to be a mere law and order problem and not a social uprising, hence, the state response has always been restricted to fire-fighting mechanism that was aimed at solving the problem on a periodic basis instead of a well thought out long term policy that could have enabled in tackling the issue from its very roots. Since the inception of Naxalism, successive governments have failed to pay the due attention towards the problem which has further resulted only in providing fuel to the fire. In a Status Paper tabled in the Parliament in 2006, security and development were the proposed solutions for dealing with the problem of Naxalism . However, ironically, security and development are the areas which have been neglected so far. The lackadaisical attitude coupled with faulty policies of the governments have further alienated the common mass leading to a boomerang effect. The response of the government towards solving this problem till date is that of a sad tale which had lacked both vision and foresight. The response adopted by the government and the drawbacks in its policies are enumerated as under:

Security-centric approach by the State

56. The government approach to solving the Naxalite problem has always been security-centric. An anti-Naxal mindset mixed with a status attribution of culpability prevailed in successive governments. The direct result of it was the bias in the

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minds of people in power and even otherwise against any individual even distantly related or perceived to be related to a person believed to be a Naxalite. Even the people who were working for the welfare and upliftment of the poor and marginalized section were considered to be Naxalites or their sympathisisers. Threats, arrests and torture prevailed among not only the person allegedly having connections with the Naxalites but also with people merely based on suspicion. This has resulted into a state of panic and unprecedented terror among the common people. The culpability of the government in denying the poor and the downtrodden their basic rights, the treachery of a corrupt bureaucracy to implement the laws, and its complicity with a trigger-happy police to suppress popular protest were the attributes of the Government in regions where Naxalites were trying to enforce pro-poor laws through their own means. [16] 

56. The government in order to suppress the spread of Naxalism started enforcing draconian laws like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987; Chhattisgarh Public Safety Act, 2006, etc. which were not only against the basic norms of constitutionalism but also against humanitarian morality. Such laws not only add fuel to fire but also result in victimization of the tribals and villagers [17] . For example, Section 8(2) of the Chhattisgarh Public Safety Act, 2006 punishes a person to aid any unlawful organization or harbour any member of such organization. However, it is impossible to distinguish a common man from a Naxalite merely on the basis of his physical appearance. This could mean that even if an individual unknowingly helps a person or offers food or water, and the person whom he had helped turns out to be a Naxalite, the individual who had provided help will be considered to be a criminal under the Act. Since the Act makes offences cognizable, and since it is again practically impossible to prove or disprove a state of mind, based on mere charges only any innocent person can be booked or punished according to the whims of the authorities under the said provision and in the presence of a strong anti-naxal mindset, there is always a doubt on the intentions.

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57. The government in order to contain the Naxal movement has deployed thousands of security personals. These forces are deployed in areas with no basic amenities and a constant pressure to kill the Naxals. Most of the men in uniform succumb to these pressures and there starts the story of human rights violations. Killing of innocent people have become the order of the day. The atrocities committed by security forces further aggravate the problem of these people. To get rid of their problems they start looking for Naxals. The end result is further maligning of the image of the government in the eyes of the local populace.

Land acquisition

58. The other approach adopted by the government is going for one sided development of these Naxal affected regions. The means they have adopted for this is by exercising the power of eminent domain, which is the compulsory acquisition of land, and this power, which vests with the government, may be invoked only for a public purpose. Unfortunately, what constitutes a public purpose is wide and open to interpretation and hence the setting up of every kind of private industry, power plant, dam or mine by any large scale industry, Indian or foreign is done by taking the land in the exercise of the power of eminent domain. [18] The real problem which lies in this approach is the displacement of the tribals and the peasants who are dependent on this land as a means for their livelihood, and this disparity in the definition of 'public purpose' accorded by the government demonstrates that the consideration for the welfare and well being of the tribals and the peasants, who are also citizens of the country is not within consideration while taking away the land for 'public purpose'.

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59. The majority of the tribal population in the these regions are dependent on forests for their livelihood directly or indirectly. In the recent times there has been a lot of developmental activity which has taken place in the Naxal infested regions. Major irrigation and power projects, mines and heavy industries have come up in these areas like Chhota Nagpur resulting in mass displacement of tribals from their native lands. Some of fortunate ones are rehabilitated, but mostly they become destitute. This could be attributed to the irreplaceable nature of the activity of agriculture and ignorance of their deep sentimental connection to their land. Even rehabilitation in terms of provision of jobs in the mining undertakings has negative impacts on the affected people morally, as they suddenly find themselves at the mercy of their employer, and practically, as they are inherently farmers and no other job can replace agriculture for them. In public hearings for the acquisition of their lands, despite their objection, their lands are taken away. Placed in a 'do or die' situation, they have been forced to launch militant political and social struggles in defence of their life and liberty .Such marginalization and forced evictions are bound to generate frustration and loss of faith towards the government among people [19] .

60. Further land grabbing was initiated by the Government's movement called Salwa Judum. Villagers were forcefully evicted from their villages and were made to stay in camps set up on the sides of highways which lacked living conditions, so that they may be protected from the Naxalites and the forces could fight the Naxalites in the empty villages. Instead of being educated and employed, children and youngsters were forced to train with police and become Special Police Officers (SPOs) to assist the State in fighting the Naxalites. On attaining power, they misused it, raped the women, stole food grains, etc [20] . The forced displacement of thousands of people and villages resulted in large number of

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refugees staying in these temporary camps. The real motive behind implementation of this plan was the separating the innocent villagers from the Naxalites. This move of the government was full of loopholes. To distinguish a Naxalite from other villagers on the basis of physical appearance or popular opinion or the willingness to innocently help Naxalites, was not only impossible but that of real blunder .

61. The forced evictions and displacement of locals in the name of development has imposed unimaginable hardships on the victims. For example, the internally displaced persons from Chhattisgarh used to be in perpetual limbo. No state government whether Andhra Pradesh, or Chhattisgarh, was willing to take responsibility for them. At the same time, no civil government department was capable of undermining the stern policies of the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department that wished to send them back to Chhattisgarh, who would probably dump them in mismanaged Salwa Judum camps. [21] The result was that the government could neither take care of the local people nor properly deal with the Naxalites. In all their policies the ultimate sufferer were the local innocent people. In this background of a struggle between Naxalites and the government, the forest dwellers and villagers not only witnessed but also experienced a battle on their hometowns which inevitably affected them and changed their psyche and is bringing them closer to Naxals with each passing day.

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Analysis: Present Situation

62. There has been visible shift in the Naxal ideology which has been experienced in the past four decades. Today, weapons and violence have become more prominent and politics and negotiations have taken a backseat. The ultimate result is that in the fight between the government and Naxals the basic problems of people have become irrelevant. The violent tussle for supremacy has resulted in the death of a large number of innocent people primarily belonging to the weaker and poorer sections of the society. The concern for food security, land reforms, creating employment opportunities and the elimination of social discrimination has taken a backseat. As brought out earlier, the government views the Naxalite movement as a mere law and order problem requiring force to eliminate it and not as an expression of the people's aspiration to a life of dignity and self-respect. The result has been physical liquidation of people in so-called 'encounters', repression and harassment of people by illegal detention, torture and false cases, suppression of democratic activities, unlawful behaviour towards democratic organisations and encouragement of vigilante groups [22] .

63. The Naxalite movement now primarily focuses on 'military action' rather than people's action for social transformation. The policy of human decimation and annihilation followed by it is as mindless and flawed as the governments' policies aimed to liquidate activists and leaders and to grab mineral rich and fertile areas of land. The Naxalite movement now connotes only a confrontation with the State forces each with its own agenda of violence and power. The democratic sphere has vanished and appallingly there is no regard for human rights anymore. Thus, a very strong polarity has been created between the State and Naxalites and the local population had to choose between the two, whichever pole is less harmful for

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them. [23] While exercising there choice between the Naxals and the govenment, many factors would subconsciously play in the minds of the locals. They are as under:

(a) First, the State is an external entity for them, at least from its attitude towards Naxalism, while those joining the Naxalite movement are only the locals. Hence, on an emotional level the locals are more likely to connect with the Naxalites. [24] 

(b) Second, though the government and Naxalites equally use violence, but, however, there is a difference in their treatment of the locals. The Naxalites attack only the government entities like police, security forces and any 'suspected' informers. However, the government seeks to attack the Naxalites and as is the case often, a clear distinction between a Naxalite and a Non-Naxalite villager or forest dweller cannot be made. Thus, States' aggressive policies against Naxalites are mostly implemented on the locals instead of the Naxalites. For example, the Special Police Officers (SPOs), or the Salwa Judum were basically the displaced villagers forcefully employed to fight the Naxalites. In all this, no one is thinking about the human rights of the Dalits and Adivasis. Where earlier, they paid indirect costs by living in areas where these confrontations were most bitter, now, after the States' response, they are beginning to pay direct costs being sought out and killed on one side while being used as cannon fodder on the other. With this scenario, the public confidence is lost and the faith increases in repressive measures and fascist solutions, as, when the weapon of terror is used, it signals the end of politics. [25] 

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(c) Third, although Naxalism as it exists today can be considered as a major hindrance in the development of the Naxal-affected tribal-rural areas, the government attitude towards development, as is evident from its land depriving policies, is very external and this makes any development meaningless for the locals .Basic facilities such as education, health care, etc. Have been lacking before the Naxal movement began,so there is no guarantee for the locals to not be ignored if they choose government over Naxalites.

(d) Fourth, even if there is no sympathy towards the Naxalites, the locals follow them out of imminent fear as the government is unable to provide them the security. Hence, under the current state of affairs and the conditions prevailing in these areas, the probability of the locals joining Naxalites is more than them joining the State against the Naxalites. To a certain extent, this also explains the rapid growth of Naxalism in recent times. Today the faulty policies of the government has ensured a situation when the locals just cannot be neutral.

Drawbacks in The Government Response

64. The government policies and response to solving the problem of Naxalism have not only been faulty but had also several loopholes. Instead of adopting a pragmatic and well thought out approach, knowing the reasons of the problem and mitigating the long pending discontent and frustration of the weaker and underprivileged sections of the society, the government planners adopted a myopic view. They thought that mere application of force will eradicate this problem. However, this is turning out to be a myth. The viral spread of Naxalism today in the country virtually tears the government policies apart. The expert committee appointed by planning Commission of India under D. Bandopadhyay

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clearly blames the policies of the government and its lack of vision in finding a permanent solution to this problem.

65. In May 2006, the Planning Commission of India appointed an expert committee headed by D. Bandopadhyay, a retired IAS officer. The officer having deep understanding of the problem of Naxalism was also instrumental in dealing with the Naxalites in West Bengal in the 1970s. The expert committee highlighted the social, political, economic and cultural discrimination faced by the weaker and marginalised sections of the society across the length and breadth of the country as a key factor in attracting large population of discontented people towards the Naxalites. The committee further highlights the lack of empowerment of local communities and denial of basic rights as the main reason for the spread of the Naxal movement. The report states that "We have two worlds of education, two worlds of health, two worlds of transport and two worlds of housing''.

66.  The expert committee also concentrated into the new conflict zones of the country, the mineral rich region, steel and iron ore zones and the SEZs. The report clearly points towards the faulty system of land acquisition and a thoughtless rehabilitation policy responsible for the growing support enjoyed by the Naxalites. The committee also recommends a policy and legal framework enabling small and marginal farmers to lease-in land with secure rights while landless poor who are in occupation government land not be treated as encroachers. 

67. It was the first time in the history of the Naxal movement, a government appointed committee has clearly put the blame on the government for the spread of the Naxalism in the country. Giving statistics of 125 districts from the Naxal hit States, the committee points out that the state bureaucracy has miserably failed in their duty of providing good governance in these areas. Making a departure from the usual government position, the expert committee concludes that development paradigm pursued since independence has

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aggravated the prevailing discontent among the marginalized sections of society. Citing democratic principles, the report also argues for the right to protest and discovers that unrest is often the only thing that actually puts pressure on the government to make things work and for the government to live up to its own promises. Dealing with Naxalism needs a holistic approach with development initiatives as an integral part of the security approach. Security here must be understood in its broader perspective, which includes human development in its scope, because human security is an inseparable component of any human development formula, and vice- versa.

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CHAPTER-VI

SUGGESTED APPROACH AND RECOMMENDATIONS

68. Today, the menace of Naxalism is threatening the very existence of the nation. The tentacles of Naxalism are spreading fast all over the country and the day will not be far when this problem will engulf the whole of the nation if true corrective measures are not taken with right earnest and sincerity. There is a emergent need for the government planners to wake up and start looking for pragmatic and practical solutions for the problem instead for adopting time bound superficial approach to curb the menace. The areas which are the stronghold of Naxals are the poorest and there is frustration, anger and deep resentment against the government and its institutions. With no hope left in the people and the fear of their own very existence they are looking up to the Naxals to get rid them of their miseries.

69. A nation which is boasting of strong economy and aspiring to become a superpower in the years to come, this is not a healthy sign. Our constitution guarantees equal rights and opportunity to every citizen of this country but sad part is that after six decades of our independence we are not able to provide basic amenities to majority of our population. There is widespread disparity in various sections of the society. The poorer section of the society and the tribals are feeling cheated and to get their rights they are being forced to take the path of violence and support Naxalism. The time has come for the government to start thinking seriously on this issue and take measures for



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