Naxalism

SYLLABUS:

GS 3   > Security   >   Development and Extremism   >   Left wing extremism

REFERENCE NEWS:

• The Home Minister recently stated that India will soon be completely free of naxalism, following a successful operation in Chhattisgarh where 29 naxals were killed. 
• He emphasised that this achievement is part of the government's on-going efforts to eradicate naxalism, which he described as a significant hindrance to development and peace in affected regions. The operation was carried out in the dense jungles of the Kanker district, and among those killed were key Maoist commanders. 
• Till now, 68 Naxals have been killed since December 2023 in seperate encounters with security forces in Bastar region, comprising seven districts including Kanker.

HISTORY OF NAXALISM:

• Naxalist groups are Maoist-oriented, militant insurgent groups that have operated intermittently in India since the mid-1960s.
• Naxalite groups generally have claimed to represent the poorest and marginalized, notably tribal peoples and Dalits and to adhere to the Maoist doctrine of sustained peasant-led revolution.
• The name Naxalite is derived from the Naxalbari village in West Bengal, which was the centre of a tribal peasant uprising against local landlords in 1967.

Phase 1: Naxalbari

• In May, 1967, a police party shot dead eight tribal women and three tribal men in the village of Naxalbari. This led leftist leader Charu Mazumdar to announce that this was the beginning of a revolution.
• In 1969, he formed a new party Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI-ML). It criticized democracy in India and decided to adopt guerrilla warfare in order to lead to a revolution.
• However, the movement subsided following the death of Majumdar and the police repression during emergency period.

Phase 2: Post-Charu

• With the end of emergency, the naxal-peasant movement spread to several states of India. Their base grew from West Bengal to Bihar, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
• However, the Naxalite movement had by now splintered into various parties and organisations.

Phase 3: Present

• In 2004, several Maoist groups merged to form the CPI (Maoist). Today, CPI (Maoist) is the major Left Wing Extremist outfit responsible for most incidents of violence and killing of civilians and security forces.

AFFECTED BY LEFT WING EXTREMISM:

• Parts of India that experience considerable Naxalite–Maoist insurgency are termed as red corridors.
• The States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala are considered LWE affected, although in varying degrees.

WHY NAXALISM EMERGED?

Naxalism emerged from the discontent over poor governance and the resultant socio-economic alienation of tribal and backward regions in India. These factors can be broadly classified into:

I. Land related:

• Failure of land reforms
• Eviction of people from forest lands in the name of development and conservation.
• Poor implementation of laws prohibiting transfer of tribal land to non-tribals, resulting in encroachment by outsiders.

II. Governance related:

• Poor implementation of laws designed to protect tribal rights
• Corruption and diversion of funds meant for tribal welfare
• Developmental imbalances

III. Social factors:

• Exclusion of tribals from the mainstream society.
• Poor health and educational outcomes among tribals
• Human rights violations against downtrodden sections, like the 1967 Naxalbari event.

IV. Livelihood related:

• Non recognition of tribal rights over forest land and its resources.
• Absence of food security among tribals

GOVERNMENT EFFORTS AGAINST NAXALISM:

I. Legislative measures:

• National Policy and Action Plan: It was launched in 2015 to holistically address Left Wing Extremism LWE. It envisages a multi-pronged strategy involving security related measures, development interventions, ensuring rights and entitlements of local communities etc.
• Forest Rights Act, 2006: The Scheduled Tribe and Other Traditional Forest dwellers (Recognition of forest Rights) Act 2006 or the Forest Rights Act recognizes the rights of the scheduled tribes and forest dwellers who have been living in the forests for years but their rights have still not been recognized.
• Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act: The act has provisions to ban anomic groups and take actions against Naxals. For eg: CPI (Maoist) is a banned organisation under the act.
• National Rehabilitation & Resettlement Policy, 2007: The Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development had formulated the National Rehabilitation & Resettlement Policy, 2007. One of its aims is to minimize large-scale displacement, as far as possible.
• State legislations: Several state governments have passed laws and regulations which seek to ensure land security and prevent extremist activities. Eg: Chhattisgarh Special Public Securities Act, 2006 which provides for definition of unlawful activities, declaring an organisation unlawful etc.

II. Law and order approach:

• Modernization of Police Force: Under various schemes, financial aids are provided to the state governments by the central government to modernize their equipment and tactical gear including latest communication, vehicles and infrastructure facility.
• Deployment of paramilitary forces: Central Para Military Forces have been deployed on a long-term basis by the government to help the state governments to fight against the Naxals. In order to prevent cross border infiltrations by Nepalese Maoists, the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) has been deployed along the Indo-Nepal border.
• Strengthening Intelligence Networks: It includes round-the-clock intelligence-sharing through Multi Agency Centre (MAC) at the Central level and through State Multi Agency Centre (SMAC) at the State level.
• Dedicated forces: The Central government has formed the COBRA which is a special force formed to deal with Naxalism in any state. States have also established their own special security force like the Greyhounds of Andhra Pradesh.
• Offensive actions: Security forces often conduct anti-Naxalite offensive efforts such as ‘Operation Green Hunt’, which is an all-out offensive" by government of India's paramilitary forces and the states’ forces against the Naxalites.

• Dedicated doctrine: SAMADHAN doctrine is the one-stop solution for the LWE problem. It encompasses the entire strategy of government from short-term policy to long-term policy formulated at different levels.
• Counter-Insurgency (COIN) strategy: Various COIN initiatives have been an amalgamation of both population-centric and enemy-centric approaches, combining law-and-order mechanisms and development instruments.

III. Social integration approach:

• Socio-economic development: Governments have initiated several projects aimed at bridging the socio-economic backwardness of Naxalism affected areas. Eg: Special Central Assistance for Naxal affected areas, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Aspirational Districts Programme and special infrastructure schemes.
• Surrender policy: States like Jharkhand and Orissa have offered huge incentives to the Naxals who surrender themselves. Further, the government has offered cash equivalent to the price of the weapon surrendered. They also provide them with life insurance cover, vocational training, agricultural land, health and educational facilities for their children.

WHY NAXALISM PREVAILS?

The Maoist insurgency still has potency in South Bastar in Chhattisgarh, the Andhra-Odisha border and in some districts in Jharkhand. Some of the key reasons for its prevalence are:

• Loss of forest rights: Despite the existence of Forest Rights Act, more than 1.75 million land rights claims filed by tribals and other traditional forest dwellers have been rejected by state governments so far. Hence, people continue to be alienated form the forest lands they rely for livelihood and cultural needs.
• Geographical limitations: Due to strong police action and loss of support among common masses, the organisation is now limited to the remote and densely forested terrains of central and east-central India. This geographical isolation poses a challenge to security agencies.
• Developmental imbalance: Tribal areas even today continue to be the least developed in the country. The continued under-development creates an ideal ground for extremist ideas to find roots among the people living here.  
• Continuing exploitation of tribal areas: Despite various protective legislations like reservations and inner line permits, tribal people continue to fall prey to money lenders and human traffickers. This exploitation has been a major reason for people to take arms against the government. 
• Intelligence deficit: Naxals occupy some of the remotest forest areas. They rely on fear tactics to prevent locals from providing information to security forces. Hence, the security forces act upon limited information, which often results in them running into land mines and ambushes.
• Limited coordination: Security forces among the states do not have a common plan on countering Naxalism. There are also limited institutionalized intelligence.
• Failure of land reforms: Except for a few pockets, land reforms had limited success in India. The Naxalbari upsurge was sparked by the fact that in-spite of the United Front being in power in the state, land reforms were still ineffectual. Its sustenance was fueled by the poor economic and social conditions.
• Ideological support: In the past, the Naxalist movement found enormous support among the educated youth. Today, Maoism still resonates with some of the more ideologically oriented elements in universities and colleges.
• External support: Maoists are known to have linkages with Maoists of Nepal and anti-India terror groups based in Pakistan and Bangladesh. They have already established linkages with militant outfits in the north east like ULFA and People's Liberation Army (PLA) of Manipur.
• Resentment against security forces: Frequent skirmishes and attacks have left many tribal civilians caught in the crossfire. The security-driven approach is also often criticised for human rights’ violations.

WAY FORWARD:

• Enhanced Socio-Economic Development: Address underdevelopment in Naxal-affected regions by prioritizing comprehensive development programs. Focus on education, healthcare, and job opportunities, especially for the youth. Strengthen and expand the Aspirational Districts Programme, ensuring community involvement and clear success metrics.
• Reforming Land and Forest Rights: Emphasize the effective implementation of the Forest Rights Act to protect tribal land rights and reduce corruption and exploitation. This will address historical grievances and support fair law enforcement.
• Political and Administrative Reforms: Promote effective democratic decentralization to mitigate political grievances. Strengthen local governance through Gram Sabha to empower communities and reduce feelings of alienation among tribal populations.
• Dialogue and Reconciliation Processes: There should be an open channel for dialogue with insurgents, especially when they are perceived as weak. This approach should aim to bring insurgents back into the mainstream political process. However, such dialogues must be approached carefully, ensuring they do not undermine the morale of security forces or compromise the state's authority.
• Strengthening Intelligence and Security Measures: While continuing necessary security operations against armed insurgents, it is crucial to enhance intelligence capabilities through better technology and ground-level intelligence. This can help in executing more precise operations that avoid collateral damage, reducing civilian casualties and resentment among local communities.
• Community Engagement and Counter-propaganda: Efforts should be made to counter the Naxal propaganda by promoting government policies and success stories through various media. Engaging with communities to educate them about the adverse effects of insurgency and the benefits of peace and development can help in reducing the influence of Naxal ideologies.
• Monitoring and Evaluation: Regular monitoring and evaluation of both development and security initiatives should be instituted to assess their effectiveness and make necessary adjustments. This can help in ensuring that the policies are responsive to the changing dynamics on the ground and are effectively addressing the root causes of Naxalism.
• International Cooperation: Given the external support that Naxals might be receiving, enhancing international cooperation with neighboring countries to curb support and tighten security at borders can help in controlling the flow of arms and insurgents across borders.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. Discuss the reasons for Naxalite movement in India and the various efforts taken by the government to tackle the issue. (15 marks, 250 words)