Daily Editorials – Maoism in India

• Maoism in India

1. Context- 
2. Maoist movement
3. Naxalism–
4. Causes 
5. CPI (maoist)
6. Salwa Judum–
7. Present condition
8. Steps taken by government-

Context-

Context- The Communist Party of India (Maoist) lost around 30 of its cadres in a covert operation jointly organised by the Greyhounds of Andhra Pradesh and the Special Operations Group of Odisha.

In March this year, seven Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans were killed in Dantewada by a skillfully concealed Improvised Explosive Device (IED)

• The LWE/Naxalism/Maoism has been referred many a time by the policymakers of the country as the biggest internal security threat ever faced by India.

Red corridor- A region in the east of India that experiences considerable Naxalite–Maoist insurgency. The Naxalite group mainly consists of the armed cadres of the Communist Party of India (Maoist).

Maoist movement

• It can be traced to the Telangana Uprising (1946- 1951), an armed peasant uprising
• After, Indo-China war (1962), serious differences emerged within the CPI as to whether support India or China (a socialist country).
• This ideological tussle culminated into a major split within the Party, giving birth to CPI (Marxist) . The CPI came to be known as pro-Soviet Party and the CPI (M) as pro-Chinese party. The CPI (M) decided to participate in election.
• The Maoist insurgency doctrine glorifies violence as the primary means to overwhelm the existing socio-economic and political structures. The Peoples Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA), the armed wing of CPI (Maoist), has been created with this purpose in mind.

Naxalism–

• Naxalism originated in May 1967, as an armed peasant uprising led by Kanu Sanyal of CPI (M) , against lack of development and poverty at the local level in the rural parts of eastern India.
• The term ‘Naxal’ derives its name from a village called Naxalbari in the State of West Bengal where the movement had its origin.
• The Naxals are considered far left radical communists having no clear ideology , a mix of marxism, maoism , leninism .
• Initially the movement had its centre in West Bengal. Thereafter, it spread into less developed areas of rural central and eastern India, such as, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh through the activities of underground groups like the Communist Party of India (Maoist).
• In the beginning, This movement was basically a revolt of the peasants, workers and tribals against centuries of oppression
• The Naxal movement now is centered around overthrowing the state and imposing New Democratic Revolution by creating a “red corridor” in Naxalite-affected states, stretching from the border of Nepal to central India to Karnataka in the south through violent struggle.

Causes-

• This movement primarily survives on poverty, disparity and discontent among the masses.
• Lack of land reforms in the areas, one of the aims of the Naxals is to redistribute land to the tillers.
• These regions are resource rich and mostly occupied by indigenous people, there is an increased sense of alienation among the people regarding their own regions been left out of development.
• Districts that comprise the Red Corridor are among the poorest in the country ,with high unemployment
• Many areas which are strongholds of Naxalism in affected districts of Chhattisgarh remain out of bond of the local administration.

• Maoists do not want root causes like underdevelopment to be addressed in a meaningful manner since they resort to targeting school buildings, roads, railways, bridges, health infrastructure, communication facilities etc in a major way.
• They wish to keep the population in their areas of influence marginalized to perpetuate their outdated ideology. Consequently, the process of development has been set back by decades in many parts of the country under LWE influence.

CPI (maoist)

• Two major Maoist blocks of that time were the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI) of Bihar and the CPI (ML) People’s War Group of Andhra Pradesh , merged to form a new unified Maoist group, CPI (Maoist) in 2004 .
• CPI(Maoist) aims to overthrow the government of India through people’s war.
• CPI (Maoist) is the most dominant and violent LWE group, accounting for more than 80% of violence and the killings

There are still 23 officially identified LWE groups currently active in the country

Salwa Judum –

• Began in 2005 as a government-backed “people’s resistance movement” against the Maoists. In the Gondi language of the tribal’s of Dantewada and Bastar, Salwa Judum means peace march.
• It involved authorities arming tribal villagers to fight the Maoists .The militia, consisting of local tribal youth, received support and training from the Chhattisgarh state government
• In 2011, the Supreme Court declared the militia to be illegal and unconstitutional, and ordered its disbanding. The Court directed the Chhattisgarh government to recover all the firearms, ammunition and accessories. Criticizing it for its violations of human rights and poorly trained youth for counter-insurgency roles.

Present Condition-

• Today, Naxalism and Maoism has metamorphosed into a highly rigid and militaristic movement, more intent on terrorizing segments of population than on supporting people’s causes.
• All forms of Naxalite organizations have been declared as terrorist organizations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of India (1967)
• Less visible in the urban areas, but in many pockets of the country, especially in the more remote areas in the heartland States of the country, the Maoist movement is still a force.
• In West Bengal, economic and developmental measures appear to have weakened the Maoist stranglehold.
• Reports indicate that Naxal armed underground cadres number around 15,000 men and women, with 12,000 firearms, and an unarmed cadre strength of nearly 200,0oo

Steps taken by government-

The Government’s approach is to deal with Left Wing Extremism in a holistic manner, in the areas of security, development, ensuring rights and entitlements of local communities, improvement in governance and public perception management .

• Many schemes launched by the government to improve condition of the poor.
• States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal share information and coordinate with one another in adjoining border areas (to stop the Naxals from escaping across the borders)
• Integrated Action Plan (IAP)/ Additional Central Assistance (ACA) for LWE affected districts:The Planning Commission had commenced the IAP in 2010-11 covering 60 Tribal and Backward districts for accelerated development by providing public infrastructure and services. During financial year 2010-11, Rs. 25 crore per district were provided to 60 districts which enhanced to Rs. 30 crore per district per year from the financial year 2011-12. This scheme was discontinued from 2015-16.
• Road Requirement Plan by ministry of Road Transport and Highways , to build roads in 34 LWE affected districts. Around 3800 km of road has been laid.
• Enhancing hardship allowance of paramilitary personnel deployed in the naxal affected areas.
• Installation of mobile towers , more than 900 towers have so far been istalled.
• Union and State Governments have announced Surrender and rehabilitation scheme for maoists who surrender, especially with weapons. They’re paid money for weapon surrendered, loans and vocational training to start a new life

Solution-

• Inclusive development
• Employment to the youth
• Use of social media , mobiles to send messages , awareness about the schemes
• Use of security personnel , to prevent loss of property and [personnel.
• Controlling the underground arms trade , black money in the area.
• Ensuring all the kids go to school , willing people are able to participate in the elections