Naxalism: The Single Biggest Internal Security Challenge

Source :

Dr. Abhijeet Kumar Gautam (IRS)

Origin:

The peasant movement in Andhra Pradesh just after India’s independence was a precursor to the rise of Maoist thought. But it was an attack on a tribal man in the Naxalbari village of West Bengal on March 2, 1967 that sparked the violent, extremist left-wing movement led by Charu Majumdar, Kanu Sanyal, and Jangal Santhal .The Communist Party of China hailed the movement as the “Spring Thunder of India”.
The term Naxal derives from the name of the village Naxalbari in West Bengal, where the movement had its origin.
Naxalites are considered far-left radical communists, supportive of Maoist political sentiment and ideology. Their origin can be traced to the split in 1967 of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), leading to the formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist).
The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is an ultra-leftist political party in India which aims to overthrow the government of India through people’s war and to establish a class-less society; ‘seizure of power’ through an agrarian revolution.
Eight articles written by Charu Majumdar at this time—known as the Historic Eight Documents—have been seen as providing their ideological foundation: arguing that revolution must take the path of armed struggle on the pattern of the Chinese revolution.
About 80 million Indians are officially recognized as “tribal”; of these, some 15 million live in the northeast. It is among the 65 million tribals of the heartland that the Maoists have found a most receptive audience.
The Naxalite movement spread in the West Bengal State as a wildfire and particularly the urban elite youth and the bhadralok class got attracted to it.
Various splinter groups of Naxalites started resurfacing in various parts of India during the early 1980s. Thus, theNaxalites of Andhra Pradesh regrouped as the CPI-ML (Peoples’ War Group/ PWG); likewise the Bihar Naxalites rechristened themselves as the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC). Of all the newly organised Naxalite groups, the CPI-ML (PWG) turned out to be the most active not only in Andhra Pradesh but also in Orissa, in the tribal belt (Bastar-Dandakaranya) of Madhya Pradesh (now mostly in the State of Chhattisgarh) and Maharashtra, causing considerable violence in these States.
In Bihar ,greatest adversary was not so much the administration and the police but the armed gangs (senas) of the landlord class – the Ranbir Sena, the Bhumihar Sena; instead of assuming the characteristics of class struggle as propagated by Maoist ideologues, the skirmishes took the shape of caste warfare.
Barring a few splinter groups, Naxalites have largely completed their process of merger and consolidation with the formation of the CPI (Maoist) on 21 September 2004.

What is India’s Maoist challenge all about?

Ideological challenge to the very foundation of Indian state.
Challenges the very edifice of Parliamentary democracy and constitutionalism

How are the objectives of Maoist challenge to be accomplished?

They hope to accomplish these objectives not through Gandhian methods or Ideological debates, but by the stride of violence and terror as fundamental instruments
Charu Majumdar, the pioneer of the Naxalite movement had said: “China’s Chairman is our Chairman and China’s path is our path”.

Geography of this challenge :

India_map_Naxal_Left-wing_violence_or_activity_affected_districts_2013.SVG

The Naxalites operate in 60 districts in India, mainly in the states of Orissa (5 affected districts), Jharkhand (14 affected districts), Bihar (5 affected districts), Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh (ten affected districts), Madhya Pradesh (8 affected districts), Maharashtra (2 affected districts) and West Bengal (8 affected district). In West Bengal areas west of Howrah are affected by the insurgency. (PIB 2014)
The Red Corridor is a region in the east of India that experiences considerable Naxalite–Maoist insurgency.
Mostly Central India; Mineral Rich areas, Forest Rich Areas and Tribal dominated areas with Bihar(everything is related to caste-lower castes and under-classes have been mobilised) as an exception;
Eastern Highlands : From “Pasupati”(Pasupathinath temple in Nepal) to “Tirupati”
There is a correlation between areas with extensive coal resources and impact of the insurgency

Who are the foot soldiers of this Movt.?

Leadership is 99% from AP; Telugu is Lingua-Franca of Maoist Leadership
Majority of Foot soldiers are tribals but few exceptions.

Recent Trends

Available reports, suggest that CPI (Maoists) have been trying to increase their influence and activity in parts ofKarnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Uttaranchal and also in new areas in some of the already affected states.
After the merger of Communist Party Marxist Lennist-People’s War (CPML-PW) and Maoist Communist Center of India (MCC) into CPI (Maoist) in September, 2004, they are reported to be trying to woo other splinter groups and have also consolidated their front organisations into‘Revolutionary Democratic Front’ (RDF) and People’s Democratic Front of India (PDFI) to intensify their mass contact programme.
In the recent past, naxalite groups seem to lay greater focuson organising along military lines.
They are also acquiring contemporary weapons. Their constant effort is to upgrade technology and sophistication of, their armoury and techniques.
The latest tactics adopted by the naxal outfits are to engage in simultaneous multiple attacks in large numbers particularly against police forces and police establishments.

Causes of Naxalism/Maoism

Socio-economic

Inequality in rural India based on unequal distribution of land.
Economically the tribals are the most deeply disadvantaged segment of Indian society. As few as 23 percent of them are literate; as many as 50 percent live under the poverty line. The state fails to provide them with adequate education, healthcare or sanitation; more actively, it works to dispossess them of their land and resources.
Mining contributed to misery of Tribals. Tribal areas to the policy makers are simply mineral rich areas. The way extraction industry operates environmentally or socially doesn’t lead to prosperity of the locals but it certainly leads to prosperity of outsiders. 40% of the total population displaced post-independence due to development have been tribals i.e. nearly 10-15 Million. Rehabilitation is pathetic.
The original struggle was against feudal landlords and landownership, but the new struggle is against state domination, modernization and development which parallels the rise of India as a strong economy propelled by capitalism and liberal economic gains.

Mis-Governance

Insensitive Forest Administration : First symbol of Government in Forest Areas is Forest Guard. Forest Guard is armed with Indian Forest Act of 1927. 1000s of tribals in Jharkhand, Chattisgarh are jailed on flimsy charges of collecting items of daily existence.
In 2006, Forest Rights Act was enacted. But Forest Bureaucracy continued its hostility towards it.

Psychological

Naxalites operate in a vacuum created by inadequacy of administrative and political institutions, espouse local demands and take advantage of the prevalent disaffection and injustice among the exploited segments of the population and seek to offer an alternative system, of governance which promises emancipation of these segments from the clutches of ‘exploiter’ classes through the barrel of a gun.
The tribals consider the Maoists as their friends for them these rebels who have stood by them when police beat them,the courts do not give them a hearing, the media does not care about them.
The naxals enjoy immense support among the lower strata of the society in which they known as the Red corridor, a collection of states with active Naxalism.

Political

Political Neglect of this issue.

Politically the tribals are very poorly represented in the democratic process. In fact, compared with India’s other subaltern groups, such as the Dalits and the Muslims, they are well nigh invisible.

TRIBAL PARTICIPATION BECAUSE OF 4DS TRIBAL

Displacement (from their land),
Deprivation (of their rights),
Disconnect (from the mainstream) and
Discontent (with the Govt.)

Remedies

Manmohan Singh, the former Prime Minister of India, calledMaoist insurrection, “the single biggest internal-security challenge”.

The solution needs to be multi-dimensional and calls for a synergy between the central governments and the states.
The socio-economic alienation and the dissatisfaction with the widening economic and political inequality will not be solved by military force alone, which seems to be the main instrument employed by the government.
By only addressing the issue by brute force, government risks alienating civilians who are caught in the middle.

Addressing the meeting of Chief Ministers of naxalism affected states, the Prime Minister said—

“Our strategy to handle Naxal menace has to walk on two legs – one, to have an effective police response and at the same time focus on reducing the sense of deprivation and alienation“.

Another important point by the Prime Minister was—

“The police response is necessary so that the obligation of the Indian state to uphold public order is fulfilled. However, an effective police response does not mean that we need to brutalise the Indian state”.

In several meetings called by the Centre of affected states, it has emerged that—

The drive against movement has often been hit by the lack of coordination between states and central intelligence agencies.
The Centre has now made it clear that it will closely monitor the implementation of counter revolutionary strategies in different states.
Earlier the Union Government’s role was only confined to sending paramilitary forces, reimbursement security related expenditure to states and modernization of police.

Security Approach

The Government has taken the following measures to improve police force and development response to counter this threat.

1. Modernization of State Police:

Funds are given to the states under the Police Modernization Scheme to modernize their police forces in terms of modern weaponry, latest communication equipment, mobility and other infrastructure.
The naxal affected states have also been asked to identify vulnerable police stations and outposts in naxal areas and take up their fortification under the Scheme.

2. REVISION OF SECURITY RELATED EXPENDITURE (SRE) SCHEME IN FEBRUARY, 2005:

The level of reimbursement under the Scheme was raised in February, 2005 from 50 per cent to 100 per cent and new items like insurance scheme for police personnel, community policing, rehabilitation of surrendered naxalites, expenditure incurred on publicity have been introduced to counter propaganda of naxalites.
The scheme has enabled the states to improve ground level policing in the naxal affected areas.

3. SUPPLY OF MINE PROTECTED VEHICLES:

Keeping in view the increased casualties of police personnel and civilians caused by IED/land mine blasts, the naxal affected states have been provided Mine Protected Vehicles (MPVs) under the Police Modernization Scheme.

4. LONG-TERM DEPLOYMENT OF CENTRAL PARA MILITARY FORCES:

In order to supplement the efforts of the states in providing an effective response to the naxal violence, Central Para MilitaryForces have been deployed on a long term basis as requested by the affected states.

5. INDIA RESERVE BATTALIONS:

The naxal affected states have been sanctioned India Reserve (IR) battalions mainly to strengthen security apparatus their level as also to enable them to provide gainful employment to the youth, particularly in the naxal areas.

6. RECRUITMENT IN CENTRAL PARAMILITARY FORCES:

In order to wean away the potential youth from the path to militancy or naxalism, recruitment guidelines have been revised to permit 40 percent recruitment in Central ParaMilitary Forces from the border areas and areas affected by militancy or naxalism.

Salva Judum in Bastar region,Chhattisgarh:

An anti-naxal movement began in June, 2005 in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh as a spontaneous expression to pent-up anti-naxalite sentiments among the local people.
The movement was triggered off by a meeting of eight villages at Tebmar village in district Bijapur, where the villagers expressed their unhappiness with the modus operandi of naxalites causing harassment and starvation of common villagers due to cutting off of employment opportunities.
Salva Judum activists mobilized villagers/tribals against naxals through a series of rallies and meetings in naxal strongholds of the two blocks (Bijapur and Bhairamgarh) of Bijapur police district in South Bastar.
Keeping in view the importance of Salva Judum movement as a major bulwark in sustained campaign against naxals and view of the naxalite attacks on innocent Salva Judum activists, the state government has been advised to enhance the deployment of Security personnel in order to provide effective area domination, ensure safety of Salva Judum activists and strengthen security of relief camps.
On 5 July 2011, the Supreme Court of India 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. The use of Salwa Judum by the government for anti-Naxal operations was criticised for its violations of human rights and poorly trained youth for counter-insurgency roles. It also ordered the government to investigate all instances of alleged criminal activities of Salwa Judum

Development Approach

1.BACKWARD DISTRICTS INITIATIVE(BDI):

The Government has provided financial assistance to naxal affected districts under the Backward Districts lnitiative (BDI) component of the Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana (RSVY).
Under this Scheme, an amount of Rs 15 crore per year has been given to each of the districts for three years in order to fill in critical gaps in physical and social development in the naxal affected areas.
Apart from these districts, other naxal affected areas/districts have also been included under the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) Scheme.

2.TRIBAL AND FOREST RELATED ISSUES:

In order to address the areas of disaffection among the tribals, the government has introduced the Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2005 in Parliament.
Further, to facilitate social and physical infrastructure in the forest areas, Ministry of Environment and Forests has, as requested by the Ministry of Home Affairs issued general approval to allow such infrastructure by utilising up to 1 hectare of forest for non-forest purposes. The Ministry has also permitted upgradation of kutcha roads constructed into pucca roads.

3.LAND REFORMS EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE NAXAL AREAS:

Naxal groups have been raising mainly land’ and livelihood related issues. If land reforms are taken up on priority and the landless and the poor in the naxal areas are allotted surplus land,this would go a long way in tackling the developmental aspects of the naxal problem.
The states have been requested to focus greater attention on this area as’ also accelerate people centric developmental activities and create employment opportunities in the naxal affected areas with special focus on creation of physical infrastructure in terms of roads, communication, power as also social infrastructure such as schools, hospitals etc.

4. “NAXALS—SURRENDER CUM REHABILITATION SCHEME”

The Union ministry has requested to all the major naxalism affected states to strictly implement the ‘Naxals—Surrender Cum Rehabilitation Scheme’ for naxalites who actually wants to shun the violence and join the mainstream.
The Central Government views the naxalite menace as an area of serious concern. The Government remains firmly committed and determined to address the problem. Essentially, the state governments would need to pursue effective measures to further improve ground level policing and development response, besides countering the negative propaganda unleashed by naxalites, to contain and control this menace. The Central Government will continue to coordinate and supplement the efforts and resources of the state governments on both security and development fronts to meet The Internal Security Challenge posed by Naxalism.

5. SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:-

As the Naxalites are fuelled by discontent from the marginalized and the poor, a larger percentage of the national budget must be allocated to addressing the needs of these regions. More of the national expenditure needs to be focused on developing these poorer regions through initiatives regarding health, education, social welfare and rural and urban development.
Government service delivery should be improved in these tribal areas. Both state and government must ensure that things such as statutory minimum wages, access to land and water sources initiatives are implemented. If the social needs of these marginalized people are addressed, there will be no discontent to fuel the Naxalite’s movements.

6. DISCUSSION:-

The government should initiate sincere dialogue with these marginalized groups, the Naxalites and state leaders.
By communicating and starting a dialogue between these stakeholders, these groups will feel that they being listened to.
By opening dialogue, the government can give opportunity for the rebels to join the mainstream by showing them that solutions can be created together with the government, by being part of the political system in a legitimate way. They no longer need to resort to violence to get the state’s attention.

Key Initiatives at the State Level

In order to ensure accelerated socio-economic development and delivery of justice, the naxalism affected states have been ordered to—–
Ensure effective implementation of land Reforms, Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) and formulation of Resettlement and Rehabilitation (RR) Policy for displaced tribals.
Improve governance and establish better delivery systems for people centric development in the LWE districts.
Ensure proper and full utilisation of finances under various developmental schemes such as Bharat Nirman, MGNREGS, PMGSY, Mid Day Meal Scheme, and Right to Education and so on.

Psychological

AP’s WHAM(Winning hearts and Minds) strategy to fight Maoist forces.
Conviction rate for Terror crimes is quite low since tribals (refuse to become witnesses) are engulfed in fear.Tribals are picked up randomly and remain for four, five, six years in jail as undertrials. The judicial process is slow and families suffer, they get frustrated. Maoists campaign that innocents are kept in jail for no reason.
Fostering respect for human rights and provision for reparation for violations
listening to people and becoming more responsive to society.
Political structures need to build confidence by dialogue; Acts of terror contain the seeds of rejection of political structures.

Missing pieces of our strategy and what needs to be done?

We end up having Half-hearted responses if we don’t recognize this as an ideological challenge & Development Challenge.
Fundamental requirement is Political response (Where Political parties are weak, Maoists are strong and vice-versa).
India’s Response to Maoists (P.Chidhambaram): “Do not give up arms, Do not give up Ideology, Do not disband your cadres, Come for Dialogue”;
Political conditions that Maoists want (Comrade Ganapati gave his 3 conditions in an interview ) :
1. All out war has to be withdrawn,
2. For any kind of democratic work the ban on party and mass organization has to be lifted,
3. illegal detention & torture of comrades has to be stopped and released. If these demands are met, then the same leaders who are released would lead and represent the party in talks.
Ultimate solution to Maoist problem is political.
1. We defeated militancy in Punjab politically.
2. We defeated insurgency in Mizoram,Tripura politically
3. Similarly Prafulla Kumar Mahanta of AGP(Asom Gana Parishad)).
Restitution and Reconciliation on past injustices. The facts that injustices have been perpetrated is undenial.
Expansion of institutional space for other organizations (ie engaging Civil Society). Multiple tracks of engagement and find out via-media

Recent initiatives:

Central government has a Naxal Management Division that provides funds, additional security forces, logistics and coordinates between states.
Integrated Action Plan(IAP) – to increase inter-state coordination
1. In February 2009, the Indian Central government announced a new nationwide initiative, to be called the “Integrated Action Plan” (IAP) for broad, co-ordinated operations aimed at dealing with the Naxalite problem in all affected states (namely Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal).
2. Importantly, this plan included funding for grass-roots economic development projects in Naxalite-affected areas, as well as increased special police funding for better containment and reduction of Naxalite influence in these areas.
3. All the resources like planning, intelligence, etc., should integrate to fight Naxalism.
4. There should be one centre from where all information regarding Naxalism should be disseminated to the States.
5. Physical Infra facilities like school buildings, anganwadi centers, rural roads, panchayat buildings, community halls and irrigation works were given priority where as social investment in health care, Sanitation and water supplies is very less now under consideration for merging into BRGF
Army recruitment to keep youths off Maoism.
Programme “Roshini” in 24 most critical LW extremism affected districts.
1. Provides beneficiaries aged between 18-35 years with requisite training for the trade or job chosen through public-private partnerships in the fields of tailoring, construction, mobile repairing, nursing and retail.
2. Pro-actively covers Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups(PVTGs) on priority basis.
3. Funded by Central and state governments in the ratio of 75:25.
4. Similar to “Himayat” being run in J&K.
CAP (Civic Action Programme):
1. Allows CAPFs(Central Armed Paramilitary Forces) to carry out developmental programmes in 9 LWE affected states under the project “Winning Hearts and Minds” by spending on physical and social infrastructure.
2. It was tweaked to make it “individual-oriented” rather than “project oriented” as this approach will help in bridging the gap b/n locals and security personnel more efficiently.