Naxalism

Some headlines in recent days - encounter of senior cadres of CPI(Maoist) in Warangal, AndhraPradseh ; grant of bail for human rights activist Binayak Sen; political unrest in Nepal; the killings happening in Chattisgarh, these are not interdependent but share a common thing -Naxalism. New age citizen sees Naxalism an old topic without much relevance to the current times but in contrary alarming incidents of violence occured during the recently held elections trace their roots to Naxalism, not terrorism. Prime Minister Mr.Singh has rightly observed it as "the most serious threat to India's national security".

From what started as violent retaliation against landlords in Naxalbari (the name is derived from this village) in the leadership of Charu Mazumdar Shah, has undergone a lot of transformations in the past four decades.  Today they are spread from Andhra Pradesh to Nepal, controlling 20% of the nation's forests, popularly called the Red Corridor.  They are spread in the most neglected, underdeveloped parts, garner support from the discarded sections of the society. 

The Chattisgarh scenario --- Bastar region of this state is the epicenter of Naxal activities. Dantewada and the surrounding districts are rich in natural resources like iron ore, coal but the populace, mostly tribals are destitute.  The heartland of naxalism is marked by unaccounted killings by naxals, police and salwa judum. Salwa Judum (peace march) is a tribal force trained by Government to counter the insurgency. The idea is to sever all the support to naxals from villagers. Over the years this struggle has resulted in scorched villages and displaced people living in dire conditions in camps. Though the state government has been portraying Slawa Judum as right thing, human rights activists have been repeatedly crying out of the gross inhumanities. Scores of innocent civilians were killed, homes looted and villages vandalized. Most of the villagers are now homeless, without farms which used to be their only income source. Who is at loss after these many years of struggle? Is it Chattisgarh government which has signed deals worth more than a billion with firms to extract the resources or the naxalites who operate freely in the so called 'liberated zone'. No it is the devastated civilian.

 The picture in AP--- There was much praise for state government, police, their special wing grey hounds for successfully curbing menace to much extent. Barring a few, no major incidents were recorded in the state in past few years after Candrababu's regime, during which movement suffered a detrimental effect. AP is the only state to have peace talks, though abortive during YSR's previous term, but the way they were let free into the jungle is debatable. Chenna Reddy the then CM, lifted ban on them for about a year in 1990 in the state, which experts say corrupted them and adversely effected the movement. Absence of incidents doesn’t imply their non existence. To cite my personal experiences, my family was threatened over a land dispute by naxals who were involved in land grabbings. My uncle (a local politician) fled away from his village to Warangal town fearing a life threat. Such incidents elucidate the under current activity in the state and if not wiped out completely, it might very well resurface again.

 Only achievement in the history of Naxalism is their accession to power in Nepal, but political turmoil over there raises questions. It is universally agreed that such a thing is impossible in India. Most naxal recruits are from downtrodden sections and a few are middle class intelligentsia. The one widely accepted cause they fight for is the rights over land and forest for rural poor. After decades of struggle, it is understood that force alone is not sufficient. Root cause need to be identified and worked upon. The land reforms legislation of 1950 was brilliant in concept but failed to deliver. Forest rights, rural upliftment await reforms in the effected areas. Centre is formulating National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) , needs to see it through the end. State governments need to throw light on lack of co-ordination among them. Though many a enthusiasts are trying to spread the awareness through NGOs, blogging etc, media takes minimal risk and interest in bringing out the facts barring a few exceptions. Delhi needs to take keen interest, promote research by think tanks, and do everything possible (while preserving the interests of the rural and tribal sections) to annihilate naxalism.