A State of War

‘Naxals are nothing but cold-blooded murderers’ said the tagline on an advertisement posted by a desperate government that is trying to curb the sphere of influence of an extremist rebellion of Maoists. This desperation must come as moral victory to these violent elements that sustain themselves by exploiting the population of the most backward areas in India.

From a violent uprising that started in the small hamlet of Naxalbari in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal in 1967 to its flowering as the chief dissident ideology in India, constantly on the boil towards staging an armed revolution, Naxalism has come a long way. In the past three months, Naxals have managed to ambush the police force in the Red Corridor that spans from Bihar,Chattisgarh,Jhakahnd, Andhra Pradesh,Maharashtra and West Bengal frequently enough to draw the central government’s attention. In the past week, they attacked the police in the Ghadchiroli district of Maharashtra. Led by Tarakka, the wife of the central committee member and head of the Maharashtra region, the ambush killed 17 policemen. The massacred policemen were the part of Maharashtra’s C-60 anti-Naxal squad.

Of all the regions under Naxal control, the tribal belt of Dantewada in Chattisgarh is the most affected. Chattisgarh has the worst indices of wealth misdistribution and income inequality. Dantewada presents a grim picture of malnutrition, starvation deaths, illiteracy, abysmal health facilities and unsafe drinking water. This region is blessed with rich natural resources which paradoxically is a curse on the population of these regions. The natural richness of this area means that it remains in the clutches of exploitation by the industry-State nexus. The tribals here voice their opinion against the treatment meted out to them through bloodshed and savagery that represents Naxal ideology. The abominable state of literacy at 39% -one-third of the national average - adds to the plight of the inhabitants. Poverty is endemic to this region.

The highest number of incidents of violence has taken place in four worst-affected states -- Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa -- where 2,212 people lost their lives from January 2006 to August this year. In Chhattisgarh, 388 people were killed by the Maoists in 715 incidents in 2006. While 369 lost their lives in 2007, another 242 were killed in 2008. In 2009 till August, about 180 people lost their lives in the state. Altogether 124 people were killed by Maoists in 2006 in Jharkhand, 157 people in 2007 while another 207 lost their lives in 2008. In 2009 till August, about 150 people were killed by the Naxals.

Even though the Naxal attacks remain rampant, the Prime Minister has refrained from utilising the armed forces against them. The government has unveiled a Rs. 7300-crore developmental work plan in areas not under the control of the Naxals. Armed resistance should be the least used option. Rehabilitation and restructuring of the developmental and industrialisation plans is the need of the hour. The developmental policy regarding the increase of private investment and ownership in mining and forestry is a cause of concern. This type of development was the initial reason behind the alienation of tribals since they saw their communal methods of ownership and freedom being curtailed and destroyed

The present aim of Naxal ideology is not seizure of land and crops but the ultimate capture of State power. Elections and all democratic norms of engagement have been trampled over. They continue to attack capitalism and feudalism, the bane of the social structure according to their thinking. The state and central governments continue to develop plans to contain and eliminate the Naxal movement.

This movement encompasses around 98 percentage of all Left wing extremism. The now infamous Salwa Judum is a part the State’s counter insurgency strategy which empowers the locals, majority of whom are unemployed. Salwa Judum has become a tool that the government uses in its witch hunt against any opposition, Naxalite or otherwise. It is a strategy that has backfired on the authorities. This organisation of Special Police Officers who are mostly youths, have done grave injustice to the very cause of their formation.

Salwa Judum has been accused of using minors for their operations, abusing women in the settlements and killing tribals on mere suspicion of harbouring Naxal elements. The Bharatiya Janta Party and the Congress have been accused of encouraging Salwa Judum. Human Rights groups have also protested against the activities of this organisation.

In West Bengal, the Naxalites have found a footing after the Singur and Nandigram agitations. The agrarian revolution has allowed them to follow a war path that would encourage the population of these impoverished regions. The various Special Economic Zones to be set up for the so-called industrial upliftment is sure to cause more flare-ups. With the recent success of the Maoists in Nepal, similar plans will be chalked out to support the secessionists in order to carve a separate state structured on Maoist principles. The Naxals have supported the call for a separate state in the Telengana and Vidarbha regions.

Naxalites are flexible in their tactics and methodical in executing their plans. It is high time that the government implemented all its developmental programmes in these regions, and at the same time, used force against organisations which de-stabilize the State and the country. Naxals are not misguided elements but a genuine threat to the nation's well being