Afia Ambreen
Recently, a Naxal, allegedly involved in the killings of BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi and four policemen in April, was gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district. Of late 10 Naxals were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district. The encounter took place around 11 am in a forest in Bhairamgarh police station area when a joint team of the Special Task Force (STF) and the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was out on an anti-Naxal operation, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg said. Naxal movement is gaining momentum with the passing time. It has spread to both urban and rural areas, ranging 160 districts of India. Indian Home Minister wants to raise 26,000 men to curb the Naxal violence. It is quite surprising that no other way except force is foreseen by Indian administration.
Naxal movement is a result of failure of governance. Each of the 80 worst Naxal affected districts have no schools, poor health care, exploitative feudalism, no employment opportunities, pathetic social infrastructure?. Over three lakh villages have no road connectivity. For example Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh is on the list of 100 worst districts list for the past two decades. So despite well aware of the reasons that are behind the rise of Naxalism Indian government is only depending upon force to end that problem. It is paying no heed to the problems that gave rise to Naxalism. In fact in the mind of Indian administration Naxalism is a war that has to be tackled through force. It most of the time forgot that Naxals are alienated Indian citizens and once their grievances will overcome Naxal movement will come to an end.
The question that arises is why the Naxals have been able to extend their area of influence over the years to become a serious threat to the country’s internal security. This is due to different factors. The failure of the administration to make sure that the benefits of development percolate down to the common man, especially tribals is a main factor. The Naxal infested states have large tribal populations with poor infrastructure. Corruption, displacement due to large scale projects, inability to avail of benefits from mining of mineral resources, and exploitation by local officials add to increased resentment and increased reception to Naxal ideology. Another thing is that Naxals have become more organized rather than a scattered force. The fighting forces of Naxals are divided into three categories. The primary force is of extremely well trained personnel who spearhead any attack with superior weapons. The secondary force forms the bulk of a large group with less sophisticated weapons. Finally, the people’s militia comprising farmers, labourers and others. Naxals have over 80 training camps, each training between 200 to 300 people at any point of time. There are 84 training camps which are operating in several states such as Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Jharkhand.
In practicality the Indian government is tackling the issue as a law and order problem. As the Naxal issue is deeply rooted in the social and economic disparities in the remote and tribal areas so using force is only aggravating the problem. These areas are deprived of fruits of development which the rest of India is enjoying. So the sentiments of these people are hurt as they see others enjoying the luxuries of life and they deprived of basic necessities. In such circumstances supporting Naxals is far better option for them. 200 districts out of 600 are under Naxalite rule. They rule there because the people in these places support them in a majority and believe in them; because the Naxalites give them food, money and land snatched from the rich land owners and exploiters. Naxlites do kill when these rich protest; and at times are involved in atrocities as well. But on the whole, they are the only revolutionary group in this country at the centre of whose agenda are the poor and deprived. Their methods may involve violence, but then worldwide, all uprisings and revolutions have been violent. To the people against whom they fight are villains and terrorists but the people for whom they fight are the heroes.
Almost all the governments of India didn’t bother to address the real issues which are causing such a mass alienation and retaliation. India can’t tackle this menace through coercive methods and it needs to tackle the causes of rebel movement such as poverty, landlessness and unemployment. There is a direct correlation between extremism and poverty. The social, political, economic and cultural discrimination faced by scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, who are among India’s poor people, has resulted in discontented people finding succor in immediate justice provided by the Naxalites.
Indian government cannot stop the growth of Naxalites through police, Salwa Judum or army. It can only do so by erasing the reasons of Naxal movement. The Naxal belt is trapped in a vicious cycle of underdevelopment and violence. The foot soldiers of the movement believe that the Naxalite movement will bring about development and prosperity. So the government can reduce people’s appeal for the movement by providing opportunities to the people of Naxal belt through sound economic and infrastructural development programmes. On top of this is improving governance in the affected areas by moving corrupt officials who exploit the local people. It must also be ensured that large scale projects in these areas do not lead to displacement of people, who in any case, live a life of penury.
