NAXALISM – SOCIAL ISSUE
News: A decline in Naxal violence and deaths in the past 10 years
What's in the news?
● Nearly 77% decrease in the incidents of Naxal violence as it reduced from 2,213 in 2010 to 509 in 2021.
● Resultant deaths (civilians and security forces) have reduced by 85% from the high of 1,005 in 2001 to 147 in 2021.
● The geographical spread of the violence has also reduced.
What is Naxalism?
● Naxalism, is a term used to define violent activities on behalf of landless labourers and tribal people against landlords and others by some individuals and groups.
● Naxalism is influenced by ‘Maoism’. It uses violence as a means to challenge the authority of the Government of India to bring changes in the society and political structure.
Naxalism in India:
● The Naxalite movement came to the forefront in the late 1960s, when Naxalbari became famous for the left-wing revolt that took place in West Bengal.
● Since then, it is perceived as the greatest threat to law and order within India.
● MHA had categorized 106 districts in 10 states as Left Wing Extremism affected.
● Out of 106 districts, 35 districts which accounted for 80-90 % of country-wide LWE violence were categorized as ‘Most Affected Districts’.
● This categorization provided the basis for focused deployment of resources - both security and development related.
● Due to various operations and actions by the government the fight was in its final stages, and the number of districts affected by violence stood at 39, down from 60 in 2010.
Current Status:
● The number of most affected districts, accounting for 90% of the violent incidents, had reduced from 35 in 2015 to 25 in 2021.
● These districts are mostly in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
● Incidents of violence have come down from the highest level of 2,258 in 2009 to 509 in 2021. The death rate due to violence has come down by 85%. In the year 2010, the death toll was at the highest level of 1,005 which has come down to 147 in the year 2021.
● Only 46 districts reported LWE-related violence in 2021, down from 96 districts in 2010, indicating a decline in the geographic distribution of violence.
Regions affected by the Naxalism:
● The "Red Corridor," which spans the eastern states of Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Telangana and West Bengal is the name given to the most badly affected districts of India.
● Its geographic reach and number of violent incidents have been slowly declining.
● In 2021, it was limited to 25 "most affected" (representing 85% of LWE violence) and 70 "total affected" (down from 180 in 2009) districts spread across the states, in two coal-rich, isolated, forested hilly clusters in and around the Dandakaranya-Chhattisgarh-Odisha region and tri-junction area of Jharkhand-Bihar and-West Bengal.
Causes for Naxalism:
1. Displacement of people:
● The displacement of tribals due to the land acquisition for mining, irrigation, and power projects and other infrastructure development projects without sufficient rehabilitation plans led to the livelihoods being lost as a result.
2. Inequitable regional development:
● The failure of land reforms, particularly after independence with regard to land redistribution.
● Rising unemployment, socioeconomic disparities, and added to the lack of political opportunity resulted in a sense of helplessness. This led to the growth of naxalism in the regions.
3. Tribal discontent:
● The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 deprives tribals, who depend on forest produce for their living, from even cutting a bark.
● Massive displacement of tribal population in the naxalism-affected states due to development projects, mining operations and other reasons.
4. Poor implementation of land reform:
● The poor implementation of the land reforms has not yielded the necessary results.
● India’s agrarian set up is characterized by the absence of proper surveys and other details. Due to this reason, it has greatly damaged the rural economy and anti-government sentiments were high among those who were deprived and exploited by the local landowners.
5. Social exclusion:
● Denial of dignity.
● Continued practice of untouchability in some areas.
● Poor implementation of special laws on prevention of atrocities, protection of civil rights and abolition of bonded labour etc.
6. Poor governance system:
● Corruption and poor provision/non-provision of essential public services including primary health care and education.
● Incompetent, ill-trained and poorly motivated public personnel who are mostly absent from their place of posting.
● Misuse of powers by the police and violations of the norms of law.
● Perversion of electoral politics and unsatisfactory working of local government institutions.
7. Poor state government response:
● State governments consider naxalism as the central government’s issue and thus are not taking any initiatives to fight it.
Steps taken against Naxalism:
1. Security forces operations against Naxalism:
● Operations Octopus, Double Bull, Thunderstorm and Chakarbandha led to the arrest or surrender of 592 Maoists.
2. Operation green hunt:
● It was started in 2010 and massive deployment of security forces was done in the naxal-affected areas.
● From 223 districts that were affected due to naxalism in the year 2010, the number has come down to 90 in nine years.
3. State Governments efforts:
● The Madhya Pradesh government is giving final touches to a plan to recruit an all-tribal anti-Naxal force in the state.
● 33 percent of the force will be reserved for women.
● Local recruitment would prevent youth from these areas from being lured by Maoists to join their ranks.
● Local youth, with their knowledge of the terrain coupled with training, have proved to be effective fighters against Maoists.
● In Chhattisgarh, a formation called the district reserve guard (DRG) has proved to be the proverbial tip of the spear against Maoists.
● National Policy and Action Plan to address Left-wing Extremism (LWE) - 2015 has resulted in a consistent decline in violence.
● The multi-pronged strategy primarily includes development and security aspects of affected districts.
● On the development front, apart from flagship schemes of the Central Government, several initiatives have been taken for the
○ Development of roads
○ Installation of mobile towers
○ Skill development
○ Improving the network of banks and post offices
○ Strengthening of health and education facilities.
4. Security related expenditure scheme:
● It is a subscheme of the umbrella scheme Modernization of Police Forces. The Center reimburses to the State governments of 11 LWE affected States the security related expenditure of 90 districts relating to:
○ Training and operational needs of security forces.
○ Ex-gratia payment to the family of civilians/ security forces killed/ injured in LWE violence.
○ Compensation to left wing extremist cadres who surrendered in accordance with the surrender and rehabilitation policy.
○ Community policing.
○ Security related infrastructure for village defence committees and publicity materials.
5. Special central assistance for 30 most LWE affected districts:
● Construction of fortified police stations in the LWE affected States.
● Assistance to Central agencies for LWE management.
6. Civic action program:
● It aims to bridge the gaps between security forces and local people through personal interaction and bring the human face of security forces before the local population.
● Funds are released to the CAPFs, deployed in LWE affected areas, for conducting various civic activities for the welfare of the local people.
7. Media plan:
● The maoists have been misguiding and luring the innocent tribals/ local population in LWE affected areas by the so-called poor friendly revolution through petty incentives or by following their coercive strategy.
● Under the scheme, activities like tribal youth exchange programmes organised by NYKS, radio jingles, documentaries and pamphlets are being conducted.
8. Road connectivity project:
● The roads included under the scheme have been identified by the Ministry of Home Affairs in consultation with the State governments and the security agencies.
9. Aspirational district:
● The Ministry of Home Affairs has been tasked with the monitoring of aspirational districts programmes in 35 LWE affected districts.
10. Modernisation of police force:
● The government has approved Rs 26,275 crore from 2021-22 to 2025-26 for its umbrella scheme, Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF), as part of the initiative by the home minister to improve the functioning of police forces across states and union territories.
11. Operation 'SAMADHAN':
● It is the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)’s initiative to deal with the Naxal problem.
● The acronym SAMADHAN stands for Smart leadership, Aggressive strategy, Motivation and training, Actionable intelligence, Dashboard Based KPIs (key performance indicators) and KRAs (key result areas), Harnessing technology, Action plan for each theater, and No access to financing.
12. Scheme of Fortified Police stations:
● The Ministry had sanctioned construction of 400 Fortified Police Stations in 10 LWE affected States. All these 400 PSs have been completed.
13. Mine protected vehicle scheme:
● Mine Protected Vehicles (MPV) to reduce the number of casualties due to use of IED by the Naxalites.
Loop holes in present strategy:
1. Weak coordination between the states affected:
● States (both affected and non-affected) restrict their efforts to the defined political boundaries instead of walking the extra mile for better synergy and coordination.
2. Inefficient service delivery:
● Still, basic and essential services, justice delivery, community participation among others remain elusive to most of the Naxal affected areas of our country.
3. Absence of cooperation between state and central agencies:
● Weak coordination between central and state agencies results in the development of security voids captured subsequently by naxals.
4. Rise of urban naxalism:
● Ideological supporters in the urban areas and at key positions have not only fueled but also have helped naxalism in attaining an organised structure.
5. Trust deficit against security forces:
● Locals, especially in Naxal affected areas, are still sceptical and insecure regarding the intentions of the government and security forces. Their engagement is imperative in dealing with the naxal menace.
WAY FORWARD:
1. Good governance:
● The presence of Naxals in the country also reveals the loopholes in the law and order of the country which has failed to curb the menace. Central government needs to implement a coherent national strategy to end Naxalism.
2. Rehabilitation and resettlement:
● Mining grounds, irrigation areas, industries, etc., in the area without any provision for the resettlement of the displaced people has only added to the woes of the poor. There needs to be more emphasis on rehabilitation of these affected populations.
3. Dialogue:
● Dialogues between the Naxal leaders, and the government officials can be a way to work out a solution.The government should initiate sincere dialogue with Naxalites.
4. Coordinated measure by the centre and states:
● The Center and the States should coordinate actions that are essential to stopping such radicalization among groupings providing the measures such as confidence-building measures, education, welfare schemes etc.
5. Learning from Andhra Pradesh:
● The Greyhounds of undivided Andhra Pradesh, a specialised force that achieved great success in weakening the Maoists, conducted their operations with small-sized teams, acting on pinpoint intelligence. Even their platoon strength team had a clear chain of command.
6. Employment:
● Generating more employment and increasing wages is important. Insecure livelihood and unemployment in the areas have left the people with no option but to join the Naxals.