Sansad TV Perspective: Tackling Left Wing Extremism

In the series Sansad TV Perspective, we bring you an analysis of the discussion featured on the insightful programme ‘Perspective’ on Sansad TV, on various important topics affecting India and also the world. This analysis will help you immensely for the IAS exam, especially the mains exam, where a well-rounded understanding of topics is a prerequisite for writing answers that fetch good marks.

Anchor: Vishal Dahiya

Participants:

1. K. Durga Prasad, Former Director General, Central Reserve Police Force
2. Maj Gen (Retd.) Dhruv C. Katoch, Director, India Foundation
3. Anil Choudhary, Former Secretary, Internal Security, Ministry of Home Affairs, GoI
4. Nitin Agrawal, Addl. Director General, Central Zone, Central Reserve Police Force

Context:

The geographical influence of left-wing extremism had contracted to 46 districts in the country in 2021 from 96 districts in 10 states in 2010.

Background

• In a significant development in 2004, the People’s War (PW) and the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI) merged to form the CPI (Maoist) Party.
• The CPI (Maoist) Party is the major Left Wing Extremist outfit responsible for a majority of incidents of violence and killing and has been included under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
• This has resulted in a spiralling cycle of violence in some parts of India. The poor and the marginalized sections like the tribal areas are bearing the brunt of this violence.
• In fact, the tribal and the economically underprivileged sections, whose cause the Maoists claim to espouse, have been the biggest victims of the so-called ‘protracted people’s war’ of the CPI (Maoist) against the Indian state.

What is Left Wing Extremism (LWE)?

• Left-wing extremism, also known by various other names such as Naxalism and Maoism, is a form of armed insurgency against the State motivated by leftist ideologies.
• Left-wing extremists are also known as Maoists globally and as Naxalites in India.
• The Red Corridor is the region in the central, eastern and southern parts of India that experience severe Naxalite–Maoist insurgency.
• Know more about Left-Wing Extremism in the link.

Factors that led to the Emergence of Left Wing Extremism in India

• Governance Related Factors:
  • The malfunctioning of government machinery in terms of inefficiency, corruption and exploitation is largely considered as the main factor behind the creation of a power vacuum for Maoists.
• Socio-Economic and Cultural Factors:
  • There is a direct correlation between economic deprivation and growth in the influence of the Left Wing Extremism Groups (LEGs).
  • The extent of poverty and the opportunities for economic growth among the poor and the deprived continue to be dismal.
  • Land reforms remain a neglected area and feudalistic exploitation continues as such.
  • Lack of employment opportunities for the youth in the relatively deprived regions of the country allows Naxal groups to recruit more and more people.
• Political Marginalization of the Downtrodden:
  • The pace of political reforms in India aiming at ensuring participatory democracy has been very slow.
  • The prevalent political system leaves little space for the common man to aspire for a role in decision-making, and appears to perpetuate the existing exploitative structure.

Government of India’s Approach

• The Government’s approach is to deal with Left Wing Extremism in a holistic manner, in the areas of security, development, ensuring rights and entitlements of local communities, improvement in governance and public perception management.
• However, ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ being State subjects, action on maintenance of law and order, lies primarily in the domain of the State Governments.
• The Central Government closely monitors the situation and supplements and coordinates their efforts in several ways.
• The underlying philosophy is to enhance the capacity of the State Governments to tackle the Maoist menace in a concerted manner.

Important Initiatives For LWE Affected States

Challenges:

• Violent Ideology: The ideological underpinnings are complex, varying from tribalism to Communism. The Naxalites call for the overthrow of the capitalist state through a protracted “people’s war”.
• Institutionalized Planning: The consolidation of various factions of the Leftwing Extremist Groups (LEGs) has been attributed to the organized, institutionalized and planned manner in which the Naxals function.
• Availability of Funds: The enormous funds that the Naxals have been able to extort allow them to maintain their increasing cadre strength and function over vast stretches of territory.
• Continuous Availability of Recruits: The extremists have been able to ensure both financial and social security to the youth in the deprived regions of the country. Lack of employment opportunities for the youth lures them towards the Naxals.
• Human Rights Violation: A purely security-driven approach fraught with human rights violations has added to the alienation among the poor in these areas.

Way Forward

The Indian State has not been able to tackle the Maoist challenge fully for decades in spite of years of planning, schemes, funds and deployment of forces. What’s needed is a strong political will on a long-term basis. A four-point strategy is suggested for consideration.

1. The first is the requirement of a strong political will on a long-term basis. This was helpful in controlling situations in Punjab, Tripura and Andhra Pradesh.
2. Secondly, the state police forces must lead the operations as only locals can tackle such a problem and the present dual system of paramilitary forces working alongside cannot work effectively.
3. Thirdly, the basic issues of socio-economic rights, the livelihood of the tribals and development projects in these areas should be speeded up. The job of the security forces is only to contain violence and not resolve issues.
4. Fourthly, this battle must be fought on the ideological front. Communism has a big appeal for the poor tribals, especially when it matches with the ground reality of there being haves and have-nots.

Read more summaries of Perspective in the link.

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