NAXALISM or MAOISM or LW Extremism

World View:
1. the Red Army Faction or Baader Meinhof Gang in the former West Germany
2. the Red Brigades in Italy,
3. the 17 November Movement in Greece,
4. the Shining Path of Peru,
5. Peoples Revolutionary Army and the Motoneros of Argentina.
6. The Maoist groups in India and Nepal
Overview:
1. PM calls it as "India's single largest internal security Problem"
2. 8,000 people have been killed between 2001 and 2012.
3. Govt estimates of Maoist forces : 15000-20000 army, atleast 40% of them are
women; avg age in high teens and low twenties.
4. Various estimates suggest Maoist rebels could number up to 40,000. Of
these, thousands may be armed with weapons ranging from AK-47s to light
machine-guns raided from police stations or bought from dealers in Nepal.
The cadre mostly comprises farmers, landless labourers, tribals and the
extremely poor, including women and children.
5. The Indian government, led by the United Progressive Alliance, banned the
CPI (Maoist) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) as a
terrorist organisation
6. Naxalites have been charged by the government with running an extortion
economy in the guise of a popular revolution, extorting vast amounts of
money from local branches of mining companies and other businesses
Origin:
1. The peasant movement in Andhra Pradesh just after Indias independence
was a precursor to the rise of Maoist thought. But it was an attack on a tribal
man in the Naxalbari village of West Bengal on March 2, 1967 that sparked
the violent, extremist left-wing movement.The Communist Party of China
hailed the movement as the Spring Thunder of India.

2. The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is an ultra-leftist political party in India

which aims to overthrow the government of India through people's war and to
establish a class-less society; seizure of power through an agrarian
revolution. Eight articles written by Charu Majumdar at this timeknown as
the Historic Eight Documentshave been seen as providing their ideological
foundation: arguing that revolution must take the path of armed struggle on
the pattern of the Chinese revolution.
3. Groups occupied vacant lands in parts of Naxalbari, Khoribari and Phansidewa
police station areas of Siliguri sub-division on the plea that such lands were in
excess of the permissible ceiling on land holdings
4. The Naxalite movement spread in the West Bengal State as a wildfire
and particularly the urban elite youth and the bhadralok class got attracted to
it.
5. the extremist faction could not mobilise people for further organised militant
activities because govt. arranged redressal of the long-standing grievances,
especially in respect of the hapless and poor tea garden labourers and
landless or marginal farmers.
6. 1972 : Death of Charu Majumdar
7. A police research paper says the movement was subdued for two decades till
1991.
8. Various splinter groups of Naxalites started resurfacing in various parts of
India during the early 1980s. Thus, the Naxalites of Andhra Pradesh
regrouped as the CPI-ML (Peoples War Group/ PWG); likewise the Bihar
Naxalites rechristened themselves as the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC). Of
all the newly organised Naxalite groups, the CPI-ML (PWG) turned out to be
the most active not only in Andhra Pradesh but also in Orissa, in the tribal
belt (Bastar-Dandakaranya) of Madhya Pradesh (now mostly in the State of
Chhattisgarh) and Maharashtra, causing considerable violence in these
States.
9. In Bihar : greatest adversary was not so much the administration and the
police but the armed gangs (senas) of the landlord class - the Ranbir Sena,
the Bhumihar Sena; instead of assuming the characteristics of class struggle
as propagated by Maoist ideologues, the skirmishes took the shape of caste
warfare.
10.Later reincarnated as the Maoist movement since 2004 : barring a few
splinter groups, Naxalites have largely completed their process of merger and
consolidation with the formation of the CPI (Maoist) on 21 September 2004
Questions:

1. What is India's Maoist challenge all about?--Ideological challenge to the very

foundation of Indian state.-challenges the very edifice of Parliamentary
democracy and constitutionalism
2. How are the objectives of Maoist challenge to be accomplished? They hope to
accomplish these objectives not through Gandhian methods or Ideological
debates, but by the stride of violence and terror as fundamental instruments
3. Where is this challenge most visible?
1. It started off in a small village called Naxalbhari;
2. 70s saw Maoist challenge in Urban areas; Today it is predominantly and
overwhelmingly rural.
3. Geography of this challenge : Mostly Central India; Mineral Rich areas,
Forest Rich Areas and Tribal dominated areas with Bihar(everything is
related to caste-lower castes and under-classes have been mobilised)
as an exception;
4. 88/620 districts are classified as LW extremism affected. {8 in AP, 2 in
MH, 10 in MP, 10 in CH,17 in JK 18 in OR, 3 in UP, 11 in Bihar and 3 in
WB} 500-600 Gram panchayats are badly affected
4. Who are the foot soldiers of this Movt.?
1. Leadership is 99% from AP; Telugu is Lingua-Franca of Maoist
Leadership
2. Majority of Foot soldiers are tribals but few exceptions.
3. Tribal participation b/c of 4Ds tribal Displacement(from their land),
Deprivation(of their rights), Disconnect(from the mainstream) and
Discontent(with the Govt.)
5. Why has this grown?
1. Once it was confined to 6-7 districts(of AP) in 70s and 80s after demise
of Urban oriented Naxalbhari movt.
2. factors : (Way our Political economy and Administration works)
1. Political Neglect of this issue (Eg: No political party in India can
afford to ignore Dalit issues; They are central to India's electoral
fortunes (300 constituencies). Similarly Muslim populations(can
affect 200 constituencies). Tribals no more than 50
constituencies). Tribal vote is not central to electoral
performance.Dalits and Muslims live with other communities

which is not the case of Tribals. This has affected the nature of
political mobilization of political parties. Sankaran
Cmt. condemns Maoist violence for its focus on military actions
rather than on the mobilization of people for social
transformation.
2. Mining contributed to misery of Tribals. Tribal areas to the policy
makers are simply mineral rich areas. (Ecological
unsustainability & Social devastation has contributed to their
discontent). Poor regions in the world are invariably mineral rich
regions(Eg: Applachian mountains, Russia, Australia, China). The
way extraction industry operates environmentally or socially
doesn't lead to prosperity of the locals but it certainly leads to
prosperity of outsiders. 40% of the total population displaced
post-independence due to development have been tribals ie
nearly 10-15 Million. At times they are subjected to not just one
displacement but to multiple displacements.Our track record of
land acquisition, Rehabilitation is pathetic.
3. Insensitive Forest Administration : First symbol of Government in
Forest Areas is Forest Guard. Forest Guard is armed with Indian
Forest Act of 1927. 1000s of tribals in Jharkhand, Chattisgarh are
jailed on flimsy charges of collecting items of daily existence.
2006 : Forest Rights Act was enacted. But Forest Bureaucracy
continued its hostility towards it.
6. What are we doing to deal with this?
1. our first and instinctive response was to expand our security
operations; Today 70000 para-military forces in 88 districts, 30000
local police
2. Lately from Security only approach(Security Response) to Security Plus
approach (+Development Response)
3. Some security successes to integrate these areas with mainstream
societies.
7. Missing pieces of our strategy and what needs to be done?
1. We end up having Half-hearted responses if we don't recognize this as
an ideological challenge & Development Challenge
2. Fundamental requirement is Political response(Where Political parties
are weak, Maoists are strong and vice-versa). There is a political
impasse (classic case of "immovable object" meeting "irresistable
force")

1. India's Response to Maoists(P.Chidhambaram): "Do not give up

arms, Do not give up Ideology, Do not disband your cadres,
Come for Dialogue";
2. Political conditions that Maoists want(Comrade Ganapati gave
his 3 conditions in an interview ) : All out war has to be
withdrawn, For any kind of democratic work the ban on party
and mass organization has to be lifted, illegal detention &
torture of comrades has to be stopped and released. If these
demands are met, then the same leaders who are released
would lead and represent the party in talks.
3. Ultimate solution to Maoist problem is political. We defeated
militancy in Punjab politically. We defeated insurgency in
Mizoram,Tripura politically(insurgent Pu Laldenga now is CM of
Mizoram; Similarly Prafulla Kumar Mahanta of AGP(Asom Gana
Parishad)). 155 militants belonging to four groups surrendered in
Manipur boosting the peace initiative
3. Restitution and Reconciliation on past injustices. The facts that
injustices have been perpetrated is undenial.
4. Expansion of institutional space for other organizations (ie engaging
Civil Society). Constitution of Peace seekers and Gandhian
organizations. Multiple tracks of engagement and find out via-media
8. Conclusion : The tragedy of our society is it required Maoists to wake India up
to Tribal predicament.
Approach:
1. On Security Front
1. 1908s in AP : Police operations created a sense of insecurity among
sections of the Maoist cadres which prompted them to resort to brutal
murders and tortures of villagers on the slightest suspicion of being
police informers. This created alienation of Naxalites from locals.
Victories of Greyhounds against Naxals with substantial support from
locals in Nallamala forest areas.
2. Treat Naxalism as a national problem(the way Central government
engaged themselves, with all the force and strength, in Punjab and
Jammu & Kashmir). Information dissemination and intelligence
gathering is the Key.
3. "There should be one centre from where all information regarding
naxalism should be disseminated to the States"

4. Designing proper SOPs(Standard Operating Procedures) to avoid

casualties
5. There is debate over involving the army and the air force to drive out
Maoists hiding in dense forests.
6. AP's special police force "Greyhounds" role in recent Sukhma
encounter in Chattisgarh.Usage of UAV(Unmanned aerial vehicles) to
track the movements of maoist cadres.
7. Chattisgarh : the creation of resistance groups from amongst the tribal
people known as the Salwa Judum or Special Police Officers(SPOs)
8. Their arsenal now boasts of self-loading rifles (SLRs), AK series of rifles
and INSAS rifles. It is believed that currently the Maoists have also
gained access to the technology of fabricating rockets and rocket
launchers.
2. On Developmental Front
1. Challenges of Naxalism can be understood in ecological terms of
Forests, people and livelihoods which due to to our failure to address,
have grown up to emergent state in such areas.Unless we
understand the ecological basis of conflicts and evolution of
local/regional terrorism we often fail to find sustainable ceasefire
solutions
2. Improving security situation through Participatory development based
on inclusive governance; lapses in enforcing PESA,Forest Rights act
resulted in deteriorating situation in 5th Scheduled areas
3. AP's WHAM(Winning hearts and Minds) strategy to fight Maoist forces.
3. Measures to preserve integrity and sovereignty
1. strengthening of Rule of Law. Conviction rate for Terror crimes is quite
low since tribals(refuse to become witnesses) are engulfed in
fear.Tribals are picked up randomly and remain for four, five, six years
in jail as undertrials. The judicial process is slow and families suffer,
they get frustrated. Maoists campaign that innocents are kept in jail for
no reason.
2. Fostering respect for human rights and provision for reparation for
violations
3. reversing ethnic(NE insurgency), national and religious
discrimination(Kashmir issue, communal riots), political

exclusion(Regional movts like Telangana) and socio-economic

marginalisation(backward regions).
4. listening to people and becoming more responsive to society.
4. Negotiation/ Peace Talks:
1. "I would rather listen to them than fight. A lot of times, they have
got legitimate grievances packaged as political positions" - Roger
Fisher, Negotiation Guru
2. Physical safety of Naxals is an impeding factor (How can a banned
party negotiate without lifting the ban)
3. Political structures need to build confidence by dialogue; Acts of terror
contain the seeds of rejection of political structures.
4. High profile Kidnaps : Sukma district collector in chattisgarh, Italian
tourists in Odisha. Capturing hostages is believed to be the only way
for naxalites to the govt. to lend them their ears. Collector and tourists
happened to be there when they were looking for a hostage to
communicate their demands to govt.
5. CCC(Cmt for concerned citizens) convened 1994 Andhra Peace talks
1. earned legitimacy in dealing the issue impartially
2. But failed to design a realistic agenda
6. The Andhra Pradesh government initiated peace talks in 2004 but the
ceasefire did not hold for long. The Maoists made an offer in 2010 but
the central government rejected it.
7. By the end of 2012 : GOI important move towards negotiations.
Promise to put up CMG(Crisis mgmt. groups) - teams to negotiate
hostage situation in LW Extremist states. Can CMG address the root of
the problem?
1. CMG must be prepared for two realistic issues Naxals are known
to rise
1. Release of imprisoned Maoists or the return of tribal land
occupied by Non-tribals(direct and tangible demand cost-benefit analysis can be applied)
2. Involving underlying needs and perceived injustices that
drive their movt.

2. Such skills should be taught based on Principal negotiation

techniques "Never start negotiate the demands, start with
needs and wants underlying them"; Need active listening that
doesn't come naturally to conflicting parties; "Give and Take
based on needs not on demands"
3. CMG needs to anticipate the potential challenges to its
implementation in order to avoid failed promises of the past (Eg:
CCC)
8. Imprisoned Maoists be brought under police custody to negotiate on
behalf of the party rather than roping Civil society who are removed
from realities of Parties interests.
Affected Regions:
1. Eastern Highlands : From "Pasupati"(Pasupathinath temple in Nepal) to
"Tirupati"
2. mostly active in what has come to be known as the red corridor from
Andhra Pradesh in the south to West Bengal in the east. But they do have
some sort of presence in 21 out of 28 states in India.
3. In some areas, Maoists run their own peoples court (62 Jan Adalats were held
last year) and levy taxes on traders.
Debate:
1. 2008 : Bandhopadhyay cmt report on "Development Challenges in Extremistaffected areas"
2. Initially, it was discrimination ,oppression, and landlordism (essentially Feudal
order) that gave rise to naxalism; and now alienation of tribals from their
natural habitat is driving it.
3. The feeling of 'parentless' (Discontent with the Govt.)makes people
vulnerable to anti-state ideologies(Tribals in MP eat Kesari Dal which has
paralytic effect)
4. SC made an observation " the whole issue of development appears to be so
simple, logical and commonsensical. And Yet, to the millions of Indians,
development is a dreadful and hateful word that is aimed at denying them
even the source the sustenance. It is cynically said that on the path of
'maldevelopment' almost every step that we take seems to give rise to
insurgency and political extremism"
5. Just society cannot be created through unjust and inhuman means.. The
outcomes of strategies which are built around bloodshed, vengeance,

repression and hate will always ultimately be brutal and unjust, even if the
violence is undertaken for lofty ideals.
Recent initiatives and case studies:
1. central government has a Naxal Management Division that provides funds,
additional security forces, logistics and coordinates between states.
2. Integrated Action Plan(IAP) - to increase inter-state coordination
1. in 88 identified districts.
2. All the resources like planning, intelligence, etc., should integrate [to
fight Naxalism].
3. There should be one centre from where all information regarding
Naxalism should be disseminated to the States.
4. There should be some long-term strategy, which will be decided
together. So far, there is no success in this coordination
5. Extension for 4 more years.
6. Physical Infra facilities like school buildings, anganwadi centers, rural
roads, panchayat buildings, community halls and irrigation works were
given priority where as social investment in health care, Sanitation and
water supplies is very less
7. now under consideration for merging into BRGF
8. Is CAP part of IAP?
9. Payment of MGNREGA wages in cash has been allowed under IAP for
selected tribal and backward districts to obviate payment delays where
outreach of banks/post-offices is inadequate.
3. Implementation of IAP.
1. Rural Development Min. wants to do that through local bodies where as
Home Min. wants to carry it through District admin which will help in
increasing the credibility of Govt. in tribal areas.
2. Existing model : 30 crore/district through a 3-membered district-level
cmt(District Magistrate, SP, District Forest Officer).
3. Home and Finance ministries are in favour of existing model while PC
and Rural Development ministry are advocating to spend atleast half of
the amount through local bodies and representatives. Home ministry
pointed out that in most villages local bodies are either missing or lying

defunct, while in some places panchayat members were either

cooperating with Naxals or were not helping local admin. due to fear of
Maoists.
4. Army recruitment to keep youths off Maoism.
5. Programme "Roshini" in 24 most critical LW extremism affected districts.
1. Provides beneficiaries aged between 18-35 years with requisite
training for the trade or job chosen through public-private partnerships
in the fields of tailoring, construction, mobile repairing, nursing and
retail.
2. Pro-actively covers Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups(PVTGs) on
priority basis.
3. Funded by Central and state govts. in the ratio of 75:25
4. Similar to "Himayat" being run in J&K
6. CAP (Civic Action Programme):
1. allows CAPFs(Central Armed Paramilitary Forces) to carry out
developmental programmes in 9 LWE affected states under the project
"Winning Hearts and Minds" by spending on physical and social
infrastructure.
2. It was tweaked to make it "individual-oriented" rather than "project
oriented" as this approach will help in bridging the gap b/n locals and
security personnel more efficiently.
By A.Sunil Kumar
References:
1. Basic framework was based on Public lecture by Jairam Ramesh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q03ghjsebIk
2. Daily News of Hindu to fit in relevant sections