FINAL PHASE OF NAXALISM

 

 

 

“We must now double the speed and intensity of our efforts compared to when the operations against Naxalism first began; only with such determination can we fully eradicate this issue from our nation.” -Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah UNION Home Minister Shri Amit Shah chaired a review meeting on Left Wing Extremism (LWE) as also to coordinate inter State cooperation in fight against Naxal menace with the Chief Secretaries and DGPs of the affected States at Raipur, Chhattisgarh on August 24. the Union Home Minister also made a firm commitment to eradicating Naxalism from India by March 2026. The fight against LWE has reached a decisive phase, and the Modi 3.0 Government is resolute in its goal to eliminate Naxalism entirely in less than two years from now. As the country enters the final phase to eliminate Naxal menace, it is important to know the genesis of this problem which has troubled the country for more than four decades. After all, Shri Manmohan Singh, the then PM in 2009 had said, “Naxalism is the greatest internal security threat to our country.”

 

It is important to contextualise the period of statement, because at that point of time, J&K was under serious terrorism and most of the North East was engulfed in insurgency. In less than 15 years from that perilous State of internal instability, India is on the cusp of eradicating the Naxal menace. The final phase would require massive effort in coordinating the operations, as also to usher normalcy in the affected districts with developmental projects. The faith of the people, particularly tribals has to be restored in quality governance and respect for their land. The influence of LWE has shrunk with the sustained efforts of the Government. From the high of 107 Districts and 565 Police Stations affected by Naxalism in 2010, the current state has reached a manageable figure of 42 Districts and 171 Police Stations. After coming to power in 2014, Prime Minister Modi identified the serious challenge posed by this menace and the MHA under LWE Division has worked tirelessly to root out this major internal security threat. In my opinion, the decline in LWE is one of the major success stories of PM Modi Government and lot of credit has to go to the Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah who have executed the fight against Naxalism in a planned and calibrated manner.

 

The origins of LWE in India can be traced to Naxalbari, West Bengal in the year 1967 from where the name Naxal or Naxalism originated. LWE is a form of insurgency against the state, similar to one in the North East, with a secessionist agenda to disown the democraticallyelected Government. The thought process was motivated by leftist ideologies, thus the term Left Wing Extremism came about. Globally, similar armed struggles have been called Maoism and no doubt that LWE received moral, financial and armed support from the inimical forces within the country as also from abroad, particularly China. From 2004 onwards, the LWE in India took a serious turn and the Naxalites carried out a series of violent activities which shook the nation. By this time, the districts affected by LWE were in the States of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, MP, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and even parts of Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. In fact, the term Red Corridor indicated LWE affected region in India, stretching from Indo-Nepal border in the north to fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. The armed upsurge of LWE was basically due to lack of any sort of development in the region, despite being mineral rich and the region had best forest cover of the country.

 

Red Corridor largely comprised the tribal belt, with little or no education, and thus LWE could find popular support amongst the people. Many young men and women could easily be indoctrinated with the Maoist ideology and they took to armed struggle with relative ease. On April 6, 2010, Naxals ambushed a large column of CRPF personnel in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, leading to the killing in action of 76 CRPF troops. On May 25, 2013, CPI(Maoist) insurgents attacked a convoy of Indian Congress leaders in the Darbha Valley of Chhattisgarh and this dastardly action killed 27 people, including senior Congress leader Vidya Charan Shukla. After this massive attack, the Congress Government contemplated using the Assam Rifles to be inducted into the most notorious Bastar region of Chhattisgarh to fight the LWE. Successive Governments have wisely avoided employing Army in the fight against LWE. The Indian Army in that era was heavily committed into fighting terrorism in J&K as also a major portion of the North East had serious anti-insurgency operations of the Army.

 

Any further commitment of the Army in LWE would have denuded the forces guarding the borders, particularly against the Chinese. In fact, it was the larger game plan of Communist China to embroil Indian Army into the LWE so that they have a free run in our Northern and Eastern borders with China. Major impetus to fight against LWE came through Operation SAMADHAN of Modi 1.0 Government in 2015, when this multidimensional policy was initiated to tackle LWE. The twin approach of aggressive development push and proactive anti-Naxal operations, keeping the interests of tribals in mind has paid handsome dividends in curbing this menace to a large extent . New Chhattisgarh BJP Government has achieved 147 kills, 631 surrenders and 723 arrests of Naxals in the last eight months, a spectacular success indeed.

 

The final phase of fight against LWE should not bring any complacency amongst the local police and para military forces. Still a huge number of coordinated operations are needed to break the back of the menace. A multi-faceted approach to eradicate the menace of LWE should receive the support of national conscience. Restoring faith in democracy, ensuring dividends of development to the last village, fair and transparent governance, job creation, media engagement and public participation are some of major vectors in eradicating LWE from the map of India by 2026. This success would be a major precursor for India to be Viksit Bharat@2047.