The term 'Naxal' derives from the name of the village
Naxalbari in West Bengal, where the movement had its origin.
HISTORY:
Indian
Origin: The Naxals are considered far-left radical
communists, supportive of Maoist political sentiment and ideology. Their origin
can be traced to the split in 1967 of the Communist Party of India (CPI).They are
the followers of Marxist-Leninist Theory. Inspired by the doctrines of Mao
Zedong, Naxalites work to overthrow the government and upper classes by
violence. From West Bengal initially, these movements spread to less developed
& rural areas of Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. The
Naxalites are active in approximately 40% of India’s geographical area.
They control large portions of remote and densely forested areas and are
concentrated in an area called “Red
Corridor”. This area is also the tribal belt where the tension between
economic development and aboriginal land rights is most apparent.
International
Origin: We inherited Industrialization and feudalism from the
British. This led to the initiation of Zamindari system which includes the Zamindars
(land/feudal lords). Also, they followed Communism whose traces can be seen in their ideology.
Before 1990, it was fight against the landlords for
their lands. After 1990, the revolt took a violent phase.
CAUSES
FOR SPREAD OF NAXALISM:
It can be elaborated well by the following points:
1)
Culture:
Tribals have a different culture as we have ie.
They are very close to nature viz...Forest, rivers, land and other
natural sources, they have their own way of amusements, social behavior, matriarchal
society, so altogether a different lifestyle. In the wake of above views,
tribals sense that outsiders are threat to their culture and can mutate their
way of life. If their area has been forcibly taken away, they will revolt back
for it.
2)
Forest
policy: These conflicts go back to the failure of
implementing the 5th & 9th
Schedules of the Constitution of India. In theory these Schedules provide for a limited form
of tribal autonomy with regard to exploiting natural resources on their lands,
e.g. pharmaceutical & mining), and 'land ceiling laws', limiting the land
to be possessed by landlords and distribution of excess land to landless farmers
& labourers.
3)
Land
reforms: In the name of Urbanization, government is taking
away their lands. Due to increased land acquisition by the elite class, its
adding fuel to naxalism.
4)
Economic
cause: The government fails to implement the different incentives
to be provided in exchange of their land. If they get no means for survival and
earning livelihood, opposition takes place.
5)
Governance:
As said earlier, there are many rights which these socio-economically backward
people are deprived of. As most of them are not educated, there is no awareness
among the people, so they revolt.
Naxal’s
point of view:
They are
socio-economically backward people. They survive by earning small means of
livelihood which is from their land. On one hand, India has experienced
relatively fast economic growth, which has led to increased levels of national
wealth. To facilitate and continue this development, businesses need more land
and natural resources such as minerals. On the other hand, this economic
growth has been uneven among regions, and has widened the disparity between the
rich and the poor. The conflict between economic progress and aboriginal land
rights continues to fuel the Naxalite’s activities. Their strongest bases are
in the poorest areas of India. Second, the alienation that is being exploited
by the Maoists has a social, communal and regional dimension. The battle can
also be described between India’s most neglected people and the nation’s most
powerful industrial businesses.
The adivasis make up about 8.4 percent of
the population and live in severe poverty. They live in remote areas where
government administration is weak and there is a lack of government services.
These indigenous people have the lowest literacy rates in the country and
highest rates of infant mortality. Given this socio-economic alienation,
it is easy to see how the Naxalite’s ideology is popular among the rural poor
and indigenous tribes, and why the adivasis view the guerrillas as their
“saviours”. The adivasis do not feel like they have any political power
to voice their grievances legitimately, and therefore the alternative of
subversive, illegal groups seem attractive.
GOVERNMENT’S
POINT OF VIEW:
The Naxalite threat is the
biggest security problem for India’s future as its effects are multi-layered.
The Maoist movement highlights India’s interior weaknesses, which makes India
also vulnerable to external threats. As part of globalization, threats such as
the Naxalite movement can no longer be viewed as simply internal as it also affects
external security. As far as the funding of naxals is concerned, there would be
a third party who supplies arms and ammunitions and also, a lot of black money
might be involved. Government failed to implement its schemes but there are
many innocent people there. It’s a dilemma as in if they agree to their
decision, people will feel that violent methods bear fruits and if they
disagree, they endanger lives of innocent people. The police were on duty but
many of the police stations were set ablaze. The situation was out of control
that the CRPF unit had to take over.
SOLUTION:
The problem calls for a
three-pronged solution: social and economic development, multi-lateral dialogue
and military force. More of the national
expenditure needs to be focused on developing these poorer regions through
initiatives regarding health, education, social welfare and rural and urban
development. Government service delivery should be improved in these tribal
areas. Both state and government must ensure that things such as statutory
minimum wages, access to land and water sources initiatives are
implemented. In coming up with strategies for national economic growth,
the government must always bear in mind the possible effects of fast growth for
all socio-economic groups in a country as large and diverse as India. If the
social needs of these marginalized people are addressed, there will be no
discontent to fuel the Naxalite’s movements. Our military must be trained to
fight such people and a special set of good officers must be sent forward.
CONCLUSION:
To conclude, the Naxalite
problem reflects underlying issues in the Indian social, economic and political
institutions which threaten to expose India to even more danger from outside
forces. While the Naxalite movement is mainly an internal threat, with globalization,
external and internal security threats are inextricably linked. The complex and
multi-faceted approach to solving the Naxalite issue also reflects the fact
that this is going to be the biggest menace to India’s security also in the
future.
Do
you think Naxalism has become more dangerous than outer terrorism for India?
Should
Indian Army be used by the GOI to tackle the Naxals Problem?
Who
is right in their approach: GOI and State govns vs Naxals?
What
can be solution for this biggest internal security problem?
Please
comment your views and opinions here…
(Written by co-host Komal Patil of the event Group Discussion for UPSC CSE (Daily 9PM to 11PM) of the group Mission Mussoorie UPSC Civil Services based up on daily discussions. Please join and give your valuable views)
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