In yet another attack the Naxalites in Chattisgarh killed 22 CRPF jawans and injured as many , in a deadly ambush, in which reports claim that almost 1000 Naxals had participated.
The Union Home minister, last year while responding to a question had said ; Since 2015, approx. 350 security personnel, 963 civilians and 871 Naxals have killed in violence in LWE(Left Wing Extremism) affected areas. Another 966 Maoists surrendered during the same period, as announced by Chhattisgarh Home Minister in the assembly on 23 December 2020. One can easily extrapolate as to how many casualties would have occurred since 2000.
So, the question many of us would ask ;
How long this sense less violence will continue?
Is there a way to get these Naxals to main stream?
Do our Jawans also have any Human Rights and only the Naxals and the armed men and their supporters have Human Rights?
And Finally, Who is to be held responsible for allowing this Free run to these armed men?
The Successive Govts Slept to this Emerging Menace For Many Years.
The Naxalite–Maoist insurgency is an ongoing conflict between Maoist groups known as Naxalites or Naxals, and the Govt. This has been going since 2000s and I remember distinctly this being discussed in army Def journals calling the Naxals as a Security Threat and a menace that India will have to deal with, in future if necessary steps are not taken on time.
Given the reach of the leftists in media and in academic world and other Institutions the Indian Govt have been increasingly finding it difficult to take stern action against the armed groups operating in the jungles of Chatisgarh, AP , Mahrashtra, Odisha etc.
The ongoing conflict had taken place over a vast territory called as Red Corridor spanning over almost 10 Indian states such as Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, West Bengal, Maharashtra etc with hundreds of people being killed annually in clashes between the Naxalites and the government every year since early 2000s. The districts that comprise the Red Corridor are among the poorest in the country, are either impoverished or have significant economic inequality. It is called as Red Corridor because it spans over almost 10 States, allowing Armed Naxals to move freely from one State to another whenever the pressure in one state increases.
The Naxalites adopted the ideology of Mao Zedong, the Chinese revolutionary leader who converted China to communism and ruthlessly pursued the Cultural Revolution in 1966. The naxals might be an array of various armed Bands/ Groups but when combined they comprise the militant arm of Communist Party of India – Maoist ( CPI-M). Their strength is estimated to be between 6,500 and 9,500 men.
In 2017, 106 districts in 10 Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected States were covered under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme for the purpose of reimbursement of expenditure incurred by State Governments on counter-LWE operations. Although, the Naxal violence has now been reduced considerably in the country and the menace is prevalent now in just 46 districts.
Phases of Armed Movements.
Such armed movements go through the various Phases ;
One. In Phase 1 the rank and file of the Insurgent Group comprises of highly principled and value based cadre which has the support of intellectuals of the society and also majority of the local population. The causes for frustration which over a period of time turns into a rage is basically alienation perceived or actual due to lack of development, poverty , corruption, unemployment and aversion towards ineffective, indifferent Govt administration.
Two. In Phase 2 , when violence becomes politically sensitive the security forces are employed by the Govt and they drive the insurgents into rural areas and then into jungles or hinterland.
Three. In Phase 3 , due to the concerted action taken by the SFs and the Govt, these insurgent groups get isolated and they no more draw the support of the locals and so they start resorting to violence against the locals itself calling them traitors and extortion from business community etc. In Phase 3 too many stake holders with vested interests join in and make the problem a bit more complicated.
The Security Forces and the Govt together have over a period of last 70 years have put in place a doctrine to deal with these groups in a holistic manner. This doctrine revolves around two basic principles ;
A. Win Hearts and minds of the people by carrying out developmental work, setting up pro active administration in order to meet the needs of the people.
B. Offensive action against the militants to drive them into jungles and cut them off from the locals.
The above enables the security forces to isolate the militant groups and force them to come to the negotiating table. It must be understood that its not easy to win hearts and minds of the poor and deprived . So the Indian Govt through its experience gained in these 70 years created a Separate division under Ministry of Home affairs to deal with the extremism in these under developed and poor districts in a holistic manner which involves development works, capacity building of local population and so on
However, in case of Maoists i.e Naxals who believe that the power flows from the barrel of the gun, who have no faith in democratic values and whose sole aim is to usurp the democratically elected Govt and bring armed revolution as Mao brought in China. This violence is likely to continue.
They are being used by the Over Ground Leftists who work as their Political arm. As Jamiat Ul Dawa(JUD) of Pakistan is the Political arm of Lashkar e TAIBA or Sinn Féin of Ireland was the political arm of IRA. These over ground leftists now called as Urban naxals operate as Hafiz Sayyeed of JUD and Gerey Adams of Sinn Feinn who use armed groups for their own vested interests.
When Movement Enters Vicious Circle
By the time the militancy reaches Phase 3 the entire movement gets into a vicious circle. There happen to be too many stake holders ; local politicians, academicians, Human Rights activists, armed men who are foot soldiers of militant groups and so on, who want the movement to continue, Each stake holder has his own vested interest in its continuation.
So the naxals resort to killing locals who do not support them, they destroy the schools constructed by Govt, destroy communication towers, destroy bridges and roads made by the Govt because if the development is allowed to happen all these stake holders have to shut their shops. Keeping the locals poor and deprived suits them. This has happened in North East, in Punjab, in Kashmir and it is happening in the Naxal infected areas, as well. The Naxals do not let the development work to continue.
Hence it is Difficult to get the People and the movement out of this vicious circle as it requires tremendous skill, understanding on the part of the Govt and also the ability to take some tough decisions to break that nexus of the stake holders.
The problem of Naxalism , now in Phase 3, when it enters the Vicious circle , as it has happened in Kashmir etc becomes extremely complicated.
The Govt therefore , both the State and the Central Govt and the Security Forces have to operate in unison and continue to follow a Carrot and stick policy.
The Advantage the Naxals Enjoy.
The Naxals have an advantage because they have a political arm which consists of highly influential people, cadre of CPI-M, Academicians from highly reputed Indian universities, lawyers practicing in SC and HC, Doctors and numerous Human Rights activists all over the world. They have a huge huge network. For instance Binayak Sen a supporter of Naxalites is also the national Vice-President of the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) . He is the recipient of several awards including the Jonathan Mann Award, Gandhi International Peace award, the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights. He was arrested in 2006 for allegedly supporting the outlawed Naxalites by Govt of Chattisgarh. He was in 2010 convicted for life imprisonment Many human rights groups and lawyers came to his rescue and so finally he was granted bail by SC and stayed the HC order without ascribing any reasons. Even Amnesty International saw the arrest as harassment of a human rights activist, declared his detention in breach of international law and It issued a call to the Government of Chhattisgarh to immediately release Sen, unless he could be charged with a cognisable offence. Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen also condemned the judgement of HC as "unjust.
People like Binayak Sen are now termed as Urban Naxals. Exactly, the same happened with many such supporters called as ‘urban naxals’ ; Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Arun Ferreira and many more who were booked and jailed after the Violent clashes that had broken out in Bhima-Koregaon village in Pune district in Jan’2018 but most of them are now out on bail to continue with their nefarious activities. They were once again seen in many towns organising anti CAA protests and also along with farmers now on Delhi border.
Conclusion.
Due to their extensive support base, it is difficult for the Govt to deal with these terrorists in the manner the armed groups can be dealt with in other states.
In 2006, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh known for his silence called the Naxalites the "single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country" and the recent activities as enumerated above are a vindication of that.
From 106 districts to just 46 districts in last 10 years or so is an indication that the movement is now in its last Phases, however a lose rope can once again revitalize the whole movement. Incidents like the one happened recently in Chattisgarh in which 22 CRPF Jawans were killed and many injured can surely embolden the group which might be at its end.
Notwithstanding the above, lets not undermine their capabilities. The recent attack proves that Naxalites still have the capability to make and deploy IEDs, conduct armed raids and well panned ambushes, maintain an extensive, agile and responsive intelligence network.
So, the offer of Naxalites expressing their willingness to engage in peace talks with the government, but on the condition that the central and state governments should first stop the crackdown against them that came through a pamphlet on 21 March must be seen as a diversionary tactics to create a feeling of supremacy amongst the SFs, that made them reckless.
This is a conflict of ideology and so not easy to be resolved.
The Govt therefore must not allow the armed men any respite and use all the resources at its disposal to give a befitting reply and continue doing good work to win the hearts and minds of the local population by setting up an effective ,proactive and People friendly administrative machinery.
As regards the Urban naxals, a relentless pressure must be built against them, despite their huge huge network and they must be systematically weeded out of the system.