National

Maoist influence down

According to the data provided by the Ministry Of Home affairs, the geographical influence of Maoist has contracted to only 41 district in the country, which is a sharp decline from 96 district in 10 states in 2010.

Left Wing Extremism in India:

Left-wing extremists are also known as Maoists globally and as Naxalites in India.

What is Maoism?

Maoism is a form of communism developed by Mao Zedong. It is a doctrine to capture State power through a combination of an armed insurgency, mass mobilization and strategic alliances.

Naxalism

The term Naxalism derives its name from the village Naxalbari of West Bengal. It originated as a rebellion against local landlords who bashed a peasant over a land dispute. The rebellion was initiated in 1967, with an objective of rightful redistribution of the land to working peasants under the leadership of Kanu Sanyal and Jagan Santhal.

The movement has spread across the Eastern India in less developed areas of states such as Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

Factors responsible for the rise of LWE

The chief reason behind the rise of the movement was the severe lack of development of these regions despite being mineral-rich. They were largely tribal belts that were neglected by the government and also by the mainstream media.

Tribal Discontent:

  • Many government activities has been led to the tribal discontent.
  • The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 has been used to target tribals, who depend on forest produce for their living.
  • Massive displacement of tribal population in the naxalism-affected states due to development projects, mining operations and other reasons.

Corruption

  • Corruption, ineffectiveness and mismanagement in the administrative mechinary.

Government Measures to Counter Naxal Violence

  • The government has taken up a holistic approach to tackling the Naxal problem. It has used security-related interventions coupled with developmental measures to root out the violent uprisings.
  • In May 2017, the Government of India allocated Rs 11,000 crores to build road connectivity in 44 districts affected by Maoists activities.
  • Operation Green Hunt: It was started in 2009-10 and massive deployment of security forces was done in the naxal-affected areas.
  • LWE Mobile Tower Project: To improve mobile connectivity in the LWE areas, the Government in 2014, approved installation of mobile towers in LWE affected States.
  • Aspirational Districts Programme: Launched in 2018, it aims to rapidly transform the districts that have shown relatively lesser progress in key social areas.
  • Operation SAMADHAN

Samadhan stands for

  • S- Smart Leadership,
  • Aggressive Strategy,
  • M- Motivation and Training,
  • Actionable Intelligence,
  • D- Dashboard Based KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and KRAs (Key Result Areas),
  • H- Harnessing Technology,
  • Action plan for each Theatre,
  • N- No access to Financing.

The policy was initiated in 2015 as a multidimensional approach to tackle LWE.

The chief objective of the approach is to ensure participatory governance and protection of the rights of the tribal people.

Way forward

  • Government needs to ensure the security of the peace-loving people and the development of the naxalism-affected regions.
  • Centre and states should continue with their coordinated efforts in development and security both where Centre should play a supportive role with state police forces taking the lead.