The problem of Maoism or better known as the “Left Wing Extremism“ is making big news and posing a serious threat to both the State and Central Government in terms of their existence and survival.
What started as a mere ” Spring thunder ” in Naxalbaari in West Bengal in 1967 has now become an expansive armed movement stretching from Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh to Pashupati in Nepal, encompassing parts of seven states Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orrisa, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir and Bihar . These areaa are better known as Compact Revolutionary Zone (CRZ) or Red Corridor comprises 200 districts, 60 of which are labelled as hypersensitive.
CAUSES:
MAOISM dwells in areas geographically backward, isolated , in-accessible, inhospitable and hilly terrain, areas with poor or light or dysfunctional governance, social, economic and infrastructural deficits and deprived alienated segments of society where they have been able to successfully strike an emotional chord with the deprived lot and ensuring them legitimate justice, equity, protection, security and development, Maoists have developed a strong base among the poor peasantry class and tribes/adivaasis with an ideology of capturing State Power and acquiring their fundamental rights which they have been deprived of for the longest time. For years, Left Wing Extremists have followed the path, ideology and strategies practiced during the Chinese Revolution against Chiang Kai-Shek which includes seeking the seizure of power by armed forces and the settlement of issues by war. Hence they have sought to push their agenda through armed struggle, killing, extortion, ransom, arson, sabotage and attack on police force and posits and for this purpose they have stockpiled arms and ammunition and built up money and power.
To get an edge, they have further gone ahead by forming a military alliance called PLGA or better known as the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army. It has army line command, control, communication, sophisticated weaponry, explosives, skills and guerrilla warfare tactics, combined with motivated, passionate to the cause cadre. They possess intimate knowledge of the terrain and territory and rapport with local populace which helps them elude the security force.
STATE ACTION:
State has launched many counter-offensives against the Left Wing Extremists that has included militant, violent and unconstitutional means often attracting allegations of excesses and human rights violation. Moreover, the State has not achieved any significant success by resorting to such military means since the security forces are yet to achieve that high degree of motivation, involvement and intelligent backed operations and capture the nuances and dynamics of guerrilla warfare to be able to match the PLGA.
Instead, undeterred by State- sponsored offensive, the Maoists have unleashed a reign of terror bloodshed and militancy.
What initially started as a militant act inspired by an ideology but over the years due to the inclusion of certain elements and criminals whose primary motive is to indulge in gory criminal acts but donning the robes of respectability and political recognition into the Maoist army- line command is now a deviation from their main ideology and is more of an adventure and terrorism act which is very well reflected in the recent killing of innocent citizens, small and marginal farmers, women and adolescents in contrast with the drive for the annihilation of class enemies.
NEED OF THE HOUR:
Counter offensives against Maoists need to be based on a spirit of conflict resolution, distinguished from conflict management. Also needed are swift developmental thrusts, psychological operations to obliterate negative and warped perceptions about the establishment and the security forces, zero tolerance to the violation of human rights and excesses, confidence building measures and healing touches.
Also what are needed are attractive rehabilitation packages for those who surrender and service-oriented civic action programmes by security forces. Such a framework could bring about an abiding end to the conflict situation-as was tried with tremendous success in TRIPURA to overcome a three-decade long insurgency.
An obsession with crackdown first and development later will not work. Counter-offensive actions must walk on two legs; go hand in hand with rapid, accelerating developmental interventions and security instrumentalities in a synergetic and symbiotic manner. Capturing the hearts and minds of the alienated and disempowered segments is critical.
There should be active political processes. Political vacuums should not exist. There should be operational coordination among the affected states. Creative responses to challenges, vibrant micro-level governing modules and local bodies in Maoist-bound areas are needed. These should be blended with brainstorming psychological operations to bring out changes in the psyche of turbulent and anguished minds.
Padmavathy Dhillon
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