India Will Be Free from Left Wing Extremism; Home Minister

Context:

This article is based on an Editorial “Left Wing Extremism will be totally eliminated from country in 2 years, says Home Minister Amit Shah” which was published in the Hindu. In a meeting to review the security situation in LWE-affected States, the Union Home Minister said Left Wing Extremism will be totally eliminated from the country in two years.

Relevancy for Prelims: Left Wing Extremism, and Red Corridor Shrinks: Steep Decline in Naxalism Violence in 2022.

Relevancy for Mains: Left Wing Extremism in India , and its challenges, associated Government Policies, and Possible Solutions.

Naxalism is a form of armed insurgency against the State motivated by leftist/Maoist ideologies and thus is also known as Left Wing extremism (LWE) or Maoism.
Naxalism in India: Naxalism, a term derived from Naxalbari, a small village in West Bengal, has spread its roots in Eastern India with an objective of the redistribution of land to working peasants and is supported by Maoist political sentiments and ideology.

The Red Corridor is the region in the central, eastern and southern parts of India that experience severe Naxalite– Maoist insurgency.

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Shrinking of Red Corridor: The year 2022 witnessed the lowest number of incidents of violence and deaths in Naxal-hit areas in the last four decades. There have been 7,649 Left Wing Extremism-related incidents and 2,020 deaths from 2014 to 2023 (till 15 June 23).

Left Wing Extremism

The Inciting Incident: The movement was sparked by a rebellion in 1967 in West Bengal against local landlords by working peasants.
Leaders: Under the leadership of Kanu Sanyal and Jagan Santhal, the movement gained popularity.
Expansion: From West Bengal, it spread to the less developed areas of states like Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

Displacements due to mining operations and development projects.
People with no sources of living are taken into the ranks of naxalites. Maoists provide arms, ammunition and money to them.
Success in Left Wing Extremism-affected areas is measured by the number of violent attacks, rather than the development done. The absence of strong technical support is a major setback faced by security forces.
The administration fails to provide essential services to its people. Infrastructural problems are also another major concern.

What are the steps taken by the government to stop Left Wing Extremism?

Operation Green Hunt (2010): Aimed to minimize loss of human life by providing massive deployment of security forces.
Aspirational Districts Program: Launched in 2018, it aimed to rapidly transform districts that show progress.
Relief and Rehabilitation Policy: Started for bringing the naxalites into the mainstream.
Success in containing Naxalism: Violent incidents in Naxal-affected States have come down by 77% in 2022 compared to the high of 2010. The no. of districts affected dropped from 90 to 45.

Confusion: There has been a debate on whether naxalism should be seen as a social issue or as a security threat.
State Governments: State governments consider naxalism as a central government issue and do not take many initiatives to fight it.
Distribution of Resources: Left Wing Extremism-affected areas are not developed and the government’s focus has been on military presence rather than socio-economic development.

Innovative solutions: The government needs to find ways to locate armed groups in thick forests of the Left Wing Extremism- affected regions.
Using Local Police: As they know the language and terrain of the region, they can be more effective than armed forces.
Ensuring Safety and Development: Governments need to ensure the safety of the peace-loving people and finally work towards progress and development of the Naxal-affected regions.
Role of State Governments: State Governments should take the lead to fight naxals and take help from the central Government only if required.
Effective Intelligence: There is still a need to enhance technical intelligence so as to fight naxalites more efficiently.