Problem of Maoist Insurgency

Maybe when this article is read,an innocent tribal or a compelled jawan is unreportedly being killed on the fringes of national mainstream by a so-called maoist. Naxalismsingle biggest internal security threat screamed The Economic Times on 14th April,2006. And the threat has just got bigger. Our Union Home rector P. Chidambaram drew lots of flak for Operation Green Hunt. Recently,our President Pratibha Patilhas urged the naxalites to shun violence and resort to talks. But one Question that comes to mind is what prompted the Maoist uprising? (even Derek OBrien was confronted wid the question when he visited the IIM-C recently). The basis of the answer may lie with the Green Revolution. It brought fruits to farmers,but only in nigh pockets of India. The rest of India has witnessed some violent uprisings against the state. But the naxalite problem has deeper roots. Poverty,land alienation, need of access to basic forest resources,largescale unemployment and exclusion from national ma instream argon the common grievances among the rural population in east and interchange India.Despite being the most mineral-rich states in India,Chhatisgarh,Jharkhand,Orissa and West Bengal count among the poorest. Area India Chhatisgarh Jharkhand Orissa West Bengal Per-Capita Income 24,295 16,740 15,303 16,149 23,229 Table showing per-capita income of Chhatisgarh,Jharkhand,Orissa and West Bengal in comparision with India. It is these resources and the irrational attitude of Indian federal System towards them that forms the core of dissent among people here.For instance,tribals in mineral-rich Bastar in Chhatisgarh do non get a fair share of the resources from miningin the forests that they inhabit. The freight equalization insurance policy of the government h vitamin Aered these states from translating their natural resources advantage into industrial growth. ,and led to the Central Govt. Pocketing the lions share of royalties from mining. The complete failure of instruments l ike the Panchayat(Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act,1996 and the Forest(Conservation) Act,1980 in these areas stomach only aggravated the problem.So,for the adivasis,Sarkar is exploiter in the form of forest officials who deny them entry into the forest,the police who demanded bribes and state-sponsored contractors who paid less than the minimum wage. The exploitation by the landlords and mahajans ,and lack of basic amenities of human existence only flare up the problem. Ajit Buxla,maoist leader,correctly points out, When you see death taking tolls on your near and dear ones and you know their breeding could have been saved had they been given proper and timely medication,you are forced to believe that the existence of state has nothing to do with tha life of poor & maginalized. ENTER THE MAOISTS. treading on the Marxism-Leninism theoretical lineage of annihilation of class enemies,the naxalites strategically take Maoism lineage against the state. The Communist Party of India-M aoist(CPI-Maoist),formed on September 21,2004,was quick to bill poster that the causes of dissent was different in different states,and cashing in on the emotions of the local people,they staged violent uprisings. Over 600 lives have been lost in the militias process of forming the Red Corridor or Compact Revolutionary Zone(CZR).Though the naxalites have been more than or less ousted from Andhra Pradesh,the three-fold-layer strategy of the maoist insurgency has led to the rebels gaining control of more ares. The sources of funding of the naxalites are extortion of ransoms,cultivating opium in Malkangiri district,charging the traders and buisnessmen who pass through the Red Corridor,and producing and smuggling enormous quantity of marijuana. But slowly,this movement for the people has turned against the people.The tribals are being victims of human rights violations,such as,murder of all kinds,tortures,outrages upon personal dignity,extortions,etc. moreover,the rebels have interfer ed,challenged and destroyed the age-old social taboos of the tribals which is leading to growing resentment among the locals against them. As it is clear,no one-size-fits-all solution can be applied for this intuiging problem. The very root of the problem has to be axed through,& that too in a sensible manner.Mere military engagement of the maoist insurgents wont exculpate the problem. It will only joepardise the locals even more. Creation of civilian militas like Salwa Judum should be shunned as they expose civilians to unnecessary danger,and only translate into abdication of security function by the state. The State should provide security guarantees against retribution by cadres of the naxalites and should use the knowhow of such cadres in informative strategies against the rebels.The civil society representatives such as high personalities,political leaders,NGOs should step-in as mediators between the state and the maoists. But most importantly,the grievances that increase the appeal of the maoists should be mitigated. There should be direct effort for emergence in these areas. The locals should be given employment and conditional cash transfers that counter the widespread deprivation in the region,thus,reducing the recruitment-pool of the maoists.Investments shoul be made in social-overheads which would allow the locals voiced access to the urban marketswhere they can sell their dairy products and forest-related products like cashew,chironji,lac,etc which have high market-value. The tribals should be empowered through education and a self-sustaining economic scheme,funded largely by mining revenues of the state,can be implemented to provide skills,literacy,healthcare,and above all,dignity and social justice to the people. As D. Bandopadhyay. retired-IAS officer experienced in dealing with naxalites in West Bengal in the 70s,puts it, Naxalism has emerged as a result of deficit in planningconstant alienation has made people take up arms,and its tim e one understands the problem as not just a law & order problem,but one thats foundations are socio-economic. India cannot afford a lost generation in the insurgency-affected areas even as it takes rapid steps towards becoming a global economic power. Ending the maoist insurgency needfully to be a national priority.Else till then the voice of Koteshwar Rao(nom de guerre Kishanji) would continue to ring alarm bells inside startled ministers & common folk. The authorities would not be making the rules he would.References- (1) 35-yr old tribal killed by Maoists, The Deccan Chronicle, 19th January 2008. (2) Maoists slay three tribals in Chhatisgarh, Thaindian News, 21st March,2008. Sources- (1) India Research Group. (2) Down To Earth. (3) Institute of southeast Asian Studies,Roundtable Session(ISAS),14th March,2007. (4) International Relations and Security Network(ISN),ETH Zurich.