Naxalite is a non-state independent organization that is being operated by the people of Maoist ideology to achieve their objective using violence. In India, they are one of the major threats to internal security with many incidents occurring especially in the affected states such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The civilians are also affected along with the Naxalites and the security forces during the conflict which cause great disturbances in their life and region. It is important to understand the root cause and strategies of the naxal movement to resolve the issue of a national threat and also to provide justice to the local and tribal people. It is also of great importance to protect the rights and land of the people residing in the affected areas by understanding their issues, resolving the issue from the base and creating awareness and opportunities for their development with proper implementation of the schemes and action plans proposed by the Government.  

Introduction 

Non-state actors are independent organizations or individuals that are not associated or linked with any sovereign government through both power and finance. But they often exercise or have huge political influence and territorial control. Non-state actors may include corporations, private institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as paramilitary groups, armed guerrilla warfare resistance groups, and terrorist organizations (Longely, 2022). While most of the non-states do not employ any violence strategies, certain groups categories as VNSA use violence as their primary strategy to achieve their goal. (Berti, 2018).  

In the recent decade, the activities of violent non-state actors (VNSA) have become very prominent in the state and have caused a major threat to the internal security of India. Recent accounts of VNSA-related fatalities or incidents show that there is much retaliation from the VNSA, especially from Maoist groups. In a single case encounter between Maoists and the Police on 16th April 2024, 31 people were killed or injured in Chhattisgarh. In 2020, about 70 people were either killed or injured in incidents of encounters between Maoists and Government agencies. Similarly, in 2018 a total of 21 incidents occurred and more than 90 people were killed. Naxalism, also known as Left Wing Extremist (LWE) or Maoist are an armed non-state organization which characterized as a terrorist organization by the India Government in 2009 and is a major challenge to the internal security of India (Panday, 2018; Pawitter 2019)

To understand the role of such violent non-state actors (VNSA) on the internal security of India this article takes up the case of the Naxal movement in India. This study reviews the understanding of Naxalism, their motivations and strategies having an impact on the internal security in India and the government policies to mitigate the Naxalite insurgencies. This study aims to provide insights to conceptualize better strategies to alleviate the threats posed by Naxalism. 

Research Questions 

1. What is Naxalism in India? How did it emerge, and what are its core ideological principles?
2. To what extent do Naxalites exploit existing social and economic inequalities, particularly among Adivasi communities, to gain support and recruits?
3. What are the counterinsurgency measures taken by the Indian government?

Methodology

This article attempts to provide an analytical understanding of the issues of Naxalism based on the information collected from the primary resources that have discussed its origin (the issues of Naxalism), causes and any form of government initiatives. The approach used is a qualitative method of analysis derived from the information available from research journals and literature on the mentioned topic. The paper further highlights issues and information from different literature and scholarly articles to better understand Naxalism to develop strategies for easing off the imposed threat to internal security.   

Historical background and origin of Naxalism 

Naxalism in India originated from the uprising of Spring 1957, where a small revolt by a young Adivasi individual was done against the landlord in Naxalbari of West Bengal by gaining judicial authority to plough his land. Also, many tribal and local landless people fought against the powerful landlords armed with lathis or bows and arrows and forcefully ploughed the land and established their ownership. Despite being an independent nation, the colonial land rent system continued to persist in India for many years even after independence when indigenous landlords were granted land for tax collection from peasants (Sahoo, 2019; Kumar, 2020). The demand for forest products and mineral consumption also increased with the increase in population and development projects, thereby putting pressure on the Adivasis to compromise their rights (Gupta & Sriram 2018; Ahlawat, 2024). In the years 1965-66 many writings by Maoist-influenced communist leader Charu Majumdar were seen criticizing the government and spreading the ideology of Maoism. One of the major developments that happened was the formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) in 1969 under the leadership of Charu Majumdar with the support of allies such as Kanu Sanyal, Jangal Santhal and others. It was followed by the 1971 census that highlighted that nearly 60% of the population was landless, with the richest 4% owning most of the land. This series of exploitation throughout history resulted in the formation of the Naxal group. Naxals are defined as people who are marginalized and Adivasis who are fighting for their rights against any form of oppression (EFSAS,2019; Ali & Lal, 2015). They fear police retaliation and are supported and influenced by communist leaders like Charu Majumdar and other members of the communist party (supporting the Maoism ideology).

Another far-left radical communists led by Kanu Sanyal and Jangal Santhal also organized activities against the government and their main goal was to overthrow the Indian constitutional structure. They were thus also supported by the peasants and the poor tribal people demanding their basic rights (CLAWS, 2021). Subsequently, the government started some welfare and development programs that were haphazardly implemented which led to doubt among Adivasis about the legitimacy and sincerity of the government. Taking advantage of such situations the Naxalites took the disappointed Adivasis and marginalized people into confidence and made them a channel for their political expression. All these events collectively pushed to mark the beginning of the Naxalite movement in India which was named after Naxalbari. This had its impact all over India. 

Geographical Spread 

With the arrest of Charu Majumdar, the activities of the organization and the Naxal movement were kept low-key, however, the 1980s saw the revival of armed militancy. In the year 1980, Kondapalli Seetharamajah founded the People’s War Group (PWG) which was formed to fight against the landlords and upper-caste leaders in favour of peasants and landless in the state of Andhra Pradesh (Sahoo, 2019; Kumar, 2020). In 2004 the insurgents were again resurrected with the merging of the Communist Party of India (Maoist-Leninist), the PWG, the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI) and 40 other armed factions into the Communist Party of India (Maoist) also known in India as the Naxalites (Ali & Lal 2015; Sahoo, 2019). 

In the early stages of Naxalism, the movement had its core base in West Bengal which further spread into the other rural states having neglected or poorly developed tribal and marginalized populations. With the activities of armed groups such as CPI(M), it has spread in eastern and southern states such as Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh (Ali & Lal 2015). 

Later in the early 2000’s the Naxalism spread into Central India and the adjoining states which include Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and parts of Maharashtra. The activities and campaigns with the rise of the popularity of Naxalism also stretched to many places in other states. CPI(M) auxiliary offices were established in Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, as well as some CPI(M) offices in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. In 2019, the Indian Government released an official press release with information on the Geographical spread of LWE in 90 districts of 11 states with varying degrees. The State of Chhattisgarh is known as the most heavily affected state having the greatest number of incidents.

In different states or organizational heads, the Communist groups are known by different names such as Maoist in eastern states (Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha), known by their titles or names in southern states while they are commonly known as Naxal, Naxalite and Naksalvadi in mainland India.  

Root Causes 

Historically, the rural and tribal populations of India had been the victims of communal discrimination primarily because of the concept of casteism and hierarchical oppression. With the increased ruthlessness of the landlords and capitalists, the peasants and tribal people started to revolt against the landlords who had major control over the lands. This created the first gap for the communists to implement their ideology among the people to fight against the government. The tribal people inhabit the forest and the hilly areas which are known as Schedule areas and several legislations were made to protect the tribal people and the areas. However, these acts were not completely implemented which resulted in displacement of the tribal people whose livelihood solely depended on these forest lands. Further, the implementation of developmental projects commissioned by the government uses the natural resources of these tribal areas which are considered sacred by the Indigenous tribes inhabiting such areas thereby disturbing their sanctity. These issues have been further aggravated due to a lack of transparency and accountability on behalf of the respective government in power followed by uncontrolled mining, cutting down of forests, construction of dams and industries and no proper rehabilitation. People of these areas have therefore suffered insurmountable grief, injustice and social discrimination which became hard to bear leading to a spiral of violence. Moreover, regulation of the Forest Conservation Act gave power to forest officials to prevent encroachment which led the Tribal groups to agitate against the government as they were forest dwellers and the forest provided the necessities for their survival. (Agarwal, 2013; Bali, 2018). Misra and Bali have stated that all these factors allow Maoists to have a very prospective situation to instrument their ideologies among the tribal and poor peasants to accomplish their violent objectives. Moreover, the tribal lands are sanctity and sacred to them, disturbing these areas makes Adivasis people aggressive and resentful, which gives an opportunity for the Naxal leader to gain support from them. This disturbed region is known as the Red Corridor, has the largest incidents of LWE as these states have a huge population facing large deprivation from developmental initiatives, education, hygiene and many more.  (Ali & Lal 2015; Misra, 2018; Bali, 2018) 

The government being non-inclusive in its approach and poor implementation of development policies in these areas along with the struggle faced by the tribal and peasants which remains unattended are then also used by the LWE to influence the Adivasi groups to join their cause. But one of the main concerns is that the areas or the states that are affected by the Naxalism ideology or are Naxal-dominated remain poor and backward with little to no development. Further, the Maoist dominant ideology focuses on violent means to gain attention and to make their demands heard. Such violent activities are also perpetuated by the elite capitalist for their gains which has resulted in a never-ending arms struggle between the government and the Naxal groups. Such oppressive and violent ideologies have caused the tribal population residing in these areas to avail any kind of opportunity for their development. (Misra, 2018; Bali, 2019). 

Ideology  

The ideology of Naxalism revolves around the concept of communist revolution by Mao in China (Maoist ideology) which was based on peasants’ armed response to the structure of the State. Maoist ideology was the advancement of poor peasants and tribals, both socially and economically by removing the class system and establishing a society with social equality (Kumar, 2020.) This ideology was accomplished with an anti-capitalist or imperialism with the support of armed revolution to achieve political transformation. As described by the South-Asia Terrorism Portal the new existence of Naxalism is not for the struggle for land or forest but to seize the power for which all the efforts and attention are drawn to sabotage the state through various engagements or revolutionary activities (Akhtar, 2017). 

Threat to Internal Security 

As per the PIB release by the Government of India, there were more than 6000 incidents from 2014-2023 in which about 2000 people were killed which includes both the Naxalists and the security forces (25 Jul 20223 4:55 PM by OIB Delhi). In another Press release by the Government in February 2019, 90 districts in 11 States are considered as affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE). In another assessment on the incidents done by SATP about 200 incidents in the country from within the last decade in which about 100 civilians, 300 security forces and about 700 Naxalites were killed and more than 70% of the incidents were initiated by LWE. 

The Naxalites use violence to achieve their objectives and their primary method of opposing the government is guerrilla warfare. They use this strategy during the conflict and try to overpower the security forces by operating asymmetrical combat. They often hit an area and rum in a typically swift motion making it difficult for the security forces to engage in long combat. Naxalites being local to the area have very good knowledge of the terrain and the geographical area either in hilly mountains or forest thus making it easy to ambush and attack the government force. 

LWE requires huge financial support for the insurgency or attacks and thus finance themselves through taxes levied on large companies or businessmen and demanding money from companies, contractors, and transporters working having business in the area in exchange for protection which in terms of government is known as “Extortion”. They threaten the businessman to comply with their terms and extort money from them. They also target Government resources so that the government operations or schemes are disrupted and aim to show the inability of the government to develop the area or deliver the services.

The Naxalites used propaganda to spread their ideology and the organisational structure based on the village level where Naxalites built or conducted “village-based people’s court” as an alternative to state justice they used these courts to resolve local issues establishing their authority and challenging the system. 

Further, they also coerce or lure youth to join the LWE by pointing out the vacuum created by the government and taking up the issues of tribal rights, development, corporate exploitation, human rights violations etc. Naxalites promise a pathway to a better life through revolutionary ideology and the redistribution of wealth. Limited educational opportunities also restrict upward mobility, making young people particularly susceptible to Naxalite recruitment. 

They skillfully recruit a workforce or group of people which help in raising funds or finance and they also recruit more people as underground cadres as well as provide legal assistance further, they also help in mass mobilization by a campaign of relevant issues and thus are known as “professional revolutionaries” (MHA, LWE Division). There was further scope for Naxalites to recruit more cadres when the Indian state introduced liberal reforms in the early 2000s in both social and economic policy which was intended to increase taxation revenues and grant mining rights to multinational companies. The perception of state neglect and human rights violations perpetuates the cycle of violence and recruitment. Security forces deployed to counter Naxalite activity may use excessive force or engage in human rights abuses, reinforcing the narrative of state oppression. Naxalites have improved their weaponry and communication methods with relevance to modern times. They have changed their tactics to adhere to their goals and to keep them alive for a longer time till they reach their ideological goals (Jha, 2021).

Adivasi communities are often caught in the crossfire between Naxalities and security forces which leads them to lose their trust in the government, further affirming the ideology of Naxalites and giving support to their ideological struggle to undermine the state (Akhtar, 2017).

Counter to the LWE Insurgencies

The Indian Government has officially admitted that the Naxalites are affecting more than 10 states in 2019 (PIB 2019) and the Prime Minister has informed the nation that the Naxalites are one of the major threats to India’s internal security (Chari P.R 2009). LWE is holistically approached by the Government in various areas which may include security, development schemes, military deployment and improving the perception of locals. The military deployment for the countermeasures against the Naxalists may weaken them and contain the operations. However, it may not be possible to stop it immediately with the military power, social and economic development are also necessary along with the security to counter the situation and resolve the issue from the base level (Verma, 2020). To have an all-inclusive approach to address the issue of Naxalism, the Government monitors the situation and deploys the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) along with the setting up of Counter Insurgency Anti-Terrorism (CIAT) schools. Modernization of the strategies used, upgradation of security forces, facilitation of the coordination between the states and sharing of intelligence among different functioning groups are some of the areas where coordinates efforts are implemented by the government has also formulated National Policy and Action Plans such as Special Central Assistance (SCA) was approved in 2017 by the Centre to develop infrastructure and service in most affected districts. Action Plan by the Government such as the Civic Action Plan (CAP) conducts various civic activities and bring forward the face of security forces to remove the gap between the security force and the local. Similarly, a media plan is used for the organized program in radio, documentaries and pamphlets so that the misinformation spread by the Maoists against the government and the security forces can be corrected. Certain schemes to develop Roads, Railways, and connectivity (Mobile Towers) are also being implemented in the affected areas (MHA, LWE Division). 

Conclusion

India in the present world is moving toward a developed Nation and social and economic development is increasing at a very fast speed. There is a striking difference in the economic state of the rich and the poor where the gap is increasing. The poor people not only in the rural areas but also in cities may feel a sense of loss, exploitation and being at a disadvantage. Thus, making a base for the Naxalite ideology to expand and increase the threat to national security. Naxalite manoeuvres the social issue to their advantage to make the vulnerable people join the LWE. At the current stage, the Naxalism in India has been quite contained as the affected area of Naxalism has been reduced, as per the Union Minister in May 2024 the number of affected districts reduced from 96 to 45 within a decade. Also, in the last five years more than 1000 banks, ATMs, mobile towers and roads have been constructed in the Naxalite-affected states. However, the incidents are still occurring especially in most affected states like Chhattisgarh even now. On May 10, 2024, in a conflict between Naxalites and Security personnel, 12 Naxalites were killed while 3 CRPF personnel were killed and about 14 were injured in a Naxal attack on 26 January 2024 in Chhattisgarh. Although the government is working to improve the condition of the poor, it is important to note the core issues of tribal and poor people in the LWE-affected areas. Also, whether the National schemes are being properly implemented in the affected states or not and to check resources to be used for the people are not being exploited by the corrupted officials. Coordination between the Centre and the State is important for improving the condition of the local people and guiding them to improve their perception towards the Government. Increasing the employment of locals by addressing the issue and considering them as a workforce for the procurement of resources and conservation of nature may enhance their economic state.  Military force must be used to protect civilians in the highly affected states and to weaken the Naxalites by disputing their insurgent operations. Peace talks between the stakeholders and government must also be kept parallel with the force so that they must be under the impression that they are being listened to and with a better understanding, they might surrender and using violence to bring attention towards them might come to an end. 

Title image courtesy: Usanas Foundation

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government of India and Defence Research and Studies

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