Naxalism takes its name from Naxalbari (WB), which witnessed a socio-economic uprising in 1967 Naxalites term used

d to describe adherents to ideology of radical Communist groups Believe in capturing power through a violent revolution

Genesis & Ideology contd.

Naxals aim at ushering in a socialist economy, classless society, and communist polity To realize this, Naxals believe in complete annihilation of class enemies Chief targets include upper caste landlords, police, politicians, government officials

PWG & MCC merge to form the Communist Party of India (Maoist) in September 2004 CPI (Marxist-Leninist) Janashakti People's Liberation Guerrilla Army, military wing of CPI (Maoist)

How widespread is the movement?

Pan-Indian spread, present in 170 districts in 13 states Naxal groups are very active in AP, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, MP, Jharkhand, Bihar, and WB Naxalites are a highly trained cadre, especially in guerrilla warfare

How widespread is the movement?

... Contd.

Maoists have set up a continuous corridor extending from AP to Nepal where they run a parallel govt. The Maoists call this corridor as the Compact Revolutionary Zone (CRZ) Naxals have access to sophisticated weapons, better communication tools

Maoists have a strong relationship with

Nepal's Maoists joint training, ideological brohood LTTE (Sri Lanka) arms training ISI (Pakistan) funds and arms supply Bangladeshi Islamic militant organizations funds and arms supply

As Naxal violence is directly targeted at the State & its arms, it subverts national sovereignty

Thousands of innocent civilians and security personnel killed by Naxals

Infrastructure like railway stations and telecom exchanges worth hundreds of crores destroyed

Unrest in Naxal-infested areas has led to flight of investment & large-scale migration to urban areas Has deepened divisions between upper classes / lower classes, & upper castes / lower castes Direct links with external terror outfits has increased the vulnerability of sensitive places to terror attacks

Three most important measures include

Redressing socio-economic grievances of Naxal sympathizers / supporters / cadre

Negotiations with Naxal organizations

Use of force against Naxal organizations

Redressing socio-economic grievances

Remove root cause, the mother of all ills - poverty

Land

reforms, distribution of surplus land among

the landless
Empowering the socially disadvantaged / lower

classes / backward castes

Abolish class and caste discrimination

Redressing socio-economic grievances

Generation of secured employment esp., targeting the youth in the affected areas Involve people in building community assets like roads, check dams, afforestation

Spread

of literacy a powerful tool in the

fight against exploitation of gullible masses by Naxal organizations

Negotiate with the Naxals

For any negotiations to take place, Naxals should lay down their arms first

Adopt carrot and stick approach

Warn them that anti-State violent activities will not be tolerated and that the same will met with force

Negotiate with the Naxals

Assure them that a grievance redressal mechanism within the framework of our Constitution will be set up

Option of general amnesty could be considered

If Naxals surrender and join the mainstream, then they will be given economic incentives like jobs

Use of force against Naxal organizations

A concerted and well-coordinated effort by armed forces backed by strong political will is needed

States affected by Naxal violence should evolve a common strategy of tackling such violence

Intelligence

& mobilization of well-trained force armed with sophisticated weapons

sharing

Use of force against Naxal organizations

Special units of the Indian Army, trained in jungle & guerrilla warfare could be brought in Ensure that people living in Naxal hot-beds are not harassed, which could alienate them further No effort should be spared to tackle this ever-growing threat to India's internal security