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Sociology assignment 🪄
Naxalism

What is Naxalism?
The term Naxalism derives from the name of the Naxalbari village in West Bengal where a
peasant revolt took place against local landlords who had beaten up a peasant over a land
dispute in 1967.
The Naxalites are considered to be the far-left communists who support Mao Zedong’s
political ideology.
Initially, the Naxalite movement originated in West Bengal and had later moved to the less
developed rural areas in Southern and Eastern India, including in the states of Chhattisgarh,
Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
Some Naxalite groups have legal organisations as representatives in the parliament like the
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation and the Communist Party of India
(Marxist-Leninist) Janashakti.
As of April 2018, the states where Naxalites are most visible are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha and Telangana..

What is naxalism or who are Naxalites?

Naxalite, earlier known as left extremist, is a general designation given to the several
Maoist-oriented and militant insurgent and separatist groups that have operated in India
since the mid-1960s.
While the origin of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) in the country goes back to the Telangana
peasant rebellion (1946-51), the movement took the young republic by storm in 1967.

Naxalism in India: At the time of independence

The Tebhaga Movement started in 1946 and united the peasants.
Telangana Movement 1946-1951 united the farmers in the area around the state of
Telangana.
The Sino Indian War 1962 gave fuel to the Maoist movement in India after our country lost
land to China.

Naxalism: The origin of the name

The birth of Naxalism is owed to the Naxalbari uprising of spring 1967.
Naxalbari, the village that gave its name to the movement, was the site of a peasant revolt,
instigated by communist leaders against land owners of the State.
The rebellion gave birth to what would be called the Naxalite movement led by Charu
Majumdar and his close associates, Kanu Sanyal and Jangal Santhal.
The rebels quickly found support not only amongst the nearby villages, but also from the
People’s Republic of China.
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The Communist Party of China’s mouthpiece, People’s Daily, not only called the event
“Spring Thunder”, it also devoted an entire editorial page highlighting the importance of the
Naxalbari incident.
Majumdar and Sanyal took initial inspiration from China’s founding father, Mao Zedong, and
his tactics to capture political power; the Naxalite movement eventually became radically
different from what Maoism stood for.

What are the causes of Naxalism?

Forest mismanagement was one of the main causes of the spread of Naxalism. It
originated during the time of British administration when new laws were passed to ensure
the monopolisation of the forest resources. Following globalisation in the 1990s, the situation
worsened when the government increased the exploitation of the forest resources. This led
the traditional forest dwellers to fight for their aspirations against the government through
violence.
Haphazard tribal policy implementation, marginalisation, and displacement of the tribal
communities worsened the situation of Naxalism.
The increase in the interregional and intraregional differences and inequalities led to people
choosing Naxalism. Naxal-groups mostly consist of the poor and the deprived like the
anglers, small farmers, daily labourers, etc. The government policies have failed to address
this issue.
Lack of industrialisation, poor infrastructure growth and unemployment in rural areas led
to disparity among the people living in these areas. This has led to an anti-government
mindset among the locals in the isolated villages.
The poor implementation of the land reforms has not yielded the necessary results. India’s
agrarian set up is characterised by the absence of proper surveys and other details. Due to
this reason, it has greatly damaged the rural economy and anti-government sentiments were
high among those who were deprived and exploited by the local landowners.
Forest cover in India is the main area of operation for these groups. The government is
facing difficulties while dealing with the insurgents due to the lack of accessibility to these
areas.
The unemployed youth in India is one of the major supporters of the Naxalism movement.
This group mostly consists of medical and engineering graduates. The universities have
become one of the major breeding grounds for radical ideologies.

Suspected Role of China

These insurgents not only were supported by the people from nearby villages but also from
the neighbouring country China. Initially, the movement took motivation from China’s
founding father, Mao Zedong. The media of China had called this movement the “Spring
Thunder”.
Various reports indicated that Chinese intelligence units have been training, arming and
funding the naxalite activities to assist them in waging a violent and seemingly inexorable
battle against India.
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Phases of naxalism

Phase I
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) which followed the ideologies of Marx and Lenin
was established in 1969 by Charu Majumdar.
After the death of Charu Majumdar, the CPI (M-L) became CPI (L-M) Liberation.
However, the group maintained the same ideology.

Phase II
The People's War Group was established in 1980 in Andhra Pradesh to fight for the cause of
peasants and the landless.
It was different from CPI (M-L).
The militia launched a series of attacks, assassinations and bombings targeting landlords,
upper-caste leaders and politicians in Andhra Pradesh.
In the late 1990s, the Andhra Pradesh police forces decimated the PWG.
Also, the Maoist Communist Centre of India (Bihar) was established.

Phase III
Andhra Pradesh’s PWG and Bihar’s MCGI were merged to form CPI (Maoist) in 2004.
Since the formation of CPI(M), the Government of India has declared the Maoists to be one
of the biggest internal security threats to the country.

Reasons of spread of naxalism

● Land Related Factors
Evasion of land ceiling laws.
Existence of special land tenures (enjoying exemptions under ceiling laws).
Encroachment and occupation of Government and community lands (even the water-bodies)
by powerful sections of society.
Lack of title to public land cultivated by the landless poor.
Poor implementation of laws prohibiting transfer of tribal land to non-tribals in the Fifth
Schedule areas.
Non-regularisation of traditional land rights.

● Displacement and Forced Evictions

Eviction from lands traditionally used by tribals.
Displacements caused by irrigation and power projects without adequate arrangements for
rehabilitation.
Large scale land acquisition for ‘public purposes’ without appropriate compensation or
rehabilitation.
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● Livelihood Related causes

Lack of food security – corruption in the Public Distribution System.
Disruption of traditional occupations and lack of alternative work opportunities.
Deprivation of traditional rights in common property resources.

● Social Exclusion
Denial of dignity.
Continued practice of untouchability in some areas.
Poor implementation of special laws on prevention of atrocities, protection of civil rights and
abolition of bonded labour etc.

● Governance Related Factors

Corruption and poor provision/non-provision of essential public services including primary
health care and education.
Incompetent, ill-trained and poorly motivated public personnel who are mostly absent from
their place of posting.
Misuse of powers by the police and violations of the norms of law.
Perversion of electoral politics and unsatisfactory working of local government institutions.

The Naxalites or Maoists spread their ideology very systematically and in a systematic
manner that includes the following phases:

Preparatory Phase: Detailed survey of new areas identifying important people, important
public issues on which masses can be mobilised.

Perspective Phase: Mobilisation through frontal organisations – staging demonstrations

against government/administration based on local public grievances.

Guerrilla Phase: Converting the public movement into violent guerrilla warfare.

Base Phase: Here the Maoists try to establish their base and change the guerrilla zone into
a liberated zone.

Liberated Phase: Establishment of people’s Government.

Aims and Objectives and Modus Operandi of the Naxalites

CPI (Maoist) is the main party now after the merger of various Naxalite groups in 2004. M.
Laxman Rao (Ganapati) is the Secretary General of the party. It operates through People's
Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA). PLGA has three kinds of forces: Basic force (Gathering of
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intellectuals); Secondary force (Area committee plus guerrilla squads); Main force
(Structured in battalion/ platoon format like the armed forces, and an intelligence unit).
As of now, the strength of PLGA is around 8,000-9,000 while Jan Militia is around 38,000.
Usually 40-50% of the total cadres consist of females.

The aim of the Naxalites is to destroy the legitimacy of the State and to create a mass base,
with a certain degree of acceptability. The ultimate objective is to attain political power by
violent means and establish what they envisage as ‘The India People’s Democratic Federal
Republic’. The Naxalites predominantly attack the police and their establishments. They also
attack certain types of infrastructure, like rail and road transport and power transmission, and
also forcibly oppose execution of development works, like critical road construction. Naxalite
activity is also manifesting itself through various civil society and front organisations on
issues such as SEZ policy, land reforms, land acquisition, displacement etc., with the
objective of expanding their mass base and acquiring support of some intellectual elite.

While impeding development works and challenging State authority, the Naxalites
simultaneously try to derive benefit from the overall under under-development and
sub-normal functioning of field institutions like police stations, tehsils, development blocks,
schools primary health centres and anganwadi centres, which centres, which administer and
provide serves at the ground level and also reflect the State presence and writ.

Steps taken by the Government

Operation Green Hunt: It was started in 2010 and massive deployment of security forces
was done in the naxal-affected areas.
From 223 districts that were affected due to naxalism in the year 2010, the number has
come down to 90 in nine years.
The government even started ‘Relief and Rehabilitation Policy’ for bringing naxalites into the
mainstream.
Members of the Central Committee Politburo of communist parties have either been killed or
arrested.
Aspirational Districts Programme: Launched in 2018, it aims to rapidly transform the districts
that have shown relatively lesser progress in key social areas.
Continuous efforts of the government have reduced the frequency of violent attacks in the
naxalism-affected regions.

The End
By
Student of Sociology
BHU, Varanasi