Context- The Union Home Minister stated that the ministry is determined to destroy the entire ecosystem of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) by “financial choking”.
Key Highlights–
Reduction of deaths:
- According to the Union Home Minister, for the first time in four decades, the number of deaths of civilians and security forces in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) declined to under 100 in 2022.
- Left Wing Extremism had come down by 76% in 2022 as compared to the 2010 data.
- Also the Ministry of Home Affairs is determined to destroy the entire ecosystem of LWEs by financial choking.
- The MHA’s policy to deal with LWE has three main pillars i.e. Strategy to curb extremist violence with ruthless approach, Better coordination between Centre and states, and Eliminating support for LWE through public participation in development.
Strengthening Armed Forces:
- New camps:
- Sharing details of the measures taken by the Ministry of Home Affairs, he stated that since 2019, the armed forces had established 175 new camps to plug the security vacuum in the LWE-infested zones.
- BSF Air Wing:
- The BSF air wing has also been strengthened with the induction of new pilots and engineers in the last one year to aid operations in LWE-affected areas.
- Police stations:
- Funds were provided to the State police forces for modernisation and assistance related to construction of fortified police stations.
Left-wing Extremism(LWE) in India
- Left-wing extremists, also known as Maoists worldwide and as Naxalites/Naxalism in India, have been a major threat to India since the 1960s.
- The Naxalites have frequently targeted tribal, police and government workers in what they say is a fight for improved land rights and more jobs for neglected agricultural labourers and particularly the poor.
- Red Corridor:
- The influence zone of LWE in India is called the Red corridor, that has been steadily declining in terms of geographical coverage and number of violent incidents.
- History of LWE in India:
- The term Naxalism derives from the name of the Naxalbari village in West Bengal where a peasant revolt took place against local landlords over a land dispute in the year 1967.
- The origins of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) in India traces back to the Telangana peasant rebellion (1946-51), the movement was at its peak in 1967, when the peasants, landless labourers, and Adivasis raided the granaries of a landlord in the Naxalbari village in West Bengal.
- The Naxal rebellion was led by Charu Majumdar and some of his close associates, Kanu Sanyal and Jangal Santhal.
- These rebels not only were assisted by the people from nearby areas but also from the People’s Republic of China. The Chinese Media had called this movement the “Spring Thunder”.
- The movement initially took inspiration from China’s founding father, Mao Zedong, but had later become radically different from Maoism.
Reasons for Left Wing Extremism
- Tribal Discontent:
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- The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 has been used to target tribals, who depend on forest produce for their living.
- Massive displacement of tribal population in the Naxalism-affected states because of development projects, mining operations and other reasons.
- Also, poor implementation of FRA and eviction of the land ceiling.
- Lack of Livelihood:
- The people who do not have any source of living are taken into Naxalism by the Maoists.
- Maoists provide arms and ammunition and money to these people.
Governance-related issues:
- Government measures its success on the basis of the number of violent attacks rather than the development done in the Naxal-affected regions.
- Absence of strong technical intelligence needed to fight with Naxalites.
- Infrastructural issues, for instance, some villages are not yet connected properly with any communication network.
- No Follow-Up from Administration:
- It is also seen that even after police take hold of a region, the administration fails to provide essential services to the people of that region.
Government’s initiatives
- As part of the aim to ensure all-round development in the affected areas, several special schemes were being implemented apart from the flagship programmes of the Central government.
SAMADHAN doctrine:
- It is the one-stop solution for the LWE problem as it encompasses the entire strategy of government from short-term policy to long-term policy formulated at different levels. SAMADHAN stands for-
S- Smart Leadership:
- A- Aggressive Strategy,
- M- Motivation and Training,
- A- Actionable Intelligence,
- D- Dashboard Based KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and KRAs (Key Result Areas),
- H- Harnessing Technology,
- A- Action plan for each Theatre,
- N- No access to Financing.
ROSHNI:
- It is a special initiative under, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (Formerly Ajeevika Skills), launched in June 2013 for training and placement of rural poor youth from 27 LWE-affected districts in 09 Indian States
- Intelligence sharing and raising of a separate 66 Indian Reserve Battalion(IRBs), CRPF battalions like COBRA battalion, Bastariya battalion etc were done by the government in order to curb the menace of LWE organizations.
Road Connectivity:
- Construction of 17,462 km of roadways had been sanctioned to improve road connectivity, of which work on about 11,811 km had been completed till now.
Mobile connectivity:
- Also for better mobile connectivity, 2,343 mobile towers had been installed in the first phase during the last eight years, and approval was given to upgrade them to 4G. This apart, 2,542 new mobile towers were being installed in the second phase.
Eklavya Residential Model School:
- 142 Eklavya Residential Model Schools were sanctioned in 21 years before 2019, while in the past three years, 103 have been sanctioned.
- Till now, 245 Eklavya schools had been sanctioned in 90 LWE-affected districts and 121 of them were now functional.
Banks, ATMs & Post offices:
- The government also facilitated the opening of 1,258 bank branches and 1,348 ATMs in the worst hit districts, besides 4,903 post offices.
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