Naxalite Violence - Articles

Though left wing extremism in India owes its name to Naxalbari in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh is the red cradle that nurtured the movement and serves as the guerilla movement's main base. The Naxal movement in Andhra Pradesh started in the late sixties in the 'Agency Area' (tribal-inhabited forests) of the Srikakulam district. It was only after the formation of the Peoples' War Group (PWG), by K. Seetharamaiah on 22 April 1980, that Andhra Pradesh became the Maoist hub of India. The state entered yet another phase of armed rebellion with the merger of the PWG and MCC to form the of Communist Party of India (Maoist) in 2004. As many as 19 out of the state's 23 districts have been declared as the naxal infested areas. The organizational structure of the CPI (Maoist) includes six military platoons, 28 area committees, 66 local guerilla squads, and 16 action teams. Along with the CPI (Maoist) State Committee there are three Special Zonal Committees covering the strategic areas around the Godavari River, North Telangana, Dandakaranya and Andhra-Orissa Border.

Naxal violence so far in Andhra Pradesh has claimed more than 6,000 lives in the last two and a half decades. 2005 was the bloodiest year with about 320 deaths in the state. To explain this sharp escalation of violence one needs to go back to the unfortunate happenings of 2004. The much hyped cease fire, peace process and talks during the year which only served to expose the weakness and unpreparedness of the government, which totally misread the ground situation and gave primacy to electoral issues over national security issues; this was divorced from the reality as both sides were not serious when they came to the negotiating table.

Successive governments in Andhra Pradesh have used naxalism as a poll plank. An undeclared pattern has emerged where the incumbent government starts with passionate slogans to seek a peaceful and political resolution, but move on to use force swiftly. Rajasekhar Reddy came to power with slogans of economic development. But the ground situation today reveals that counter naxal measures are related to Police measures rather than Economic development. Chandrababu Naidu in his blind obsession with the World Bank model of development, failed to understand the ground situation in Andhra Pradesh which resulted in large-scale suicides of farmers suffering from extreme distress. This provided the Naxals with favourable conditions to consolidate and expand their movement. N. T. Rama Rao started with a romantic 'Laal Salaam' only to end with a statement of 'bombarding the naxal infested areas.'

On the other hand, naxal politics in the state mostly revolve around rural and land related issues. In the name of revolution, they have linked structural injustice and violence. In fact, the merger of the MCC and PWG, a new pattern of naxal violence has emerged. Previously the ultras rarely killed innocent civilians, but their merger has resulted in larger killing of innocents. By resorting to violent means the naxals also seek to establish a link between underdevelopment and violence, which is illogical. In this tussle between violence and counter violence, a vicious nexus between bureaucrats, politicians, contractors and naxals have emerged, not to assist the downtrodden make naxalism a lucrative business.

The Union Government has to shoulder more responsibility then merely holding meetings, providing CRPF battalions and a financial package. The need of the hour is a uniform strategy, a national agenda to deal with the problem. Land, Forest and Tribal development hold the key. Regrettably, Andhra Pradesh suffers from a dismal record of land reforms. In the recently concluded meeting of the Chief Ministers of Naxal affected states, Rajasekhar Reddy informed his formation of a 'Land Commission' for the purpose of land reforms and land distribution. A separate department called 'Remote and Interior Area Development' has also come up. These are welcome beginnings and could become very effective provided the government carry them forward them till it regains the confidence of the poor and marginalized. 'Greyhounds' are a reality, but no justifications can be made for the existence of private armies. The government needs to espouse a strategy which is civil-administration oriented, rather than concentrating on military solutions. Greater scientific planning is required to devise and implement a strategy with the right mix of the economics of socio-political development and policing for socio-political integration.