Why Did Naxalism become popular? Who is to be blamed?

Originating in a small village of West Bengal, the Naxalite ideology gained rapid currency in other parts of West Bengal and India within a few years. By the early 1970s, the Naxalite movement had spread from far-flung areas like Andhra Pradesh and Kerala in the south, to Bihar in the east, and Uttar Pradesh and Punjab in the north.

For some time the Naxalites had virtually set up alternative administrative machinery in Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh, to which they referred to as `liberated zone'.

In parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the Naxalites succeeded in mobilizing the peasantry to recover lands that they had lost to the moneylender-cum-landlord class (and carry their harvested crops to their homes.

Tribal support to the movement grew as the oppressed class had decided to rise against the oppressors.

The Naxalbari movement was crushed with a heavy hand by the government in 1972.

Today this problem has assumed epidemic like proportions.

The root cause of Naxalism is flawed economic policies and disparities that exist between various sections of society. There has been too little developmental work in remote areas of the country and as a result a large number of people feel alienated, which has given rise to the menace of Naxalism.

Clearly the party which has ruled India for more than 80% time has failed its people miserably!

• Lop sided development in last 63 years.

• Job and living hood crisis.

• Negligent infrastructure development.

• Flag ship Government schemes under utilizing funds.

• Corruption creates a bottle neck.

• Unemployment and backwardness forces the young, unemployed youth to take up arms and term themselves as Naxals/Maoists and different labels in different states!

• Alleged torture of villagers by the security forces creates alienation.

• Rebels become a source of inspiration for physically exploited women. In some cases, as has been reported from Bihar, joining the Maoists is a way out of poverty and starvation.

• Young persons initially develop intimacy with the group and gradually turn sympathizers and spies. Some eventually join the rebels. A family member, relative or someone known to the family in the party could act as a facilitator.

The Naxals claim to be the representatives of the Adivasis, the people staying in jungles and that of the very poor and oppressed class. They claim that The Indian Union had denied these people their rights and have made life hell for them. They claim to champion these very people.

The intellectuals like Varavara Rao, Kobad Ghandy and Arundhati Roy raise issue of torture and custodial deaths of tribals and foot soldiers of the Naxals and also shout at the top of their voice that severe injustice is being done to the poorest of the poor.

Often the Villagers or tribals are caught between the Devil and the Deep Sea: The forces and the Naxals!

There have been cases where tribals are languishing in jails after being branded as Maoists. In Orissa, people said the Government may have been posing as pro-tribal but its actions are otherwise. The share of tribals in Sundargarh is declining fast from 64 % in 1951; it has dropped to 50.19 per cent in 2001. The current census will see the figure dropping below 50 per cent. The exodus of tribals is not just a matter of concern; the outsiders’ influx is a greater worry, who, he said have hijacked the livelihood and security of the indigenous population