Etymology
The term ''Naxal'' comes from the village ''History
{{see also , Timeline of the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency Naxalites are a group of far-left radical communists, supportive ofSummary
The LWE is characterised in following 3 distinct phases, ''"Phase 1 (1967–1973)"'' – the formative phase, ''"Phase 2 (1967–late 1990s)"'' – the era of spread of LWE, and ''"Phase 3 (2004–Current)"'' – relative decline after brief fightback. * ''"Phase 1 (1967–1973) – the formative phase"'':Phase 1 (1967–1973) – formative phase
{{Maoism sidebar {{communism sidebar {{Marxism–Leninism sidebar The insurgency started in 1967 in theNaxalbari uprising
{{Main, 3 = Naxalbari uprising On 18 May 1967, the Siliguri Kishan Sabha, of which Jangal Santhal was the president, declared their support for the movement initiated byCommunist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist)
{{ main , Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) On 22 April 1969 (Violence in West Bengal
Around 1971 the Naxalites gained a strong presence among the radical sections of the student movement inOperation Steeplechase
{{see also, Operation Green Hunt In July 1971, Indira Gandhi took advantage of President's rule to mobilise thePhase 2 (1970s to late 1990s)
The early 1970s saw the spread of Naxalism to almost every state in India, barring Western India.{{cite web, date=22 August 1970, title=Naxalite violence continues in Calcutta, url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19700822&printsec=frontpage, access-date=10 April 2017, website=The Indian Express, page=7 During the 1970s, the movement was fragmented into disputing factions. By 1980, it was estimated that around 30 Naxalite groups were active, with a combined membership of 30,000. Though India’s first wave of insurgent violence ended badly for this domestic left-wing extremist movement but did not eliminate the conditions inspiring the movement or all of those willing to hold to the Naxalite cause. This time, the insurgency was done in South India particularly in the (undivided) state ofPhase 3 (2004–present) – relative decline after brief fightback
The Communist Party of India (Maoist) was founded on 21 September 2004, through the merger of theInfluence zone and death toll of LWE
{{multiple image , footer = Areas with Naxalite activity in 2007 (left), in 2013 (centre), and in 2018 (right) , image1 = India Naxal affected districts map.svg , width1 = 195 , image2 = India map Naxal Left-wing violence or activity affected districts 2013.SVG , width2 = 200 , image3 = Naxal Left-wing violence or activity affected districts of India 2018.svg , width3 = 195Red corridor – LWE affected area
{{Main, Red corridor By July 2021, the number of "most affected" and "total affected" districts had come down to 25 (accounting for 85% of the LWE violence in India) and 70 respectively from 35 and 126 in April 2018.Deaths in Naxal attacks down by 21%LWE death count by year
As per the table below, estimated more than 13,000 people have been killed since 1996. The first combat deaths of the insurgency were in 1980. According to the Institute of Peace and Conflict studies, Naxal groups have recruited children in different capacities and exposed them to injury and death. To enforce their control over the population, the Maoists have convenedCauses
Access to land and resources
According to Maoist sympathisers, the Indian Constitution "ratified colonial policy and made the state custodian of tribal homelands", turning tribal populations intoUnder-developed tribal areas
Tribal communities are likely to participate in Naxalism to push back againstSustainment of Naxal movement
Recruitment of cadre
{{see also , List of Naxalite and Maoist groups in India In terms of recruitment, the Naxalites focus heavily on the idea of a revolutionary personality, and in the early years of the movement, Charu Majumdar expressed how this type of persona is necessary for maintaining and establishing loyalty among the Naxalites.{{Cite journal, last1=Dasgupta, first1=Rajeshwari, year=2006, title=UC Berkeley Library Proxy Login, journal=Economic and Political Weekly, volume=41, issue=19, pages=1920–1927, jstor=4418215 According to Majumdar, he believed the essential characteristics of a recruit must be selflessness and the ability to self-sacrifice, and in order to produce such a specific personality, the organisation began to recruit students and youth. In addition to entrenching loyalty and a revolutionary personality within these new insurgents, Naxalites chose the youth due to other factors. The organisation selected the youth because these students represented the educated section of Indian society, and the Naxalites felt it necessary to include educated insurgents because these recruits would then be crucial in the duty of spreading the communist teachings of Mao Zedong. In order to expand their base, the movement relied on these students to spread communist philosophy to the uneducated rural and working class communities. Majumdar believed it necessary to recruit students and youth who were able to integrate themselves with the peasantry and working classes, and by living and working in similar conditions to these lower-class communities, the recruits are able to carry the communist teachings of Mao Zedong to villages and urban centers.Rape
Shobha Mandi, a former Maoist militant who was in command of about 30 armed Maoists writes in her book ''Ek Maowadi Ki Diary'' that she gave up arms and she was repeatedly raped and assaulted by her fellow commanders for more than 7 years. She also claims that wife-swapping and adultery are the norm amongst the Maoists.Sterilization
Maoist groups allegedly require their male recruits to receive a vasectomy, since having children would distract them from their activities. The government has responded by offering free vasectomy reversal surgeries to help rehabilitate surrendered Maoists back into society.{{cite web , url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/reverse-vasectomy-gives-hope-to-surrendered-maoists-in-chhattisgarh/articleshow/28348369.cms , title=Surrendered Maoists: Reverse vasectomy gives hope to surrendered Maoists in Chhattisgarh | India News - Times of India , website=Financial base
There is a correlation between the core area of insurgency and the areas with extensive coal resources. Naxalites conduct detailed socio-economic surveys before starting operating in a target area, and they extort estimated 14 billion Indian rupees (more than $US300 million) from the area.{{cite web , url=http://csis.org/files/publication/SAM_140_0.pdf , title=A Modern Insurgency: India's Evolving Naxalite Problem , access-date=8 October 2010 , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100810022222/http://csis.org/files/publication/SAM_140_0.pdf , archive-date=10 August 2010 A surrendered naxal claimed they spent some of it on building schools and dams. The financial base of the Naxalites is diverse because the organisation finances itself from a series of sources. The mining industry is known to be a profitable financial source for the Naxalites, as they tend to tax about 3% of the profits from each mining company that operates in the areas under Naxal control. In order to continue mining operations, these firms also pay the Naxalites for "protection" services which allows miners to work without having to worry about Naxalite attacks. The organisation also funds itself through the drug trade, where it cultivates drug plants in areas of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bihar.{{Cite journal, last1=Prakash, first1=Om, year=2015, title=UC Berkeley Library Proxy Login, journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, volume=76, pages=900–907, jstor=44156660 Drugs such asAction taken by the state
Infrastructure and social development projects
{{anchor , Infra , Dev , Proj , Infrastructure , Development , Projects Three main schemes, the "Special Central Assistance" (SCA) scheme, "Security Related Expenditure" (SRE) scheme, and "Special Infrastructure Scheme" (SIS) have been launched for the economic development of LWE affected areas. As of July 2021, INR 2,698 crore (US$375 million) has released for 10,000 SCA projects, of which 85% were already complete. SRE is specially aimed at the "Most affected" districts, under which INR1,992 crore (US276 million) has been released since 2014. Under these scheme various projects have been approved, including 17,600 km roads in two phases of which phase-I of 9,343 km is already complete, 2343 out of 5000 new mobile towers are already operational and remaining will be operational by December 2022, 119 out of 234 approved new Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) are already operational, remaining 1789 post offices out of total 3114 will be ready by mid-2022, 1077 ATMs and 1236 bank branches with 14,230 banking correspondents for the financial inclusion of people affected by the LWE have been operationalised.Connectivity, schools and joint action: Home Ministry's approach to counter Left-Wing ExtremismGovernment views on the insurgency
In 2006, Prime MinisterSalwa Judum and other anti-insurgency vigilante groups
Since late 1990 several government backed armed anti-insurgency vigilante groups emerged, which were shut down in 2011 by the order ofSee also
*References
{{reflistFurther reading
* Mukherjee, Shivaji (2021).External links