Why in news?
Union Home Minister Amit Shah declared that the final battle against Maoists is imminent and will be ruthless, with the goal of eradicating Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) in India by March 2026.
After a meeting in Raipur with officials from Chhattisgarh and neighboring states, the minister emphasized the need for a strong strategy to deliver a decisive blow to LWE, which he described as the biggest challenge to India's democracy.
What’s in today’s article?
- Left-Wing Extremism (LWE)
- India To Be Free Of Naxalism By 2026
Left Wing Extremism (LWE)
- Left-wing extremism is the single internal security threat that affects the largest number of States in India.
- LWE aims to overthrow the existing democratic state structure with violence as their primary weapon, and mass mobilization and strategic united fronts as complementary components.
- They plan to usher in So-called ‘New Democratic Revolution’ in India.
- Left-wing extremists are popularly known as Maoists worldwide and as Naxalites in India.
Reasons for the spread of LWE
- Land Related Factors:
- 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 the 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.
- 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, in some areas, of untouchability in various forms.
- Poor implementation of special laws on prevention of atrocities, protection of civil rights and the abolition of bonded labour etc.
- Governance Related Factors:
- Corruption and inadequate provision/non-provision of essential public services including primary health care and education.
- Misuse of powers by the police and violations of the norms of law.
- Perversion of electoral politics and unsatisfactory working of local government institutions.
Current LWE situation in India
- Maoist violence came down
- According to the Ministry of Home Affairs:
- Maoist violence in the country has gone down by 77% since 2010;
- The number of resultant deaths (security forces + civilians) has come down by 90 % from the all-time high of 1,005 in 2010 to 98 in 2022.
- Number of districts declared to be Naxal-affected
- The government has cut the number of districts declared to be Naxal-affected from over 200 in the early 2000s to just 90 now.
- It claims that the geographical spread of violence is actually restricted to just 45 districts.
- According to the MHA, the arc of violence has been considerably restricted with just 25 districts accounting for 90% of the LWE violence.
- The presence of Naxals is said to be minimal to zero in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Bihar, which were at one time their strongholds.
Response by Centre
- Different schemes to support LWE states
- Security Related Expenditure (SRE) - focuses on equipping security forces to fight Maoists;
- The Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS) - aims to strengthen local police and intelligence set ups;
- Special Central Assistance for building infrastructure such as roads in LWE districts.
- Massive presence of the CRPF
- The Centre has maintained a massive presence of the CRPF in the affected states for almost two decades.
- Erection of mobile towers
- Centre is pushing for the erection of mobile towers in the interiors, which would help the local people connect with the mainstream, and also generate technical intelligence.
- Maoists sympathisers on the radar of Centre
- The Centre has also unleashed the counter-terrorism National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Enforcement Directorate on CPI(Maoist) cadres, leaders, and sympathisers with the aim to choke their funding.
India To Be Free Of Naxalism By 2026
- About the news
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah has set a target to eliminate Maoist activities in India by March 2026.
- He emphasized the need for a strong and ruthless strategy for the final assault against these groups.
- Decline in Maoist violence
- The minister highlighted the significant decline in Maoist violence over the past decade, with incidents dropping by 53% and related deaths by 70%.
- The number of LWE-affected districts has decreased from 96 to 45, and the number of LWE-hit police stations has reduced from 495 to 176.
- Factors behind this decline
- The minister noted the government’s efforts to address the security vacuum in LWE-affected areas through coordinated operations and development work.
- He credited the joint efforts of state and Central Armed Police Forces, the National Investigation Agency, and the Enforcement Directorate for their role in combating Maoist extremism.
- The Home Ministry's LWE Division, established in 2006, plays a crucial role in this effort, monitoring the situation and implementing countermeasures.