Left-Wing Extremism in India

Why in the News?

The Home Minister has said that Left Wing Extremism (LWE) will be totally eliminated from the country in two years, in a meeting to review the security situation in LWE-affected States.

Incidence of LWE in India:

1. The lowest number of incidents of violence and deaths in Naxal-hit areas in last four decades was recorded in 2022.
2. The violent incidents in Naxal-affected States have come down by 77% in 2022 in comparison to the high of 2010.
   1. Between 2004 and 2014:  17,679 LWE-related incidents and 6,984 deaths were reported.
   2. In contrast, only 7,649 LWE-related incidents and 2,020 deaths occurred from 2014 to 2023.
3. Steadfast implementation of the National Policy and Action Plan to address LWE in 2015 can be attributed to the consistent decline in LWE violence across the nation.
4. The no. of deaths of security forces and civilians in LWE violence has reduced by 90% in 2022 as compared to the high of 2010.

LWE affected regions in India:

1. The States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala are considered LWE affected, although in varying degrees.

2. Left Wing Extremist outfits operate in certain remote and poorly connected pockets of the country.
3. In 2004, the People’s War (PW), then operating in Andhra Pradesh, and the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI), then operating in Bihar merged to form the CPI (Maoist) Party.
4. The CPI (Maoist) Party, the major Left Wing Extremist outfit has carried out majority of incidents of violence and killing of civilians and security forces and is categorised as a Terrorist Organization.
5. The CPI (Maoist) philosophy advocates armed insurgency to overthrow the Government, which is unacceptable under the Indian Constitution and the founding principles of the Indian State. 

The dynamics of Maoist insurgency:

1. The central theme of Maoist ideology is violence which shall serve as the primary means to overwhelm the existing socio-economic and political structures. 
2. The Peoples Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA), the armed wing of CPI (Maoist) resorts to violence in different stages:
   1. 1^st stage: guerrilla warfare to create a vacuum at the grass-roots level of the existing governance structures by killing lower-level government officials, police-personnel of the local police stations, the workers of mainstream political parties and the people's representatives of the Panchayati Raj system.
   2. 2^nd stage: coercion of the local population to join the movement on the background of political and governance vacuum created through insurgency.
   3. Creation of many Front Organisations to facilitate mass-mobilisation in semi-urban and urban areas through ostensibly democratic means. Their activities include:
      1. Propaganda of issues like ‘displacement of tribals’, ‘corporate exploitation’ and ‘human rights violations’ by security forces.
      2. Recruitment of ‘professional revolutionaries’
      3. Raising funds for the insurgency
      4. Creating urban shelters for underground cadres
      5. Providing legal assistance to arrested cadres
      6. Mass- mobilisation by agitating over issues of relevance/ convenience.

Initiatives taken by the govt:

1. National Policy and Action Plan to address LWE, 2015:
   1. It provides for a multi-pronged strategy that involves security-related measures, development interventions, ensuring rights and entitlements of local communities
2. Construction of 17462 km roads is approved for LWE affected areas.
3. 2343 mobile towers are installed in phase-I of the Mobile Tower Project which are upgraded to 4G to improve telecom connectivity.
4. For financial inclusion of the local populace, 1258 Bank Branches, 1348 ATMs and 4903 new Post Offices in 90 districts have been made functional during last 08 years.
5. 43 ITIs and 38 Skill Development Centres (SDCs) have been made functional in LWE affected districts for skill development.
6. Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) have been made functional for quality education in tribal blocks of LWE affected districts.
7. ‘Special Central Assistance (SCA)’ has been provided to the States for carrying out development activities in the most LWE affected districts.
8. A dedicated division in the MoHA called Left Wing Extremism division has been set up which implements security related schemes aimed at capacity building in the LWE affected States. Its roles and functions include:

1. Capacity building of States to combat LWE though schemes of Ministry of Home Affairs like Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme, Special Infrastructure Scheme, Special Central Assistance etc.
2. Deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in LWE affected States.
3. Providing assistance to State Governments for initiatives to combat LWE in the form of funds for items of emergent nature.

9. Setting up of Counter Insurgency and Anti-Terrorism (CIAT) schools
10. Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme: training and operational needs of security forces, ex-gratia payment to the family of civilians/security forces killed/injured in LWE violence, rehabilitation of surrendered LWE cadres, community policing, village defence committees and publicity materials.
11. Aspirational District Programme