Greater Militarisation by Maoists

What is the issue?

Recent attacks by Maoists suggest that they are focussing on greater militarisation, which needs attention given the past record.

What are the recent developments?

• There has been an uptick in attacks by Maoists, indicating that their ability to strike remains strong.
• In two recent attacks in Chhattisgarh, five persons were killed in a blast in Dantewada district and one BSF sub-inspector was killed in Kanker district.
• Maoists have also owned up responsibility for the killing of TDP MLA Kidari Sarveswara Rao and his predecessor Siveri in Andhra Pradesh in September.

What is the emerging driving factor?

• These attacks come amid a series of military setbacks to the Maoists in the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border regions.
• Government is using military force while earmarking funds for infrastructure and welfare programmes in left-wing extremism-affected districts.
• Clearly, this strategy of the government has weakened the Maoists.
• Also, paramilitary and police actions have resulted in the death of some senior leaders of the Maoists group.
• Welfare measures, despite haphazard implementation, have enabled outreach into tribal areas.
• These actions have forced the Maoists to retreat further into the forest areas of central and south-central India.
• They are using these as bases to launch attacks, seeking to invite state repression on tribal people and to get recruits.

How has the CPI (M) evolved?

• The People’s War Group and the Maoist Communist Centre of India merged into the CPI (Maoist) in 2004.
• It managed to consolidate its presence across a “Red Corridor”.
• It spanned across the central and north-central India, marked by rural deprivation.
• The CPI (Maoist) has sought to project itself as a revolutionary political movement led by peasants and tribals.
• It sought to rebuild after the failures of the earlier Naxalite movement.
• Rather than focussing on socio-economic struggles, the Maoists relied on waging a military battle against the state to capture power.
• But this was largely due to a gross and mindless misreading of the nature of the Indian state and its democratic institutions.
• As, these actions have resulted in the militarisation of these areas.
• It led to repression of tribal people both by state actions such as the creation of the Salwa Judum (disbanded by judicial order) and Maoist authoritarianism.
• The change of guard in the CPI (Maoist) leadership now suggests that it has moved towards further militarisation to secure its guerrilla forces’ influence.
• So perceivably, there is no end in sight to this insurgency in the near term, a sad reality for tribals caught in the crossfire.

Source: The Hindu