Souvik Chatterji
Freelancer
e-mail: souvik_chatterji200 0@yahoo.co. in
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Naxalite movements have disturbed the peace and solidarity of
several states in India for the last 35 years. While in some states
it exists in a mild form, in others it has become a cause for
concern. The reasons for the rise of these movements are different
in the individual states.
In Andhra Pradesh, the naxalite movement that ravaged the state at
one point has weakened in recent years. To date, around 6000 people
have been killed in this movement which started in 1969 in
Srikakulam district, more than 35 years back. The Director General
of Police, SSP Yadav, told reporters in December 2007 that the
Maoist attacks had come down from 194 in 2006 to 87 in 2007. But
they have not ended. In 2007, 40 civilians, 4 policemen and 43
extremists died in 124 incidents within the state. The eminent
Maoist leader, and Nagamalla forest division committee secretary,
Nagi Reddy, better known as Sagar, was arrested last year.
The main demand of the naxalites has been land reforms in the rural
areas of the state in a just manner in order to alleviate the
agricultural community. It included providing land to the landless
farmers and preventing land from being used for industrial purposes
which has no benefits for the poor farmers. These grievances
compelled the naxalites to collect arms and involve themselves in
separatist violence in the state. Their demands can be categorised
under five heads, distribution of land, distribution of forest
resources, getting minimum wages, gaining social dignity and
securing self governance. But it is a pity that most of these
movements have since taken the lives of many innocent persons and
policymakers.
It is also evident that these naxalite groups operating in Andhra
Pradesh, including the Maoist groups, have plenty of funds, as they
extort huge amounts of money from professionals and forest
department officials and contractors. It is reported that they also
receive a share out of the forest development projects by dominating
these areas. The PWG has been one of the leading groups involved in
the naxalite movement in Andhra Pradesh. On one occasion, when the
police and the law enforcing authorities in the state successful
arrested a group of naxalites, the latter in retribution kidnapped
some IAS officers and other government officials to demand the
release of the arrested persons.
In the early 90s, the State Government, instead of banning the
Naxalites, had allowed them to operate freely because harsh measures
did not yield the expected results. The ban was re-imposed and again
lifted by the succeeding governments. Both measures however failed
to give positive results.
In regard to remedial measures, the following issues need to be
revisited. Firstly, the hilly regions and tribal belts require more
government participation. There is an administrative vacuum in large
parts of the state where low security has led to operations by the
naxalites and other anti-social groups. Security must be
strengthened in these areas as the naxalites operate mostly in these
areas. If there is corruption in implementing forest development
projects, this can only be arrested by strong government action.
Secondly, the backward areas have to be developed through poverty
alleviation, employment generation and tribal welfare programs as
soon as possible, which basically meets the demands of the naxalites.
The rights of the tribal population over forest produce should be
acknowledged because they had been enjoying them for generations,
and the acquisition of their lands by the government for industrial
purposes leads to a new form of rebellion. The police stations
should also be linked to local self government in the rural areas.
These groups have greater interaction with the people and their
problems can be properly tackled by the police in this manner.
Magisterial powers should be granted to officers of the revenue and
development agencies so that cases can be easily settled. The
justice system also requires decentralisation so that the judges-
population ratio is improved and the people do not have to travel
long distances to get access to justice. It is true that separatist
movements can be best addressed by analysing the grievances and
bringing about workable solutions. Since the naxalite movement in
Andhra Pradesh is on the decline, if the measures as mentioned above
are taken systematically and a reorientation undertaken in the
respective departments, these steps could end the movement
altogether in future.
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