Maoist violence down, causes remain

Maoist violence is on the wane. On almost every parameter, it is evident that the capacity of the Maoists has been declining since 2010. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs report, 2018-19, while the number of incidents dropped from 2,213 in 2010 to 833 in 2018, fatalities declined from 1,005 to 240 in this period.

Overall, 3,700 people were killed in Maoist violence in 10 states over the past nine years. The geographic spread of Maoist violence, too, has shrunk from 330 police stations in 76 districts spread over 10 states in 2013 to 251 police stations in 60 districts spread across eight states in 2018.

Chhattisgarh continues to account for the bulk of Maoist attacks. However, in this state, too, the number of incidents involving Maoists has dropped from 625 in 2010 to 153 in 2018. While the MHA report highlights the declining trend in Maoist violence since 2014, the year the BJP came to power, the Maoists’ capacity to carry out violent attacks began shrinking in 2010 when the UPA government’s implementation of Operation Green Hunt began taking effect.

The decline of left-wing extremist violence is welcome. However, an examination of India’s struggles with the Maoist problem suggests that the decline and even end of violence signals at best the end of one phase of the insurgency and the start of another. Years of deadly violence have been followed by a decline in Maoist activity only to see a resurgence a few years later.

This is because the Indian State has failed to address the grievances that forces people, mostly youth, to pick up arms. The State has often resorted to counter-insurgency measures to deal with violence. Such measures have put a lid on the violence. These are measures aimed at conflict management rather than conflict resolution.

The approach of ‘Operation Green Hunt’ was to eliminate Maoists through the use of military measures and to follow that up with the initiation of development activity in cleared areas. Its conception and implementation were flawed for several reasons.

For one, many of those the State deemed Maoist were, in fact, tribals who were struggling to prevent their lands from being taken away by mining corporations and the land mafia. This has enraged a large number of tribals. They could pick up arms again in response to the injustice they have suffered. Also, the development initiated in ‘cleared areas’ benefits outsiders rather than the local tribals.

This ‘development’ builds on the exploitation of the most marginalized sections of our society. India must ensure that laws meant to protect tribals from exploitation are implemented in letter and spirit. That is necessary to prevent another escalation of violence.