Context: Recently, Director-General of Central Reserve Police Force(CRPF) has said that Bihar was free of left-wing extremism now and security forces have made inroads into areas in Jharkhand that were once inaccessible due to the presence of Maoists.

Key Highlights

Number of districts affected by violence

• The number of districts affected by violence stood at 39, down from 60 in 2010.

• The number of most affected districts, accounting for 90% of the violent incidents, had reduced from 35 in 2015 to 25 in 2021.

• These districts are mostly in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, Telengana and Andhra Pradesh.

Incidents of violence

• Incidents of violence have come down from the highest level of 2,258 in 2009 to 509 in 2021.

• The death rate due to violence has come down by 85%.

• In the year 2010, the death toll was at the highest level of 1,005 which has come down to 147 in the year 2021.

Considerable success achieved in Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh

• The CRPF had launched Operation Octopus, Operation Double Bull, Operation Thunderstorm and Operation Chakarbandha in the three States.

• As a result, considerable success was achieved in 2022 in these states.

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.

Causes for 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.

• 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 or 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.

Steps Taken by the Govt.

• Though primarily a State subject, MHA has promulgated a ‘National Policy and Action Plan’ since 2015 to address the menace of LWE.

• The significant features of the policy are zero tolerance towards violence coupled with a big push to developmental activities.

• MHA is supporting the State Governments for Capacity Building and strengthening of Security Apparatus by deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) Battalions, provision of helicopters and UAVs etc.

Funds are also provided for modernization and training of State Police under

• Modernization of Police Force (MPF),

• Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme and

• Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS).

For development of LWE Affected States, Government has taken several developmental initiatives which include

• sanction of 17,600 kms of road

• installation of mobile tower in LWE affected districts

• financial inclusion through opening of banks, ATMs etc.

• imparting quality education to the youth with special focus on opening of Eklavya Model Residential Schools

• Under Special Central Assistance (SCA) Scheme for further impetus to development in the most affected districts, more than 10000 projects have been taken.

Sub-categorization of districts

• MHA had categorized certain districts as LWE affected and covered under Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme.

• Of these SRE districts, the districts accounting for more than 85% of country-wide LWE violence and are categorized as ‘Most Affected Districts’.

• This is done for focused deployment of resources - both security and development related.

• To arrest the expansion and also to restrict them to bounce back in the areas recently taken away from LWE influence, 08 districts have been categorized as ‘District of Concern’.

Road Ahead

• Indian counterinsurgency has to work with a dual objective of defeating the insurgents militarily and fully quell the insurgent impulses.

• This will need institutional overhauls.

• States must do more to synergize their efforts by launching coordinated operations, thereby denying Maoists any space for manoeuvrability.

• On parallel grounds, it is also important to segregate the population from the insurgents both operationally and ideologically.

• The conflict over the distribution of resources can be mended with economic development.