Tackling left-wing extremism

Left-wing extremism is one of the gravest internal security threat in our country. It is predominantly spread across the eastern, central and southern states of India and is popularly known as the ‘Red  Corridor’ states.

The conventional approach to deal with left-wing extremism since the early 1970s was to deploy security forces against the insurgents. But, this harsh measure could hardly tackle the security threat. Instead, the conflict between security agencies and the Maoists continued unabated culminating in greater reinforcement of Maoists’ cadre in 2004 when there was a merger of the former warring groups. The villagers in these Maoist strongholds were the hardest hit against the backdrop of the conflict between the insurgent groups and the state.

One of the critical factors promoting left-wing extremism is the perpetual poverty and unemployment among the masses. The people felt alienated from the State as industrial activities increased on their land without taking the original inhabitants into board. The loss of livelihood and rampant exploitation of these people drove them towards taking up arms against the State. The government has, of late, realized that a ‘development-centric’ model was a better way to tackle left-wing extremism apart from the militaristic approach.

It is a truism that equitable development led by the state is a potent tool to tackle the security threat. Better employment opportunities and addressing livelihood concerns would dis-incentivize the locals to taking up violence against the State. The state should promote skill development so that the youths could get productive employment even in the remote villages.

Moreover, the Centre should formulate a counter-insurgency doctrine encompassing also the development and security-related components. This would provide an unity of approach among the security agencies and the state irrespective of which political party is in power. Out of such a doctrine, area-specific strategies and tactics could be developed and implemented across states.