Naxalist : Internal Threat to India

The Naxalite movement erupted violently in 1967. It started as a spark in a small village, Naxalbari and within a few years spread to distant parts of India. The United Front government openly supported the movements of the landless who began seizure of land and also forcible harvesting. Many students from urban areas also joined the peasants in their struggle. With the fall of the second United Front government the police action against the peasant movements intensified and the first phase of Naxalbari movement fizzled out. Nasalism arose from certain basic factors – social injustice, economic inequality and the failure of the system to redress the grievances of the suffering people.

The Naxalbari uprising lasted just 52 days. The failure of the movement in Naxalbari was due to lack of strong party organization, powerful mass base, ignorance of military affairs and a formal attitude towards land reforms.

 But it left a far reaching impact on many other parts of India specially Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, UP and MP. 

 The Naxalite violence was at a peak from about mid-1970 to mid-1971. Terrorist activities were on the increase.

Naxalite leaders like Charu Mazumdar, influenced people to create hundreds of Naxalbaris throughout India. and called for revolutionary struggle .  A large no. of West Bengal youth responded to his call.  He called upon the youth to join the poor and landless peasants and go to villages in large numbers instead of wasting their energy in passing exams.

There were raids on government offices damaging property and brutal attacks on policemen. In the atmosphere of violence anti-social elements infiltrated into the Naxalite ranks which had a bad effect on the organizations’ discipline and ideology. The anti-social elements used the Naxalite umbrella to settle their own scores.

The government took joint operations by the army and the police to tackle the violence. Suspected Naxalites were arrested, illicit weapons, ammunition and explosives were seized resulting in drop in violent activities

Internal differences were building up within the organization which had a disintegrating effect. Also the Government pressure on Naxalites was building up and by 1972 almost all top Naxalite leaders were arrested.  Charu’s death marked the end of a phase in the Naxalite movement.  Emergency declared in 1975 led to banning of almost all Naxalite groups in the country

New opportunities for Naxalites again grew in 1977 with the defeat of Mrs Indira Gandhi . 4 Naxalite groups demanded the release of all political workers and withdrawal of cases against them .  The then Home Minister  agreed to release the Naxalite prisoners. 

The movement again touched a peak in 1991 and today it is in a fragmented state. There are about 40 odd groups operating in different parts of the country.

The origin and growth of Naxalite movement is due to a no. of complex economic, social and political factors – extreme poverty, economic inequalities and exploitation , unemployment , income inequalities . The factors which gave rise to Naxalism in the country still persist even today. The Movement has its ups and down but it continues to have a large support base because of the intellectual appeal of  its ideology. The movement has developed an inherent strength .