Introduction:
The term ‘Naxalite’ has its origin in a village in West Bengal named ‘Naxalbari’, where the insurgence began in 1967 and began to spread to the neighboring states including Jharkhand, Bihar, and Odisha before finally being crushed by the Government in 1972[1] (the Government identified these groups as ‘Left-Wing Extremists’[2]). In 2010, former Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh had identified Naxalism to be “the biggest threat to internal security”[3]. Most recently, a unilateral truce was announced by the Malkangiri-Koraput-Visakha Divisional Committee Division (MKVCD) of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) due to the complications created by the Covid-19 Pandemic[4].
The scope of this article extends to a history of the Naxalite-Maoist movement, the “red corridor”, primary developments with respect to the Corridor, and attempting to understand if the “red corridor” is something more than an internal security threat.
Historical Overview of the Red Corridor
The Maoists of Naxalbari, popularly known as Naxals are the members of the Naxal movement in India which began in 1967 in Naxalbari, West Bengal, after Inspector SonamWangdi was killed by protestors and the head of the protestors CharuMazumdar was arrested[5]. Even though governmental intervention in 1972 resulted in the Naxalite-Maoist movement being subdued or becoming regionalized, the merger of two extreme left-wing groups in 2004 was a milestone incident in the Indian Naxalite-Maoist history.
The merger of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People’s War Group and the Maoist-Communist Centre of India led to the formation of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) (hereinafter the Party).[6]This merger further strengthened the Insurgence as it had the effect of bringing together several factions who had the same aim which is to commit to a “protracted violent struggle against the Indian State”[7]. The People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) which consists of about 40,000 cadres is under the control of the Party. Ammunition for the PLGA is secured either through theft of weaponry under possession of State Security Forces or through dealings between Maoist leaders and local tradesmen who run businesses by exploiting regional natural resources. The cadres of the PLGA are also subject to heavy disciplining procedures and those failing to comply with the norms are punished.
The area under the Maoist control is prominently known as the ‘red corridor’ area. It spreads out to over 120-140 districts which is a quarter of the total Indian districts which is 607. The “red corridor” also is twice larger than other areas in India that have been affected by insurgence, including Kashmir and Manipur. Of all the districts in the corridor, certain districts are under absolute Maoist control and are referred to as ‘Liberated Zones’. Prominent Liberated Zones include South Bastar and Gadchiroli districts. In these zones, the Maoists claim to have established 135 people’s clinics, 10-night schools, six primary schools, built 25 huts for government teachers to persuade them to educate students, set up 10 village libraries and other such establishments.
Claims also exist that over 60 Lakh people are governed in the Dandakaranya ‘guerrilla zone’ which is comprised of Bhandara, Balaghat, Gadchiroli, Rajnandgaon, Malkangiri, and undivided Bastar.[8] The governance of the ‘guerrilla zones’ is done through Gram Rajya Committees which in turn are assisted by organizations or sanghams made up of the masses, such as Dandakaranya Adivasi KisanMazdoorSangathan (‘DAKMS’) and Krantikari Adivasi MahilaSanghathan (‘KAMS’).[9] As mentioned earlier, the “red corridor” is considered to be the biggest threat to Indian internal security. The Government of India has tried to suppress the Maoist activities through law enforcement agencies and also parliamentary forces, with Operations such as Operation Green Hunt[10] and through the militia organization SalwaJudum, which is sponsored by the Government.
The war against the Naxals-Maoists and the Government has been claiming a lot of causalities on both sides. As per the BBC, more than 6,000 people have lost their lives between 1990 and 2010[11]. As per Al Jazeera, more than 10,000 people have been killed between 1980-2011[12]. The most recent conflict took place on 25th July, 2020 at Korchi, Gadchiroli District but there were no casualties. Also, as per officials, Naxals had put up posters at various places in the district asking people to observe “martyr’s day” From 28th July to 3rd August as a mark of respect for the Founder of the Naxal movement, Charu Mazumdar.[13]
The casualties and how the State has been dealing with this issue have not escaped judicial scrutiny. In the case of Nandini Sundar v. State of Chhattisgarh,[14]the Supreme Court was approached by the petitioners who argued that the Chhattisgarh Government’s method of handling the Naxals and Maoists (which was to recruit young tribals as SPOs and arm them to fight against the Maoists) was unconstitutional. The Government argued that they were constitutionally empowered to take the actions that they did. The Supreme Court upheld the contention of the petitioners and observed that the State’s remedies were disproportionate. It also took into consideration the ill-treatment and torture which local people suffered not only due to the Maoist-Naxalite activities but also due to the State’s disproportionate actions.
International Counterparts to Naxals
In Sri Lanka, the Janata VimukthiPeramuna (JVP) was a movement similar to that of Naxals in India, which also began in 1967. It soon grew into a bigger movement and the government interfered with a brutal retaliation in 1971 and an emergency was subsequently declared. While the movement subdued then, a second insurgence attempted by the members of JVP in 1987 was also a failure as the government had quelled the movement before it attained significance.[15]
The Red Army Faction (popularly known as the Baader-Meinhof Group) was founded in Germany in 1970 by Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, Horst Mahler, and Ulrike Meinhof and had its ideologies based on Mao, Frantz Frankton, Che Guevara, and other such revolutionaries. Though founded in 1970, the background of the Faction was established in the 1960s in West Germany, which had grown to resist left-wing politics and communism. The group was known for its brutal assassinations and bank robberies (as a method of funding their activities) and other such methods to overthrow the government. The Faction continued to thrive till 1975 even when all of its main leaders were arrested in the early 1970s itself. In 1998 however, a letter was sent to the German Press proclaiming disbandment of the Faction.[16]
Left-wing extremism also left its mark in the United States of America through the Symbionese Liberation Army which had its operations in California. Headed by Donald DeFreeze, the group sought to unite all left-wing thinkers into a single unit and for that purpose, the group was known for kidnapping a student of the University of California, Berkeley and brainwashing her into supporting their movement, for which she had served prison time and was later pardoned by Bill Clinton. The group began to fade away when DeFreeze died in 1974 and became almost completely ineffective at the time the University of California’s student was arrested in 1975.
Conclusion
The “red corridor” has been attributed by some to be more than merely a threat to internal security and that it is a Non-International Armed Conflict (NIAC), which is ambiguous defined under Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention[17]. Notwithstanding this debate, the war between Naxals and the Union or State Government(s) is still in violation of Human Rights norms. In this regard, the idea of declaring the Naxal Movement to be a NIAC may prove to be fruitful for both parties as there will be a reduction in the number of casualties owing to the numerous restrictions which would be imposed through the Geneva Convention. Moreover, classifying Naxal Movement as NIAC will also lead to residents receiving general protections as guaranteed to them under the International Humanitarian Law (IHL).[18]
In a country that is already plagued with economic, political, and social issues, the Naxal movement only adds to the burden. In a time where the focus of various State Governments (including the states in the “red corridor”) and the Union Government should be on the other issues, the “red corridor” issue needs to be addressed and attempts are to quickly be made to reach an amicable solution, as a delay in trying to look for solutions will only worsen the already bad situation.
References:
[1]Nandini Sundar, Subalterns and Sovereigns: An Anthropological History of Bastar1854-2006 (2008).
[2]India’s Maoist Rebels: An explainer, Aljazeera.com (26 Apr., 2017). https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/4/26/indias-maoist-rebels-an-explainer.
[3]Naxalism biggest threat to security: Manmohan, The Hindu (24 May, 2010) https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Naxalism-biggest-threat-to-internal-security-Manmohan/article16302952.ece.
[4] Bela Bhatia, For red corridor to win Covid war, truce a must, Deccan Chronicle (19 Apr., 2020) https://www.deccanchronicle.com/opinion/op-ed/190420/for-red-corridor-to-win-covid-war-truce-a-must.html.
[5]KarthikVenkatesh, Naxals and their international counterparts, The Mint (13 May, 2017) https://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/ZmzF5LaIOJRrLqE96eszOJ/Naxals-and-their-international-counterparts.html.
[6]SumtitBhattacharjee, A merger that changed the Maoist threat perception,The Hindu (22 Sep. 2020) https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/a-merger-that-changed-the-maoist-threat-perception/article32664122.ece.
[7] John Harriss, What is going on in India’s “red corridor”? Questions about India’s Maoist insurgency, 84(2) Pacific Affairs 309 (2011) https://www.jstor.org/stable/23056765.
[8]NandiniSundar, Bastar, Maoism and SalwaJudum, 41(29) Economic and Political Weekly 3189 (2006).
[9]Id.
[10]This Operation was considered an all-out offensive by the Government against Naxalite groups and has been believed to have been carried out since November 2009. AmanSethi, Green Hunt: the anatomy of any operation, The Hindu (06 Feb., 2010) https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/Green-Hunt-the-anatomy-of-an-operation/article16812797.ece.
[11]SubirBhaumik, Maoist rebels set precondition for talks, BBC News (10 Feb., 2010) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8507525.stm.
[12]India’s Silent War, Al Jazeera (21 Oct., 2011) http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/aljazeeracorrespondent/2011/10/20111019124251679523.html.
[13]Exchange of fire between Naxals, police in Gadchiroli, The Hindu (25 Jul., 2020) https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/exchange-of-fire-between-naxals-policein-gadchiroli/article32188656.ece.
[14] 7 SCC 547 (2011).
[15]Venkatesh, supra note 5.
[16]Id.
[17]Mritunjay Pathak, Is Inisurgency in India’s Red Corridor a Non-International Armed Conflict?, Jurist (1 Oct., 2020) https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2020/10/mritunjay-pathak-naxalism-niac/.
[18]Id.
0 Comments