Left-Wing Extremism

Director-General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has said that Bihar is free of left-wing extremism now.

What is ‘Left Wing Extremism’?

• 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 mobilisation 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 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.
    • Displacements caused by irrigation and power projects without adequate arrangements for rehabilitation.
    • 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/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.
    • Unsatisfactory working of local government institutions.

Steps Taken by the Government –

• 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 CAPF Battalions, provision of helicopters and UAVs etc.
• Funds are also provided for modernisation and training of State Police under —
  • • Modernisation 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
      • a total of 234 EMRSs have been sanctioned for LWE affected districts, of these 119 are functional
• Under Special Central Assistance (SCA) Scheme for further impetus to development in the most affected districts, more than 10000 projects have been taken.

Sub-categorisation of districts –

• MHA had categorised 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 are categorised 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, 8 districts have been categorised as ‘Districts of Concern’.