Here is a compilation of essays on ‘Naxalism’ for class 11  and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on ‘Naxalism’ especially written for school and colleges. 

Essay on Naxalism

Essay Contents:

  1. Essay on the Introduction to Naxalism
  2. Essay on the Evolution of Naxalism in India
  3. Essay on the Party Structure of Naxalite Groups
  4. Essay on the Aims and Objectives and Modus Operandi of the Naxalites
  5. Essay on the Links of Naxalites with Other Terrorist Organizations and Foreign Countries
  6. Essay on the Naxalites are not Really the Messiahs of the Downtrodden
  7. Essay on the Factors Responsible for Rise of Naxalism
  8. Essay on the Key Issues Related to Naxalism

Essay # 1. Introduction to Naxalism:

The term ‘Naxal’ derives its name from the village Naxalbari of district Darjeeling in West Bengal, where the movement originated in 1967 under the leadership of Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal. It refers to the use of violence to destabilize the state through various communist guerrilla groups.

Naxalites are far-left radical communists who derive their political ideology from the teachings of Mao Zedong, a Chinese revolutionary leader. They have been operating in various parts of the country since the early seventies. At various points of time, different areas of the country have been seriously affected due to overt violence resorted to by naxalite groups active in those areas.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described naxalism as the most significant threat to internal security being faced by the country today. The threat has existed since long though there have been many ups and downs.

Philosophical Background of Naxalism/Maoism/LWE:

History has been witness to repeated occurrence of violence against the ruling elite mostly by the peasant class motivated by leftist ideologies. The ideological basis for these violent movements was provided by the writings of Marx and Engels. This ideology is commonly called Communism/Marxism.

This was later supported by Lenin and Mao Tse-tung (Mao Zedong). Leftist ideologies believe that all existing social relations and state structures in an elitist/capitalist society are exploitative by nature and only a revolutionary change through violent means can end this exploitation. Marxism advocates removal of the capitalist bourgeois elements through a violent class struggle.

Maoism is a doctrine that teaches to capture State power through a com­bination of armed insurgency, mass mobilization and strategic alliances. Mao called this process, the ‘Protracted Peoples War’. The Maoist ideology glorifies violence and, therefore, the ‘bearing of arms is non-negotiable’ as per the Mao­ist insurgency doctrine. Maoism fundamentally considers the industrial-rural divide as a major division exploited by capitalism. Maoism can also refer to the egalitarianism that was seen during Mao’s era as opposed to the free-market ideology.

Maoism’s political orientation emphasizes the ‘revolutionary struggle of the vast majority of people against the exploiting classes and their state structures’. Its military strategies have involved guerrilla war tactics focused on surrounding the cities from the countryside, with heavy emphasis on political transformation through mass involvement of the lower classes of society.

‘Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun’ is the key slogan of the Maoists. They mobilize large parts of the rural population to revolt against established institutions by engaging in guerrilla warfare. Maoism is no longer an ideological movement. Maoists are now creating a fear psychosis and denying democracy and development to tribals.

Unlike the political mass movements with violent underpinnings in the border areas, naxalites do not seek to secede from the Indian Union to establish a sovereign independent state of their own but their aim is to capture political power through armed struggle to install the so called ‘people’s government’.

Phases of Naxalism:

Maoists spread their ideology very systematically and in a phased manner as follows:

i. Preparatory Phase:

Detailed survey of new areas identifying important people, important public issues on which masses can be mobilised.

ii. Perspective Phase:

Mobilisation through frontal organisations – staging demonstration against government/administration based on local public grievances.

iii. Guerrilla Phase:

Converting the public movement into violent guerrilla warfare.

iv. Base Phase:

Here the Maoists try to establish their base and change the guerrilla zone into a liberated zone.

v. Liberated Phase:

Establishment of people’s Government.

Essay # 2. Evolution of Naxalism in India:

The spread and growth of Naxalism in India can broadly be divided into three phases or stages.

The three stages have been described below:

1. First Stage:

The Naxalite movement began in May 1967 in the three police station areas, Naxalbari, Khoribari and Phansidewa, of Darjeeling district in West Bengal. In November 1967, left wing extremists from the whole country founded the ‘All India Coordination Committee’ in Kolkata. In May 1968, the Committee was renamed as ‘All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries’ (AICCCR).

It declared four ideological aims:

i. Protracted people’s war in accordance with Mao’s teachings

ii. Adapting to guerrilla warfare tactics

iii. Establishment of rural revolutionary base areas

iv. Encircling the cities as well as abstaining from parliamentary elections

AICCCR founded the revolutionary party CPI Marxist-Leninist (ML) in 1969 that was based on Maoist ideology. Soon, the Naxalite movement spread to many parts of the country, especially West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. Their main followers were peasants and adivasis, or tribals, who often experienced discrimination and exploitation from state authorities.

Also, several young unemployed people and students got attracted to the Naxal ideology. The period 1970 to mid-1971 was the peak period of violent activities by Naxalites. A joint operation of police and army in 1971 in the worst affected areas in West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha led to the arrest and death of almost all top leaders of the movement. Charu Mazumdar was caught and died in 1972 in police custody. The movement faced a severe blow during emergency when around 40,000 cadres were imprisoned in 1975.

2. Second Stage:

The movement arose again in a more violent form after the Emergency. It continued to widen its base as per the strategy of ‘protracted war’. Their base grew from West Bengal to Bihar to Odisha and also to Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. CPI(ML) was converted into People’s War Group (PWG) in 1980 which had its base in Andhra Pradesh and struck heavy causalities among police personnel.

PWG was banned by Andhra Government in 1992 but it continued its activities. Simultaneously, Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI) grew in strength in Bihar and carried out large scale attacks on landlords and other upper caste outfits. Naxal movement continued to grow at a steady pace across many parts of the country.

3. Third Stage:

In a significant development in 2004, the People’s War Group (PWG), operating in Andhra Pradesh, and the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI), operating in Bihar and adjoining areas, merged to form the CPI (Maoist). Over 13 left wing extremist (LWE) groups are currently operating in the country.

The CPI (Maoist) is the major left wing extremist outfit responsible for most incidents of violence and killing of civilians and security forces, and has been included in the Schedule of Terrorist Organizations along with all its formations and front organizations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

After the formation of CPI (Maoist), Naxal violence has been on the rise since 2005, to the extent that in 2006, the Prime Minister had to declare Naxalism the single biggest internal security challenge being faced by India. Estimated to be 40,000 strong, the Naxalites have been a strain on the country’s security forces and a barrier to development in the vast mineral rich region in eastern India known as the ‘Red Corridor’. It is a narrow but contiguous strip passing through Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. In fact, at the peak of Maoist movement in Nepal, Naxal influence was seen to be spreading from ‘Tirupati to Pashupati’.

Today, the Naxalites influence a third of the geographical spread of coun­try. Right now, the movement has expanded its activities covering over 460 police stations in 223 districts across 20 states. But the worst affected areas of the Maoist influence include approximately 30 districts of 7 states namely Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal.

Most of these areas fall in the Dandakaranya Region which includes areas of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. CPI (Maoist) has stationed some battalions in the Dandakaranya region. Local panchayat leaders are often forced to resign and the Maoists hold regular Jan Adalat. They have been running a parallel government and parallel judiciary in these areas.

But violence alone cannot be the only yardstick to measure Maoist expan­sion. Maoists are also expanding in terms of indoctrination and consolidation. They are also trying to spread their ideology in the Bheel and Gond tribes dominated area, the ‘Golden Corridor’ stretching from Pune to Ahmedabad.

They are trying to exploit new areas, various social groups and marginalized sections like Dalits and minorities through active association with their griev­ances against the state. Maoists have also made their presence felt in western Odisha, Upper Assam and Lohit in Arunachal Pradesh while they faced huge setbacks in Jangalmahal area of West Bengal and Kaimur and Rohtas districts of Bihar.

The movement’s capacity to challenge the state has also increased enormously considering the incidents of violence and casualties resulting from them. The biggest incident was when they ambushed a whole CRPF Company in April 2010 in Dantewada of Chhattisgarh and killed 76 CRPF armed personnel, showing the extent of their strategic planning, skills and armament.

In 2013, the left wing extremist movement made international headlines when they killed 27 people, including some high-level politicians, in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh.

Essay # 3. Party Structure of Naxalite Groups:

CPI (Maoist) is the main party now after the merger of various Naxalite groups in 2004. M Laxman Rao/Ganpati is the Secretary General of the party.

The organizational structure of CPI (Maoist) is as follows:

Politburo – Highest decision making body → Central committee → State committees/Special area committees → Regional committees →Divisional/District committees → Sub-district committees → Area committee

It operates through Peoples Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA).

PLGA has three kinds of force:

1. Basic force (Gathering of intellectuals)

2. Secondary force (Area committee plus guerrilla squads)

3. Main force (Structured on battalion/platoon format like the armed forces, and an intelligence unit)

As on date, the strength of PLGA is around 8,000-9,000 while Jan Militia is around 38,000. Usually 40-50 % of the total cadres consist of females.

Essay # 4. Aims and Objectives and Modus Operandi of the Naxalites:

The aim of the naxalites is to destroy the legitimacy of the State and to create a mass base, with a certain degree of acceptability. The ultimate objective is to attain political power by violent means and establish what they envisage as ‘The India People’s Democratic Federal Republic’. The naxalites predominantly attack the police and their establishments.

They also attack certain types of infrastructure, like rail and road transport and power transmission, and also forcibly oppose execution of development works, like critical road construction. Naxalite activity is also manifesting itself through various civil society and front organizations on issues such as SEZ policy, land reforms, land acquisition, displacement, etc., with the objective of expanding their mass base and acquiring support of some intellectual elite.

While impeding development works and challenging State author­ity, the naxalites simultaneously try to derive benefit from the overall under­development and sub-normal functioning of field institutions like police sta­tions, tehsils, development blocks, schools, primary health centres and anganwadi centres, which administer and provide services at the ground level and also reflect the State presence and writ.

1. Frontal Organizations of LWE (Left Wing Extremists):

The Maoists use their front organizations, like the Revolutionary Democratic Front, Peoples Democratic Front of India, Democratic Student Union and other student groups from left wing institutions like the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) of Delhi, to generate people’s sympathy through persistent pursuance of propaganda on issues of human rights violations by the security forces.

Maoists take help from left leaning civil society groups, human rights groups, national and international media and other students groups for mass mobilization. They exploit the sluggish judicial system to get away from legal conviction and punishment.

2. Guerrilla Warfare:

The Maoists use guerrilla warfare tactics. Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregu­lar warfare in which a small group of combatants, such as armed civilians or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics, and extraordinary mobility to fight a larger and less mobile traditional army.

3. Powerful Propaganda Machinery:

Naxalites have very powerful propaganda machinery which is active in all major towns as well as in the national capital. They even have their supporters in the media. These NGOs and activists wage a non-stop propaganda war against any government step that aims to check the naxalite movement.

As a matter of strategy, naxalites try to be on the right side of the media all the time. They have their sympathizers everywhere who raise a hue and cry in the name of human rights against police action on the Maoists. These media groups are conveniently silent when naxalites kill innocent people.

4. Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC):

Maoists carry out violent activities called “Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign” (TCOC) which runs from March to early Monsoon in July. Maoists usually resort to TCOC every year to put the security forces in disarray so that they can go on a recruitment drive. The aim of “TCOC” is to exhibit and consolidate their (Maoists) strength, by carrying out violent operations. Going by the past experience, the rebels have launched a number of deadly attacks against security forces during the TCOC period.

5. Fresh Strategy of Maoists:

Fresh strategy of Maoists is to expand outside forests into urban area, win over non-peasant classes and other social groups, seize leadership of ongoing local struggles, intensify mine warfare, militarise the Jan Militia, force the dispersal of police resources by launching attacks outside its strongholds, establish organisational bases in towns adjoining guerrilla zones and harden its stance downtrodden on abductions.

Essay # 5. Links of Naxalites with Other Terrorist Organizations and Foreign Countries:

The CPI (Maoist) has close fraternal ties with many north-east insurgent groups, especially the RPF/PLA of Manipur and National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) for sourcing arms. Most of these outfits have linkages with external forces inimical to India.

The CPI (Maoist) has also frequently expressed their solidarity with the Jammu and Kashmir terrorist groups. These ties are part of their ‘strategic united front’ against the Indian State. The CPI (Maoist) also has close links with foreign Maoist organizations in Philippines (Communist Party of Philippines), Turkey, etc.

The above outfit is also a member of the ‘Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organizations of South Asia’ (CCOMPOSA), which includes ten Maoist groups from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The CCOMPOSA cited its chief aim as resisting not only US imperialism and globalization, but also the ‘centralized’ Indian state and its internal repression of minority people.

It also targeted the alleged expansionist designs of India in South Asia backed by US imperialism. In 2006, CCOMPOSA at its Fourth Conference in Nepal reiterated its anti-India stand and reaffirmed its commitment to spread protracted people’s war to capture state power through violent means in South Asia.

Sources of Funding and Linkages with Organized Crime:

The main source of funding of the left wing extremist movements is extortion from government projects as well as from corporate companies working in their areas of influence. Most of the time, it is in the form of protection money. Sometimes they resort to kidnapping and killings also to terrorize the rich people so that they give financial help easily.

Left wing extremism is most intense precisely in areas which are rich in natural mineral resources, i.e. where coal, iron, bauxite, manganese, nickel, and copper are found in abundance. Odisha and Jharkhand alone account for more than half of the country’s coal reserves. Coal is by far India’s largest energy resource. Therefore, it provides them enough scope for extortion.

Essay # 6. Naxalites are not Really the Messiahs of the Downtrodden:

From their ideology, it appears that naxalites are fighting for the rights of poor people and want to establish a people’s government, while the facts are quite contrary. Social uplifting of the down trodden is not their real aim, rather it is political power. They study the local problems and issues and use them as fodder to foster their end game which is clearly the seizure of power through violent means.

Maoists have vested interest in keeping poverty alive because it enables them to expand their territory. They don’t allow district administration to do any development work like building roads and improving electricity and water supply in the areas. The local population very soon realizes that they have been used by the naxalites and their social and economic issues take a back seat while the battle for supremacy emerges as the prime motto of the Maoists. But, at times, it is too late and the locals are forced to support them.

Essay # 7. Factors Responsible for Rise of Naxalism:

It is ironical that even after 66 years of Independence, many remote areas which are otherwise rich in mineral resources are yet to see any sign of development. This situation, combined with many other socio-economic problems, has contributed towards the rise of naxalism in India.

These factors can be broadly categorized as follows:

a. Jal-Jangal-Jameen:

i. Evasion of land ceiling laws,

ii. Encroachment and occupation of Government and community lands,

iii. Non-regularization of traditional land rights,

iv. Land acquisition without appropriate compensation and rehabilitation,

v. Disruption of the age old tribal forest relationship.

b. Developmental Deficit:

i. Unemployment,

ii. Poverty,

iii. Infrastructure deficit,

iv. Lack of education,

v. Poor health facilities.

c. Social Exclusion and Alienation:

i. Violation of human rights,

ii. Abuse of dignity of life,

iii. Disconnect with mainstream society,

iv. Discontent against government.

d. Governance Deficit:

i. Lack of routine administration,

ii. Incompetent, ill-trained and poorly motivated public personnel,

iii. Mismanagement and corruption in government schemes,

iv. Poor implementation of special laws,

v. Perversion of electoral politics and unsatisfactory working of local government.

Essay # 8. Key Issues Related to Naxalism:

1. Intellectual Support to Naxalism:

Influential intellectuals regularly support naxalism in the name of advocating an egalitarian society, human rights and tribal rights. They condemn security forces for human rights violation but surprisingly they adopt a noble silence when naxalites brutally kill security forces, politicians and common people. It clearly reflects their double standards. They should also understand that use of violent means cannot be supported to achieve a noble cause in a democratic set­up.

Although it has become a disturbing fact that resorting to violent agitation is the preferred strategy for aggrieved citizens to articulate their grievances as compared to constitutional methods of democratic agitation. Rather than supporting Naxals blindly, these intellectuals should encourage Naxals to fight elections, to join mainstream society and to learn the art of give and take of democratic bargaining without aggression. Instead of supporting the violence by Naxals blindly, intellectuals should also condemn naxal’s opposition of developmental projects in underdeveloped areas.

The recent JNU issue is also related to the above discussion. Candidates are advised to take a balanced view and not support naxal violence in any way as it is against constitution and against democratic means.

2. What Was Salwa Judum and Why It Failed?

Salwa Judum was a movement in the Bastar area of Chhattisgarh which assumed the form of mass movement against the atrocities committed by naxalites. It literally means ‘collective problem solving platform’ and it gained momentum because people got fed up with naxalites’ intimidation and extortion. The administration claims that it was spontaneous, peaceful and a voluntary case of public uprising against the Maoist movement.

The naxalites never wanted the Salwa Judum movement to succeed in Bastar because they were hounded by the ‘Greyhounds’ force of Andhra Pradesh and Bastar was their biggest bastion. They established their people’s government in Dandakaranya Zone (which is a cluster in the remotest corner of the five adjoining states of Chattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra). This is an area of immense strategic and geo-political importance for naxalites.

They adopted some counter strategies against Salwa Judum. Firstly, the leadership of this movement was branded anti-people and some key leaders were executed; Secondly, the entire propaganda machinery in favour of the naxalites was ordered to throttle Salwa Judum movement in its infancy. Soon, the movement was discredited on many counts. It was shown that it was a proxy police movement and the police was recruiting children forcibly. It is believed that in 2006, more than 100 villagers involved in the movement were killed by the naxalites.

Finally, in May 2013, senior Congress leader Mahendra Karma, who had supported the movement, was killed mercilessly. Surprisingly, the so-called human rights activists and intellectual supporters of naxalites were silent on this killing. With no support from any quarter to counter this propaganda, the Salwa Judum movement was killed in its infancy.

3. 2013 Chhattisgarh Elections:

For the first time in decades, the Maoists have encouraged calibrated polling in some areas, instead of fanatically implementing a policy to boycott the election. The districts of Chhattisgarh partially controlled by Maoists — with 12 Assembly constituencies — voted overwhelmingly in 2013. Compared to 2008, voter turnout in 2013 increased by 9.67 percentage points in 12 constituencies.

The record rise in polling illustrates that Naxal-dominated constituencies embraced the democratic process more avidly than the rest of Chhattisgarh. The rise in polling in south Chhattisgarh was attributed to a reduction in Maoist strength. Several villages located deep inside Maoist areas voted overwhelmingly.

It is believed that Maoists are fading in Chhattisgarh. A decreasing number of ambushes conducted on the forces, contradictory statements from rebel leaders indicating fissures in the rank and file are signs of this. Also, the large- scale desertion of cadres in some areas, increasing frequency and intensity of security operations in base areas hitherto unexplored by the forces and the initiation of welfare programmes in Bastar division have pushed the rebels to the brink, thus resulting in a record voter turnout.

However, as a result of a well-established political and military network, the Maoists still control half of at least four south Bastar districts and one- third of the rest. In Bijapur, most of the government-run welfare programmes are not allowed by the rebels; government officials never undertake any road construction projects without tacit approval from the local commanders; tribal constables request the Maoists to protect their families in at least one-third of the district.

4. Should Army be Deployed against Naxals?

The army is trained to fight against an enemy country. Fighting with our own people is not the job of the army. In fact, the army is employed to protect its own people. It would be very difficult for the army to distinguish innocent people from hardcore Naxalites. The Army is a symbol of national pride. We must ensure that the image of the army is not affected. So, naxalism has to be fought by the police and other para military forces.

Also, a complete armed solution is not the only answer to naxalism. We should give more emphasis on effective administration, development and growth of the affected areas. As of now, it is not advisable to deploy Indian army against naxals. However, air support from army can be taken not for air strikes but for evacuation, supply, medical aid, etc.

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