State Wise Trends- Left Wing Extremism

26/03/2014

Shailja Tandon

E-Mail- shailjatandon9@gmail.com

A state wise analysis of Naxal violence, post the 2004 merger of People’s War (PW) and Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI) to form the CPI (Maoist) is instructive.Increase in violence levels from 2004 till 2010 saw a decline thereafter, which some have construed to be an indication of the state and its security forces winning the war on terror. A dispassionate analysis however indicates that this may not be wholly true. While both the Centre and state governments have shown renewed commitment to address the issue in a holistic manner, to encompass security, development and rights of the local population, much still remains to be done. Decline in violence levels is also a result of an apparent overreach by the Maoists in a bid to expand their base of operations that resulted in the loss of many cadres, especially those in senior leadership levels which the Maoists are finding difficult to replace. However, the armed component of the CPI (Maoist), its People Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA), has still not been dented and remains a potent threat.

The charts below give the casualty figures for the states affected by Naxal violence.

Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal

Andhra Pradesh has seen a distinct decline in violence levels since 2007, but violence remains in isolated pockets. The state is by no means free of the Naxal threat and will have to continue with its efforts in combatting the PLGA. West Bengal saw a surge in violence levels in the period 2008 – 2011. This could be attributed to the political situation prevalent in the state. However, violence levels have declined since then and the last two years have witnessed no casualties related to Naxal violence. If this trend continues, it will be indicative of successful political penetration leading to problem resolution.

Bihar and Odisha

The situation in Bihar indicates that violence levels though low, have been consistent over the years. More worrying is the fact that casualties suffered by the security forces are higher than those suffered by the Maoists. Greater focus is hence required on training of police personnel to improve the security environment. Odisha saw a spike in violence levels in 2008, but the situation appears to have stabilised since then. The violence levels in Odisha are similar to those in Bihar, and here too, the police forces would require enhancement of their operational training standards to affect an improvement in the security environment.

Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh

Both Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh remain the two states most affected by Left Wing Extremism. The former has shown no decline in casualty levels, though violence levels remain lower than Chhattisgarh. On the positive side, violence levels have not increased which indicates that the situation is stabilising and in conjunction with other initiatives of the state and central governments could lead to a climate where the situation can be normalised. Chhattisgarh has seen a dramatic fall in violence levels, and currently is comparable to that existing in Jharkhand. The state government has been partially successful in controlling the situation, but a lot more remains to be done, especially in preventing the Maoists from carrying out high profile attacks as the recent killing of CRPF personnel.

Overall, the security environment appears to be stabilising, and this should spur the Centre and the state to renewed efforts towards conflict resolution. A lot remains to be done especially in empowering the police forces through enhanced training for improved operational effectiveness and maintaining focus on ongoing development efforts in the state. The challenge is daunting, but the prospects for success remain bright.

The author is an intern at CLAWS.Views expressed are personal.