What is the reason behind Naxalism in India and how can we get rid of it?

Naxalism as an alarming issue took roots in India in from the early 1960s. It began as a movement to oppose the ‘Zamindari System’. The roots of Naxalism started deepening with the incident that happened on 24th May 1967 where a landlord was attacked and a peasant riot emerged which sparked the flame of the massive fire.

Following are the causes that Naxalism has become one of the biggest challenges in India today.

• Colonial Legacy and impact on agriculture − The British rule in India somewhere sowed the seeds of Naxalism. The Zamindari and taxation served as a severe blow to the agricultural activities. The conditions of agriculture even today are far from satisfactory. The laborers, toil day and night yet do not get their basic needs fulfilled. These laborers and also the women get exploited in the name of government by some cruel people. Hence, the feeling of hate leads them to take the resort to Naxalism.

• Ignoring the marginalized section of the society − This has been the root cause of many social problems in India and Naxalism is no exception to it. There are many sections of society especially in rural India that strive rigorously to meet the ends of a day. The propagators of Naxalism are preaching the idea of how the government has become an alien institution for them. Economically weak sections of the society resonate with these ideas. Hence, there are parallel governments that are created by Naxalites and consider the law of India to be totally null and void.

• The ideology of Communism − Naxalism as an ideology is influenced by Mao’s communism. Hence, for the thoughts and ideas to spread so rapidly, Communism has played a very important role. The idea of the Proletariat getting exploited by Bourgeoisie strikes a chord with people in the form of Zamindari + State forces on one hand and the marginalized people on the other.

Naxalism can be handled step by step only and the possible solutions to tackle the problem of Naxalism are:

• Proper rights to the peasants − The peasants should be given proper wages and other incentives. The system of middlemen should be cut down to eliminate the nasty corruption that exists in the agricultural domain. This way people do not get attracted to extreme ideologies and follow them owing to their economic conditions.

• Discussion and deliberations − The government representatives should come forward and discuss with the Naxal representative about their demands and how they can be fulfilled to avoid violence. It is important to remember these people are a part of our motherland and have forced to become hostile.

• Empowering the citizens and reducing the role of State forces − The citizens at the grass-root levels should be made aware of their rights and the State forces should be punished for any form of unnecessary exploitation. These shall help avoid any violent instance like ‘Operation Green Hunt’ in future.