Raipur. Left-wing extremists have a long history of challenging democracy through violence. This so-called “battle of ideologies” has not only stalled development in the affected areas, but has also resulted in the loss of 16,652 security personnel and civilians lives due to violence in the last four decades. The irony is that under the guise of fighting over water, forests and land, the militants have blocked development works and prevented the construction of schools, hospitals and roads. With the help of NGOs talking about the rights of tribals and some urban Naxalites who are flourishing with foreign financial assistance, consignments of foreign weapons have been delivered to these militants. When there is a war between Kauravas and Pandavas, Krishna can easily choose his camp, but when in the war there are Pandavas on one side and Kauravas disguised as Pandavas on the other, then even Krishna gets confused in choosing his camp. Can happen. It is because of using tribals as shields that the government has to think twice before using force. The Congress government's sympathy for the leftists for decades, which has resulted in failure and exploitation, is why leftist extremism has been successful in misleading the tribal community for so many years.
There have been radical changes in this situation since 2014. Due to the tough decisions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, the impact of leftist extremism has been very limited today and the fight has now reached its final stages. With the message of development and peace in a self-reliant new India, the Home Ministry formulated a three-pronged strategy to deal with left-wing extremism. “Better strategy to control militants”, “Better centre-state coordination” and “Development to public participation”. This three-pronged strategy has achieved historic success in curbing left-wing extremism in the last 10 years, which is reflected in the statistics. The lowest number of violent incidents from left-wing extremism in the last 35 years and the lowest number of deaths in 40 years were reported this year. Violent incidents declined by 76% compared to the 2010 high, and the number of civilian and security personnel killed declined by 90% from a high of 1,005 in 2010 to 98 in 2022. There has also been a steady decline in the geographical spread of leftist extremism. Last year, incidents of violence were reported only from 176 police stations in 45 districts, whereas in 2010, incidents of violence were reported in 465 police stations in 96 districts. The shrinking scope of left-wing extremism is also reflected in the fact that 72% of violence last year was reported from only 10 districts. If we look at the police station level, 50% of the violence has been reported from only 30 police stations. For the first time in the last several decades, the number of deaths of civilians and security forces was less than 100 in the last year 2021. The reach of good governance in the affected remote areas has today built a bridge of trust in the government in the hearts of the people. Left-wing extremism has historically flourished in areas where poverty has taken root. In his view, the affected groups had sowed the seeds of extremism here by using the dissatisfaction of the poverty-stricken people as a fertilizer. Due to local support for these groups, security agencies had to face many problems. But the situation changed after 2014. The poor welfare schemes of Modi government spread in these areas also and people came to believe that the government is their true well-wisher and not an extremist! Under Vikas se Jan Bhagidari, under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and guidance of Home Minister Amit Shah, the Union Home Ministry has ensured people's participation in the efforts of security agencies by giving additional emphasis on schemes for poor welfare and development in the affected areas. As part of the strategy to rein in the militants, every effort has been made to reduce the security vacuum and core area. Since 2019, 195 new camps have been opened, which has reduced the security vacuum in the affected areas to almost zero except in a few areas. Positive results of this strategy are being seen and by setting up camps in Maoist strongholds like Barmasia, Chakarbanda in Bihar and Budha Pahad, Parasnath in Jharkhand, we have succeeded in completely eliminating the security vacuum there. The result is that the scope of leftist extremists has shrunk to a few areas only. Through intelligence-based operations, 14 Politburo and Central Committee members have been neutralised, leaving a huge void in the senior Maoist leadership. The security forces adopted an offensive strategy against the militants and surrounded the Naxalites and under this policy, a 13-day joint operation using the newly established security camps in Lohardaga district of Jharkhand in February 2022 achieved many successes. In the direction of financial choking, a total of cash and assets worth Rs 68.57 crore have been seized by the states, ED and NIA. Left Wing Extremism has been weakened with the help of expertise and knowledge sharing of Special Task Force by setting up a separate vertical in NIA and formation of Special Operation Teams in Central and State Police Forces with technical and tactical assistance using latest technology. . Special funds have been made available for early construction of major night landing helipads for air support.
Under better Centre-State coordination, the Center has provided to the affected State Governments without discrimination funds, equipment and weapons for Central Armed Police Forces battalions, helicopters, training, modernization of State Police forces, intelligence, construction of fortified police stations, etc. Provided help. Rs. 2606 crores were released to the affected states in the last 09 years for capacity building of the states (an increase of about 124% in 9 years). Special forces and special intelligence branches of the states have received approval for projects worth Rs 1724 crore in the last five years. 536 fortified police stations have been constructed and 102 fortified police stations are being constructed. Under the assistance scheme to central agencies, Rs 106 crore was given for camp infrastructure and Rs 12.06 crore for upgradation of 6 hospitals. To improve road connectivity, 12100 kilometers of roads were sanctioned in the last 9 years and about 10350 kilometers of roads have been constructed. The Postal Department opened 4903 new post offices with banking services in the last 9 years in the affected districts. From April-2015 till now, 955 new bank branches and 839 ATMs have been established in the 30 most affected districts. To speed up communication, 2343 mobile towers were installed in the first phase at a cost of Rs 4080 crore and in the second phase, 2542 mobile towers were being installed at a cost of Rs 2210 crore. Approval of 214 Eklavya schools has been given after 2014, out of which 163 Eklavya schools have been approved in the last 04 years. 11 Kendriya Vidyalayas and 6 Navodaya Vidyalayas have been opened. Under the Skill Development Scheme, 48 Industrial Training Institutes and 68 Skill Development Centers were approved at a cost of Rs 495 crore. Activities like health camps, drinking water, solar lights, distribution of medicines, skill development, agricultural equipment, seeds etc. are being conducted for the local population by the companies of Central Armed Paramilitary Forces deployed in the affected areas, in which 140 people have been helped since May, 2014. Works worth crores of rupees have been done. Under the Tribal Youth Exchange Programme, so far 22,000 youth have been taken to visit major and developed areas of the country with an expenditure of Rs 26.5 crore. Its objective is to make these youth aware of technological-industrial advancements, so that they can be away from the influence of leftist extremism.
The initiative to extend the benefits of the government's development schemes to the common people has been successful and due to this, pressure is being felt in the Naxal structure. People's self-confidence is increasing towards integration of the poor and tribals into the society and socio-economic development. Opposition and difference of opinion have been accepted with full respect in the Indian Constitution. In India, with a population of more than 125 crores, more than 10,000 dialects and immense cultural richness, it would be absurd to imagine that everyone's views would agree with each other. But when these differences are expressed with “weapons” instead of “ideas”, then the same Constitution also gives the government the power to take tough steps. Leftist extremism, which has become a challenge to the integrity and sovereignty of the country with the help of foreign weapons and anti-national forces, is now nearing its end and Prime Minister Modi's “Sabka Vikas, Sabka Saath, Sabka Prayas” is now taking concrete shape.
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