What is LWE?

• Left-wing terrorism or far-left terrorism, sometimes called Marxist–Leninist terrorism or revolutionary left-wing terrorism, is terrorism committed with the aim of overthrowing capitalist systems and replacing them with Marxist–Leninist or socialist societies.

What is Maoism?

• Maoism, or Mao Zedong Thought is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed for realising a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China and later the People’s Republic of China. 
• The philosophical difference between Maoism and traditional Marxism–Leninism is that peasantry are the revolutionary vanguard in pre-industrial societies rather than the proletariat.

How is it different from Naxalism?

• The term Naxal derives from the name of the village Naxalbari in West Bengal, where the Naxalite peasant revolt took place in 1967. Naxalites are considered far-left communists, supportive of Maoism. Their origin can be traced to the split in 1967 of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) following the Naxalbari peasant uprising.

Reasons for LWE

• • Jal-Jangal-Jameen (water, forest, and land) is at the heart of these revolts. Tribal people are routinely exploited for the mineral-rich land on which they live. Along with this, Illegal encroachment is occurring. 
  • The administrative machinery is rife with inefficiency, corruption and mismanagement. 

• Alienated and socially excluded society 

• Severe lack of development, despite mineral wealth.
• Tribal belts are usually ignored by the government and the mainstream media.

Red Corridor

• The Red Corridor is the region in the eastern, central and the southern parts of India that experience considerable Naxalite–Maoist insurgency.
• The Naxalite group mainly consists of the armed cadres of the Communist Party of India (Maoist).These are also areas that suffer from the greatest illiteracy, poverty and overpopulation in modern India, and span parts of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, and West Bengal and eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Initiatives by government to counter LWE

• SAMADHAN is a strategy of government at different levels, encompassing short term and long term goals to uproot LWE. SAMADHAN stands for-
  • S- Smart Leadership,
  • A- Aggressive Strategy,
  • M- Motivation and Training,
  • A- Actionable Intelligence,
  • D- Dashboard Based KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and KRAs (Key Result Areas),
  • H- Harnessing Technology,
  • A- Action plan for each Theatre,
  • N- No access to Financing.
• National strategy to counter LWE in 2015–  multipronged approach consisting of security, development and ensuring participatory governance and rights for local tribals, inter alia. 
• The D Bandopadhyay Committee (2006) highlighted the lack of governance, economic, socio-political and cultural discrimination against the tribals as the main  reason for the spread of Naxalism. The Committee recommended tribal-friendly land acquisition and rehabilitation as a means to counter this issue.
• Local villagers are receiving basic services such as healthcare, education, and increased employment opportunities.
• Development of LWE Affected Areas by:
  • Special Central Assistance (SCA)– for filling critical gaps in public infrastructure and services of emergent nature.
  • Increased infrastructures like roads, bridges etc
  • Skill Development by ITI’s
  • New Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) & Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) where they are not present. 
  • More schools under the Eklavya model (under Ministry of Tribal Affairs.). As per the budget 2018-19, every block with more than 50% Schedule Tribe (ST) population and at least 20,000 tribal persons, will have an Eklavya Model Residential School by the year 2022.
  • Installation of Mobile Towers for telecom connectivity.
  • Financial inclusion by banking facilities 

Operations against LWE

• • GreyHound Police –Commando force (with a Guerrilla approach)  of Andhra Pradesh created to combat left-wing extremists. 
  • Salwa Judum (meaning “Peace March” or “Purification Hunt” in Gondi language) was a militia that was mobilised and deployed  in Chhattisgarh, India, aimed at countering Naxalite violence in the region. The militia, consisting of local tribal youth, received support and training from the Chhattisgarh state government.
  • Operation Green Hunt – It was the name used by the Indian media to describe the all-out offensive by the government of India’s paramilitary forces and the state’s forces against the Naxalites. 

• • Surrender Policy 

Why in News?

• Many security personnel were killed in an encounter with Maoists in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh.

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/amit-shah-in-chhattisgarh-after-maoist-attack-crpf-killed/article34241732.ece