Present scenario of CPI (Maoist) and Police Administration in India

By Dr. Vinod Kumar Tandon

The book consisted with problems of villagers, police and administration and their shortcomings. In course of actions, it is realized that the works previously done to tackle the Naxalite problem; seems to be inappropriate, one-sided, idealized and seems less pract

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blue Rose Publishers
• Release date: Apr 17, 2024
• ISBN: 9789362616883

Book preview

CHAPTER-1

‘Introduction’ and ‘Scope of Study’

Ribald rights related to land and forest should be respected, people should be given opportunity to develop according to their talents and we should avoid imposing anything on them. We should try to encourage them in every way so that they can promote their traditional arts and culture.

Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru

Looking at the ancient ruling and social system of India, due to having more than 600 local Princely States here, the social culture here had been given meaning to the proverb 'Unity in diversity is our specialty'. India was given the title of 'Spiritual Teacher of the World' by world community after speeches of Swami Vivekananda in 1893 when all Religion Conference held in Chicago. Seeing India's immense natural wealth, the whole world knew it as A golden bird (known as highly valuable prized region of the World), in spite of that some foreign philosophers, looking India in other way, by seeing social environment of India, called it The country of snake Charmers and Robbers, Resulting every effort were made to loot the Indian region from all sides, and from the known history of India to till independence, foreign invaders looted India many times to get money. While getting any opportunity to invade by outsiders, the invaders looted India, established their rule, and try to destroy India's regional, colonisation, communities, cultural and traditions. Tribal and orthodox traditions also came under influence during the period of foreign rulers; similarly, different religions came along with those invaders. Also, in India many religions rose and fell, but till now no one was able to destroy the indigenous, original culture and civilization of India.

Citizens of Indian region is being looted even before the independence for many years, such as cattiest- Brahmins loot, ruling of social-economic-cultural-occupation a non-lasting annihilated system of Varna Vayavastha (Indian Vedic model social raciest system) is a rule of foreign invaders since Vedic times. India's internal situation at the time of Vedic, Mughals, and British rule, suffering from high level of illiteracy, superstition and dependent on fatalism due to lack of public awareness and less scientific techniques. India's social structure was very weak in comparison to the peer countries. Even if it is assumed that during the rule of the early invaders, the original Indian descendants accepted the economic rules, religious beliefs and administrative systems of those foreign invaders for many years, but some foreign imperialist forces such as Britain ruled in India for 200 years long, Although some Indian princely states remained a part of the these invaders or British governance or any native or foreign rulers, being a part of them were dreadfully, purposely, traditionally and hereditarily such as job professions, businessmen to remained associated with those native or foreign rulers, but in the tribal areas of India where there were a lot of traditionally social civilization, illiteracy and superstition. Where there were more influences, the situation changed from bad to worse. In these areas, the influence of big businessmen, public servants, public representatives, forest, and police official were ‘no less than that of a king’. Mental and physical exploitation forced laborer and torture of the local citizens of these areas were continuing like a slave. Such incidents were buried at the same place due to lack of telecommunication and media. Whose information could not be known to anyone, and poor and helpless tribes used to tolerate all these circumstances considering it to be their fate. In which all the Naxalite areas of India which have been established in remote forests, irrespective of the state of India, irrespective of the area where there are forests, mountains and there was lack of means of transport, in such areas the tribal or tribes have their fundamental rights and living a traditional life, since they lived in these environment of the primitive era and their civilization and culture was also in accordance with that. That's why they have been given the noun of tribal (INDIGINIOUS PEOPLE OF INDIA). When India became independent in 1947, Pandit Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, re-organized and re-named the states to keep intact subordinate of the princely states area and based on the linguistics. Undivided Madhya Pradesh was established since 01 November 1956, prior to this, this area came under C.P. And Berar and its capital was Nagpur. At the time of undivided Madhya Pradesh, the first Chief Minister Pandit Ravi Shankar Shukla was appointed, and he was from distt. Raipur of Chhattisgarh region, since his time, in Chhattisgarh, a forested area of Bastar division, there was abundance of tribal and who were suffering from many serious problems like poverty, superstition, illiteracy and unemployment. The interest of public representatives and bureaucrats remained indifferent, and these areas were always neglected in this direction from the very beginning. When Dwarka Prasad Mishra became the Chief Minister in Madhya Pradesh, during his tenure, Raja Praveer Chandra Bhanjdev of Jagdalpur in Bastar division, who was like a God to the local tribal, Raja Praveer Chandra Bhanjdev had an encounter with his belonging police bodyguards, and he was killed in his residence. This incident increased the anger of the tribal of the entire Madhya Pradesh at that time. And the local tribal were so incensed that they were ready to agitate against the regime. This incident enraged all the tribal; on the other hand, Naxalite from bordering Andhra Pradesh area of Chhattisgarh took advantage of this incident and entered in Bastar areas by taking advantage of displeasure of Bastar Tribal against Police and Indian government, Naxalite taking advantages of the sentiments of the local tribal and became their well-wishers, they started targeting to the government, especially Forest Officials and the Police as naming them enemies. And these incidents helped Naxalites to spread their foothold in Bastar division of Chhattisgarh, as well as this incident became the cause of cooperation and sympathy for Naxalism from the local tribal. Since in 1967 itself, Naxalite activities against the big landlords had started in Naxalbari village of West Bengal under the leadership of Charu Mazumdar. Their influence gradually started increasing in areas like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha, in which Bastar division was natural and geographically favorable for the expansion of Naxalites. That's why the roots of Naxalism got stronger here and the local citizens could not get the benefit of the public welfare policies and programs of the government. The amount which was allocated by the government remained limited to the local public representatives, businessmen, contractors, and officers. As a result, the poor in this region became poorer and the rich became richer. Local youth who were victims of exploitation, became sympathizers and allies of Naxalites and joined them directly and indirectly. All the governments that came to root out Naxalism only resorted to gun and this government policy to control naxal situation reflected as they sprinkled salt on the wounds of tribal, as a result a large section of tribal got involved in Naxalite movement. Naxalite incidents have become a common thing in Bastar division, sometimes local citizens were victims of police informers, and sometimes Forest Officers and Police Officers and Businessmen and Contractors became victims of them, the main reason being that compared to other regions of India, the lack of development had clearly gone away in the mind’s local public.

On November 01, 2000, in the name of development, the newly formed state, Chhattisgarh came into existence as 26th number of State on the map of India. At that time the entire Chhattisgarh region was suffering from poverty, unemployment, power crisis, laborer migration, illiteracy, and lack of public awareness. Chhattisgarh's first Chief Minister Mr. Ajit Jogi had said in his first address that Chhattisgarh is a rich region, but it’s inhabited are poor people. We all together can remove this curse. His statement may not have been fulfilled in his very short three-year tenure, but after him in the first assembly elections of Chhattisgarh held in 2003, the BJP government came to power for the first time and Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh on the basis of work and development, he was successfully making Chhattisgarh the fastest developing state among all formed peer states of India by staying in power in Chhattisgarh for 15 consecutive years. In which he received many awards at the national level due to his remarkable work in the fields like education, agriculture, roads, health, and power supply. In spite of his many achievements, on July 12, 2009 in Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh, in Naxalites ambushed on S.P. Mr. V.K. Chaubey assassinated along with 38 policemen and killed all of them and on 06 April 2010 CRPF, 76 soldiers of (Central Reserve Police Force) ambushed and killed in Dantewada forests and on May 25, 2013, Naxalites attacked the Transformation journey called ‘Parivartan Yatra’ of Congress in Jhiram Valley of Bastar and killed 32 supreme leaders and workers. In this attack, the then Congress state president Nand Kumar Patel, former cabinet minister Vidyacharan Shukla, former minister Mahendra Karma, former MLA Uday Mudaliar were targeted by the Naxalites. And they all got martyrdom.

On May 05, 2012, Alex Paul Menon, the District Magistrate of the Sukma District, was abducted by the Naxalites and kept in custody for 12 days. Due to such many incidents, there have been huge obstacles in the development of Chhattisgarh. If the Naxalite problem ends in Chhattisgarh, then its development can accelerate further. In which the reference area Sukma district is most affected in point of such many Naxalite incidents. It can be gauged from the fact that where the collector can be kidnapped, what will be the condition of the common citizen there? Therefore, after the formation of the state in Chhattisgarh, where many chapters of development and success have been written, Naxalite incidents have negatively affected the pace of development in the tribal-dominated districts of the state. District Sukma (Chhattisgarh) is also included in the reference area, which is adjacent to the border of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Odisha. Where Naxalites can easily move from one regional state to another adjoining state region and keep themselves safe. Despite all this, after the formation of the district Sukma by the state government, all the seven districts of Bastar division have achieved many successes in development. Today this area is not penurious on development; the expansion of education has done very important work against Naxalites through Salwa Judum (Spontaneous People's Movement) among the residents. Due to which frustration has spread among the Naxalites. Many development works are being done by the government through the village council and Naxalites with big prizes are being encouraged to surrender. As per the policy of the state government, they are being provided with security, jobs, farming and all other facilities with pure dedication. Due to which many Naxalites have also surrendered. Former Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh had said that Those Naxalites who have lost their ways, if they surrender, we are ready to embrace them and integrate them into the mainstream and seek their cooperation in the development of the state.

Former Chief Minister of the state Dr. Raman Singh had considered education as the biggest weapon for development of the state and to prevent Naxalite incidents, especially in the tribal areas. For this, he constructed Hostel near Chhattisgarh Bhawan (Chhattisgarh house) in New Delhi to attend coaching for competitive examinations for talented students from tribal areas, to provide opportunities for recruitment as civil servants in national and state level services. In which free accommodation and other facilities are being provided to the students of this category. This is an important step. Due to this the talented Students of this area are getting benefits. Present Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel added a new chapter in the development of tribal areas. ‘By after coming in to power; firstly, he returned back the land which was acquitted from the tribals of Bastar for the establishment of Tata Steel Plant in Jagdalpur, Distt-Bastar’. The present government has done an important work by returning the land pattas (Land property documents) to those concerned tribal. In which those tribes have got the opportunity to do farming for their sustenance. In this way, many positive efforts are being made by the government to reduce the Naxalite influences in the naxal affected area. In which the schemes of both the Central and State Governments are being implemented simultaneously.

Former Chief Minister of the state Dr. Raman singh considering education as the backbone for development, Raman Singh had given the slogan that ‘Education is the main mantra, foot base of democracy, (SHIKSHA MUL MANTRA-AADHAR LOKTANTRA). In this episode, the then collector of Jagdalpur, G. S. Mishra had run a program for the residents, whose slogan was 'Jiggery Nugget, Soya chunks' (GUD KI DALI-SOYA KI BADI), which was widely publicized and disseminated in view of its positive results. He was also honored by the then President Mrs. Pratibha Devi Singh Patil for this achievement. Today’s Bastar division is not penurious of development, in which reference area Sukama district is also included.

Ever since the Naxalite problem has arisen in India, it has been ignored since then. But its expansion increased with such a speed that today in about 16 states of India, it has spread its legs and taken a formidable form as the biggest internal security challenges in India. In which Chhattisgarh state is seen as the most Naxal-affected state, it is often a common belief about Naxalism that it is a gang of violent criminals who, for their vested interests, are creating havoc in the society by killing innocents, looting and create disturbance, On the contrary. But according to the other thinkers, Naxalism is a political ideology, governed and disciplined by Marxism, Leninism and Mao-Tzu-Tung theory, since its foundation is attested by the armed rebellion of tribal peasants in village-Naxalbari under police station Siliguri, district-Darjeeling of West Bengal, hence Those who believed in the ideology, came to be called Naxalites, as a result of which the followers of this ideology well known as 'Naxalites' and their political philosophy got the political name 'Maoism' inspired by Mao-Tzu-Tung of the Chinese Revolution. Naxalites are those who consider India's independence of 1947 as a ‘false independence’ and consider the ruling Congress or BJP and even the Communist Party of India (CPI) which believes in democratic politics as parties representing the interests of the ‘landlords and middle-class bourgeoisie’. They are of the opinion that true freedom can be achieved only through a long-term armed struggle and believe that the purpose of their struggle is to establish the democracy of the people in true sense. In fact, there is no such group of people in India which is called Naxalite. This word has been coined by the opponents of the movement to humiliate Naxal supporters. Still, those whom we call Naxalites call the freedom of 1947 a shame. They see India as a ‘semi-feudal’ and ‘semi-colonial country’ which will have to wage an armed struggle like China to achieve true independence. In another way the Naxalites have proofed themselves for many people of India as they are truthful, honest, courageous, and self-sacrificing. His resistance to rampant corruption, selflessness, and his ability to connect with even the most oppressed, downtrodden sections are unmatched.

However, Naxalism is not an ideology, if it is an ideology then it is 'Marxism', 'Leninism', thus those who believe in the policies and principles of Marxism and Leninism and those who implement them can be called Naxalites.

Naxalite movement in the state of Chhattisgarh: -

Taking inspiration from the Naxalbari rebellion in the late 1960s and early 70s, The Naxalite movement first started in the districts of Sukma, Bijapur, Dantewada and Kanker etc. in Chhattisgarh. While Naxalbari incident upraised worldwide. The landlords of that region including WHOLE Bengal and Bihar states wanted to give this movement named teasing manners as Bhumihar and Musahar struggle (Mainstream politicians and media tried to underestimate this struggle as Indian caste-based conflict). In the then environment, this movement started gaining momentum and spreaded pan India. It’s spreaded in Chhattisgarh state too in the districts of Bijapur, Sukma, Dantewada, and Jagdalpur (whole Bastar region). In these districts, this struggle, which has its roots in the state of land related and the depth of existing social conditions, emerged in a new pattern and there a new type of local leadership sought to express the growing disunity of the people in popular forms. Those leaders were the product of local conditions, influenced by Naxalbari and Mao-Tzu-Tung and had some knowledge of Marxism. Joined by former leaders of C.P.I. (Marxist) and under the direction of C.P.I. (Marxist-Leninist), this local leadership initiated a new phase of extremist peasant movements in Sukma district. round fully underground and in the form of illegal activities, due to guerrilla actions and revolutionary committees mobilizing the masses to encroach on crops and lands, confiscation of weapons and the policy of eradicating cruel landlords and people of bad character, the peasant movements gradually started to decline in the area but occupied an important place as instance in history. Now they were launching agitations for incensement in wages and the poor laborers and farmers encroached upon ‘non-majarua lands (uncultivated land)’ on a large scale. But by the year 72, due to the killing of important Naxalite leaders and severe police repression, this movement had lost its enthusiasm in a great extent. Landlords' crops, goons and illegal land confiscation started on a large scale in many villages. Parallel government and ‘people's rule’ had also been announced. Many landowners and agricultural laborers were killed in this area. Organized crimes like theft, robbery and forced laborer, torturing people, exploitation of women and rape have been issues for day-to-day practice in this area. This movement saved the villagers from the hassle of registering complaints in the police station and the bribe and other expenses for the same.