The Decline of Maoism in India: A Story of State Action, Internal Crises, and the Failure of Armed Struggle
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Indian Polity and Governance (Issues related to security); Internal Security (Left-Wing Extremism - LWE, Special Forces like CoBRA, DRG); Modern Indian History (Naxalbari movement).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 3 (Internal Security): Linkages between development and spread of extremism; Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security; Security challenges and their management in border areas; Linkages of organized crime with terrorism. This is a quintessential GS3 topic.
Key Highlights from the News
The article argues that the Maoist movement in India is in its weakest state and has reached a "dead end."
The Union Home Minister urged Maoists to surrender their weapons, accepting the government's "surrender and rehabilitation policy."
Main reasons for the movement's decline:
Attrition, age, and diseases among the top leadership (Central Committee, Politburo).
Reduction in cadre strength from 10,000 to below 2,000.
Effective operations by special security forces like CoBRA (Central forces) and DRG (State forces).
Deaths of top leaders, including General Secretary Basavaraju.
Leadership Crisis: Internal problems due to leadership primarily from upper castes and soldiers mostly being tribals.
Significant loss of support among tribal communities.
The article observes that democratic people's movements, like in Niyamgiri, are more effective in addressing tribal issues than armed struggle.
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