Are Naxalites a threat to internal security?

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Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MP Sunil Mahato was murdered in full public view by Naxalites on Sunday evening near Narsingh village of Jamshedpur district.

And a day after the murder of Mahato, there are many theories doing the rounds on what could be the motive behind the murder.

While the widely accepted theory - which has been touted by the Union Home Ministry - is that the killing could be in retaliation to the government's crackdown on the Naxalites, many others believe that there could be a political angle to the murder.

Meanwhile, a CBI inquiry has been launched and there is speculation that Mahato was murdered because he refused to pay cash demanded by the Naxals.

The question that was discussed on CNN-IBN’s show India 360 was - Are Naxalites the greatest threat to India's internal security?

On the panel of experts to discuss the issue were - Professor of Sociology, Delhi University, Nandini Sundar and former Jharkhand Governor and security analyst, Ved Marwah.

When asked what signal are the Naxalites trying to send across when they attack a hi-profile politician like Sunil Mahato, Nandini Sundar clarified that it has not been proved that it was the Naxalites who attacked the MP.

“We don’t really know for sure that it’s the Naxalites who have done it. One theory is that the Naxalites killed him, the other is theory is the internal rivalry within the JMM. There is also mafia angle being talked about in Jharkhand. So it’s too early to say who has killed him. But its standard practise for the police in such killings to say it’s the Naxalites,” she said.

Most JMM supporters are taking the Naxal view into account saying that most probably the murder took place because of a contract dispute. But there seems to a mafia and police collusion linked to his murder.

So does it look like a Naxal killing or a mafia, who are in some way aligned to the Naxals?

Ved Marwah seemed to suggest that it is more likely a Naxal killing and done for money

“It’s to early to come a definite conclusion because the incident has taken place only yesterday. But it is likely to be Naxals considering the way in which he was attacked by a group of people in broad daylight. The area where he has been killed is a Naxal-infested one,” Marwah said.

So far, the motive for the Naxals seems to be money as Mahato had become a hurdle in the Naxals attempts to make more money.

• Mahato and his men had stakes in many ongoing civil contract works.
• The Naxals collect a levy from all civil contractors working in the area.
• This levy constituted a major contribution to their kitty.
• However, Sunil Mahato was an exception. Being a local MP, he refused to pay this levy.

Is the movement criminalised?

When asked how far is the modern day Naxal movement ideological, Nandini said, “I would like to say that the argument that it is the biggest security threat that India is facing is a bit ridiculous to say the least.”

However, Ved Marwah chose to disagree.

“No it is a security threat if you see where they are active,” he said, adding, “If you look at the statistics in Jharkhand in the last three years (since the inception of the state) the number of policemen killed by the Naxalites in proportion to the Naxals killed by the police is much larger to that of Jammu and Kashmir. The Naxals are spread over a large area and have local support.”

So the economic and social exploitation, corruption, the politician-criminal nexus is a significant problem and it would a mistake to underestimate that.

Nandini pointed out that it is not a big military threat, but is being fought wrongly.

“It’s a mistake to think that if it is a problem, it can be solved militarily rather than politically and through dialogue rather than actually introducing development where it works,” she said.

Nandini who has spent many years in Bastar in the Maoists-affected areas in Chattisgarh, also said that the work that the welfare work that the Maoists are doing is no alternative to what the government can do.

When asked if the group is just pre-occupied in fighting the war against the state, and the area is too much of a battleground, she answered in affirmative.

“Right now it is a battleground, and the security forces are going around burning villages, killing people. So right now I don’t think there is any development work going now by the government. I haven’t personally seen the work that Maoists have done but I have read about it. But this can never equal what the government could provide if it worked genuinely,” she said,

But Ved Marwah put the blame for lack of development in the area on the Naxals as well. He said the area had become a wasteland instead of becoming a parallel society and in the name of development; the Naxals are making development impossible

“Unfortunately the Naxal movement is also putting a break on development. I agree that its state intervention that can give development, but if a project has to kick off in a Naxal-affected area, they have to take permission of the local fellow,” Marwah said.

“There is a question of levy on every project by Naxals which not all contractors and government officials pay. So it’s very complex problem which is affecting the very thing that they want to achieve,” he added.

But Nandini disagreed and said, “Yes the Maoists are extracting levies, but then so are a lot of other people. You need to the see the kind of illegal taxes that police thanas levy on tin smugglers, illicit forest contractors, there is a lot of money being siphoned off.”

So does that mean in terms of morale, there is a feeling that the arms struggle is not going anywhere?

“No. In fact there is a sense that all over the country people are finding that peaceful struggles are not leading them anywhere. Armed struggle seems to be the only option left to people and that’s a dangerous thing,” Nandini said wrapping the show.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITION
	India’s red corridor stretches across Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh to all the way down to Andhra Pradesh and the upper reaches in Maharashtra. The area, about twice the size of Kerala, is under Naxal control.
	There were over 230 Naxal attacks in Jharkhand in 2006. And Naxal violence claimed 81 civilian lives in 2006.
	The Naxalites argue that they have brought order if not law to the area - banishing corrupt officials, expelling landlords and raising prices at gunpoint for harvests of tendu leaves, used to wrap bidis.
	They finance their operations by levying "taxes" of around 12 per cent on contractors and traders.
	In the tribal areas, officials estimate half the population supports the Naxalites, through choice or coercion.
	Two-thirds of the forests have been off-limits to government staff. In many districts 40 per cent of police posts are unfilled and a quarter of doctors' positions are vacant.

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