Friday, 17 May, 2024
By: Yash Gupte
The highest number (481) of incidents of killing were reported in 2010 as it was one of the worst years affected by the naxal insurgency. Image Source: IANS
There were 6,984 fatalities and 17,679 LWE-related events between 2004 and 2014. There have been 2,020 fatalities and 7,649 LWE-related accidents between 2014 and 2023 (as of June 15, 2023).
In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai highlighted the development works and implementation of various government schemes in the Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts. He mentioned that in order to address the LWE menace holistically, a National Policy and Action Plan to address LWE was approved in 2015. It envisages a multi-pronged strategy involving security related measures, development interventions, ensuring rights and entitlements of local communities etc. In order to improve telecom connectivity, 2,343 mobile towers are installed in phase-I of the Mobile Tower Project, which are being upgraded to 4G. Under phase-II of the Mobile Tower Project 2,542 Mobile Towers are under installation.
He mentioned that the Government of India has enacted the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act) for children in distress situation including children in conflict with law (CCL) and children in need of care and protection (CNCP). As per provisions of JJ Act, a child who is victim of or affected by any armed conflict, civil unrest or natural calamity, is included as a “child in need of care and protection”, among others. To safeguard the best interests of children, the legislation mandated a safety net of service delivery systems, including institutional and non-institutional care methods. According to the JJ Act, any non-state, self-declared militant organisation or outfit that the GoI has designated as such is subject to criminal prosecution if it recruits or utilises any children for whatever reason.
There were 6,984 fatalities and 17,679 LWE-related events between 2004 and 2014. There have been 2,020 fatalities and 7,649 LWE-related accidents between 2014 and 2023 (as of June 15, 2023). There has been a noticeable improvement in the country's LWE situation over the past nine years (May 2014 to April 2023) when compared to the nine years prior (May 2005 to April 2014), according to numerous statistics on LWE violence. The LWE-related violent episodes decreased by 52 percent, from 14,862 to 7130, while the overall death toll decreased by 69 percent, from 6035 to 1868.
Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Home Affairs had earlier in a reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on February 8, 2023 had mentioned that, In order to help the local population in these areas become financially integrated, 1258 bank branches, 1348 ATMs, 22202 banking correspondents, and 4903 new post offices in 90 districts have all been operationalized over the past eight years. In 90 LWE impacted districts, 245 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) have been authorised, of which 121 are operational, to provide high-quality education to tribal blocks. In the LWE-affected districts, 43 ITIs and 38 Skill Development Centers (SDCs) are now operational for skill development.
Funds are given to the States under "Special Central Assistance (SCA)" to fix the crucial gaps in public infrastructure and services, which would further spur development in the most LWE impacted districts. Since 2017–18, the plan has released Rs. 3130 crore to the States. The programme intends to improve the infrastructure in the majority of LWE impacted areas and the most vulnerable districts.
Though there has been a reduction in the naxal violence in India in recent years, there has been a very gradual reduction in naxal presence in the Dandakarnya region which is considered as the greatest stronghold of Maoists. The charts below show the number of fatalities due to naxal violence from 2000-2022.
Source: South Asia Terrorism Portal
The highest number (481) of incidents of killing were reported in 2010 as it was one of the worst years affected by the naxal insurgency. Seventy Six CRPF policemen were killed in a naxal attack in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada in 2010. This is one of the deadliest attacks carried out by the naxalites in the 21st century. The year 2010 also registered the highest number of civilian casualties as 630 lost their lives due to naxal violence. The highest number of security forces were killed in 2009 as 319 security personnel lost their lives. Highest numbers of naxals (343) were killed in 2006.
One of the most effective and significant schemes implemented by the government to curb LWE is the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme. This Scheme is being implemented as a sub-scheme of the Umbrella Scheme ‘Modernization of Police Forces’. Under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme, the central government reimburses the state governments of the 10 LWE-affected States for 70 districts' worth of security-related expenses, including those for security forces' operational and training needs, ex-gratia payments to the families of victims of LWE violence, and compensation for cadres of the Left Wing Extremist party who turned themselves in in accordance with the state's surrender and rehabilitation policy, Security related infrastructure for village defence committees and publicity materials.
Source: South Asia Terrorism Portal
From 2012-2022, the highest incidents of killing were reported in the year 2016 as 263 such incidents were reported. Maximum number of civilians (164) lost their lives in 2013 and also the highest number of security personnel were killed in the same year as the number of deaths was reported at 103. The year 2016 reported the highest number (231) of naxal fatalities. Apart from 2022, the lowest number of security forces were killed in 2020. The reason behind this can be attributed to the lockdowns imposed due to the covid-19 pandemic.
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs
The districts reporting LWE related violence incidents reduced from 96 in 2010 to 45 in 2022. The number of Police Stations reporting LWE related violence incidents also reduced from 465 in 2010 to 176 in 2022. It should be noted that though the naxal violence has decreased in the past few years, there are some strongholds where naxals continue to dominate. They have also been regularly indulging in violence against security forces. Last year, Sukma – a naxal stronghold saw one of the worst terror attacks claiming the lives of 22 security personnel. The death toll was the worst for Indian security forces fighting the Naxalites since 2017 when 25 policemen were killed at the same location.
The naxal affected areas also have least socio-economic development. This has been one of the primary failures of our democracy, something we need to take care of.
