fatal-blow-to-maoist-movement

The Maoist movement suffered its worst setback with the killing of its topmost leader Namballa Kesava Rao alias Basavaraju in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region. An engineer-turned-revolutionary, Basavaraju was the general secretary of the CPI (Maoist), the highest post in the hierarchy of the outlawed outfit.

 

At a time when the revolutionary movement is facing an existential crisis following the death of several leaders in police encounters, spate of surrenders and a steady erosion of public support, the killing of Basavaraju, the mastermind of several deadly attacks targeting politicians and policemen, came as a fatal blow that makes it virtually impossible for the outlawed organisation to recover.

 

The Maoist boss, who hailed from Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh, was killed along with 26 others in a fierce exchange of fire with security forces in the dense forests of Abhujmad in Bastar region. The latest encounter, which was part of an aggressive push by the security forces, demonstrated that the Maoist movement is on its last leg of survival.

 

Macabre record

 

Basavaraju (70) took over as the general secretary of the organisation in November 2018, after Muppala Lakshmana Rao, alias Ganapathi stepped down on health grounds. Before that, he was the chief of the party’s Central Military Commission, the main fighting force of the Maoists.

 

Carrying a reward of Rs 1.50 crore on his head, he was an expert in guerrilla warfare and was responsible for several daredevilry attacks. He was also credited with launching a project to acquire shoulder-fired rocket launchers.

 

Basavaraju led many operations, including the attack on the CRPF camp in Dantewada in which 76 personnel were killed in 2010, the Jeeram Ghati attack in which 27 people, including former minister Mahendra Karma, were killed, and the killing of Kidari Sarveswara Rao, TDP MLA, and former MLA Siveri Soma near Araku valley in the now Alluri Sitharama Raju district of Andhra Pradesh in 2018.

 

After he took over as chief of the CMC and then as general secretary, the Maoists increased their offensive in Chhattisgarh.

 

Also read: Top Maoist leader Basavraj killed in Chhattisgarh encounter

 

He joined the revolutionary movement after completing his BTech from the Regional Engineering College (now NIT), Warangal, in 1980. He went underground in 1985 and climbed the ranks of the People’s War Group (PWG), which subsequently merged with the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) to form the CPI (Maoist) in 2004.

 

Gasping for breath

 

The Maoist movement, which appeared to be spreading to newer areas just about five years ago, has not only stagnated but has also seen its base shrink, with practically no recruitment from youth, students, women, workers and other downtrodden societal segments. Adding to its woes, the security forces have stepped up the offensive, supported by advanced communication networks and a well-coordinated counter-insurgency strategy across all extremist-affected areas.

 

The ultra-left outfit has lost most of its top leaders in encounters with security forces in the dense forests of Chhattisgarh and its borders of Telangana, Odisha, and Maharashtra during the last one year. Over 200 died in Chhattisgarh alone. Facing the combined heat from the state police and paramilitary forces, the lower and middle level Maoist cadres have been surrendering in large numbers.

 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has promised to eradicate Left-wing extremism (LWE) in the country by March 2026.

 

Romantic aura dissipates

 

Most of the Maoist top leadership hail from Telangana which was once considered the bastion of the Naxalite movement. However, over years, the movement lost its sheen. A combination of steady erosion in public support and a sustained pressure from security forces forced the Naxalite leaders to escape to the neighbouring states like Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra.

 

Once a romantic notion that attracted both the restive urban youth on campuses and the underprivileged and exploited sections in rural areas and gave them a sense of purpose and justice, Naxalism has gradually degenerated into a refuge for a clutch of extortionists and trigger-happy vigilantes indulging in pointless violent attacks and blindly obstructing developmental projects.

 

Indiscriminate killing of innocent people, branding them as police informers, and resorting to the same brutal methods that they often accuse their enemy classes of, public hangings after holding kangaroo courts, killing politicians and policemen and resorting to extortions have resulted in a steady erosion of public support. The academics and intellectual class, once the mainstay of the Maoist ideology, slowly moved away from it.

 

Parallel administration

 

At the height of Naxalite movement in the early 1990s, the ultras virtually ran parallel administration in vast swathes of the backward Telangana region.

 

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After the failure of the first-ever peace talks with the state government in October 2004, Maoists suffered big setbacks in the state with several of their top leaders being eliminated in police operations and many more surrendering to the police.

 

The success in anti-insurgency operations was largely due to “greyhounds”, an elite anti-Naxalite outfit of AP police raised in 1989 to specialise in executing intelligence-led precision strikes.

 

Adopting jungle warfare and guerrilla tactics and armed with improved intelligence gathering and sophisticated weapons and training, Greyhounds soon emerged as a role model for the rest of the country.

 

The successive governments adopted a two-pronged strategy to contain Naxalite activities; modernisation of the police force to execute intelligence-led precision strikes and massive development in the remote areas particularly focusing on roads, infrastructure, communication, schools and hospitals.

 

This came to be known as the ‘Andhra model’ and proved to be very effective in ridding the state of Naxal menace.

 

No place in democracy

 

At the core of the Naxalite ideology is the belief that power can be captured through the barrel of a gun and annihilation of class enemies. This abominable path has no place in democratic societies and hence must be fought on multiple fronts.

 

Weak governance, corruption, and inadequate provision of basic services in affected regions contribute to a sense of alienation and disillusionment among the local population. The inability of the government to address the root causes of discontent creates space for extremist groups to exploit the situation.

 

Development policies that fail to reach the grassroots level and address the specific needs of marginalised communities contribute to the appeal of leftist ideologies. Moreover, the uneven distribution of the benefits of economic growth exacerbates social inequalities. Left-wing extremist groups position themselves as champions of the oppressed, promising to address the economic and social disparities that persist in these regions.

 

The government needs to focus on improving socio-economic conditions in areas affected by left wing extremism such as investing in infrastructure, creating employment opportunities, and providing better access to education and healthcare.

 

There is a need to aggressively push for projects that focus on sustainable development and conservation of natural resources in areas affected by extremism. By involving local communities in environmental protection efforts, a sense of ownership and responsibility can be fostered, leading to reduced extremism.

 

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The efforts of the security forces have to be complemented strongly by a host of soft measures like the implementation of the forest dwellers act, improving connectivity and communication, and building infrastructure in remote places. The government officials must deliver development on the ground. They must visit the affected areas regularly and instill confidence among the people. They must have the confidence that the government will protect them from the Maoist extortions.

 

On the security front, better coordination among security agencies, between security and development agencies, among the states and between the Centre and the states is required to eradicate the Maoist movement.