Development & Spread of Extremism: Roots of LWE

Extremism and development

Police and public order are State subjects (List II), but Article 355 makes it the Union’s duty to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance. India faces three long-running forms of armed extremism: Left Wing Extremism in central and eastern India, ethnic insurgencies in the North- East, and militancy backed from across the border in Jammu & Kashmir.

Mains 2017 said mob violence is emerging as a serious law and order problem in India and asked for causes and consequences. Causes: rumours spread on social media, identity politics, slow justice and weak policing. Consequences: loss of life, fear among minorities and loss of faith in the rule of law. The Supreme Court laid down preventive and remedial guidelines in 2018, and the Bharatiya

Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 treats murder by a group of five or more on grounds such as caste or community as a separate offence.

Roots of Left Wing Extremism

The movement began in 1967 at Naxalbari in West Bengal. Its strongest base later became the forested tribal belt of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra and Telangana, rich in minerals but poor in roads, schools and health care.

Mains 2020 asked: What are the determinants of left-wing extremism in Eastern part of India? Determinants: land alienation and displacement by mines and dams, denial of forest rights, poor governance and exploitation by traders and officials. Strategy: security operations led by State police with central support, faster development, and full use of PESA and the Forest Rights Act.

Mains 2015 noted that persisting drives for large industries in backward areas have isolated the tribal population and farmers who face multiple displacements, and asked for corrective strategies with Malkangiri and Naxalbari foci. Fair resettlement under the 2013 land acquisition law, gram sabha consent, local jobs and benefit-sharing from mining (District Mineral Foundations) help win people back.

Mains 2013 asked candidates to analyse the impact of non-implementation of the provisions of the Fifth schedule on the growth of Left Wing extremism. Under Article 244 and the Fifth Schedule, the Governor can stop land transfers and adapt laws in Scheduled Areas, and a Tribes Advisory Council advises. When these powers are not used, land is lost and grievances grow, which extremists exploit.