Question

Write about the extremism of the left in India.

Answer 1

1. The Naxalite movement that is now referred to as Maoist movement or Left-Wing Extremism has its main support base amongst certain sections of landless agricultural labour, dalits and tribal communities.
2. It is also spreading into urban centers, especially the blue-collar workers.
3. It succeeds where there is a sense of injustice, exploitation, oppression and a feeling of neglect by the State.
4. The roots of the Naxalite movement can be traced to the Telangana movement (1946- 51). It was the first serious attempt to promote a peasant struggle by the Indian communists. At an ideological level the roots may be traced in the writings of Charu Majumdar whose articles were based on the ideology of Marx-Lenin-Mao.
5. The United Nations reports the recruitment and use of children as young as 6 years of age by armed groups, including the Naxalites. Children were coerced to join children’s units (“Bal Dasta”), where they were trained and used as couriers and informants, to plant improvised explosive devices and in frontline operations against national security forces.