The assertions by the Ministry of Home Affairs that the Maoist challenge could be dealt with in three years seems to be ambitious, given present-day the ground realities. If coordinated action is taken, perhaps, their challenge could be defeated in approximately seven to 10 years. A welcome development is that the various state governments and the Union Government have begun to evince willingness to deal with the issue. Doubtless, the Maoist challenge can certainly be defeated.
The menace of Left Wing Extremism (LWE), commonly termed as Naxalism and Maoist insurgency, has been categorised as the single biggest challenge to India’s internal security by the Prime Minister. He urged the Centre as well as States, to urgently employ all available resources to cripple the virus of Naxalism.
The Monograph deals with the internal security situation in India. It focuses on the Naxal conflict, the Northeastern ethnic armed insurgencies, and terrorism for a detailed study.
The recent neutralisation of hardcore Maoists, including one of its top leaders, in Gadchiroli District serves as a major setback for CPI (Maoist)’s expansion in the Maharashtra–Madhya Pradesh–Chhattisgarh tri-junction region. A judicious mix of security and developmental interventions would go a long way in tackling Maoist threat.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to completely clamp down on Maoist finances. However, it is possible to restrict the flow of money into their coffers.
For the financial year 2017-18, the Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) has been allocated Rs. 83,823 crore, a hike of around 11.5 per cent over that of the previous year. Though the Union government has been providing substantial budget support to the MHA to aid its reform and modernisation programs, the ministry’s efforts to bring about desired reforms have shown mixed results so far.
Winning hearts and minds through the Civic Action Programme (CAP) and the Media/Perception Management Plan is an important element in combating LWE propaganda.
The external linkages of the Maoists are wide, stretching from Latin America to South East Asia. These linkages have, essentially, given them visibility and propaganda, and very occasionally weapons.
