Home Minister Amit Shah is in a ravishing mood for his achievement of killing CPI(Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju along with some 30 odd Maoist cadres and leaders in the Narayanpur massacre on May 21. His claim that “it is a landmark achievement in the battle to eliminate Naxalism” did not come as surprise since Amit Shah simply understands the language of violence and savagism. His wisdom of political discernment could be realized from his holding cauliflower, as a symbol of victory, reminiscent of Bhagalpur carnage of 1989 in which a large number of Muslims were killed and buried in an agriculture land with cauliflower cover.
Almost all the Naxalite groups are firmly of the opinion that Keshav’s killing was an extra-judicial action. In fact Vishwam, general secretary of a faction of CPI(ML) alleged “ Keshavarao was taken into custody from his place in Odisha, where he was staying, due to his ill health and killed in fake encounter by state armed forces”. This is indeed a very serious accusation against the security forces.
Mystery behind killing of Keshavarao has further deepened with the BJP government of Chhattisgarh ignoring to abide by the order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Rao’s mother, other academics and leaders, had approached the Andhra Pradesh High Court seeking custody of the dead bodies of their kin to bring them home for their funerals. The AP High Court had ordered Chhattisgarh government to hand over the bodies after post mortem. But while the family members kept waiting for the bodies, the state cremated them calling them ‘unclaimed bodies’. It is obvious, what the centre was trying to conceal from the outside world.
Ebullient at his achievement Amit Shah has fixed March 31, 2026 as the deadline for making India Maoist-Mukta (free). Already around 60,000 security forces have been stationed in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, both the states having BJP governments. If the sources are to be relied, the Home ministry has been pressuring the surrendered Maoists to act as mercenaries and be the vanguard of the security forces. It is virtually a sort of militarisation of Bastar.
It is worth mentioning that Garhchiroli and Chhattisgarh have high concentration of the RSS cadres and they have been busy, following their ideological line of converting the Adivasis. Anti-militarisation forum of Adivasis, the Moolvasi Bachao Manch has been banned at their initiative.
RSS and Modi government are pursuing the strategy of trying to shape public opinion that Naxalism has lost relevance and the movement has been on decline. The home ministry officials claim that Left Wing Extremism (LWE), affected districts have significantly reduced in recent years, from 126 to 38 by April 2024. It even claimed that in recent times it has been reduced to 6. Little doubt this false propaganda is meant to glorify Narendra Modi and saffron ecosystem. They claim that Modi has initiated inclusive development projects as a result of that the Maoist movement has declined. It is out an out a false rhetoric.
If at all the Maoist movement has declined, why then the number of cadres, especially those killed, has been showing an upper trajectory. It is also strange that Modi government had to deploy thousands of security personnel to fight the depleting strength of Maoist cadres. It is also surprising at a time when violence linked to the Maoist movement is on decline across the country, under military offensive of home ministry but there has been a significant escalation in Chhattisgarh and adjoining areas.
Maoism, as an ideology and a movement, emerged in Naxalbari village of West Bengal in 1967 through the peasant movement. The poor and small peasants, proletariat, Adivasis and labourers had revolted against their exploitation by the Jotedars, landlords and feudal lords. The protagonists of the movement had visualised the significance of the armed peasant struggle. The initial phase of the Naxalite movement, led by Charu Majumdar, involved armed struggle and peasant mobilization, particularly in tribal regions. The Naxalites advocated more radical approach to revolution than the other communist parties and formed CPI(ML).. The CPI(ML), then known as the party of naxalites who are following Mao, was founded at a rally in Calcutta on May 1, 1969.
Soon Bhojpur struggle (in Bihar) emerged as the symbol of peasant struggle. But within couple of years, the leadership realised the need for carrying out rectification. The original CPI(ML) split into many factions and each leadership operated with their respective programme in a large number of states including Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Maharashtra , Bastar region of the then Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. In Bengal, the naxalites lost their strength and the movement fizzled out after the Trinamool Congress came to power in 2011 neutralising the remnants of naxalites based in Junglemahal districts through introduction of rehabilitation measures along with use of guns where needed. Earlier in 1977 after the coming of CPI(M) led Left Front to power in Bengal, amnesty was given to the jailed naxalites and they came out. Some of them joined the ruling CPI(M) but many others worked independently. Only in the tribal districts of the state, there was some concentration of naxalites who operated a liberated zone.
But different factions operated in Bihar, AP, Odisha and in the last few years aggressively in Chhattisgarh among the tribals. The CPI( Maoist), continued to stick to extra parliamentary path though many other groups gave up armed struggle and opted for Parliamentary path. The CPI(Maoist) even in the third decade of 21stcenturystuck to old Maoism while the land of Mao under the President Xi Jinping took the path of market socialism and delinked itself from any efforts to export revolution. In fact, the Chinese Communist Party totally refused to give any help in terms of money and weapons to any communist rebel of any country in South East Asia as also India since the year 2,000.
Since 2,000, there have been convulsions in the operations of the different naxalite groups. Finally, one party has emerged-CPI(ML)-Liberation which is successfully carrying the fight in favour of the workers and peasants using both parliamentary and non parliamentary forum. CPI(ML)-L has emerged as a powerful political party in Bihar and Jharkhand. The strength and acceptability of the party could be gauged from the simple fact that in 2020 assembly elections in Bihar, it won 12 seats. In 2024 Lok Sabha election it won two seats.. The CPI(ML)-L headed now by Dipankar Bhattacharya is expected to do better in the coming assembly elections in Bihar. The CPI(ML)-L has succeeded because the party has adapted its strategy to suit the present political conditions in India.
The CPI(Maoist) has done tactical error but they have been fighting to protect the interests of the tribals and adivasis. The security forces have been arresting any tribal leader who is vocal against oppression. That is how, they want to finish movement. The civil society movement as also the legal fraternity have to take steps to organize peace talks again between the CPI(Maoist) leadership and the centre so that some solution is found out. The CPI(Maoist) leadership, despite their dedication, will be wrong if they think that by armed struggle, they can protect the interests of adivasis. World has changed much since 1967 so has India. They should take lessons from the way the CPI(ML)-L is protecting the interests of the toiling masses while taking part in parliamentary democracy. The time has come for the Maoist leadership to do a serious review s of their programmes and adapt it to the needs of the current political situation. There is no other option left. (IPA Service)
