In a major achievement for the Modi government, it has come to light that Naxal violence has gone down by 43 percent over the last five years when compared to the five year period preceding that. This vital information was disclosed by Union Minister of State for Home G Krishna Reddy. The minister was replying to a written question in the Rajya Sabha. He said that the steadfast government policy has resulted in a decline in Naxal violence and the shrinkage of the geographical area under its control.
According to him, Left Wing Extremism (LWE) has declined and such incidents were recorded in only 60 districts in 2018. He said, “Of these, only 10 districts account for 2/3rd of LWE violence. The LWE-related incidents of violence between April 2014 to May 2019 have been 43 per cent lesser when comparing with the preceding five-year period.”
It must be noted that the decline in Naxal violence has been a result of the Modi government’s pro-active strategy to crack down on Naxalism. Last year tfipost.com had reported, Modi Government’s revamped strategy and the Home Ministry’s counteroffensive against Naxalism seems to have borne fruit as statistics show a continuous decline in Left Wing Extremism (LWE). There has been a continuous decline in the number of districts affected by Maoists as well as the number of states under the grip of violence perpetrated by Naxalism. While 75 districts spanning nine states were affected by Naxal violence in 2015, the number declined to 67 in 2016 and further down to 58 districts in 2017. 2017 is therefore touted as the best year for the Armed Forces engaged in combating Naxals. From then on, the Modi government had continued its crackdown on Naxalism.
Moreover, 90% of the attacks took place in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Odisha, suggesting that Naxalism has been more or less confined to these states. Officials have attributed this success against the Naxals to a more proactive policy adopted by the government, which includes targeting top Naxal leaders and their informers with precise and enhanced intelligence. There has been an increased number of joint operations by the CRPF, the IAF, the BSF and the ITBP and the state police forces. Similarly, the local administration has sped up the process of development, including the construction of roads, installation of mobile phone towers and setting up of police stations in remote areas. This has broken the back of the insurgent movement. Naxals are now unable to move men, funds and ammunition as freely as before.
According to the information regarding Left Wing Extremism uploaded by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on its website, there has been a reduction in the number of Naxal attacks in all states except Andhra Pradesh, as reported last year. This suggests a general trend of waning Left Wing Extremism.
Last year, there was also a spate of surrenders in areas deeply affected by Naxalism. This meant that the government and the security forces have been successful in strongly overwhelming the ideology of Naxalism and now it is going to decline at a sharp rate. Among all its achievements, crushing Naxalism is one of the biggest achievements of the Modi government.