Encounter With Naxalites

Home Minister paid tributes to police personnel martyred in the encounter with Naxalites in Chhattisgarh in April 2021.
Separate joint teams of security forces, over 2,000 in number, had launched a major anti-Naxal operation from Bijapur and Sukma districts in the South Bastar forests, considered as the Maoist stronghold.
The personnel belonging to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), its elite unit CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Special Task Force (STF) were involved in the operation launched from five places.

Left-Wing Extremism

Left-wing extremism, also known by various other names such as Naxalism and Maoism, is a form of armed insurgency against the State motivated by leftist ideologies. Left-wing extremists are also known as Maoists globally and as Naxalites in India.
There are several left-wing extremist organisations in the country operating in many areas.
They reject parliamentary democracy and are aiming at waging an armed revolution against the government.
They follow extreme violence and also harm innocent civilians in many cases.
Some groups also engage in parliamentary politics while at the same time, maintain underground cadres. Examples of such groups: Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Janashakti.
Traditionally, during the early years of the movement, they handled weapons like bows and arrows, and country-made firearms, but now, they possess sophisticated weapons including rocket launchers and AK rifles.
The common theme among all the groups is that they are anti-government, and desire a violent mass struggle.
They try to get the support of the marginalised people in rural areas by espousing their cause and projecting their real and perceived grievances.
The most important and dangerous among the groups is the Communist Party of India (Maoist)/CPI-M.
The Maoists derive their ideology from Maoism, a form of communism espoused by Mao Zedong of Chin

Naxalism

Since the 2010 Chintalnar massacre, the Dantewada-Sukma-Bijapur axis has claimed the lives of more than 175 security force personnel, besides several civilians.
While the Chintalnar encounter saw 76 CRPF men killed, the latest encounter in Bijapur led to the death of 22 security personnel.
A look at the data on Maoist violence in Chhattisgarh shows that most attacks and casualties have happened between March and July.
Sources say this is because the CPI (Maoist) usually launches its tactical counter-offensive campaign between February and the end of June. This campaign involves aggressive military operations against security forces before the monsoons—that make movement difficult—hit the region.
The key concern is that security forces are still struggling in this region, known as Bastar, despite the campaign against the Left-wing extremists starting around 15 years ago.
Bastar is a district in Chhattisgarh. Jagdalpur is the district headquarters.
A host of factors—remoteness, jungle terrain, absence of administration and lack of political will—have been blamed for the slow progress there.
The eradication of the movement in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Odisha has led to a concentration of cadre and leaders in the Bastar region—which provides easy movement for the rebels across borders because of its proximity to other states.
Most, however, point to absence of roads, communication and proper administration as the main reason for Maoists continuing to hold the area.

SOURCE: THE HINDU ,THE ECONOMIC TIMES ,MINT

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