Naxalism Vs Terrorism by Shahrukh Taghvaei

Shahrukh. N. Taghvaei

Naxalite is a name given to revolutionary communist groups that emerged out of the Sino-Soviet split in the Indian communist movement. The term is derived from Naxalbari, a small village in West Bengal, where a leftist section of Communist Party of India (Marxist   CPI(M)) led by Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal led a militant peasant uprising in 1967, trying to develop a "revolutionary opposition" in order to establish "revolutionary rule" in India. Majumdar was greatly influenced by Mao Zedong of China and preached that Indian peasants and lower classes must follow in his footsteps and overthrow the government and upper classes whom he held responsible for their plight. In the year 1967 Naxalites organized the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries (AICCCR), and broke away from CPI(M). Uprisings were organized in several parts of the country. In 1969 AICCCR gave birth to Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist). After the internal revolt led by Satyanarayan Singh in 1971 and the death of Majumdar in 1972, the movement was fragmented into many competing factions.

Practically all Naxalite groups trace their origin to the CPI(ML). A separate tendency from the beginning was the Maoist Communist Centre, which evolved out of the Dakshin Desh-group. MCC later fused with People's War Group to form Communist Party of India (Maoist). A third tendency is that of the Andhra revolutionary communists, which was mainly presented by UCCRI(ML), following the mass line legacy of T. Nagi Reddy. That tendency broke with AICCCR at an early stage.

Today some groups have become legal organisations participating in parliamentary elections, such as Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation. Others, such as Communist Party of India (Maoist) and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Janashakti, are engaged in armed guerilla struggles. Many groups combine both legal and illegal methods of work.

Naxal ideology owes it's origins to the pervasive poverty in the Indian hinterland. The Naxal movement is showing signs of better organisation of its political and military wings. The Red Corridor held by Naxals stretches across the swath of forest lands from Andhra Pradesh in South India to Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar and is expanding.

The past few years has seen the insurgents spreading Naxal influence from 76 districts in nine states to 118 Districts in 12 States. The Communist Party of India (Maoists) was formed on September 21, 2004 through the merger of two prominent naxalite outfits - the People's War Group (PWG) and the Maoists Communists Center (MCC). The military resources of these guerrilla movements have been now combined as People's Guerilla Army (PGA) forming the cutting edge of the Naxal movement.

The insurgency is fueled by the exploitation of the peasants and poor tribals by the landlords and the timber mafia, as well as neglect and corruption by governmental offices. The lack of socio-economic developments that have occurred in these regions from any governmental force is an issue that the Naxalites frequently exploit in their calls for violent, Mao inspired, revolution.

Terrorism is a term used to describe violence or other harmful acts committed against civilians by groups or persons for political, nationalist, or religious goals. As a type of unconventional warfare, terrorism means to weaken or supplant existing political landscapes through radicalization, as opposed to subversion or direct military action.

"Terrorist attacks" usually are characterized as "indiscriminate", the "targeting of civilians", or as executed "with disregard for human life". The most common definition of terrorism— typically used by states, academics, counter-terrorism experts, etc, -Terrorists are actors who do not belong to any recognized armed forces or who don't abide the laws of war, and who, therefore, are regarded as "rogue actors".

Those labelled "terrorists" rarely identify themselves so and, instead, typically use terms referring to their ideological or ethnic struggle, such as: separatist, freedom fighter, liberator, revolutionary, vigilante, militant, paramilitary, guerrilla, rebel, jihadi or mujaheddin, or fedayeen, or any similar-meaning word in other languages.

Terrorism has been used by a broad array of political organizations in furthering their objectives; both right-wing and left-wing political parties, nationalistic, and religious groups, revolutionaries and ruling governments.

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, often violent, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community , however, terrorism has no legally binding, criminal law definition. Common definitions of terrorism refer only to those violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror); are perpetrated for a religious, political or, ideological goal; and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatians (civilians). Hence both the factions that were mentioned above (Naxalites and terrorists) are fuel by different ideologies, and are very different from each other. Sharing only one attribute, which would be the using of extreme means to get what they want and to guarantee the dismissal of military suppression.