The killing of ten Maoists in an encounter with security personnel in the Bastar division of the southern area of Chattisgarh’s Sukma district is yet another signal of the dreaded movement being on the wane.
This comes close on the heels of a top Maoist commander Vikram Gowda being gunned down in Karnataka earlier this week. Gowda was killed by the security forces at the Udupi district and this brought down the strength of the naxalites in the state by a huge margin.
2024 has been a hugely successful year for the security forces. Over 170 Maoists have been killed this year and 152 have been from Chhattisgarh alone. This is the highest number of casualties the Maoists have faced in the last 15 years. Nearly 90 per cent of the Maoist deaths in Chhattisgarh took place in the Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai district.
Why has the pace picked up
Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently said that Maoism was on its last leg. In another year or so it would be wiped out completely, he had also said.
The success in Chhattisgarh could be largely attributed to the return of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state. With the same party being in power both in the state as well as the Centre has helped the security forces to carry out seamless operations. Had the governments been different in the state and Centre, then things would have been slower to achieve.
Since 2023 there has been a sustained effort to wipe out the naxal menace in the state, which has the highest number of Maoists. The first step was the setting up of 32 police camps in naxal hotbeds. This task was completed just in five months when compared to the average of 16-17 months a year as was taking place in the past.
The setting up of these forward posts ensured that the movement of the Maoists was restricted to a large extent in the forest areas.
In addition to the common political will in the state and Centre, drones were deployed along with other surveillance technology. The enhancement of technology has helped the security forces carry out effective operations on the ground.
To assist the local police, there are teams of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) and the Border Security Force (BSF) which have been posted in Maoist affected areas.
Data available with the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) says that the Bastar division has accounted for 91 per cent of the fatalities in the state since 2000. This indicates that the security forces have managed to corner the naxalites into one particular zone and hence it is easier to neutralise them. Earlier, the trouble was finding them as they were spread out and could move easily between Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra and avoid detection.
Infrastructure development
While identifying as to how to go about killing these Maoists, it was not just action that was in play. The Centre laid stress on improving infrastructure and connectivity. This meant roads were built and the security forces could use them right up to the bastion of the Maoists.
The installing of telecom towers has improved connectivity greatly. The opening up of security force camps in quick time also helped with the gathering of better Intelligence and the swift movement of the security forces.
Maharashtra which faces this problem as well largely in Gadchiroli had on July 11 tabled a Bill in the Assembly to curb the rising presence of naxalite outfits in rural and urban areas through effective legal means. Further the Public Security Acts (PSA) are in place in the other Maoist affected states or Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
The fund squeeze
When the Central government took up the task of eliminating Maoists from the face of Bharat, one of the key aspects that was taken into consideration was the funding.
The trail led up to the urban Maoists who operated in the cities. Many of them had opened NGOs to raise funds. The funds were being raised through fake campaigns and investigations showed that none of these funds were used for the purpose it was claimed to have been collected for. A closer look showed that the funds were diverted to the jungles and whatever was remaining was pocketed by the urban Maoist to satisfy their personal pleasures.
The tightening of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) made it even harder for the urban naxalites to receive foreign funding. The frustration led to many of them shutting shop all together and this led to a major fund squeeze for their friends operating in the jungles.
The lack of funds meant that the Maoists could not upgrade and this led to the gradual depletion of their movement.
Further there was a crackdown on several programmes that were held to romanticise the Maoists. Seminars would be held singing praises of the CPI (Maoist) and this ensured that the cause was romanticised. The lack of such publicity also had an adverse effect on the Maoist movement since they lost out completely on the support of the locals. Tackling the locals was a key to fight this menace as they would most of the time act as informers to these Maoist.
An official dealing in anti-Maoist operations told Organiser that the moment is fast dying thanks to the success rate of the security forces. However it is not yet to time to take one’s eye off. There would be attempts made to revive the movement. Moreover there are still some naxalites who are left in the jungles and this would require a couple of months more to tackle, the officer also said.
