By Manira Chaudhary:
Since the cognitive idea of being a ‘State’ came into being, India has been struggling with the challenge from within its own borders – of conflicting political ideologies and movements. Naxalism is one of the biggest movements in our country, infamously referred to as the “biggest internal threat facing India” by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
A communist guerrilla movement, Naxalism found its origins in the uprising of 1967 in a small village in West Bengal called Naxalbari when under three communist leaders, the peasant class waged a revolt against the local landlords.
Since then, the movement has grown and spread from West Bengal to parts of Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh. Left-leaning liberals and intellectuals have always been at loggerheads with the Centre regarding this issue. What the Centre calls a ‘threat’ is given a certain validation by many who count the historical discrimination and social structure as reasons for the rise of this movement.
In this video by The Quint, former BSF Director General E.N. Rammohan says what many shy away from – the reason why Naxalism exists and will probably continue to grow. From the rigid caste structure of the society to the incongruity of the state government’s control on the ‘reserved’ land which leads to aggression and feelings of indignation in tribal communities, watch to understand how he believes that the state is misusing its power:
