INSTITUTE OF PEACE AND CONFLICT STUDES
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Website: www.ipcs.org
IPCS Special Report 25
June 2006
LEFT EXTREMISM IN INDIA
NAXAL MOVEMENT IN CHATTISGARH & ORISSA
Rajat Kumar Kujur
Research Scholar, JNU
INTRODUCTION
One of the striking features of the
Naxal movement is that right from its
inception it has remained a point of
attention for academicians, journalists
and, of course, politicians. However,
for some reason or the other,
contemporary research on Naxalism
has so far been focused on West
Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and, to some
extent, Bihar, at the expense of
other areas where the movement
also has a strong presence.
However, as Naxalism or the
Naxal movement is a complex
problem, it is necessary to look at
the problem at specific levels in
different regions. It is in this
context a primary research on the
Naxal Movement in the
neighbouring states of
Chattisgarh and Orissa, where the
Naxal movement is placed at two
different levels, is of considerable
academic interest. This article is an
attempt to explain the growth of the
Naxal movement in the poor and
underdeveloped regions of these two
states. The focus of this paper is on
the organizational growth of the
movement and the phenomenal
increase in violence in the naxal brand
of politics. Government initiatives and
programmes will find a special
mention in the paper.
I
CHATTISGARH
THE NAXAL WAR ZONE
Chattisgarh, which is a part of the
Dandakaranya region, has been a
centre of Maoist activities since the
early days of the People’s War. It was
none other than the founding father of
People’s War (PW), K. Seetharamaiah,
who envisaged the idea of establishing
a guerrilla zone in Dandakaranya.
Particularly Bastar, for its typical geo-
political situation and socio-economic
condition, soon found a prominent
place in the Maoist road map. Way
back in 1979, a six member squad with
five more squads in the following year
was sent here to build up
revolutionary consciousness.
1
However, the naxal presence in the
region was felt only during the late 90s
when they successfully established a
strong guerrilla network in Bastar and
Surguja. By 1995, the mass
organisations in the Dandakaranya
had swelled to a membership of 60,000
and today the membership is over one
hundred and fifty thousand.
2
As of
now the Naxals have consolidated
1
Out of the Red, April 16,2006,
http://www.indianexpress.com/sunday/story/24
88.html
2
Sudhakar, A Saga of Twenty five years of
Glorious Struggle, People’s March, January
2006.
