The Struggle Within: India's Red Corridor
By Alexandra Mahler Haug, 29th January 2010
Executive Summary
- There is an ongoing struggle in the middle of Indias tribal belt; a conflict which, many say, is intensified by the Indian governments efforts to secure the areas natural resources and raw materials.
- The Naxalites, a violent movement in control of roughly 92,000 square kilometers known as the Red Corridor, a section of territory that stretches across India, are illustrative of the challenges India faces from within its own borders, as it continues to grow and develop economically.
- While other movements seem to attack the Indian state at its strong points (its secularism, its inclusiveness, or its democracy), the Naxalites attack Indias weakest point: the governments failure in delivering basic government services to those who need them the most.
- So far, the governments actions (combined with the Naxalites reactions) have had the effect of sharpening inequity, which many see as the biggest danger facing India in the next few years, as it strives to cultivate its democratic identity on the world scene.
There is an ongoing struggle in the middle of Indias tribal belt; a conflict which, many say, is intensified by the Indian governments efforts to secure the areas natural resources and raw materials. In recent years, India's biggest companies have moved stealthily into the forest areas, buying up land and acquiring the rights to extract the natural wealth, efforts deemed necessary by the government to enhance economic growth and create new jobs. However, others take issue with this purely economic view of the forests and lands, seeing these extraction efforts as attempts to ensure economic gain for few while further marginalizing many peoples. Unfortunately for the government, the majority of the dissenters are the Naxalites, a violent movement in control of roughly 92,000 square kilometers known as the Red Corridor, a section of territory that stretches across India from Andhra Pradesh to the Nepalese border. Heirs to the revolutionary ideology of Mao, the growing influence and strength of the Naxalite movement prompted the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, to describe the rebels in 2006 as the single biggest internal security challenge faced by India.
It seems that the Naxalite problem, however, is more than a security concern. The violenceas well as the casualty countattributed to the Naxalites has been increasing steadily since 2004. But in trying to quell the movement, the Indian government may be shooting itself in the foot, for its militaristic efforts to trounce the Naxalites so far seem to be feeding the problem. By narrowly focusing on strong military efforts and extractive economic development, the Indian government is alienating the people they need most desperately to reach: some of India's most impoverished people within the Red Corridor, most of which are semi-literate tribes who exist in near-destitution and who are the Naxalites most avid supporters. In these villages, the Indian state is almost invisible and the vacuum is eagerly filled by the Naxalites. It is certain that continued extreme poverty and malnutrition help motivate these people to support a movement that is trying to bring attention to the regions plight and marginalization.
While other movements seem to attack the Indian state at its strong points (its secularism, its inclusiveness, or its democracy), the Naxalites attack Indias weakest point: the governments failure in delivering basic government services to those who need them the most. So far, the governments actions (combined with the Naxalites reactions) have had the effect of sharpening inequity, which many see as the biggest danger facing India in the next few years. The problem of inequity is the Naxalites' most effective recruiting device, and the government seems to be playing right into their hands. Additionally, as Indian troops have used school buildings as part of their operations (thereby inviting attack by the Naxalites), the conflict has had the unfortunate effect of disrupting the education of some of Indias most marginalized children, who will determine the areas stability or unrest in the future.
As the Indian government intensifies its campaign against the Naxalites, human-rights groups argue that the problem cannot be solved by brute force. It is evident that the Naxalite movement is a complex social issue, with roots in the tremendous deprivation of millions of rural Indians. But further hasty and ill-strategized military efforts are certain to only exacerbate the violence. Negating the power of politics of development could help turn Naxalism into more of a mass movement in India, thereby increasing the unrest in an area that so desperately needs basic governmental support and stability.
India is often extolled on the international stage as the worlds largest democracy, a place where plurality, inclusivity, and diversity are evident in many ways. But the Naxalites remind us that threats to democracy are never far away and moreover, that these threats can be easily ignited with a simple catalyst if safeguards are not in place. The struggle between the Naxalite movement and the Indian government is illustrative of the tension that is inherent in trying to balance between national economic development efforts and sustaining (and hopefully enhancing) local populations health and happiness. It is important, and indeed, necessary, to note that this tension is not easily dissolved by mere violence or force. The tension between the Naxalite movement and the Indian government highlights the importance of integrating national development strategies with local practices; it highlights the importance of encouraging grounds-up involvement in development efforts and local inclusion in development practices; and it highlights the power that can result from alienation, showing how easily a marginalized group of people can be persuaded by their dissatisfaction to resort to violent actions with devastating outcomes.
The Naxalite movement is a domestic security concern for India, but it is also a matter of greater significance. India should not further antagonize the Naxalites by merely cracking down in an effort to continue their extractive economic development policies. Violence alone will not suffice, especially in a democracy. India needs to recognize that unmitigated economic development at the cost of all else is not a viableor smartoption. To ensure a better, future nation, India should invest in the individual futures of its citizens by guaranteeing basic freedoms and services, such as education and infrastructure, to all including those that challenge its basic practices and premises. By guaranteeing that the minority voice will always be heard and considered (so long as the minority does so in a non-violent fashion), India can show the Naxalites and the world that it is truly a nation of the people; that economic and business interests will not run rampant over all other concerns; and that it has the capacity and the integrity to be a strong, democratic participant on the world scene.
The Struggle Within: India's Red Corridor - The Henry Jackson Society