Crackdown on Terrorism and Naxalism

Naxalites, or Naxals, are a group of communists who support Maoist ideology and political beliefs. The Naxalite-Maoists insurgency refers to the conflict between the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) and the Indian government. The influence zone of LWE is called the Red corridor, which has been steadily shrinking in the frequency of violent incidents and the area of geographical influence. In 2021, it was confined to the 25 “most affected” locations (accounting for 85% of LWE violence) and 70 “total affected” districts. These fall across remote, forested, hilly regions and are rich in coal in the states of Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh due to the success in curbing corruption in these areas.

Naxalism in Indian History

The Naxalites have often targeted the police, tribes, and employees in what they believe is a battle for better access to land and more jobs for the agricultural labourers who have been neglected and the people in need.

 The armed section of the Naxalite-Maoists is known as “the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA)” and is believed to comprise between 6,500 and 9,500 cadres as of 2013, mainly equipped with small arms. The Naxalites say they have adopted a rural revolt plan similar to a long-running people’s struggle against the government. The revolt began after the 1967 Naxalbari rebellion, which Charu Majumdar, Kanu Sanyal led along with Jangal Santhal. Their roots are traced back to the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which split in 1967, and led to the formation of the Communist Party of India.

Three Major Naxal Attacks in India 2021

• April 3, 22 soldiers, including fourteen Chhattisgarh police officers and seven jawans from the CRPF, and six members of the elite CoBRA unit, were killed during a Maoists ambush at the border between Bijapur as well as Sukma districts in the southern part of Chhattisgarh. A CRPF jawan was taken prisoner in the hands of Maoists.
• March in the year 2021, 5 security personnel were killed when a vehicle carrying more than 20 security personnel was attacked by Naxals employing an IED in the Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh. At least 13 security personnel were wounded in the attack.
• April 3, 2021: During an attack on the Maoist refugee in the forest in the Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh state, 30 security personnel were killed, while at least 31 were wounded in an hour-long gunfight with Naxal rebels who fought against security forces using firearms and grenades that were equipped with automatics. One rebel’s body was discovered, and at least 20 security officers were reported missing.

Terrorism Studies and Curbing Corruption

Let’s focus on the terrorism-related events which have been reported in India and further categorise them into three categories: 

• Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) 
• Left-Wing Extremism (LWE)
• The Khalistan-inspiring Extremism 

This segment examines the most critical scenarios within the categories mentioned above, followed by the forecast for 2022 and how curbing is working and curbing corruption is a problem for stopping these activities.

Jammu & Kashmir

In 2021, the 460 incidents related to terrorism were reported (as compared to 415 incidents in 2020), from which there were 153 gun battles between Security forces and terrorists. In 2021, 193 terrorists, including important commanders from various terror organisations, died during anti-terrorist operations. However, intense surveillance and security grids have been created to ensure the safety of citizens in J&K. 

Although the increased number of terrorist-related incidents in 2021 contrasted to in 2020, J&K experienced more significant security conditions on the ground, which was evident by the decrease in deaths of security civilians and security personnel, and decreased induction of young people into terrorism via the Valley.

Left-Wing Extremism 

In 2021, approximately 557 LWE-related incidents took place. Of these, 124 were anti-Maoists-related incidents within the LWE-affected regions, with 51 security officers achieving Veergati and 128 Maoists removed. The state government of the LWE-affected regions, along with the support of the Central government, is trying to implement various welfare programs to reduce Naxal Movement, which has produced positive results in tackling the LWE issue.

Khalistan Inspired Extremism

The year 2021 was the first time in these years that India didn’t witness an act of terror that was inspired by Khalistan or an incident. Since 2001 there have been numerous instances of low-intensity blasts and the recovery of a cache of explosives, arms, and ammunition across different areas of Punjab. In the period 2020-2021, farmers’ demonstration in Delhi on January 26, 2021, thousands of protesters departed from the route sanctioned and gathered in the Red Fort and central part of Delhi and engaged in violent protests and destroying public property. In the clash between protestors and police, about 400 police officers were injured, and more than 200 protesters were arrested.

Three Major Terror Attacks in India’s Recent History

There were significant terrorist attacks in India, post after which the county upgraded its armed force and defences to bring a crackdown on terrorism and Naxalism.

Here are three major terror attacks that shook India. 

26/11 Mumbai Attack, 2008

It’s also one of the most horrendous attacks in history. Ten terrorists from Pakistan LeT, a heavily-armed group, attacked Mumbai on 26/11/2008, causing chaos that left over 166 dead and injured. It was a coordinated attack on Mumbai’s five central locations, including bombing and shooting.

Uri Attack in 2016

In the most severe attack on the Army, 17 army jawans were killed when heavily armed militants believed to be from Pakistan-based JeM attacked an army base in Uri. The Army base was only a few kilometres from the Line of Control and 70 km from Srinagar. Four terrorists attacked it.

Pulwama Attack 2019

The Nation was shocked when one of the most horrific terror attacks against our brave security forces in Pulwama, Jammu, and Kashmir took place on February 14, 2019. The attack resulted in at least 40 CRPF officers being killed. Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists (JeM) rammed an explosive-filled van into a bus carrying CRPF jawans.

Naxalism Curbing Program and Crackdown on Naxalism

The Central Government has taken various measures to curb Left Wing Extremism, which include strengthening the force of Central Armed Police Forces, the establishment of National Security Guard (NSG) hubs in Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Mumbai, and strengthening and re-organising the Multi-Agency Centre to enable it to operate 24 hours a day and appointing new Specialised Indian Reserve Battalions (SIRB). It is also proposed that the Central Government also proposes the release of funds from the Special Infrastructure Scheme to the States of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha to create a Special Task Force to combat LWE.

Curbing Program for Terrorism

The government has implemented a policy of no tolerance for terrorism and has implemented various measures, including the strengthening of the security forces as well as strict enforcement of the law against elements of the anti-national community as well as intensified cordon and search and rescue operations to face the threats that terrorist organisations pose. Security forces have strict surveillance on those who attempt to aid terrorists and also take action against those who support them.

Conclusion

The success of counter-terrorism efforts in 2021 has highlighted better coordination between police and the intelligence services in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). 2021 was a year of mixed results in LWE -affected areas. Despite the large number of Maoists who surrendered, causing a shock to the cadre, the Maoists are working to build their operational capabilities within their control areas. In 2022, Maoist activities are slow, and it’s a graph of reducing Naxal movements, but they pose a significant security threat to the forces in LWE-affected regions, and these could work more fastly if there is a stoppage on curbing corruption.

It is very likely that by the end of 2022, the Pakistani ISI Directorate may try to bring back terror groups that might be involved in low-level terror attacks within Punjab.