It has been 50 years since Charu Majumdar, founder-member of the naxalite movement, died in police custody on July 28, 1972. Every year, the banned CPI(Maoist) marks his death anniversary by observing a Martyrs’ Week where slain Maoists are not only recognised for their sacrifices, but a string of violent activities are planned in naxal hotbeds of more than half a dozen states—Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra. The state police forces would get on their toes, stepping up vigil from July 28 to August 3 when the Maoists come out of hiding to meet locals, distribute pamphlets, put up banners and target security forces in pre-planned attacks. The CPI(Maoist) had made grand plans to commemorate the 50th death anniversary of Majundar and other slain Maoist leaders, but the setbacks of the past one year appear to have challenged the naxal prowess.
The rising disenchantment of the tribal youth with Maoism, steady decline in areas under Maoist control, and the lack of a credible second rung leadership since the death of top Maoist leaders like Mallojula Koteswara Rao alias Kishenji have left the Maoist hierarchy not only filled with old or ailing members, but also those who lack the ideology propagated by its founders.
Presently, there are seven politburo members and 13 central committee members who are still at large, including Venugopal Rao, Kishenji's brother who is learnt to be calling the shots now. As many as eight politburo and central committee members were neutralised in the last one year—two died, one was killed and five were arrested.
The result is that mindless killings, extortions and criminal activities have become the only way to hold power over the villagers. The long list of surrenders before security forces in the last few years has exposed the declining local support to the banned outfit.
The previous UPA government had termed Left wing extremism as one of the biggest internal security threats. However, in 2022, the ground situation is quite different. Not only is the violence at an all time low, as intelligence sources claim Maoist inflicted killings have fallen by 80 per cent, the number of Maoist affected police stations and districts have reduced significantly to 191 and 46 respectively in 2021 compared to 464 and 95 in 2010.
Fresh intelligence reports revealed that no special observance has come to the notice of law enforcement agencies so far as they keep a close watch on the activities of the banned outfit during the Martyrs' Week.
False propaganda, desperate meetings with locals, construction of martyrs columns and eulogies for the cadres who have died since the last observance of the Martyrs' Week in 2021 is what is being seen in restricted pockets of Chhattisgarh and some parts of Odisha, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, as per latest reports. “There are even reports that Maoists are killing tribals and blaming security forces for it,” said an official.
Since 2004, when the People's War Group and Maoist Communist Centre merged to form the CPI(Maoist), out of a total of 56 politburo and central committee members, 36 have been accounted for after 18 died or killed; seven were in judicial custody, and 11 are no longer associated with the party—eight released from prison and three surrendered.
The rudderless outfit, however, cannot be dismissed as one that has met its end yet, said a senior security official in Chhattisgarh, as he highlighted the continuous efforts being made to recruit more cadres, gain support of over ground workers and front organisations by creating sympathy using fake platforms and maintaining an aggressive defensive approach towards security forces. As the next few days and weeks are crucial for security forces operating in the anti naxal-grid in the country, neutralising their supply chains, front outfits and urban networks will remain a key challenge.
