Naxalism in India is coming to an end. Home Minister Amit Shah has said multiple times that the Naxal Movement will be over by 31st March, 2026. Not many thought it was possible. But the rate at which top Naxal leaders are dropping like flies, it appears the Iron Man from Gujarat will likely keep his deadline.
Madvi Hidma is the latest Naxal Commander to have lost his life. Only weeks ago, Indian security forces eliminated Basavaraju as well. They formed the spine of the Naxal Movement for a long time. Now, they are dead.
Amit Shah has scored major victories against Naxals as Home Minister. Along the way, he has also demolished core liberal doctrines that have dominated discourse around terrorism. He has demonstrated over and over again that these doctrines are an impediment towards success, far from the solutions they claim to be.
It is also one of the reasons why Amit Shah triggers such visceral hatred among the liberal elite. Nobody wants to be proven wrong, especially by someone they consider far beneath themselves in the social hierarchy. Amit Shah has forced them to reckon with the error in their ways. The socialist elite can only whine in impotent rage as they see their entire worldview collapse around them.
‘War Against Adivasis’
Leftist intellectuals describe Indian military action against Naxal terrorists as a ‘War against Adivasis’. It’s a ridiculous proposition. At the end of the day, it’s the Adivasis who have to live with them in their midst. While it’s true that Maoists enjoy the sympathies of some sections of Adivasi communities, it’s unlikely that anyone likes living under goons who are accountable to no one.
No one has harmed Adivasis more than the Maoists themselves. The Naxal terrorists regularly kill Adivasis who oppose them in any manner. On many occasions, they frame people to settle personal scores. Maoists also sexually exploit women and rape them, without any scope for the women to receive justice.
All of this is par for the course. This is what happens when terrorists run rampant across the land. Now, however, Adivasis are working with the Indian State to eliminate Naxal terrorism. The kind of success Indian Security Forces have enjoyed over the past year, it would not have been possible without support from the local Adivasi communities.
Media reports have confirmed that it’s often Adivasi personnel that lead the attacks against the left wing terrorists. It demolishes the core fraud perpetuated by intellectuals that this is a war against Adivasis. How can it be a war against Adivasis when Adivasis themselves are fighting for the Indian State?
The Government can be a Force for Good
Intellectuals have always framed Naxal terrorists as noble warriors while painting the Indian State as a conglomerate of goons. While the Indian State does have many flaws, it is preposterous to claim that Maoists are noble.
It’s true that Naxals used the gaps in the Indian State Machinery to entrench themselves among tribal communities. They provided education, built infrastructure for them and improved their lives significantly. This cannot be denied. But then, this happened a long time ago, when the INC was in power. Coincidentally, these same intellectuals have been in bed with the INC for decades.
Notice the circular loop here. The failure of the INC to build administrative infrastructure in tribal areas creates a power vacuum. Naxalites take advantage of this and build their movement by providing tribals with basic amenities. Intellectuals were supportive of the INC then and are still to this day. Yet, they criticise the Indian State while providing a moral justification for Naxal terrorism. How does that work?
Since intellectuals are tied at the hip with the INC establishment, poor governance is all they have known. They have forgotten that the Government can be a force for good if it so wishes. The NDA Government has demonstrated this to be true.
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The Modi Government has not limited itself only to military action in tribal areas. They are building roads, telecom networks, homes, schools, skill development centres and providing them with healthcare. The Indian Government has had a massive positive impact on the lives of Adivasis in these regions.
This is perhaps the first time in the history of independent India that Adivasi communities in these areas have had a constructive engagement with the government. Is it any surprise then that they are choosing to ally with the Government against Naxals?
The Government is clearly using military action to complement the development initiatives in these areas. These development initiatives would otherwise fail because Naxals would not let them succeed. Naxalites regularly assassinate government officers and attack businesses so that locals do not have institutions to rely on but them.
If intellectuals had the best interests of tribals at heart, they would not have urged the Government to abandon military action altogether. Instead, they would have argued that the Government use military action as a means to an end. But their twisted ideology prevents them from doing so. Amit Shah has demonstrated this is the way.
Dialogue with Naxals is not the solution
Amit Shah has often urged Naxals to drop their weapons and join the mainstream. He has never once said that rehabilitation is not an option. Indeed, many Naxal terrorists have surrendered and the Government has provided a pathway for their rehabilitation.
Adivasis finally have a shot at a better future. They are no longer hostage to goons who are not accountable to anyone. Military action against Naxals has paved the way towards prosperity. But our intellectuals are not happy.
They maintain that Naxalism cannot be solved through military action. They did not even consider it a terrorism problem. Left wing ideologues have always claimed that it is a socioeconomic issue, not even a law and order problem. So their favourite solutions are dialogues and ceding even more control to Maoists. They cloak the latter under the garb of ‘autonomy for tribals. What they really mean is more autonomy for Naxalites.
Amit Shah has forced them to consider the possibility that they are woefully wrong. He has shown them that military action can work if implemented correctly and has worked. He has not ruled out dialogue. But he has made it clearly that dialogue can happen only after they have abandoned their weapons.
It’s a stark contrast with the intellectual approach. They want an unconditional ceasefire. They want dialogues. The socialist elite wants the Government to legitimise Naxals. Amit Shah was having none of it.
History will show that the Home Minister had the courage to stick to his guns despite great outrage. So, a million lives were transformed.
