Internal threats and how the government deals with them

Protest is not a threat; violence is

Protests, strikes and bandhs are a normal part of democracy. People use them to draw the government's attention to their demands, and the police handle most such law and order problems locally. Terrorism, insurgency and the Naxalite movement are different. They use organised violence and are far more serious threats to peace and security.

Terrorism

• There is no agreed definition of terrorism. In general it is a criminal act meant to cause dramatic, deadly harm to civilians and create fear. Its aim is usually political or ideological.
• No political, religious, ethnic or other reason can justify it. UN Security Council Resolution 1566 (2004) takes the same view.
• Methods: bomb blasts, firing in crowded places, hijacking planes and taking hostages to force the government to accept demands.
• The attack on Mumbai on 26 November 2008, known as 26/11, was one of the worst.
• The lesson says those involved have included foreigners, and Indian youth who were indoctrinated (taught extreme ideas) and trained abroad.

Insurgency

• Insurgency is an armed rebellion against the government.
• Two kinds: movements with political motives, and movements for social and economic justice.
• The lesson names armed separatist groups in Jammu and Kashmir and Assam, and militant groups in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
• Some groups seek secession (breaking away from India). Many are driven by dissatisfaction with their conditions.
• Their members are Indians, but some groups get support from across the border and from international terrorist groups.

The Naxalite movement: how it grew

The order follows your lesson. The number of affected districts has fallen sharply in recent years, so check recent official figures.

1. 1967
   At Naxalbari in West Bengal, a tribal youth with a court order to plough his land was attacked by a landlord's men. Peasants rose up, led by Charu Mazumdar and Kanu Sanyal.
2. Phase one
   The rising spread in West Bengal. It was put down by force, along with some land reforms by the state government.
3. Phase two
   It spread to nine states, including Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, mostly in tribal and forest areas.
4. Methods
   Attacks on public property, officials and security forces; kangaroo courts (illegal courts of their own); forced levies (illegal taxes) on contractors and businesses; opposition to roads and development in forests.
5. Root cause
   Discontent born of long social discrimination and economic deprivation, felt most in some tribal and Dalit (Scheduled Caste) communities that have not yet fully gained from development.

How the government responds

Activity: views on dealing with Naxalism

1. 1
   Write two statements. (1) The government should crush the movement by force alone. (2) The government should have a national policy that stops the violence, speeds up development and invites Naxalites to give up violence.
2. 2
   Ask at least five people, such as friends, family or teachers, whether they agree or disagree with each statement, and why.
3. 3
   Record their reasons in a table, one row per person for each statement.
4. 4
   Compare the reasons. Note which answers deal with root causes, such as deprivation, and which deal only with the violence.
5. 5
   Write a short note on how you would solve the problem, using the lesson's point that it has deep socio-economic roots.