NOIDA (Uttar Pradesh), July 27 (ANI): Participating in a panel discussion on the topic of ' Problem of Naxalism in India', former Union Cabinet Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said there were "no security-based solutions for the problem of Naxalism."
Trying to decipher the reasons behind the emergence of the movement, Aiyar reasoned that - "the amendment in 1984 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894 allowed private companies unrestricted access to the properties of the poor tribals."
According to Aiyar, it spread discontent among the poorest of the poor, which in turn, sowed the seeds of naxalism.
Aiyar referred to the problem of Naxalism as a political and administrative problem rather than a problem of the army.
"The fight is about the rights, and, that's why a common man resorts to arms," he said.
Trying to assess the potential reasons behind the growth of Naxalism in India, he said, "Years ago, the tribal people withdrew into the forests to keep themselves away from the so called civilizing influences. They kept to their own practices and remained at an extraordinarily low level of economic livelihood. Then, "modernization" really hit upon India in 1947, and since then, the number of tribal people who have been displaced amounts to a cumulative total of 60-65 million (6.5 crores)."
"As result of which frustration, anger and fury grew among the most quiescent tribal people of India. They suffered from dissatisfaction at individual level, community level and state level, and, a sense of total disempowerment. Economic development, with the sole concern about GDP rate and with little concern with what happens to the people, demands that maximum resources should be acquired from land, above the land and most importantly, the wealth which is below the land," Aiyar added.
"Over the course of the last 30 years, as a result of the actions of independent India and with the delighted collaboration of huge number of state governments that have seen great benefits to themselves by bringing in capital investment even from outside India, including the largest single foreign private investment ever made by the Republic of Korea anywhere in the world, we have a complete disconnect between the rising curve of economic growth and the rising curve of people's discontent," said Aiyar.
"Increasingly in recent years, there has been an increase in the entry of outsiders into the tribal property because much of our mineral resources are to be found under the lands where the tribals are settled for centuries", stressed Aiyar.
Hailing the 73rd Constitutional Amendments of 1992, which shows the path to empowerment of the representative institutions of the local community, Aiyar opined that- "Local empowerment and giving the tribals a sense of belonging to their landholdings would go a very long way in curbing the need to take up arms.''
On dealing with Naxalism, Aiyar said, "It's a problem which has been boiling over the years and many ad-hoc solutions have been attempted and none have succeeded. We need to recognise that the spread indicates acquiesce of the people, the reluctant acquiesce of the people, rising to the active collaboration of the people."
"The presence of Naxalism in Dandakaranya Forest is neither an accident or nor something to which there can be an easy security based solution. Unless and until, the state gives a clear alternative in the form of empowerment to the tribal people, the problem of Naxalism can never be tackled properly," Aiyar said.
The panel discussion on the topic 'Problem of Naxalism in India: Ground Realities and Strategic Challenges towards Conflict Resolution' was organised by Amity University at its Noida campus.
The discussion was attended by Lt. Gen. K.M. Seth (Retired), former Governor Tripura and Chattisgarh, E N Rammohan, IPS (Retired), Lt. Gen. V.K. Ahluwalia (Retired) former GOC-in-C Central Command and Shoma Chaudhury, Managing Editor, Tehelka. By Inder Singh BishtANI)
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