Urban Naxals | Latest Burning Issues 2018

URBAN NAXALS

Naxalism – Left Wing Extremism
The term Naxal derives from the name of the village Naxalbari in West Bengal, where the movement had its origin. Naxalites are considered far-left radical communists, supportive of Maoist political sentiment and ideology.
Naxalism is actually based on the principles of Maoism to achieve a similar transformation in India.

NOTES A 2004

Communist Party of India (Maoist) document titled “Urban Perspective” elaborates on this strategy with one of the most important focus areas being on gaining leadership from urban areas. In relation, the security establishment believes that with ageing leadership the Maoists have been looking at cities and towns for leaders. It feels that this is keeping in line with the tradition that most of their top leaders are well educated people from universities.

COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MAOIST)

The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is a Maoist communist party in India which aims to overthrow the government of India through people’s war.
CPI(Maoist) is designated as a terrorist organisation in India under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. ORIGIN
The CPI (Maoist) was formed in 2004 with the merger of the Communist Party of India (MarxistLeninist) People’s War, commonly known as the People’s War Group, and the Maoist Communist Centre of India.
And it has been functioning under this banner since then.

LEGAL STATUS

The party is regarded as a “left-wing extremist entity” and a terrorist outfit by the Indian government. Several of their members have been arrested under the now-defunct Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act. The group is officially banned by the state governments of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh, among others. The party has protested these bans. The Indian government, led by the United Progressive Alliance, banned the CPI (Maoist) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) as a terrorist organisation on 22 June 2009. On 22 June 2009, the central home ministry, keeping in mind the growing unlawful activities by the group, banned it under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

THE BAN Following the ban,

the Maoists are liable for arrest under the UAPA. After the ban, they are barred from holding rallies, public meetings and demonstrations, and their offices, if any, will be sealed and their bank accounts frozen

THE RECENT ARREST

Recently, Pune Police arrested five persons across different cities In connection with a probe on the Bhima-Koregaon riots in January 2018 2018

BHIMA KOREGAON VIOLENCE

The 2018 Bhima Koregaon incident refers to violence that broke out following an annual celebratory gathering at Bhima Koregaon to mark the 200th year of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon Investigation by the police in the following months resulted in various arrests, such as that of a former Jawaharlal Nehru University alumnus, Rona Wilson, in June 2018. In August 2018 five activists, including Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navlakha, were picked up in simultaneous raids across the country, with police subsequently claiming that the activists had ties to Maoists, apart from links to the Bhima Korgaon incident.

ASSASSINATION PLOT

The police then had presented a letter that implicated the accused in a plot to assassinate the Prime Minister.

URBAN NAXALS

The erstwhile UPA government had in a counter-affidavit filed in Supreme Court in November 2013 said that academicians and activists in urban centres had come to control “mass organisations” organically linked to Maoists under the cover of human rights.

HOUSE ARREST

SC orders house arrest in interim relief for 5 activists, no police custody
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also waded into the controversy over the arrests, saying “it appears” standard operating procedure was not properly followed and this may amount to a violation of the human rights of those arrested.

DISSENT IS THE FOUNDATION OF DEMOCRACY DISSENT

The holding or expression of opinions at variance with those commonly or officially held Supreme Court’s comment while hearing a plea arrest of the activists. It had said that “Dissent is the safety valve of democracy. If you don’t allow the safety valve, the pressure cooker will burst.”