ABSTRACT
In March 2006, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated that the Naxalite movement is India’s largest national security threat. Derived from the name of a town in West Bengal, Naxalbari, where the movement began, “Naxalite” refers to adherents of an extremist ideology who utilize Maoist tactics to create a “New Democratic Revolution” based on socialism and communism. Naxalite groups, such as the Communist Party of India (Maoist), have terrorized Indians by attacking the police and central security forces. (See Table 9.1 on p. 129 for prominent Naxalite groups between 1969 and the present.) Naxalites have sabotaged industrialization projects and companies; killed hundreds of “class enemies,” such as landlords, business owners, and moneylenders; and assassinated political leaders and their family members. According to the Government of India (2006: 24), Naxalite violence severely affected 76 districts in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. In addition, numerous other districts were also affected or targeted for Naxalite expansion.1
