ABSTRACT
Since its outbreak in the March 1967 in Naxalbari village in West Bengal, the Maoist insurgency — also known as left wing extremism, Naxalite movement and people’s war — has embodied a number of armed struggles that are striving for equitable socio-economic development. The formation of the Communist Party of India (CPI) in September 2004 transformed the movement into an organised and co-ordinated insurgency. The aim of the CPI (Maoist) group is to establish a contiguous revolutionary zone stretching from Nepal to Bihar to Andhra Pradesh and beyond. Government actors include the central government, the state governments, police forces and the central paramilitary forces. Since its formation in June 2005 in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, the controversial anti-Naxal Salwa Judum campaign, premised on arming the tribals to fight against the Naxalites, has resulted in a spurt of violence in the southern belt of the Chhattisgarh.
