Analyzing democratic policy decision making and counterinsurgency, Global Challenges Junior Fellow Medha Chaturvedi presented a case study on left-wing extremism in India on March 2. The left-wing insurgency today in India includes roughly 45-50,000 foot soldiers, and is the longest ongoing insurgency in India since its independence in 1947. The growth of and increasing violence by this group is closely linked to the Indian government's treatment of indigenous tribal populations – around 8.2% of the total population – who live in traditional ways in the forests.
To paint a clearer picture of policy failures regarding indigenous populations and the connection to an increasingly violent insurgency, Chaturvedi gave a short history of the left-wing Naxalite movement. Starting in 1947 as a peaceful peasant movement against landowners, the peasants took up arms against the state in the form of sickles and axes in 1967. Thereafter, it became increasingly violent and has continued this way ever since. Based on Maoist ideology, the Naxalite movement has recently moved away from focusing on land ownership and now advocates more broadly on issues ranging from a need for education to poverty to restoring tribal rights. The violence is most marked in areas with the largest forest cover, which are also home to indigenous populations.
Chaturvedi presented the Forest Rights Act of 2006 as a stark example of good intentions written into law that failed because of poor policy implementation. The legislation that sought to correct historical injustices committed against traditional forest dwellers was intended to empower them with certain rights including land ownership and self-governance as well as accountability for maintaining a healthy natural environment.
While the law was well written, Chaturvedi noted, it was very poorly implemented. After visiting several regions and conducting hundreds of interviews with local inhabitants, Chaturvedi saw firsthand that many forest dwellers did not receive the land promised to them in the act. "Policy implementation of this act has often been subjective rather than objective," she commented.
Moreover, with the increasingly violent Naxalite movement often active in areas more densely inhabited by indigenous populations, Chaturvedi noted the government's unwillingness to consult local populations about their treatment. "Being a tribal person is not a crime," she asserted. "Yet the current government incorrectly assumes that all tribal people are Naxalites."
In recent years, left-wing extremists have become more violent and are spreading across wider geographic areas. "Policy implementation is key in resolving issues leading to growing violence and extremism on the left," Chaturvedi emphasized. "The laws and constitutional provisions are already in place, so now it is time to improve their implementation in the real world."
The Global Challenges Fellowship assembles scholars from rising non-Western powers to explore questions in the humanities or social sciences relevant to the most pressing public policy challenges of the 21st century. The Global Challenges Fellowship is generously supported by Volkswagen Stiftung.
Watch a short interview with Chaturvedi below.