NAXALISM

The word Naxalism is derived from Naxalbari, a hilly area in Northern Bengal where peasants forcibly occupied lands in an anti-land lord movement if 1967. The movement was lauded by China as a step to create a ‘liberated base’ from which to launch armed revolution in India. Since then the term ‘Naxalite’ was applied to the radical Indian communists led by Charu Mazumdar who called for an armed struggle by peasants and an encirclement of cities, on the model of China’s communist revolution led by Mao Zedong.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist) generally called People’s War Group (PWG) is the largest Maoist rebel group in conflict with the Government.

The Maoists have spread their tentacles in many states like Orissa, West Bengal, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar and some parts of Maharashtra.