Day 75 – Q 3.Are you aware of the term ‘urban naxal’? Is it a mere rhetoric or it has some substance? Critically comment.

3. Are you aware of the term ‘urban naxal’? Is it a mere rhetoric or it has some substance? Critically comment. 

क्या आप ‘शहरी नक्सल‘ शब्द से अवगत हैं? क्या यह महज बयानबाजी है या इसमें सचमुच कुछ पदार्थ है? समालोचनात्मक टिप्पणी करें।

Introduction:

The phrase of Urban Naxals, which is not clearly defined, is loosely attributed to the people with naxalite bent of mind residing in urban areas and working as activists, supporters and protectors of the ideology while the active Naxals battle it out in the jungles and vast swathes of Maoist-dominated areas. But in recent times, anybody raising strong questions against the government is being perceived as an urban naxal, which is a very serious malice.

Body

• The concept of “urban Naxalism” refers to an old Maoists strategy to focus on urban centres for leadership, organise masses, build a united front and engage in military tasks such as providing personnel, material and infrastructure.
• 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.
• The role of the Urban Movement within the military strategy of the Maoists has been best explained by Mao Tse Tung thus: “the final objective of the revolution is the capture of the cities, the enemy’s main bases and this objective cannot be achieved without adequate work in the cities”.
• The security establishment add that the CPI (Maoist) give immense importance to its ‘urban movement’ not just for the leadership, but for providing supplies, technologies, expertise, information and logistic support by overground activists.
• The main focus of the Maoists’ urban work is to organise the masses, including the working class, students, middle class employees, intellectuals, women, dalits and religious minorities. It explains the need to create front organisations for extending the reach of the organisation.
• Another key point is that while focussing on the organised sector, it also highlights the need to mobilise the unorganised segment as well. It adds that the urban movement should involve sending cadres to the countryside, supplying arms and ammunition, infiltrating enemy ranks and sabotage actions.
• Here, the Maoists seem to be acting on a long-term perspective plan. In their scheme of things, they hope to gain control over the working class movement and use it appropriately at a later stage when their so called New Democratic Revolution advances and furthers. 
• In the immediate to short-term –– according to an internal document of the CPI (Maoist) –– the objective is to gain control over key (strategic) industries such as communication, oil and natural gas, coal, transport, power, defence production, etc with a view to inflicting ‘damage’ on the state’s capacity to fight the rebels, either through organising sabotage activities or bringing production to a halt.
• But at the same time, over the past few years, some commentators in the country have been frequently using the term “Urban Naxal” to label anyone – from academics to activists – who questions the policies of the state or are perceived to be anti-establishment. These commentators say that these activists are covertly aiding those who are working to break India, such as Naxalites and Kashmiri separatists.
• According to the present narrative, ‘Urban Naxals’ are a group of people trying to destroy all that is Indian by encouraging “Breaking India” forces such as the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and foreign-funded Christian missionaries. It does not matter that there is little evidence to support any such claim.
• The demonisation of activists is more dangerous in India because  the State is seen to be using such rhetoric to justify its excesses. In this context, many Left-leaning activists have been wrongly linked with Naxals, while most of them are an anathema to the insurgents.
• Such an approach is in turn leading to giving an upper hand to insurgents as  it perpetuates a myth about their spread and might, something that is essential for an underground warrior and also pushes students, academics, etc towards their cause due to constant hounding as “urban naxals”.

Conclusion

Naxal movement is not an entirely internal security issue. The factors for its spread are still present even in urban areas, which need to be controlled. At the same time, to paint overt and peaceful political rebellions as Naxalism is bad tactic, a political and moral blunder, which should be avoided. Rather, the government should focus on curtailing the propaganda of the real Maoists.