Modi Transformation eliminating 'Urban Naxals'

Since the Modi government came to power in 2014, villages in India have changed beyond imagination.

- M.D. NALAPAT

Union Minister for Home Amit Shah has shown by his actions that he is uncompromising when going after a target, and "Urban Naxals" have from the start of his tenure been on the list of "enemies of the state" needing to be eliminated. One by one, those identified as "Urban Naxals" have been uncovered and dealt with. It may be instructive to know a bit more than is commonplace about the phenomenon of Naxalism and its origins in India. It began as far back as 1967, and its leaders were Charu Mazumdar and Kanu Sanyal. They formed a political party, CPI (M-L) inspired by the way in which Mao Zedong had led a peasant army to take over China in 1949. Indeed, "China's Chairman (Mao) our Chairman" was its motto. India was, however, not China, and whatever redistribution of farmland took place from rich peasants to the poorer tillers of the soil proved enough to prevent "A single spark can light a prairie fire" (a favourite saying of Mao) from taking place.