The article, “On a different trajectory” (October 24), about the Naxalbari movement and after, has rightly analysed the decline and the fall of the Maoist/Naxalite movement in India. It is a bitter historical reality that an organisation and an ideological movement that championed the cause of the underprivileged and oppressed sections of society have changed track. It is pertinent to mention here that incidents such as the abduction of Sukma District Collector Alex Paul and the killing of Francis Induwar along with a number of cold blooded massacres of civilians by the Naxalites have exposed their scant respect and regard for human rights and civility.
The leaders of the movement need to realise that resorting to violence, threats and intimidatory tactics to fulfil their objectives and goals is totally unacceptable in a democratic country such as ours. The politics of violence and extremism practised in the past have outlived their utility and have no place in a civilised world. Those who empathise with the Naxal movement need to introspect over whether an organisation that espouses the use of violence and bloodshed is really committed to the needs and aspirations of the oppressed and the underprivileged. An effective strategy to counter Naxalism is by stepping up developmental activities in the most backward areas.
B. Suresh Kumar,
Coimbatore
