Mamoona Ali Kazmi Recently, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has admitted that it was the governments flawed development model in most backward tribal districts that was responsible for the rise of Naxalism. The Naxal-in habited states have large tribal populations with poor infrastructure. Corruption, displacement due to large-scale projects, inability to avail of the benefits from mining of mineral resources, and exploitation by local officials add to increased resentment and increased reception to Naxal ideology. In such circumstances, supporting Naxals is a far better option for the tribals. About 200 districts out of 600 are under Naxalite rule. They rule there because the people in these places support them in a majority and believe in them because the Naxalites give them food, money and also the land snatched from the rich landowners and exploiters. In reality, Naxalites are active in the areas where the poorest of the poor live. Primary government facilities, like schools and healthcare centres, are practically absent in the Naxal-in habited areas. Infant mortality rates are among the highest in the world owing to malnutrition and hunger. Estimates suggest the infant mortality rate to be at 47 percent in the Naxalite-affected regions of the country, a condition worse than Sub-Saharan Africa. According to ShankkerAiyar: Each of the 80 worst Naxal-affected districts have no schools, poor healthcare, exploitative feudalism, no employment opportunities, and pathetic social infrastructure. Over three lakh villages have no road connectivity. For example, Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh is on the list of 100 worst districts list for the past two decades. So, despite being well aware of the reasons that are behind the rise of Naxalism, the Indian government is only depending upon the use of force to end that problem. It is paying no heed to the problems that give rise to Naxalism. In fact, the Indian administration believes that Naxalism is a war that has to be tackled through force. It most of the time forgets that Naxals are alienated Indian citizens, and once their grievances are addressed the Naxal movement will come to an end. According to Arundhati Roy: The people in Indias mineral heartland are tribals, who are the poorest of the poor, and the governments war against Indias indigenous people is a frightening and unjust one. Indias Naxal problem is complex and tends to find its justification in the deep-rooted and centuries old exploitation of the poor, particularly the tribal community, by local landlords and corrupt politicians. There is a high incidence of crimes committed against the tribal community. These include bonded labour, rape, and silencing any opposition or dissent by murder and other violence. The landlords who commit these evils escape prosecution and punishment due to the support of corrupt and failing state agencies like the police. The Indian government has made no attempt to reach out to these citizens and address their problems, or to prosecute those who have committed crimes. The poor are systematically denied official assistance to address issues, including food security, unemployment and the depletion of natural resources. Neither the state, nor the central government, has attempted to identify whether official schemes such as public food distribution shops or government health services are available to people in the region. In addition to the failure of public welfare schemes, the government is also responsible for sponsoring indiscriminate mining and the destruction of natural resources in the region all in the name of development. In Chhattisgarh, for instance, several large-scale mining operations have been commissioned in the past six years with complete disregard to the life and security of the community members living there. A government website highlights the states 'red-carpet policy to private entities extracting mineral resources; however, makes no mention of the policies regarding peoples loss of livelihoods and displacement, or the operations environmental impact. It is thus clear that the state governments in Naxalite-affected regions have failed to address deep-rooted issues plaguing the population living below the poverty line. Unfortunately, it is this deprived and oppressed population that falls prey to the Naxalite ideology. The land grab movement of the Indian government in the name of development, industrialisation and market-based economic activities adds to the alienation of the Naxals. Millions of common people, small and marginal farmers, besides those belonging to the low caste or other sects, are ousted from their habitations. Grabbing land in the name of development has been going on in 'Shining India for quite some time. But over the last few years there is a new consciousness among those who are being evicted. If they get together and fight, they can resist land takeover even in the most distant tribal areas where modernity is yet to reach. A message has gone around that if they stand together and fight, which may occasionally mean killing their adversaries; they can protect their land and livelihood. Naxal problem is a result of ignoring the 'basic realities such as underdevelopment of their areas, and their severe deprivation and backwardness. The Naxal movement gets sustenance because the government does not treat it as a politico-ideological and socio-economic problem, and that the movement is symptomatic of a society, which is anxious to usher in social change. Basically, it is the failure of the state machinery and the bankruptcy of official policy, which explains the growing clout of the Naxalites. It is the rising consciousness of the deprived sections of society, who are today more determined than ever before to struggle for land, forest resources, minimum wages, social dignity and self-governance. However, the Indian administration always handles the issue through force by claiming that the Naxals are involved in aimless violence. If the Maoists have taken up arms, they have done so because a government which has given them nothing but violence and neglect now wants to snatch away the last thing they have i.e. their land. Union Food Processing Minister Subodh Kanath Sahay, rightly, pointed out: The states should realise the fact that the growth of Naxalites is because of the existing socio-economic problems there. The states have failed to achieve the desired development and unless these problems are properly addressed, the Maoists wont be uprooted. India cannot tackle this menace through coercive methods and it needs to tackle the causes of rebel movement such as poverty, landlessness and unemployment. The writer is a freelance columnist.