The country's Maoists, the CPI (Maoist), have abandoned the path of armed revolution and are ready for a one-month temporary ceasefire. They demand that the government also declare a one-month ceasefire and stop military action and that the government's response to the announcement made on social media be communicated through social media or radio. It is believed that the Maoists have changed their mind after facing heavy setbacks for the past few months. The Chhattisgarh government has stated that it is examining the authenticity of the statement and will discuss it. Although the Maoists had made similar suggestions earlier, the Centre and the Chhattisgarh government did not respond favourably. Political parties, including the CPM and various civil rights organisations, have since then demanded that the Maoists be ready for talks even though they do not agree with the Maoists' politics and methods of operation. The Union Home Ministry estimates that there is a Maoist presence in more than ten states, including Kerala. More than 400 police stations are under threat from Maoists. Maoists have from time to time made their presence known in the tribal areas of Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana are the states where they have an active presence. They are also present in Bengal and Maharashtra. The Maoists' announcement has now come from Chhattisgarh, which is the scene of constant clashes.
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The clashes between the Maoists and the security forces have been intense for the past few months. The government claims that more than 500 Maoists have been killed this year alone. In the meantime, many ordinary villagers who had no idea who the Maoists were or what their ideology was have also been killed and branded as Maoists. Balakrishnan, the secretary and top commander of the Maoist Odisha State Committee; his associates Pramod alias Pandarna; Vimal alias Mangana; Commander Vikram Gowda, who was the head of the Maoist military operations; and Basavaraju alias Nambala Kesava Rao, the general secretary of the Bastar region; and many other Maoist leaders for whom the state governments had placed a price of crores on their heads have already been killed. There are strong allegations that many of the killings, including those in Kerala, were fake encounter killings. The country has also lost many security force personnel in Maoist attacks and anti-Maoist operations. In Karnataka and Telangana, many Maoists surrendered after accepting rehabilitation benefits. This trend is increasing in other states as well.
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Now when the Union Home Minister has announced that the country will be free from the Maoist threat by 2026, the government should see the Maoists' willingness to cease fire as an opportunity. The central and state governments should be ready to keep the doors of discussion open. Rajnath Singh, who was the Home Minister during the first Modi government, had repeatedly stated that he was ready for discussions if the Maoists stopped violence, but that did not materialise. It is in the areas where there is gross exploitation by the authorities, politicians, and big businessmen that Maoistsare able to make inroads with their influence. . The reluctance of governments and local administrations to address the problems and grievances of the people is paving the way for this. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has allocated 937 hectares of forest land to pave the way for a large mining company in the Gadchiroli region of Maharashtra, where a major Maoist hunt has been going on for some time now. 1.23 lakh trees will be felled in the name of this project. Although the government and companies call such activities as development, which are carried out by flouting and cutting down tribal and forest rights laws, it will lead to making the lives of the real owners of the forest a living hell.
Instead of thinking about sustainable development projects that do not compromise on the welfare and safety of the indigenous people, all the mainstream political parties remain silent when the tribals are uprooted from the land where they were born and raised for the sake of big mining companies without any norms. Civil rights and people's activists like Stan Swamy, who question it, will be branded Maoists, suppressed, and imprisoned. It is at such times that the Maoists get local support. The government needs to take immediate steps to study such situations and avoid exploitation at all levels. The lives of the country's citizens are being lost in clashes and in the midst of Maoist vs government conflicts. The government is spending tens of thousands of crores of rupees that should have been spent on the development of the country in the name of chasing Maoists. If successive governments had been willing to spend a quarter of that amount on the development of the backward tribal areas of the country, it would have been possible to eliminate the Maoist presence long ago in a completely bloodless manner. The government itself should take the initiative so that no opportunity is wasted to ensure peace. Only if the positions of both sides are honest and sincere will the country see the desired results.
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