The Origin and the Status of Left Wing- Extremism in the Indian State Of Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

Left-wing extremism began with the launching of Communist Party of India (CPI) in 1925. The party tried to secure independence for India from the British rule on the lines of Russian Revolution. Many tribal uprisings and the peasant revolts in the country during the British rule directly or indirectly had the influence of the Communist Movement. Stalin’s advice to give up violent methods in 1951 resulted in the split of CPI with the breakaway group naming itself as Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M). After the CPI (M) joined the government in West Bengal, the disgruntled leaders later formed the CPI (Marxist-Leninist) and continued with their revolutionary methods. Charu Mazumdar who led the Naxalbari peasant uprising in 1967 led the CPI (ML). The governments at State and Central level took drastic steps to curb Naxalism, which continued in one form or the other with splinter groups operating in various areas. In the State of Andhra Pradesh in South India, the Naxal Movement started with the Srikakulam uprising in 1967. The movement became active once again in 1980s after the uprising was quelled by the police and the paramilitary forces. It continued to be active in the undivided State of Andhra Pradesh. In 2004 the formation of CPI- Maoists threw up a new challenge to the government. A slew of welfare schemes in Andhra Pradesh introduced by various governments especially the YSRCP government, has been successful to a large extent in preventing people from joining the ranks of Maoists. The paper deals with the origin of Left-Wing extremist movement in India and its spread to the State of Andhra Pradesh, its course and decline by using secondary sources of data and also the authors’s field visits to the Naxal infested areas of Visakhapatnam district.