Book Review – Maoism In India: Reincarnation Of Ultra-Left Wing Extremism In The Twenty-First Century

1.      The author has put across his views on the rise of Maoism in India, which has been primarily attributed to the failure of both Colonial and the Indian State to implement land reforms and adoption of Nehruvian model of development as opposed to the Gandhian model of economic development.

2.      The author Bidyut Chakrabarty is a Professor in Political Science in University of Delhi and has written several books on the similar subjects while Dr Rajat Kujur is a Lecturer in Political Science at G.M. College, Sambalpur, Orissa.  He has made in-depth study of Maoism in Orissa. Their experience in the subject and detailed research work has led to significant contribution in the book.  The authors have attempted to answer issues like: Is Maoism reflective of the growing disenchantment of the people with the state?  Is it a comment on the ‘the distorted development planning’ pursued by the Government?  Is this an outcome of the processes of the ‘deepening of democracy’ in India?

3.      The author, through historical analysis, has attributed the rise of Maoism in India to the failure of development paradigm pursued by the Government which has disregarded the socio-economic requirements of ‘the peripheral’ sections of the society and aggravated their prevailing discontent. The fact has also been corroborated by the Expert Committee appointed by the Government. The author however considers Maoism to be still in embryonic stage and has also highlighted several ills of the Maoist cadres for justification.

4.      The authors have given an insight into the roots of Maoism, its growth and have attempted to comment on its future in India. The author agrees that the organizational evolution of the Maoism in India is a continuity of the erstwhile Naxalbari movement and drawn out from the Leninism-Marxism and Mao’s political ideas. The author has also identified the subtle differences between Maoism and Naxalism in a very lucid manner. The author has done well to analyse the ideology of Maoism that has enabled it to bind its cadres spreading over almost 13 States. This context driven articulation of Maoism has been identified as one of the most critical factor in the rise of Maoism and perhaps the most effective ideological voice of the downtrodden.

5.      The author has presented a detailed analysis of the Maoist document to identify the stages and components of revolution, the motive force behind the revolution i.e. the proletarian class, targets for the Indian revolution and the major components of the revolution.  According to the author, the Maoists have identified

four major issues for appealing the masses – Support the right to secession (to garner support of regional groups aspiring for secession such as in Kashmir and North East); Condemn caste system; Fight for the cause of dalits; and gender inequality. The author argues that given the prevalence of semi-colonial and semi-feudal system in India, the Indian Maoists will follow the Chinese model to mobilize masses for establishing a new democratic revolution as a prelude to the socialist revolution.

6.      The authors have taken Orissa as a case study to highlight underlying reasons for the spread of Maoism in the State.  They have done well to tabulate and carry out a detailed analysis of the data to arrive at the reasons for spread of Maoism.  There are a few factual inaccuracies in the data presented which could have been paid more attention.

7.      The authors have given a detailed account of the organizational structure of the Maoists and also the impact of ‘Salwa Judum’, a civilian anti-Naxalite movement to counter the mobilization of people towards Maoism.  The author has appropriately dealt on the subject of unification of various factions of Naxalites in India and also the growing nexus between similar organisations in South Asia. The initiatives instituted by the Government of Orissa for surrender and rehabilitation package for Naxals have also been covered in detailed.

8.      The authors argue that the Maoists are caught in a bind over the issue of development work by the government.  The author has highlighted the need for the Maoists to oppose the development work by the government while simultaneously pursuing the basic cause of lack of development in the region.   The author has very aptly summarized the contents as concluding observations at the end of each chapter.  The book provides a useful reading for bureaucrats, politicians, security forces, intelligence agencies, academicians and students of political science.

9.      The author could have paid more attention on the proof reading of the book.  At places the text has been repeated which could have been avoided.  The annotation of the footnotes needed more attention.  Spelling mistakes in the text could also have been avoided.  The price of book appears to be on the higher side. Overall the book is worth reading. The book has been written in a simple language and is able to retain the interest.

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