Reference Text
Time Left10:00
The
Home
Minister
of
India
recently
claimed
that
the
challenge
of
Naxalism
in
the
country
is
on
its
legs>.
His
assessment
stems
from
the
fact
that
the
security
forces
have
been
achieving
signal
successes
against
the
Maoists.
Fifteen
Maoists
were
killed
in
an
encounter
in
the
Konta
area
of
Sukma
district
in
Chhattisgarh
on
August
6.
According
to
the
South
Asia
Terrorism
Portal,
at
least
122
Maoists
have
been
killed
across
the
country
in
the
first
six
months
of
2018.
This
is
the
highest
number
of
fatalities
suffered
by
Maoists
over
the
same
period
during
the
last
eight
years.
It
is
also
a
fact
that
the
total
area
affected
by
Naxalism
has
shrunk
to
90
districts
of
the
country.
The
trajectory
of
Maoist
violence
has
been
showing
a
downward
trend.
A
number
of
central
committee
and
politburo
members
have
been
neutralised.
The
government
of
India's
National
Policy
and
Action
Plan,
with
its
emphasis
on
security
and
development,
is
definitely
making
an
impact.
Apart
from
the
construction
of
roads,
mobile
towers,
setting
up
of
banks,
post
offices,
Kendriya
Vidyalayas,
etc,
the
most
significant
achievement
has
been
in
poverty
reduction.
A
recent
study
published
in
a
Brookings
blog
says
that
by
2022,
less
than
3
per
cent
of
Indians
will
be
poor
and
that
extreme
poverty
could
be
eliminated
altogether
by
2030.
The
above
trends
are,
no
doubt,
positive.
It
would,
however,
be
naïve
to
think
that
we
are
about
to
see
the
end
of
Naxalism/Maoism
in
the
country.
If
a
historical
overview
were
taken
of
the
movement
during
the
last
more
than
50
years,
there
were
two
occasions
in
the
past
when
the
government
of
India
thought
that
the
Naxal
movement
had
been
disintegrated.
The
split
in
the
party,
the
joint
army-police
operations
^/
'Operation
Steeplechase',
as
it
was
called
!#
from
July
1
to
August
15,
1971
followed
by
the
arrest
and
subsequent
death
of
Charu
Majumdar
on
July
28,
1972,
gave,
what
then
appeared
to
be
a
coup
de
grace
to
the
movement.
The
Home
Minister
of
India
recently
claimed
that
the
challenge
of
Naxalism
in
the
country
is
on
its
legs>.
His
assessment
stems
from
the
fact
that
the
security
forces
have
been
achieving
signal
successes
against
the
Maoists.
Fifteen
Maoists
were
killed
in
an
encounter
in
the
Konta
area
of
Sukma
district
in
Chhattisgarh
on
August
6.
According
to
the
South
Asia
Terrorism
Portal,
at
least
122
Maoists
have
been
killed
across
the
country
in
the
first
six
months
of
2018.
This
is
the
highest
number
of
fatalities
suffered
by
Maoists
over
the
same
period
during
the
last
eight
years.
It
is
also
a
fact
that
the
total
area
affected
by
Naxalism
has
shrunk
to