Unrest in Tribal Areas: Left Wing Extremism

The majority of tribal districts are facing problems of violence during the last couple of decades. Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are the worst-affected States. Of the 76 left-wing extremist-affected districts in the country today, 32 are PESA districts.

• The LWE districts extend across significant parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, leading to the term, ‘The Red Corridor’.
• However, some analysts pertinently argue that the analogy of ‘The Speckled Band’ more aptly describes the Maoists’ area of influence, given they have control over some selected forested pockets in the districts stretching across the heart of central India.
• This includes the epicentre of the banned party’s base in the Dandakaranya region, a vast forested area on the borders of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
• While the senior leadership of the party is mostly drawn from non-tribal communities, much of the rank and file comes from local villages and has built on their grievances emanating from the non implementation of PESA.