| Summary/Abstract |
The use of the term Naxalism has become synonymous with Maoist activities in India. All such activities are branded as Left Wing Extremism (LWE). The Maoist movement calls for a complete transformation of the political, social and economic systems as existing in India. In its essence, it challenges the validity of the Indian Constitution and rejects the Parliamentary system, seeking to replace it with a new social order. It draws its strength from existing weaknesses in society where certain vulnerable sections have been marginalised and exploited and, thus, can be penetrated and swayed by Maoist ideologues, who promise the people a fulfillment of their aspirations and a life of dignity and self-respect. The Naxal movement has a relationship to Communism. Karl Marx propounded that in order to fight feudalism and capitalism, “You must have a scientific philosophy and a sound theory, for a workers movement to be built up on a scientific basis”. In dealing with the problem of social change, Marx examined two concepts, the first dealing with the “forces of production” and the second with the “relations of production”. He was more interested in examining the military concepts of the social revolutionaries, which earlier lay in the domain of great political leaders, legislators and pioneering reformers. According to Marx, the social process would lead to revolution at a certain stage of development and the material productive forces of society would come into conflict with the existing relations of production. He emphasised that change could be
brought out only by revolution and not by peaceful means.1 The Naxal ideology flows from this line of thought.
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