A.6. Development and extremism: Current situation
Lives claimed by Naxalism have come down drastically in recent years due to better center-state cooperation hence the areas are seeing better growth and the basic needs of people are being addressed.
General elections are being concluded peacefully and even districts of Bastar and Dantewada which were hotspots of Naxal activity too voted in reasonably good numbers.
This indicates the situation is under control for the time being, but the government cannot be complacent until it is uprooted completely. There are still surprise attacks where that inflict substantial damage on the paramilitary forces. The vigor of the attack suggests that they are not demoralized, but it appears that they are waiting for the right time to raise their head. So the government instead of being reactionary must go after them proactively. But it has a herculean challenge of doing it democratically.
There should be a two-pronged approach to counter it, one at the ideological level and the other at the physical level. In the former case, good governance by the government and delivering good results in fields of Education, Health, and overall standard of living will be instrumental.
