Naxalite movement

Also called: Naxalism, Maoist movement · Topic: The Emergency (1975-77) and the Crisis of Democratic Order · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 5 "Challenges to and Restoration of the Congress System"; Class 12, Ch 6 "The Crisis of Democratic Order"

Meaning

The Naxalite movement was an armed revolution by poor farmers and landless labourers. They wanted to overthrow the capitalist order (a system where land, factories and wealth are privately owned) by force, not through elections. It is named after the Naxalbari uprising of 1967 in Darjeeling district, West Bengal.

It matters for two reasons. First, NCERT uses it to show how some groups gave up on democracy during the crisis of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Second, its later form, left-wing extremism (LWE), became a major internal security issue in India.

Explanation

Origin and formation

• The spark (1967): peasants rose up at Naxalbari in Darjeeling district, West Bengal. Left-wing extremism in India grew out of this uprising and was shaped by Maoist ideas of armed revolution [3].
• The parent party: the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), was formed in 1964 after a split in the CPI [4].
• The breakaway (1969): some CPI(M) members left and formed the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), or CPI(ML).
• Its leader was Charu Majumdar.
• It led the Naxalite movement.

What it believed

• No to elections: it rejected elections and Parliament. It saw them as tools of the rich.
• Yes to force: it believed only an armed revolution could end the capitalist order.
• Who it spoke for: poor farmers and landless labourers. The movement grew out of land hunger and rural poverty.

How it worked and what happened to it

• Guerrilla methods: small armed groups made surprise attacks on landlords and the state.
• Main base: it was strongest in West Bengal.
• Result: the state government crushed it with strong police action.
• Splits: the movement then broke into many groups.

Place in the 1971–75 crisis

• The background: after the 1971 election promise of garibi hatao ("remove poverty"), daily life did not get much better.
• Inflation reached 23% in 1973 and 30% in 1974.

• Rural unemployment was high.

• Two kinds of anger:

• Opposition parties, students and railway workers protested within the democratic system.
• The Naxalites stepped outside it and took up arms.

In the Constitution and practice

• Who handles it (Seventh Schedule): Police and Public Order are State List subjects (List II, Entries 2 and 1).
• So the states lead the fight against the movement.

• The Union helps with forces and funds.

• Later merger (2004): two of the biggest groups joined together on 21 September 2004 to form the CPI (Maoist) [2]. They were:

• the People's War (PW/PWG), active in Andhra Pradesh, and

• the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI), active in Bihar and nearby areas.

• Ban under law (2009): the Union government added the CPI (Maoist) to its list of terrorist organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) [5].

• Current status: a June 2026 PIB backgrounder says that combined security and development work has defeated LWE. It describes a "Naxal-free India" [6]. Check the latest official position before you write about it in an exam.
• Lasting effect: a 1967 peasant uprising in one district grew into India's main internal security challenge. Today it is studied under GS-III internal security.

Don't confuse with

• CPI(M) (1964): the parent party. It takes part in elections and Parliament. The CPI(ML) broke away from it because it rejected parliamentary politics.
• CPI(ML) (1969) vs CPI (Maoist) (2004):
• CPI(ML) was the original Naxalite party, led by Charu Majumdar.

• CPI (Maoist) was formed much later, by the PWG + MCCI merger [2].

• Railway strike of May 1974: this was protest within democracy. Workers led by George Fernandes asked for bonus and better service conditions. The Naxalites rejected democracy altogether.

• Naxalbari uprising vs Naxalite movement: Naxalbari (1967) was a single uprising at one place. The Naxalite movement is the wider armed movement that took its name from that uprising.

Prelims Hooks

• Naxalbari uprising: 1967, Darjeeling district, West Bengal.
• CPI(ML): 1969, led by Charu Majumdar. Its members broke away from the CPI(M), which was itself formed in 1964 [4].
• CPI (Maoist) = PWG + MCCI, merged on 21 September 2004 [2].
• CPI (Maoist) was listed as a terrorist organisation under UAPA, 1967, in 2009 [5].
• Trap: Police (Entry 2) and Public Order (Entry 1) are in the State List (List II), not the Union List. States lead the fight against LWE.
• Trap: the Naxalites did not contest elections. They rejected Parliament as a tool of the rich.

Mains Points

• Dissent outside vs inside democracy (GS-I): in 1971–74, war costs, the oil shock, a failed monsoon and high inflation turned the hope of garibi hatao into anger.
• The Naxalites took up arms against the system.
• Students, the opposition and railway workers protested within it.

• The state used force against both. A good answer can ask whether treating legal protest as a law-and-order problem helped cause the 1975 Emergency.

• Root causes and response (GS-I/GS-II): the movement grew from land hunger and rural poverty. Its later decline came from security action combined with development work [6]. This shows that gaps in governance matter as much as policing.

• Federal sharing of the burden (GS-II): Police and Public Order are State subjects, so states lead and the Union supports with forces and funds. LWE spread across state borders, so this case shows why Union–state cooperation is needed for internal security.

Related concepts

• Oil shock of 1973
• Railway strike of 1974

Read more

• Economic crisis and unrest after 1971