Increasing dependence on violence

Rural youths suffer from multiple problems. First of all, they are largely dependent on agriculture. Population growth, leading to division of land, and the fall in arts and crafts have made the youth dependent on meager land resources and service. In absence of capital and knowledge, and in competition with the market, self employment is not a viable option. So they start looking for jobs as per their educational qualification. This has produced nightmare in several lives (Sharma, 2008). The options are: migration, Naxalite activities, or acceptance of poverty. In the past a large number of people in the working ages decided to migrate but that simply turned the rural population into urban proletariat in big cities. With increasing assertion of the “son of the soil” and discriminatory state policies migration may not remain so attractive. Lack of guidance, organization, capital and adequate government support have made them alienated and helpless. This makes them prey to Naxalite thinking. They are not able to understand their strengths and weaknesses and act rationally or perhaps for many to act rationally is to become a Naxalite.

Violence is a serious threat to state and people of India. Nearly one-third of all the districts of India are affected by Naxalite violence and there have been several terrorist attacks from time to time. It has to be taken seriously. Quite often people associate extremism and terrorism with religious fanaticism or abnormal or insane people. Studies show that terrorists are normal and organized. In a recent paper “Suicide Bombing” Brym has demonstrated that suicide bombers are psychologically stable and their acts are strategic and political. Failure to succeed politically could, however, make terrorists turn to religion. It is also shown that repression could boomerang. Kurzman (2009) shows that terrorism is not a religious phenomenon; Islamic radicals and rank and file emerged from secular universities; they were not the product of orthodox and traditional Islam. English (2009) too maintains that the factors that lie behind terrorism are: revenge, group victimhood, “contested state legitimacy and ethnic and national disaffection.” This point acquires special significance in the Indian context: if neo-social-groups emerge as strong nationalities, deprivation stays, and rapidly growing religion is devoid of humanitarian spirit then the neo-social-groups based conflicts may lead to new forms of violence. In social matters it is difficult to make predictions. The social scientist’s aim to identify risk is only to create an environment in which innovative solutions can be worked out. Yet, the danger of neo-social groups based violence is real.

The following remarks made by Khosla (2002), though in the context of partition are worth noting: