Naxalite Rebellion: Disenfranchisement, Ideology and Recognition of a Non International Armed Conflict

The military conflict within India’s borders whose origins are in the marginalisation of tribal peoples involves the government forces and the Naxalite rebels. This conflict has become more intense in the last decade with land being acquired to enable corporations to mine resources and the lack of redress for the Adivasi, who are the indigenous people who inhabit these territories. The alienation of the rural communities and tribes from the north eastern states, which are located on the ‘red corridor’ is because the government has failed to implement protection for Scheduled Tribes who carry a protected status in the Indian constitution. The Naxalite movement has launched a violent struggle which has led to an emergency declared under Article 355, and there has been an incremental increase in the rate of fatalities. The failure of public interest litigation and the enforcement of the Armed Forces Special Power Act (afsa) means that the domestic remedies for empowerment are not successful. The breach of human rights has to be assessed against the insurgency of the Naxalite guerillas and the Geneva Conventions that are applicable under the Non International Armed Conflict (niac). This paper will assess the rural origins of the conflict, environmental damage and the litigation by the Adivasi communities before addressing the rules under which the protections are available in the international humanitarian law. This will argue for the strict implementation of the Geneva Conventions and for niac to be liable for intervention as an International Armed Conflict (iac).