New Delhi, March 20: More than 2,500 civilians, a majority of them marginalized tribals, were killed by the Naxals in last five years, the Home Ministry said.
Since 2007, more than 2,500 civilians were killed by the CPI(Maoist) cadres and a majority of them are tribals who are branded as police informers before being brutally tortured and killed.
According to the Home Ministry, tribals and economically underprivileged sections have been the biggest victims of the protracted "people's war" of CPI(Maoist).
"The poor and the marginalised sections like tribals are bearing the brunt of this violence. Many well-meaning liberal intellectuals fall prey to Maoist propaganda without understanding the true nature of Maoist insurgency doctrine which glorifies violence and believes in annihilation of the so-called class enemies," a Home Ministry document says.
Besides, the Naxals do not want root causes like underdevelopment addressed in a meaningful manner since they target in a major way school buildings, roads, railways, bridges, health infrastructure and communication facilities.
"They wish to keep the population in their areas of influence marginalised to perpetuate their outdated ideology. Consequently, the process of development has been set back by decades in many parts of the country under Left Wing Extremist influence," the Home Ministry says.
This needs to be recognised by the civil society and the media to build pressure on Maoists to eschew violence, join the mainstream and recognise the fact that the socio-economic and political dynamics and aspirations of 21st century India are far removed from the Maoist world view," it says.
