By 2009, close to fifty thousand people were evacuated and forced to take refuge in camps financed by the government. Reports highlight the burning of villages and arrests by Salwa Judum when such orders are not followed (Sundar 7). Murder and destruction are blamed on Naxalites and those arrested are accused of sympathy and propagation of Naxalite beliefs. Naxal forces have retaliated by bombing trucks carrying Salwa Judum militias and destroying schools being used by the paramilitary (“Maoists in India” 2186). The fear of backlash from security forces and Salwa Judum often prevents the filing of First Incident Reports (FIR). In relation, the displaced are unable to vent their grievances or report adverse living conditions at the camps. Food, water and shelter available are inadequate to accommodate the thousands living in the camps. Provisions like rice and onions that are promised to villagers through rations are never delivered. Limited employment opportunities combined with lack of access to healthcare have led to an increase in the spread of infection.
In order to avail of government funds to acquire basic necessities like food and medicine, the displaced are forced to either become Special
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It is apparent that the menace of Naxalism is not merely a law and order problem. The exploitation of mineral wealth in an agrarian economy, in which the local populations are dependent on, has its own dynamics and constraints. From this project I have concluded that, unless Naxalism is treated in a more holistic manner, which is the topic of a future paper, the brutal cycle of violence and displacement will continue and future generations will be denied the fruits of development that the rest of the country is