Red Corridor: What Are Naxals Fighting For?

The Naxalbari insurgency was a major uprising that took place in 1967 but has serious ramifications to this date. It gave birth to the Naxalites who frequently target government, tribal, and police workers following their belief in the need for better land rights and jobs for their people. The Red Corridor is one of the areas in the Eastern, southern, and central parts of India that go through numerous Naxalite insurgencies.

Watch the promo of Naxalbari here.

The Naxalite group mostly consists of armed workers of the Communist Party of India. The Red Corridor also majorly constitutes areas that suffer the most from illiteracy, poverty, and overpopulation. Some states that are part of it are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, and eastern Uttar Pradesh states.

Under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of India (1967), all forms of Naxalite organizations have been stated as terrorist organizations. In 2010, Home Secretary of the government, Gopal Krishna Pillai publicly acknowledged that there were legitimate issues with regards to access to forest land, produce, and the distribution of hydropower developments and mining. However, he went on to state that the long-term goal of the Naxalites was to establish an Indian Marxist state. The government continued their fight against the Naxalites and claiming back the land that was taken away unlawfully.

The struggle between the government and the Naxalite has been going on in the background for decades, and ZEE5’s upcoming show Naxalbari focuses on one such aspect of this fight. Starring Rajeev Khandelwal, Tina Datta, Satyadeep Mishra, and Sreejita Dey in pivotal roles, the series promises to be an intense watch portraying the struggles of the officers in their work-life and its impact on their personal life.

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