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"This book critically studies descriptive, normative and ethical aspects of violence to understand the Maoist conflict in India. It studies important but often overlooked issues such as reasons for youth participation in insurgency, the reality and the rhetoric of the urban Maoism debate, rights and entitlements of the local communities and their interactions with the Maoist conflict, and issues of governance and development. The volume, examines the origins of Maoist insurgency, why it continues, the factions, counterinsurgency, impact of violence on education and other development indicator; investigates how a conflict with an alternative idea of democracy violently clashes with an established democratic Indian state; deals with the critical aspects of the Maoist movement in India and the status of Urban Maoism or Urban Naxal; evaluates state responses to the movement and its impact on the economic status of affected communities; discusses the gender dimension of armed conflict through a feminist lens and explores how women navigate through varied socio-cultural and gender norms while participating in the conflict. Studying a wide range of critical issues, this volume will be of interest particularly to scholars of political science, development studies, public administration, security studies, peace and conflict studies and human rights"--

Contrary to popular discourse, the threats emanating from the internal security issues pose serious security threats to the Indian state and its people. Faced with numerous internal security challenges, the Indian experience of dealing with them has been a mixed experience. Arguably, no other country has ever faced such multiple internal security threats, in various forms and intensity than the Indian state. While the threat perception emanating from the internal security challenges has de-escalated over the last few years, they refuse to die down. Considering the immediacy of the issue, this paper critically engages with the contemporary internal security challenges that the Indian state encounters. In doing so the paper reflects upon the very process through which each of these internal security threats operates and highlights the nature and the intensity of threat perception. Through providing a conceptual framework, the paper also evaluates the state's responses to the internal security issues. The paper limits its scope to four major internal security issues in India: The Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), the violent conflicts in the Northeastern states, Separatism and terrorism in Jammu, and Kashmir (J&K), and communal violence and religious radicalization.

A dominant narrative understands the Maoist movement in Odisha as a spillover effect from the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh. On the contrary, the Maoist movement in Odisha can be well understood through the resistance movements led by the communists, tribals, peasants and the labourers. Along with these movements, the Maoists in Odisha have evolved through many forms and shades. While the Maoist movement in Odisha, in its present form, claims to have brought together multiple people's movements under its brand fold, many of these movements continue to be functioning without any link with the Maoists. Despite their independence in nature, these people's movements are mostly engaged with and understood through the prism of the Maoists. The process of linking the people's movements with the Maoists converts the 'social' aspects of the issues, grievances and demands to 'security' centric. Drawing from such understandings of the people's movements and their interactions with the Maoists, the article critically engages with the Maoist movement in Odisha. A major objective of the article is to identify issues and contenders around people's movements and the process through which they interact with the Maoists.

The scheduled areas (SA) of central and eastern India, many of which are affected by the Maoist violence, have been subjected to systematic deprivation of natural resources, long-standing marginalization, poverty and economic underdevelopment. Various development and governance schemes that are packaged with the brand of 'Good Governance and Development' in these areas have aggravated deprivation in terms of land alienation, lack of autonomy of the local communities and multiple exploitations. The Maoists who claim to represent the local communities are often seen imposing their authoritarian diktats over these communities. On the other hand, the Indian state uses a military approach to fight the Maoist violence along with promotion of development initiatives to address the local discontents. The prolonged conflict between the state and the Maoists exposes the local communities to continued exploitation and deprivation. This article highlights the contradictions between the governance mechanisms and development measures vis-à-vis the constitutional provisions related to the autonomy of local communities in the SA. Subsequently, the article interrogates the politics of control and management of natural resources through governance mechanisms and development initiatives. Second, the article identifies the commonalities between the state and the Maoists in terms of their control over the local communities. The article argues that the state-led initiatives and the Maoist movement are both instruments in sustaining the conflict and alienation of the local communities.

A minority group's demand for a separate territory is usually understood as its protest against the majority rule in a democratic setup. While the minority's demand for a separate territory is against the majority rule, it is certainly not against the principles of majoritarianism. In the process of resisting against the majority rule, the minority aspires to be seen as a majority in an exclusive territorial arrangement that it demands. In this case, the minority takes a majoritarian approach to achieve greater democratic rights. This can be called as majority–minority paradox in a democracy. The present article is an attempt to critically understand the Bodoland conflict in Assam; especially as to how the Bodos demand for an autonomous or separate territory on ethnic lines can be seen as a similarly majoritarian approach to democracy. The demand for a separate territory exclusively for the Bodos revolves around the concept of majoritarianism. This article finds a key contradiction in how majority rule is opposed and simultaneously majoritarianism is practiced by groups demanding a separate Bodoland. This article also investigates militant organizations that are allegedly fighting for the "Bodo" cause including the various factions of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland. It also seeks to investigate what happens to the democratic rights of non-Bodos in the majoritarian "minority" politics of the Bodoland Territorial Area District.

Intro -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- Editors and Contributors -- Acronyms -- Part I Introduction -- 1 India's National Security Discourse: A Conceptual Introduction -- Introduction -- National Security Discourse: Conceptual Engagement -- How Mainstream Theories of IR Understand National Security? -- Reasoning Importance of National Security -- Development of National Security Discourse -- Approaches to Study of National Security -- National Security Discourse in India -- Major Themes of the Book -- References -- Part II State-Centric Security Concerns -- 2 India's National Security Narratives: Scope and Challenges -- Introduction -- External Security and Border Management -- Internal Security -- Dominant Non-Traditional Security -- Emerging Challenges of India's National Security -- Conclusion -- References -- 3 India's Quest for Security Through Its Neighbourhood Policy -- Introduction -- Foreign/Neighbourhood Policy -- The Nature of Threats to India's Security -- External Threats -- Internal Threats -- Socio-Historical Explanation of Importance of the Neighbourhood -- Contours of India's Neighbourhood (First) Policy -- Current Phase -- References -- 4 'Secrecy as Security Strategy' in India's Nuclear Governance -- Introduction -- The Security Framework -- The Link Between Doctrine and Strategy -- Is India's Case Exceptional? -- Private Players Participation -- Security of Nuclear Scientists and Engineers -- A Contemplation -- Policy Prescriptions -- References -- 5 India's Higher Defence Organisation: Recent Reforms and the Way Ahead -- Introduction -- India's Higher Defence Organisation -- Recent Changes in India's Higher Defence Organisation -- Establishment of the Chief of Defence Staff -- Setting up of the Defence Planning Committee -- Reforming India's Higher Defence Organisation.

"This volume examines the multiple forms of reasoning in Indian politics and explores a framework to understand it. In the process, it looks at a series of issues involving the relationship between politics and philosophy, including the status of political theory, political practices, identity politics, and political ontology.? The book argues that in the years leading up to and soon after independence, the task of conceptualizing politics was largely in the domain of practising politicians who built theories and philosophical methods, and further took those visions into the practice of their politics. It maintains that Indian politicians since then have not been as inclined to articulate their theories or methods of politics. This book traces the transition from philosopher-politicians to politicians seeking philosophy in Indian polity in the post-independence era and its implications for current practices. It views Indian political philosophy from the standpoints of political theorists, philosophers and practitioners. With expert and scholarly contributions, this volume will be of interest to students and researchers of Indian political thought and political philosophy, social sciences and humanities."--Provided by publisher.

"This book critically examines various facets of conflicts between people and the State arising due to the uneven distribution of natural resources. It provides an overview of the people's movements in Odisha, a resource-rich state in eastern India, reflecting on the conceptual frameworks of conflict, violence and the struggle for rights and resources, and analyses the public policies around natural resources, alongside local strategies and governance. Drawing from extensive field surveys in the villages of undivided Koraput and Kalahandi districts in Odisha, this volume explores the socio-political and economical aspects of people's movements instead of solely viewing them as political and security threats. The authors demonstrate the misappropriations of these movements both by the state and non-state actors for their vested interests. This book offers recommendations for policymakers to draw up a more ready response to mitigate and minimize the conflict and violence and implement equitable policies around land and resources. The volume will be an indispensable read for researchers and students of social history, social reform, tribal and indigenous studies, postcolonial studies, exclusion studies, development studies, political sociology, and South Asian Studies"--

The assertion of (territorial) nationalism by Nepal has serious implications for its bilateral relationship with India. Once dominant, the singular narrative of the upper-caste Hindu Parbatiya nationalism is increasingly encountering competing narratives emerging from the marginalised Janajatis and the Madhesis of Nepal. Accordingly, several nationality sentiments that were sidelined earlier have now become salient. While the India factor in these competing perspectives of nationalist discourses in Nepal appears to be subtle (but important), the growing territorial dimensions to it invariably locates India in a prominent position. This article investigates the implications of the changing dynamics of Nepal's nationalism on its bilateral relationship with India. Looking at the internal dynamics of nationalism discourses in Nepal, the article offers a critical analysis of the territorial disputes between India and Nepal, and its implications on nationalism in Nepal and on the bilateral relationships between India and Nepal.