Red corridor

The Red Corridor is a term used to describe an impoverished region in the east of India that experiences considerable Naxalite communist insurgency. These are also areas that suffer from the greatest illiteracy, poverty and overpopulation in modern India, and span parts of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal states.^[1][2][3]

Naxalites have been declared as a terrorist organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of India (1967).^[4][5][6][7] According to the Government of India, as of July 2011, 83 districts (figure includes proposed addition of 20 districts) across nine states are affected by Left Wing Extremism^[8][9] down from 180 districts in 2009.^[10]

Economic situation

The districts that comprise the Red Corridor are among the poorest in the country. Bihar has the lowest per-capita State Domestic Product (SDP) of any Indian state (see main article: States of India by size of economy),^[11] and Uttar Pradesh and Orissa are also among the poorest states in the country. Other areas encompassed by the Red Corridor, such as Chattisgarh state and the Telengana region of Andhra Pradesh, are also either impoverished or have significant economic inequality, or both.^[12][13]

A key characteristic of this region is non-diversified economies that are solely primary sector based. Agriculture, sometimes supplemented with mining or forestry, is the mainstay of the economy, which is often unable to support rapid increases in population.^[14][15][16] The region has significant natural resources, including mineral, forestry and potential hydroelectric generation capacity. Orissa, for example, "has 60 percent of India’s bauxite reserves, 25 percent of coal, 28 percent of iron ore, 92 percent of nickel and 28 percent of manganese reserves."^[17]

Social situation

The areas encompassed by the Red Corridor tend to have stratified societies, with caste and feudal divisions. Much of the area has high indigenous tribal populations (or adivasis), including Santhal and Gond. Bihar and Jharkhand have both caste and tribal divisions and violence associated with friction between these social groups.^[18][18][19] Andhra Pradesh's Telangana region similarly has deep caste divides with a strict social hierarchical arrangement.^[20][21] Both Chattisgarh and Orissa have significant impoverished tribal populations.^[22][23][24]

Districts affected

The Orissa gap

The Red Corridor is almost contiguous from India's border with Nepal to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu. There is, however, a significant gap consisting of coastal and some central areas in Orissa state, where Naxalite activity is low and indices of literacy and economic diversification are higher.^[26][27][28] However, the non-coastal districts of Orissa which fall in the Red Corridor have significantly lower indicators, and literacy throughout the region is well below the national average.^[26][29]

References