Expressing deep concern over the support the Maoists were receiving from a section of civil society, West Bengal governor M.K. Narayanan on Friday said that the trend of Maoism had become fashionable in the campuses. “Maoism is becoming a fashionable trend in different states, including West Bengal and students in different
universities are getting attracted,” he said. Mr Narayanan was addressing a seminar on internal security — Securex 2011: Securing the Future — organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
It should be noted that Mr Narayanan had only two days ago visited two Maoist hotbeds — Lalgarh in West Midnapore and Jhalda in Purulia. Mr Narayanan, who is a former National Security Adviser, has sound knowledge about the Maoist menace. He admitted that Maoism appeared to be gaining an upper hand in the minds of the people. “We are seeing a tremendous groundswell of protest following the conviction of Binayak Sen for aiding and abetting the Maoists. The civil society has been encouraged as a result. I find the authorities on the backfoot,” he added.
Claiming that along with terrorism, Maoism posed the biggest threat to internal security of the country, Mr Narayanan said: “In the last two years, Maoist violence has gone up claiming over a thousand lives. 2009-10 has been the worst in terms of violence. The number of those killed by the Maoists topped the 1,000 mark. The casualties suffered by the security forces were the highest ever.”