Politics of Good Governance and Development in Maoist Affected Scheduled Areas in India: A Critical Engagement

AuthorAnshuman Behera
DOI10.1177/2321023019838649
Date01 June 2019
Published date01 June 2019
Subject MatterArticles
Article
Politics of Good Governance and
Development in Maoist Affected
Scheduled Areas in India: A Critical
Engagement
Anshuman Behera1
Abstract
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 margin-
alization, poverty and economic underdevelopment. Various development and governance schemes
that are packaged with the brand of ‘Good Governance and Development’ in these areas have aggra-
vated 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 com-
munities 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 initia-
tives. 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.
Keywords
Scheduled areas, governance mechanism, development, Maoists, natural resources, local communities
Introduction
The strong relationship among governance, development (in terms of economic growth and moderniza-
tion) and conflict has been extensively investigated. A dominant narrative on the relationship between
development and conflict highlights two opposite directions in a feedback loop: conflict retards
Studies in Indian Politics
7(1) 44–55, 2019
© 2019 Lokniti, Centre for the
Study of Developing Societies
Reprints and permissions:
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DOI: 10.1177/2321023019838649
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1 National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
Corresponding author:
Anshuman Behera, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bengaluru, Karnataka
560012 India.
E-mail: beheraisanshuman@gmail.com

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