Maoism and the costs of Indigenous subaltern citizenship

Abstract

Abstract Chapter 5 explains the contested social, economic, and political roots of the Maoist conflict in Jharkhand. The chapter interrogates the positioning of the Adivasis as ‘Maoist sympathizers’, showing empirically that the influence of the Maoists in caste- and tribe-dominated areas of Jharkhand have been very different, and that the relations between Maoists and Adivasis, as well as between Maoists and other marginalized citizens, have been strained. After explaining how the Maoists entered Jharkhand and the various counter-insurgency operations across the region, the chapter evaluates the impact of the conflict on Indigenous subaltern citizenship and the emerging movements aiming to reclaim constitutional rights.