Security and development - are they two sides of the same coin? Investigating India's two-pronged policy towards left wing extremism

Abstract

In this article, I investigate India's two-pronged policy approach, which combines security and development intervention to address the root cause and symptoms of left wing extremism. While the two policy sets are meant for two very distinct policy subjects - the angry extremist and the neglected poor - I argue that in renewing state legitimacy against internal dissent, development goals are made to coincide with traditional security concerns for state survival and stability. In this article, I unpack three representations of the problem of left wing extremism - as terrorism, as a parallel regime and as a 'political disorder' - in relation to the particular policy responses they each advocate. Through these three representational frames, the effects that the security imperative has on the idea and practice of development are uncovered.