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Communist Party of India (Maoist)
Encyclopedia
The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is a Maoist political party
in India
which aims to overthrow the government of India through violent means. It was founded on 21 September 2004, through the merger of the People's War
, and the Maoist Communist Centre
(MCC). The merger was announced to the public on October 14 the same year. In the merger a provisional central committee was constituted, with the erstwhile People's War Group leader Muppala Lakshmana Rao
, alias "Ganapathi", as General Secretary.
The CPI (Maoist) are often referred to as Naxalite
s in reference to the Naxalbari
insurrection
conducted by radical Maoists in West Bengal
in 1967.
They claim to be fighting for the rights of the tribes in the forest belt around central India.
That region contains deposits of minerals which are of interest to mining companies like Tata
and Essar
, and there have been numerous human rights violations of the tribal people at the hands of government agencies.
Naxals have been charged by the government with running an extortion economy in the guise of a popular revolution, extorting vast amounts of money from local branches of mining companies and other businesses. They have been involved in several cases of blowing up schools and railway tracks, and accused of keeping the areas under their control away from modernity and development, so they can impose their will on the uneducated rural populace.
In 2006, Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh
referred to the Naxalites as "the single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country." The Indian government, led by the United Progressive Alliance
, banned the CPI (Maoist) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act
(UAPA) as a terrorist organisation on 22 June 2009. As of June 2010, the Indian government has identified 83 districts in nine states as "Naxal-hit".
announced that the newly formed CPI-Maoist would follow Marxism-Leninism-Maoism as its "ideological basis guiding its thinking in all spheres of its activities." Included in this ideology is a commitment to "protracted armed struggle" to undermine and to seize power from the state.
The ideology of the merged group is contained in a "Party Programme." In the document, the Maoists denounce globalization
as a war on the people by market fundamentalists and the caste system
as a form of social oppression.
The Communist Party of India (Maoist) claim that they are conducting a "people's war", a strategic approach developed by Mao Zedong
during the guerrilla warfare phase of the Communist Party of China
. Their eventual objective is to install a "people’s government" via a New Democratic Revolution
.
The party also views Islamist militancy as a struggle towards national liberation against imperialism
, rather than as a clash of civilizations
, and condones it as having parallel goals to the group's own. In the words of deputy leader Koteshwar Rao, or Kishanji: "The Islamic upsurge should not be opposed, as it is basically anti-US
and anti-imperialist in nature. We, therefore, want it to grow." Although it is an extreme left wing political organisation it considers the democratic left parties in India as "class enemies" and has killed some of their supporters in the western part of West Bengal
.
and Andhra Pradesh, as well as in Bihar and the tribal-dominated areas in the borderlands of Chhattisgarh
, Maharashtra
, West Bengal
, and Orissa
. The CPI (Maoist) aims to consolidate its power in this area and establish a Compact Revolutionary Zone from which to advance the people's war in other parts of India. A 2005 Frontline
cover story called the Bhamragad Taluka, where the Madia Gond
Adivasi
s live, the heart of the Naxalite-affected region in Maharashtra
.
, who uses the alias "Ganapati". The highest decision making body of the party is the Politburo
, comprising thirteen or fourteen) members, six of whom were killed or arrested between 2007-10. Amongst those arrested, Kobad Ghandy
is the senior-most member. Other arrested Politburo members include Pramod Mishra, Ashutosh Tudu, and Amitabha Bagchi. Cherukuri Rajkumar
, alias "Azad", the spokesperson for the party, who was gunned down in Andhra Pradesh, was another Politburo member.
Prashant Bose
, alias "Kishan-da", Mallojula Koteswara Rao, alias "Kishenji", and Katakam Sudarshan, alias Anand, are the three most prominent members of the Politburo. Kishenji who was killed by the security forces in November, 2011 headed the Eastern Regional Bureau of the party until his death. Anand currently heads the Central Regional Bureau of the party. The Central Committee of the party, which takes command from the Politburo and passes on the information to its members, has 32 members. The party hierarchy consists of the Regional Bureaus, which look after two or three states each, the State Committees, the Zonal Committees, the District Committees, and the "dalams" (armed squads).
The military wings of the founding organisations, the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (the military wing of the MCCI) and the People's Guerrilla Army (the military wing of the PW), also underwent a merger. The name of the unified military organisation is the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army. P.V. Ramana, of the Observer Research Foundation in Delhi
, estimates the Naxilities' current strength at 9,000-10,000 armed fighters, with access to about 6,500 firearms. Other estimates by Indian intelligence officials and Maoist leaders suggest that the rebel ranks in India number between 10,000 and 20,000, with at least 50,000 active supporters.
The organisation has been holding "Public Courts", which have been described as kangaroo court
s, against their opponents. These "courts" function in the areas under de-facto Maoist control. The Maoists have also taken care to demolish government
institutions under their de facto
jurisdiction.
The military hardware used by Maoists, as indicated through a number of seizures, include RDX
cable wires, gelatine sticks, detonators, country-made weapons, INSAS rifles, AK-47
s, SLR
s, and improvised explosive devices. According to MHA reports, as of October 2008, the CRPF has seized over 6000 kilograms (13,227.7 lb) of explosives in Bihar and 893 kilograms (1,968.7 lb) in Jharkhand. Security forces also recovered codex wire in Jharkhand; this is a highly potent explosive with a blast-range of up to 720 metres (2,362.2 ft), which has so far been used only by modern national armies.
Poppy cultivation is another major source of funding for Maoists in the Ghagra area of Gumla district
in Jharkhand and in parts of Gumla, Kishanganj
and Purnia
districts in Bihar. Security forces claim that opium fields are hidden among maize
crops. Reports from Debagarh district
in Orissa indicate that the Naxals also support hemp cultivation to help fund their activities.
. The group is officially banned by the state governments of Orissa
, Chattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh, among others. The party has protested these bans. On 22 June 2009, the central home ministry
, keeping in mind the growing unlawful activities by the group, banned it under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Earlier, the union home minister, P. Chidambaram
had asked the West Bengal
Chief Minister
, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, to ban the Maoists following the Lalgarh
Violence
.
Following the ban, the Maoists are liable for arrest under the UAPA. After the ban, they are barred from holding rallies, public meetings and demonstrations, and their offices, if any, will be sealed and their bank accounts frozen.
In 2005, Chattisgarh State sponsored an anti-Maoist movement called the Salwa Judum
. The group, which the BBC alleges is "government backed",
an allegation rejected by the government as biased and Indophobic, has come under criticism from pro-Maoist activist groups for "perpetrating atrocities and abuse against women", using child soldiers, and the looting of property and destruction of homes. These allegations were addressed and rejected by a fact-finding commission of the National Human Rights Commission of India
, appointed by the Supreme Court of India
, who determined that the Salwa Judum was a spontaneous reaction by tribes against Maoist atrocities perpetrated against them. The camps are guarded by police officers, paramilitary forces and Salwa Judum activists empowered with the official title "special police officer."
However, on July 5, 2011, the Supreme Court of India declared the Salwa Judum as illegal and unconstitutional. The court directed the Chhattisgarh government to recover all the firearms given to the militia along with the ammunition and accessories. It also ordered the government to investigate all instances of alleged criminal activities of Salwa Judum.
s to eliminate VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, noting that most of the cadre members and supporters in Orissa belonged to the Christian community and not tribes, unlike in other states where the tribes form the biggest support base of the Maoists. He admitted that the Maoists had, for the first time, intervened in a religious dispute, by killing Saraswati.
in the Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organizations of South Asia (CCOMPOSA), according to several intelligence sources and think tanks. These links are, however, denied by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
While under detention in June 2009, a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative indicated that the LeT and the CPI (Maoist) had attempted to coordinate activities in Jharkhand state. Latest reports indicate that the Maoist Communist Party of the Philippines
, Southeast Asia’s longest-lived communist insurgent group, has been reported to have engaged in training activities for guerrilla warfare with Indian Maoists.
The Indian Maoists deny operational links with foreign groups, such as the Nepalese Maoists, but do claim comradeship. Some members of the Indian government accept this, while others argue that operational links do exist, with training coming from Sri-Lankan Maoists and small arms from China. China denies, and is embarrassed by, any suggestion that it supports foreign Maoist rebels, citing improvements in relations between India and China, including movement towards resolving their border disputes. Maoists in Nepal, India, and the Philippines are less reticent about their shared goals.
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
which aims to overthrow the government of India through violent means. It was founded on 21 September 2004, through the merger of the People's War
Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People's War
Communist Party of India People's War, usually called People's War Group , was an underground communist party in India. It merged the Maoist Communist Centre of India to form the Communist Party of India in 2004...
, and the Maoist Communist Centre
Maoist Communist Centre
The Maoist Communist Centre was one of the largest two armed Maoist groups in India, and fused with the other, the People's War Group in September 2004, to form the Communist Party of India .-Dakshin Desh:...
(MCC). The merger was announced to the public on October 14 the same year. In the merger a provisional central committee was constituted, with the erstwhile People's War Group leader Muppala Lakshmana Rao
Muppala Lakshmana Rao
Muppalla Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathy is present General Secretary of Communist Party of India . He was born in village Beerpur in Sarangapur mandal in Karimnagar district of Andhra Pradesh. He worked as teacher in Karimnagar district and deserted his job for higher education in Warangal...
, alias "Ganapathi", as General Secretary.
The CPI (Maoist) are often referred to as Naxalite
Naxalite
The word Naxal, Naxalite or Naksalvadi is a generic term used to refer to various militant Communist groups operating in different parts of India under different organizational envelopes...
s in reference to the Naxalbari
Naxalbari
Naxalbari is the name of a village and a community development block in northern part of the state of West Bengal, India. Naxalbari block comes under the jurisdiction of Siliguri subdivision of Darjeeling district. Naxalbari became famous for the left wing revolt that took place in the late...
insurrection
Naxalite-Maoist insurgency
The Naxalite-Maoist insurgency is an ongoing conflict between Maoist groups, known as Naxalites or Naxals, and the Indian government.In 2006 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called the Naxalites "The single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country."...
conducted by radical Maoists in West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
in 1967.
They claim to be fighting for the rights of the tribes in the forest belt around central India.
That region contains deposits of minerals which are of interest to mining companies like Tata
Tata Group
Tata Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Tata Group is one of the largest companies in India by market capitalization and revenue. It has interests in communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy,...
and Essar
Essar Group
The Essar Group is a multinational conglomerate corporation in the sectors of Steel, Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping Ports & Logistics as well as Construction head quartered at Mumbai, India...
, and there have been numerous human rights violations of the tribal people at the hands of government agencies.
Naxals have been charged by the government with running an extortion economy in the guise of a popular revolution, extorting vast amounts of money from local branches of mining companies and other businesses. They have been involved in several cases of blowing up schools and railway tracks, and accused of keeping the areas under their control away from modernity and development, so they can impose their will on the uneducated rural populace.
In 2006, Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister belonging to the Indian...
referred to the Naxalites as "the single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country." The Indian government, led by the United Progressive Alliance
United Progressive Alliance
The United Progressive Alliance is a ruling coalition of center-left political parties heading the government of India. The coalition is led by the Indian National Congress , which is currently the single largest political party in the Lok Sabha...
, banned the CPI (Maoist) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act
Unlawful Activities Act is Indian law aimed at effective prevention of unlawful activities associations in India.The National Integration Council appointed a Committee on National Integration and Regionalisation to look into, inter alia, the aspect of putting reasonable restrictions in the...
(UAPA) as a terrorist organisation on 22 June 2009. As of June 2010, the Indian government has identified 83 districts in nine states as "Naxal-hit".
Ideology
According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, the two factions of the Party adhered to differing strands of communism prior to their 2004 merger, although "both organizations shared their belief in the 'annihilation of class enemies' and in extreme violence as a means to secure organizational goals." The People's War Group (PWG) maintained a Marxist-Leninist stance while the MCC took a Maoist stance. After the merger, the PWG secretary of Andhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
announced that the newly formed CPI-Maoist would follow Marxism-Leninism-Maoism as its "ideological basis guiding its thinking in all spheres of its activities." Included in this ideology is a commitment to "protracted armed struggle" to undermine and to seize power from the state.
The ideology of the merged group is contained in a "Party Programme." In the document, the Maoists denounce globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
as a war on the people by market fundamentalists and the caste system
Caste system in India
The Indian caste system is a system of social stratification and social restriction in India in which communities are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups called Jātis....
as a form of social oppression.
The Communist Party of India (Maoist) claim that they are conducting a "people's war", a strategic approach developed by Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
during the guerrilla warfare phase of the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
. Their eventual objective is to install a "people’s government" via a New Democratic Revolution
New Democracy
New Democracy or the New Democratic Revolution is a Maoist concept based on Mao Zedong's "Bloc of Four Social Classes" theory during post-revolutionary China which argues that democracy in China will take a decisively distinct path from either the liberal capitalist and/or parliamentary democratic...
.
The party also views Islamist militancy as a struggle towards national liberation against imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
, rather than as a clash of civilizations
Clash of Civilizations
The Clash of Civilizations is a theory, proposed by political scientist Samuel P. Huntington, that people's cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world....
, and condones it as having parallel goals to the group's own. In the words of deputy leader Koteshwar Rao, or Kishanji: "The Islamic upsurge should not be opposed, as it is basically anti-US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and anti-imperialist in nature. We, therefore, want it to grow." Although it is an extreme left wing political organisation it considers the democratic left parties in India as "class enemies" and has killed some of their supporters in the western part of West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
.
Location
Currently the Party has a presence in remote regions of JharkhandJharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
and Andhra Pradesh, as well as in Bihar and the tribal-dominated areas in the borderlands of Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh is a state in Central India, formed when the 16 Chhattisgarhi-speaking South-Eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained separate statehood on 1 November 2000....
, Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
, and Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
. The CPI (Maoist) aims to consolidate its power in this area and establish a Compact Revolutionary Zone from which to advance the people's war in other parts of India. A 2005 Frontline
Frontline (magazine)
Frontline is a fortnightly English language magazine published by The Hindu Group of publications from Chennai, India. Narasimhan Ram is the editor-in-chief of the magazine. As a current affairs magazine, it covers domestic and International news. Frontline gives a prominent place to various...
cover story called the Bhamragad Taluka, where the Madia Gond
Madia Gond
Madia Gonds or Madia or Maria are one of the endogamous Gond tribes living in Chandrapur District and Gadchiroli District of Maharashtra State, and Bastar division of Chhattisgad State India. They have been granted the status of a Primitive Tribe by the Government of Maharashtra under its...
Adivasi
Adivasi
Adivasi is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups claimed to be the aboriginal population of India. They comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India...
s live, the heart of the Naxalite-affected region in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
.
Organization
The current general secretary of the party is Muppala Lakshmana RaoMuppala Lakshmana Rao
Muppalla Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathy is present General Secretary of Communist Party of India . He was born in village Beerpur in Sarangapur mandal in Karimnagar district of Andhra Pradesh. He worked as teacher in Karimnagar district and deserted his job for higher education in Warangal...
, who uses the alias "Ganapati". The highest decision making body of the party is the Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
, comprising thirteen or fourteen) members, six of whom were killed or arrested between 2007-10. Amongst those arrested, Kobad Ghandy
Kobad Ghandy
Kobad Ghandy is an Indian communist and Maoist leader. He is a member of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist. Maoists are also referred as naxalites in the media...
is the senior-most member. Other arrested Politburo members include Pramod Mishra, Ashutosh Tudu, and Amitabha Bagchi. Cherukuri Rajkumar
Cherukuri Rajkumar
Cheruri Rajkumar alias Azad was the spokesperson and one of the seniormost members of the Central Politburo of the Communist Party of India . He was killed by the Andhra Pradesh Police near Sarkapalli in Adilabad district of the state, near the border with Maharashtra, on July 1, 2010. He was an...
, alias "Azad", the spokesperson for the party, who was gunned down in Andhra Pradesh, was another Politburo member.
Prashant Bose
Prashant Bose
Prashant Bose, commonly known by his nom de guerre Kishan, is a senior Politburo member of the Communist Party of India . He has previously used Nirbhay Mukherjee, Kajal, Kishan-da and Mahesh as aliases. Kishan, the former MCCI chief is now No. 2 in the CPI . He is in charge of Bihar and Jharkhand...
, alias "Kishan-da", Mallojula Koteswara Rao, alias "Kishenji", and Katakam Sudarshan, alias Anand, are the three most prominent members of the Politburo. Kishenji who was killed by the security forces in November, 2011 headed the Eastern Regional Bureau of the party until his death. Anand currently heads the Central Regional Bureau of the party. The Central Committee of the party, which takes command from the Politburo and passes on the information to its members, has 32 members. The party hierarchy consists of the Regional Bureaus, which look after two or three states each, the State Committees, the Zonal Committees, the District Committees, and the "dalams" (armed squads).
The military wings of the founding organisations, the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (the military wing of the MCCI) and the People's Guerrilla Army (the military wing of the PW), also underwent a merger. The name of the unified military organisation is the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army. P.V. Ramana, of the Observer Research Foundation in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, estimates the Naxilities' current strength at 9,000-10,000 armed fighters, with access to about 6,500 firearms. Other estimates by Indian intelligence officials and Maoist leaders suggest that the rebel ranks in India number between 10,000 and 20,000, with at least 50,000 active supporters.
Governance tactics
In their efforts to intimidate and consolidate control, the Naxalites tax local villagers, extort businesses, abduct and kill "class enemies" such as government officials and police officers, and regulate the flow of aid and goods. To help fill their ranks, the Maoists force each family under their domain to supply one family member, and threaten those who resist with violence.The organisation has been holding "Public Courts", which have been described as kangaroo court
Kangaroo court
A kangaroo court is "a mock court in which the principles of law and justice are disregarded or perverted".The outcome of a trial by kangaroo court is essentially determined in advance, usually for the purpose of ensuring conviction, either by going through the motions of manipulated procedure or...
s, against their opponents. These "courts" function in the areas under de-facto Maoist control. The Maoists have also taken care to demolish government
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
institutions under their de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
jurisdiction.
Military tactics
The Party retains the tactics of its predecessor, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People's War, of rejecting parliamentary democracy and capturing political power through protracted armed struggle based on guerrilla warfare. This strategy entails building up bases in rural and remote areas and transforming them first into guerrilla zones, and then into "liberated zones", in addition to encircling cities.The military hardware used by Maoists, as indicated through a number of seizures, include RDX
RDX
RDX, an initialism for Research Department Explosive, is an explosive nitroamine widely used in military and industrial applications. It was developed as an explosive which was more powerful than TNT, and it saw wide use in WWII. RDX is also known as cyclonite, hexogen , and T4...
cable wires, gelatine sticks, detonators, country-made weapons, INSAS rifles, AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
s, SLR
Semi-automatic rifle
A semi-automatic rifle is a type of rifle that fires a single bullet each time the trigger is pulled, automatically ejects the spent cartridge, chambers a fresh cartridge from its magazine, and is immediately ready to fire another shot...
s, and improvised explosive devices. According to MHA reports, as of October 2008, the CRPF has seized over 6000 kilograms (13,227.7 lb) of explosives in Bihar and 893 kilograms (1,968.7 lb) in Jharkhand. Security forces also recovered codex wire in Jharkhand; this is a highly potent explosive with a blast-range of up to 720 metres (2,362.2 ft), which has so far been used only by modern national armies.
Funding
The funding for the Maoists comes from abductions, extortion and by setting up unofficial administrations to collect taxes in rural areas where official government appears absent.Poppy cultivation is another major source of funding for Maoists in the Ghagra area of Gumla district
Gumla District
Gumla district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India, and Gumla town is the administrative headquarters of this district.-Etymology:...
in Jharkhand and in parts of Gumla, Kishanganj
Kishanganj District
Kishanganj district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India, and Kishanganj town is the administrative headquarters of this district. Kishanganj district is a part of Purnia division.-History:...
and Purnia
Purnia District
Purnia district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India. The town of Purnia is the administrative headquarters of this district.Purnia district is a part of Purnia Division...
districts in Bihar. Security forces claim that opium fields are hidden among maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
crops. Reports from Debagarh district
Debagarh District
Debagarh District, also known as Deogarh District, is a district of Orissa state, India. It is located in the northern part of the state. Debagarh is the district headquarters. The district covers an area of 2781.66 km². The district has a population of 274,095...
in Orissa indicate that the Naxals also support hemp cultivation to help fund their activities.
Legal status
The party is regarded as a "left-wing extremist entity" and a terrorist outfit by the Indian government. Several of their members have been arrested under the now-defunct Prevention of Terrorist Activities ActPrevention of Terrorist Activities Act
The Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act was an anti-terrorism legislation enacted by the Parliament of India in 2002. The act replaced the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance of 2001 and the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act , and was supported by the governing National Democratic Alliance...
. The group is officially banned by the state governments of Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, Chattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh, among others. The party has protested these bans. On 22 June 2009, the central home ministry
Ministry of Home Affairs (India)
Ministry of Home Affairs , known as the Home Ministry or MHA, is an Indian government ministry. It is an interior ministry mainly responsible for the maintenance of Internal security and domestic policy.-Ministerial Team:...
, keeping in mind the growing unlawful activities by the group, banned it under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Earlier, the union home minister, P. Chidambaram
P. Chidambaram
P. Chidambaram or Chidambaram Palaniappan, sometimes written Palaniappan Chidambaram is an Indian politician with the Indian National Congress and present Union Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of India. Previously he was the Finance Minister of India from May 2004 to November 2008...
had asked the West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
Chief Minister
Chief Minister
A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...
, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, to ban the Maoists following the Lalgarh
Lalgarh
Lalgarh is a village in the Sujangarh tehsil of the Churu district in Rajasthan, India. It is situated at a distance of 57 km from Sujangarh in the southwest direction near the border of Nagaur and Bikaner districts. This is a well-connected village by road from Sujangarh or Nagaur. Raja Lal Singh...
Violence
Operation Lalgarh
Operation Lalgarh was an armed operation in India against the Maoists who have been active in organising a tribal movement alongside a group called the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities . The operation is organised by the police and security forces in Lalgarh, Paschim Medinipur, West...
.
Following the ban, the Maoists are liable for arrest under the UAPA. After the ban, they are barred from holding rallies, public meetings and demonstrations, and their offices, if any, will be sealed and their bank accounts frozen.
Opposition
The Party are regarded as a serious security threat and the Indian government is taking countermeasures, pulling the affected states together to coordinate their response. It says it will combine improved policing with socio-economic measures to defuse grievances that fuel the Maoist cause.In 2005, Chattisgarh State sponsored an anti-Maoist movement called the Salwa Judum
Salwa Judum
Salwa Judum refers to a militia in Chhattisgarh, India, which is aimed at countering the naxalite violence in the region...
. The group, which the BBC alleges is "government backed",
an allegation rejected by the government as biased and Indophobic, has come under criticism from pro-Maoist activist groups for "perpetrating atrocities and abuse against women", using child soldiers, and the looting of property and destruction of homes. These allegations were addressed and rejected by a fact-finding commission of the National Human Rights Commission of India
National Human Rights Commission of India
The National Human Rights Commission of India is an autonomous statutory body established on 12 October 1993, under the provisions of The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 .-Functions:...
, appointed by the Supreme Court of India
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
, who determined that the Salwa Judum was a spontaneous reaction by tribes against Maoist atrocities perpetrated against them. The camps are guarded by police officers, paramilitary forces and Salwa Judum activists empowered with the official title "special police officer."
However, on July 5, 2011, the Supreme Court of India declared the Salwa Judum as illegal and unconstitutional. The court directed the Chhattisgarh government to recover all the firearms given to the militia along with the ammunition and accessories. It also ordered the government to investigate all instances of alleged criminal activities of Salwa Judum.
Killing of a Hindu monk in Orissa in 2008
In transcripts made available to PTI on October 5, 2008, the prominent Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda, alias "Sunil", mentioned that there was pressure from both Christians and DalitDalit
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
s to eliminate VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, noting that most of the cadre members and supporters in Orissa belonged to the Christian community and not tribes, unlike in other states where the tribes form the biggest support base of the Maoists. He admitted that the Maoists had, for the first time, intervened in a religious dispute, by killing Saraswati.
International connections
The CPI (Maoist) maintains dialogue with the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) who control most of NepalNepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
in the Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organizations of South Asia (CCOMPOSA), according to several intelligence sources and think tanks. These links are, however, denied by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
While under detention in June 2009, a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative indicated that the LeT and the CPI (Maoist) had attempted to coordinate activities in Jharkhand state. Latest reports indicate that the Maoist Communist Party of the Philippines
Communist Party of the Philippines
The Communist Party of the Philippines is a leading communist party in the Philippines. It remains an underground political organization since its founding on December 26, 1968 and has been operating in clandestine manner since its founding...
, Southeast Asia’s longest-lived communist insurgent group, has been reported to have engaged in training activities for guerrilla warfare with Indian Maoists.
The Indian Maoists deny operational links with foreign groups, such as the Nepalese Maoists, but do claim comradeship. Some members of the Indian government accept this, while others argue that operational links do exist, with training coming from Sri-Lankan Maoists and small arms from China. China denies, and is embarrassed by, any suggestion that it supports foreign Maoist rebels, citing improvements in relations between India and China, including movement towards resolving their border disputes. Maoists in Nepal, India, and the Philippines are less reticent about their shared goals.
2005
- February: the CPI (Maoist) kills seven policemen and a civilian, and injures many more during a mass attack on a school building in Venkatammanahalli village, Pavgada, TumkurTumkurTumkur is one of the busiest industrial towns located in the state of Karnataka. Since 28 August 2010, Tumkur has been accorded the status of a Corporation city. It is situated at a distance of 70 kilometers north west of the city of Bangalore along National Highway 4...
, KarnatakaKarnatakaKarnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
. - August: Maoists conduct kidnappings in the Dantewada district of ChhattisgarhChhattisgarhChhattisgarh is a state in Central India, formed when the 16 Chhattisgarhi-speaking South-Eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained separate statehood on 1 November 2000....
. This follows violent incidents in the same region in 2004, when 50 policemen and about 300 villagers were killed in the Dantewada district and over 50,000 villagers were forced into relief camps to escape the Maoists. - August 17: the government of Andhra PradeshAndhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
outlaws the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and various mass organizations close to it, and begins to arrest suspected members and sympathizers days afterwards. Those arrested include former emissaries at the 2004 peace talks. - November 13: CPI (Maoist) fighters attack JehanabadJehanabadJehanabad is a city and a municipality in and the headquarters of Jehanabad district in the Indian state of Bihar. Earlier, Jehanabad was part of Gaya district. It is 50 km away from both Patna and Gaya.-Demographics:...
in BiharBiharBihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, freeing 250 captured comrades and taking twenty imprisoned right wing paramilitaries captive, executing their leader. They also detonate several bombs in the town. A prison guard is also reported killed.
2006
- February 28: Maoists attack anti-Maoist protesters in Erraboru village in Chhattisgarh using landmines, killing 25 people.
- July 16: Maoists attack a relief camp in the Dantewada district, killing 29, and kidnapping several villagers.
- October 18: women belonging to Maoist guerrilla forces blast four government buildings in the BastarBastar* Bastar state, a state founded in the 15th century that later became a princely state of British India* Bastar district, an administrative district of Chhatisgarh state in central India...
region of ChhattisgarhChhattisgarhChhattisgarh is a state in Central India, formed when the 16 Chhattisgarhi-speaking South-Eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained separate statehood on 1 November 2000....
. The day before, over a dozen armed cadres of the group, with support from male colleagues, blocked traffic on the Antagarh-Koylibera Road in the Kanker district, near the city of Raipur. They also detonated explosives inside four buildings, including two schools, in Kanker. This incident occurred two days after a major leader of the party's operations in OrissaOrissaOrissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
and Andhra PradeshAndhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, Kone Kedandam, surrendered to authorities in the town of SrikakulamSrikakulamSrikakulam is a town, municipality and headquarters of Srikakulam district in the north-eastern Andhra Pradesh, India. It is part of Srikakulam Assembly constituency and Srikakulam Parliament Constituency. Srikakulam was formerly called as Gulshanabad during Muslim rule and was headquarter of...
. - December 2: At least fourteen Indian policemen are killed by Maoists in a landmine ambush near the town of Bokaro, 80 miles from Ranchi, the capital of the State of Jharkhand.
2007
- March 4: Maoists shoot dead Sunil Mahato, a member of the parliament of the Jharkhand Mukti MorchaJharkhand Mukti MorchaJharkhand Mukti Morcha is a state political party in the state Jharkhand, India. It has a strength of 2 in the 15th Lok Sabha. Shibu Soren is the president of JMM...
(JMM) party from JharkhandJharkhandJharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
state. - March 5: Maoists shoot dead a member of the local Mandal Praja Parishad (MPP)) in Andhra Pradesh, while he was inspecting a road construction project in Mahabubnagar district.
- March 6: the CPI (Maoist) claim responsibility for the Mahato assassination, although JMM members of the Jharkhand state cabinet, including the Chief Minister, subsequently announce that a state police investigation is under way into the authenticity of this claim. Police reportedly believe that political rivals of Mahato, including organized criminal groups, may have been behind the assassination.
- March 15: 300 to 350 CPI (Maoist) cadres attack a police base camp in the rebel stronghold of DantewadaDantewadaDantewada is a town and a nagar panchayat in the Dantewada district in the state of Chhattisgarh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Dantewada District....
, in Chhattisgarh state. Fifty-four persons, including fifteen personnel of the Chhattishgarh Armed Forces, are killed. The remaining victims are tribal youths belonging to the Salwa JudumSalwa JudumSalwa Judum refers to a militia in Chhattisgarh, India, which is aimed at countering the naxalite violence in the region...
, designated as Special Police Officers (SPOs), and roped in to combat the Maoists. Eleven others are injured. The attack, which lasted nearly two-and-a-half hours, is spearheaded by the "State Military Commission (Maoist)", consisting of about a hundred armed Naxalites. - November: reports emerge that the anti-SEZ movement in NandigramNandigramNandigram is a rural area with two commuunity development blocks in Haldia subdivision of Purba Medinipur district of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located about 70 km south-west of Kolkata, on the south bank of the Haldi River, opposite the industrial city of Haldia...
in West BengalWest BengalWest Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
has been infiltrated by Naxalites since February; the reports quote unnamed intelligence sources. Police also find weapons belonging to Maoists near NandigramNandigramNandigram is a rural area with two commuunity development blocks in Haldia subdivision of Purba Medinipur district of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located about 70 km south-west of Kolkata, on the south bank of the Haldi River, opposite the industrial city of Haldia...
.
2008
- The HinduThe HinduThe Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
newspaper reports that a Maoist, named Pratik Shah, killed a man and publicly cannibalizedCannibalismCannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
him in Malkangiri district of Orissa to terrorize villagers. The alleged incident occurred in Bandiguda on August 14, 2007. - June 29: CPI forces attack a boat on the Chitrakonda reservoir in Orissa carrying members of an anti-Naxalite police force. The boat sinks, killing 33 policemen, while 28 survive.
- July 16: A landmine hits a police van in Malkangiri district, killing 21 policemen.
2009
- February 23: Maoists kill a contractor and set ablaze a police post at Govindpalli of Malkangiri.
- April 13: Ten paramilitary troops are killed in eastern OrissaOrissaOrissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
. - October 6: Police inspector Francis Induwar is beheaded by Maoists in JharkhandJharkhandJharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
. This action has been compared to the tactics of the Islamist Taliban of PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
-AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world... - October 8: About 150 Maoists ambush a police patrol and kill seventeen policemen in Gadchiroli, MaharashtraMaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
2010
- February 16: Silda camp attackSilda camp attackThe Silda camp attack occurred on February 15, 2010, when dozens of Naxalite Maoist insurgents ambushed Indian security forces in Silda in West Bengal, India...
- February 18: Twelve villagers are killed and nine injured in indiscriminate firing by Maoists in Jamui district of Bihar. The dead include three women and one child. Twenty five village houses are also burned down.
- February 20: Maoists kill a village guard by slitting his throat.
- April 6: At least 82 CRPF and district force personnel are killedApril 2010 Maoist attack in DantewadaThe 2010 Dantewada Maoist attacks, were a ambush by rebels from the Communist Party of India in Dantewada district, India, killing 76 CRPF policemen and 8 Maoists — the deadliest attack by the Maoists on Indian security forces....
when a large group of Naxals ambush them in the Mukrana forests of Chhattisgarh's Dantewada districtDantewada DistrictDantewada District, also known as Dantewara District or Dakshin Bastar District , is a district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Dantewada is the district headquarters. The district is part of Bastar Division...
. - May 17: Maoist rebels blow up bus2010 Dantewada bus bombingThe 2010 Dantewada bus bombing occurred on 17 May 2010 when a bus hit a landmine 50 km away from Dantewada, in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district. Fatalities reports range from 31 to 44, including several Special Police Officers and civilians....
in the Dantewada district, killing 35. - May 27: At least 145 people are killed after a train derails in an apparent Maoist attackGyaneshwari Express train derailmentThe Jnaneswari Express derailment occurred on 28 May 2010 in the West Midnapore district of West Bengal, India. It was disputed as to whether sabotage or a bomb caused damage on the railway track, which in turn led to a train's derailment before an oncoming goods train hit the loose carriages...
in West Bengal. - June 29: At least 26 CRPF personnel are killed when Maoists attack a road opening party in Narayanpur district.
- December 25: Attack in eastern India, killing nine people.
See also
- List of Naxalite and Maoist groups in India
- List of political parties in India
- Politics of IndiaPolitics of IndiaThe politics of India takes place within the framework of a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of India is head of state and the Prime Minister of India is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President and is independent of the legislature...
External links
- International Campaign Against War on the People in India
- Maoist Rebels Widen Deadly Reach Across India by Jim Yardley, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, October 31, 2009