Mallojula Koteswara Rao
Encyclopedia
Mallojula Koteswara Rao (26 November 1956 - 24 November 2011 ), commonly known by his nom de guerre Kishenji, was a Politburo
member of the Communist Party of India (Maoist)
and the group's military
leader.
, Andhra Pradesh
) which eked out a living on priesthood in near by temples. His father was a freedom fighter and, also vice-president of the state branch of the Congress Socialist Party
. In 1973, after a BSc mathematics
degree from Government Degree College, Peddapalli, he moved to Hyderabad
to pursue law.
. He became a full-time member of the People's War Group in 1974. During the Emergency in 1975, he went underground to take part in the revolution. Several things motivated him: Writer Varavara Rao
, who founded the Revolutionary Writers Association, India
’s political atmosphere and the progressive environment in which he grew up. When he joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)
, his father left the Indian National Congress
saying, two kinds of politics cannot survive under one roof. His father believed in socialism
, but not in armed struggle.
After the Emergency ended in 1977, Kishenji led the historic peasant movement against feudalism
at Jagitial and Siricilla in Karimnagar. Over 60,000 farmers joined it. This was the basis for the formation of the People's War Group in Andhra Pradesh
by Naxalite leader Kondapalli Seetharamaiah in the early '80s.
, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)
moved him to Dandakaranya
, from there to West Bengal
and later to Jharkhand
. He married M. Mainakka, who also joined the Maoists. During the last two decades, he moved under various aliases, including Murali, Pradip, Vimal, and Prahlad. After 20 years in the Naxal belt of Maharashtra
and Chhattisgarh
, he relocated to West Bengal
and went on to emerge as the most prominent Maoist leader in eastern India
. He is believed to be among the prime movers of the proposal to merge the People's War Group with the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI), which led to the formation of the Communist Party of India (Maoist)
in 2004.
Soft-spkoen, well-read, tech-savvy and fluent in at least six languages (English, Telugu, Bengali, Hindi, Santhali and Oriya), he was a leader with extra ordinary qualities. He strengthened the organisation in West Bengal
and became an important member of the outfit's eastern region bureau. His stature grew in the tribal hinterland of West Bengal
called Jungalmahal, bordering Jharkhand
.
In May 2009, Kishenji for the first time used the media when his letter to his mother Madhuramma, was sent to a Telugu
newspaper. In it, he wrote that after he witnessed police firing outside his school he decided to join the Maoists. Later, Kishenji would use the media as an effective tool to spread Maoist propaganda.
In an encounter in the Hatilot forest area in March last year, Kishenji was believed to have been seriously injured and reports suggested that he had moved out of West Bengal
, leaving his comrade Sashadhar Mahato in charge of military operations here. While reports poured in of his movements in Orissa
, Jharkhand
and Assam
, the death of Sashadhar Mahato in an encounter in March, 2011 may have forced his return.
Officials claimed that the hunt actually began by the 207 Combat Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) Battalion, the 167 and 184 Central Reserve Police Force
battalion along with the Counter Insurgency Force (CIF), West Bengal
State police on November 22, 2011 noon inside the forests of Kushbani. But the team, comprising Kishenji, Suchitra Mahato and other Maoist leaders, made a narrow escape. The joint forces, anticipating Kishenji might try to slip to Jharkhand
, sealed the border and continued combing operation. On November 24, 2011 morning they recovered a laptop bag, diary, map and letters from the house of Dharmendara Mahato, an young resident of Goshaibandh village. After the belongings were found, the forces started operations with renewed vigour and zeroed in on the team inside dense forests of Burishol, 10 km from the West Bengal
-Jharkhand
border. There Kishenji was killed on November 24, 2011 after a 30-minute gunfight when conducting the joint operation. Officials of West Midnapore police and state intelligence branch claimed a total of six bodies were found in the jungles. Two of the bodies were of Maoist squad leader Jayanto and Ramkrishna. Late in the evening police took surrendered Maoist Soma Mandi and former Sankrail police station Officer-in-Charge Atindranath Dutta who was taken hostage by the maoists on October 21, 2009 to identify the body. The body of Kishenji was first taken to Jhargram hospital morgue and then to the Midnapore police morgue for post-mortem examination.
After the confirmation of the death of Kishenji, maoists and other political personnels and even the family members of Kishenji claimed that the killing of the maoist leader was done in fake encounter in police custody, a charge denied by Central Reserve Police Force
Director-General Vijay Kumar who said it was a "clean" operation. But Telugu poet Varavara Rao
said, "The story of an encounter is a fabrication". Maoist spokesperson Akash, Communist Party of India
leader Gurudas Dasgupta, Samajwadi Party leader Mohan Singh and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)
leaders Raj Kumar Singh and Krishna Adhikari shared the same view and demanded independent judicial inquiry from Mamata Banerjee
, the Chief Minister
of West Bengal
.
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
member of the Communist Party of India (Maoist)
Communist Party of India (Maoist)
The Communist Party of India 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 . The merger was announced to the public on October...
and the group's military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
leader.
Early Life
Kishenji was born into a poor family in Pedapalli (in the district of KarimnagarKarimnagar
As of 2011 India census Estimation, Karimnagar city had a population of 2,99,660. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49% has an average literacy rate of 86.75%, higher than the national average of 74.04%: male literacy is 92.61%, and female literacy is 80.79%. In Karimnagar, 12% of...
, Andhra Pradesh
Andhra 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...
) which eked out a living on priesthood in near by temples. His father was a freedom fighter and, also vice-president of the state branch of the Congress Socialist Party
Congress Socialist Party
The Congress Socialist Party was founded in 1934 as a socialist caucus within the Indian National Congress. Its members rejected what they saw as the anti-rational mysticism of Mohandas Gandhi as well as the sectarian attitude of the Communist Party of India towards the Congress Party...
. In 1973, after a BSc mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
degree from Government Degree College, Peddapalli, he moved to Hyderabad
Hyderabad
-India:* Hyderabad, India, the capital city of the state of Andhra Pradesh* Hyderabad District, India, a district in the state of Andhra Pradesh* Hyderabad State, the pre-1956 state* Hyderabad, Uttar Pradesh, a village in Uttar Pradesh...
to pursue law.
Early Political Life
He launched the Radical Students Union (RSU) in 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...
. He became a full-time member of the People's War Group in 1974. During the Emergency in 1975, he went underground to take part in the revolution. Several things motivated him: Writer Varavara Rao
Varavara Rao
Varavara Rao is a communist, activist, naxalite sympathizer,renowned poet, journalist, literary critic, and public speaker from Andhra Pradesh, India. He has been writing poetry for the last four decades. He is considered as one of the best Marxist critics in Telugu literature and taught Telugu...
, who founded the Revolutionary Writers Association, 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...
’s political atmosphere and the progressive environment in which he grew up. When he joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)
The Communist Party of India was formed by the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries at a congress in Calcutta in 1969. The foundation of the party was declared by Kanu Sanyal at a mass-meeting in Calcutta on the 22nd of April .-History:CPI advocated armed revolution and...
, his father left the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
saying, two kinds of politics cannot survive under one roof. His father believed in socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, but not in armed struggle.
After the Emergency ended in 1977, Kishenji led the historic peasant movement against feudalism
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
at Jagitial and Siricilla in Karimnagar. Over 60,000 farmers joined it. This was the basis for the formation of the People's War Group in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra 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...
by Naxalite leader Kondapalli Seetharamaiah in the early '80s.
Guerrilla Life
During search operations in 1982, the police broke down his home in Peddapalli village. Around 1990, when he was the state committee 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...
, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)
The Communist Party of India was formed by the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries at a congress in Calcutta in 1969. The foundation of the party was declared by Kanu Sanyal at a mass-meeting in Calcutta on the 22nd of April .-History:CPI advocated armed revolution and...
moved him to Dandakaranya
Dandakaranya
Dandakaranya is a spiritually significant region in India. It is roughly equivalent to the Bastar District in the central east part of India...
, from there to 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 later to Jharkhand
Jharkhand
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...
. He married M. Mainakka, who also joined the Maoists. During the last two decades, he moved under various aliases, including Murali, Pradip, Vimal, and Prahlad. After 20 years in the Naxal belt of 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...
and 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....
, he relocated to 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 went on to emerge as the most prominent Maoist leader in eastern 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...
. He is believed to be among the prime movers of the proposal to merge the People's War Group with the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI), which led to the formation of the Communist Party of India (Maoist)
Communist Party of India (Maoist)
The Communist Party of India 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 . The merger was announced to the public on October...
in 2004.
Soft-spkoen, well-read, tech-savvy and fluent in at least six languages (English, Telugu, Bengali, Hindi, Santhali and Oriya), he was a leader with extra ordinary qualities. He strengthened the organisation 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...
and became an important member of the outfit's eastern region bureau. His stature grew in the tribal hinterland 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...
called Jungalmahal, bordering Jharkhand
Jharkhand
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...
.
In May 2009, Kishenji for the first time used the media when his letter to his mother Madhuramma, was sent to a Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
newspaper. In it, he wrote that after he witnessed police firing outside his school he decided to join the Maoists. Later, Kishenji would use the media as an effective tool to spread Maoist propaganda.
Death
With the launch of joint-security operations against the Maoists in the Jangal Mahal region in June 2009, Kishenji was among the prime targets.In an encounter in the Hatilot forest area in March last year, Kishenji was believed to have been seriously injured and reports suggested that he had moved out 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...
, leaving his comrade Sashadhar Mahato in charge of military operations here. While reports poured in of his movements in 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...
, Jharkhand
Jharkhand
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 Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, the death of Sashadhar Mahato in an encounter in March, 2011 may have forced his return.
Officials claimed that the hunt actually began by the 207 Combat Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) Battalion, the 167 and 184 Central Reserve Police Force
Central Reserve Police Force
The Central Reserve Police Force also known as CRPF is the largest of India's Central Armed Police Forces. It functions under the aegis of Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. The CRPF's primary role lies in assisting the State/Union Territories in police operations to maintain...
battalion along with the Counter Insurgency Force (CIF), 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...
State police on November 22, 2011 noon inside the forests of Kushbani. But the team, comprising Kishenji, Suchitra Mahato and other Maoist leaders, made a narrow escape. The joint forces, anticipating Kishenji might try to slip to Jharkhand
Jharkhand
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...
, sealed the border and continued combing operation. On November 24, 2011 morning they recovered a laptop bag, diary, map and letters from the house of Dharmendara Mahato, an young resident of Goshaibandh village. After the belongings were found, the forces started operations with renewed vigour and zeroed in on the team inside dense forests of Burishol, 10 km from 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...
-Jharkhand
Jharkhand
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...
border. There Kishenji was killed on November 24, 2011 after a 30-minute gunfight when conducting the joint operation. Officials of West Midnapore police and state intelligence branch claimed a total of six bodies were found in the jungles. Two of the bodies were of Maoist squad leader Jayanto and Ramkrishna. Late in the evening police took surrendered Maoist Soma Mandi and former Sankrail police station Officer-in-Charge Atindranath Dutta who was taken hostage by the maoists on October 21, 2009 to identify the body. The body of Kishenji was first taken to Jhargram hospital morgue and then to the Midnapore police morgue for post-mortem examination.
After the confirmation of the death of Kishenji, maoists and other political personnels and even the family members of Kishenji claimed that the killing of the maoist leader was done in fake encounter in police custody, a charge denied by Central Reserve Police Force
Central Reserve Police Force
The Central Reserve Police Force also known as CRPF is the largest of India's Central Armed Police Forces. It functions under the aegis of Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. The CRPF's primary role lies in assisting the State/Union Territories in police operations to maintain...
Director-General Vijay Kumar who said it was a "clean" operation. But Telugu poet Varavara Rao
Varavara Rao
Varavara Rao is a communist, activist, naxalite sympathizer,renowned poet, journalist, literary critic, and public speaker from Andhra Pradesh, India. He has been writing poetry for the last four decades. He is considered as one of the best Marxist critics in Telugu literature and taught Telugu...
said, "The story of an encounter is a fabrication". Maoist spokesperson Akash, Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
leader Gurudas Dasgupta, Samajwadi Party leader Mohan Singh and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)
The Communist Party of India was formed by the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries at a congress in Calcutta in 1969. The foundation of the party was declared by Kanu Sanyal at a mass-meeting in Calcutta on the 22nd of April .-History:CPI advocated armed revolution and...
leaders Raj Kumar Singh and Krishna Adhikari shared the same view and demanded independent judicial inquiry from Mamata Banerjee
Mamata Banerjee
Mamata Banerjee is the 11th and current chief minister of the Indian state of West Bengal. She is the first woman to hold the office. Banerjee founded All India Trinamool Congress in 1997 and became chairperson, after separating from the Indian National Congress...
, the 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...
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...
.
See also
- Cherukuri RajkumarCherukuri RajkumarCheruri 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...
- Muppala Lakshmana RaoMuppala Lakshmana RaoMuppalla 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...
- Prashant BosePrashant BosePrashant 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...
- NaxaliteNaxaliteThe 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...
- Naxalite-Maoist insurgencyNaxalite-Maoist insurgencyThe 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."...