Naxalism/ Maoism: India
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Naxalism/ Maoism: India
Contents |
Sources
The A to Z of Naxal fight: All about the movement, its goal and its leaders
ET Bureau Jun 5, 2013
History
Xinhai Revolution
Also known as the Revolution of 1911, or the Chinese Revolution, that overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, and established the Republic of China.
Mao Tse Tung
Established the Chinese People's Republic. Maoism, formally known as Mao Zedong Thought, is a political theory derived from his teachings. Maoism sees the agrarian peasantry, rather than the working class, as the key revolutionary force which can fundamentally transform capitalist society towards socialism
Telangana Struggle
By July 1948, 2,500 villages in the south were organised into 'communes' as part of a peasant movement. Simultaneously the famous Andhra Thesis for the first time demanded that 'Indian revolution' follow the Chinese path of protracted people's war.
Andhra Pradesh
Violent Left wing extremism began in Naxalbari, Bengal, but the modern-day Maoist agitation finds its roots in AP, once the epicentre of the movement - at its peak 23 out of the 26 districts were Maoist-affected. Even today, a bulk of its top leaders is from the state. However, Maoist violence has ebbed
Fifth and Ninth
Schedules of the Constitution provide for a limited form of autonomy to tribals with regard to exploiting natural resources on their lands. But this did not happen in practice
Void Created
by the failure of government in tribal areas was exploited by the Maoists initially
Dandakaranya
The 'jungle of punishment' of Ramayana lore is where Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra meet up. The forest is the epicenter of the Maoist movement Dantewada Ambush: On April 6,2010, Maoists killed 76 CRPF men
Bastar
Once India's biggest district, it was later divided into Bastar, Dandewata and Kanker. Today, the greater Bastar region, with about 70% ST population, is a hotbed of Maoists. Bhumkal Rebellion: The tribal uprising against the British in 1910 still inspires the Maoists
Ideology
Historic Eight
monographs authored by Charu Majumdar that outline the ideological principles on which the Naxalite militant communist movement in India was based
Eka Nakshalwadya
Cha Janma, (The birth of a Naxal), a Marathi novel written by Vilas Balkrishna Manohar is a fictional account of a Madia Gond Juru's unwilling journey of life, his metamorphosis from an exploited nameless tribal to a Naxal.
Leaders
Charu Majumdar
The founder of Naxalbari peasant uprising in 1967, who is up there in the ultra-left pantheon along with Lenin, Stalin & Mao. Died in a police lock-up, aged 54, in Kolkata in 1972 CCOMPOSA: The Co-ordination Ccommittee for all Maoist Groupings in South Asia, including Nepal's ruling party
Kondapalli Seetharamaiah
Joined CPI at a young age, he was active in the Telengana rebellion. He formed the People's War Group Kishenji: Mallojula Koteswara Rao, aka Kishenji, was considered the face of the Maoist movement in India. He was killed in Nov 2011 by security forces
Laxman Rao, Mupalla aka Ganapathy
He was one of the early members of CPI (ML) PWG. Is now the general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), formed after the merger of PWG and Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI) in 2004
People's Liberation Guerilla Army
It was founded in December 2000 as the People's Guerrilla Army by the PWG. Later, It changed its name to PLGA when CPI (Maoist) was formed in 2004
Women
form 40% of cadre, according to CPI (M) in 2010
The Government's response
Integrated Action Plan
GoI's ambitious plan to develop 60 Maoist districts; aimed at quick resolution of problems concerning healthcare, drinking water, education and roads. Launched in 2010, but yet to create any solid impact
Greyhound Forces
The AP state police commando force raised in 1986 that's credited with decimating the Maoist movement in the state. Greyhound veterans routinely train anti-Maoist wings of other affected state police forces.
Unlawful Activities
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) slapped on CPI (Maoist) designating it as a terrorist organization in 2009
Operation Green Hunt
The operation began in November 2009 in five states. However, this term was actually coined by the Chhattisgarh police officials to describe one successful drive against the CPI (M) in the state
YSR
YS Rajasekhar Reddy was seen as the main force that drove out Maoists from AP. The Greyhound squad was the most effective under YSR (2005-06).
Salwa Judum
Was a civilian militia mobilised and deployed as part of anti-insurgency operations in Chhattisgarh, India, aimed at countering Naxalite violence in the region. SC declared militia illegal and unconstitutional and ordered its disbanding
Areas of influence
Zones
Certain districts in Naxal-affected areas are "liberated zones", according to union minister Jairam Ramesh
Jungalmahal
Maoist-affected region in south-west Bengal, consisting of large parts of 3 districts, West Midnapore , Bankura and Purulia. Home to a sizeable tribal population; moreover, hilly topography makes region ideal for guerilla operations.
Red Corridor
Naxal-affected area covering in AP, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, MP, Orissa, UP and West Bengal. Region is market by poverty, high illiteracy and lack of employment. Primary economic activity in the mineral rich area is agriculture
Violence/ Casualties
Killings 1980-2013
Left-wing extremism has killed 14,869 people since 1980
Bharti Jain, TNN Oct 22, 2013
NEW DELHI: Left-wing extremism, which afflicts several states, has killed a whopping 14,689 people, including 11,742 civilians and 2,947 security personnel, since 1980.
However, the 4,638 fatal casualties on the Naxalites' side were just one-third of the killings carried out by them over the last three decades.
The silver lining, however, is that the trends of Naxal violence are showing a steady decline in killings since 2010. As many as 198 civilians were done to death by Maoists in 2013 (until September 30), far lower than the 300 civilian killings during 2012.
Even the security personnel were better off in 2013, recording 88 fatal casualties as compared to 114 in 2012.
The number of Naxalites neutralized too fell from 74 last year to 52 until end of this September.
Maximum security personnel (317) were killed in 2009, while 2010, with 720 civilian killings, was the worst year for civilians.
Naxalites bore the brunt of counter-killings by the security forces in 1998, losing 296 cadres that year.
A major turnaround in Naxal violence was seen in the year 2001, when security personnel killings increased from a two-digit figure to three-digit figure.
Civilian killings witnessed a major jump in the year 1990 and have fallen from a high of 720 in 2010 to 198 till September 30 this year.
Though the Naxalites carried out a major attack in Darbha Ghati, Chhattisgarh, in May 2013, targeting a Congres convoy and killing at least three top party leaders and two dozen others, there has been a lull in their activities of late.
Officials say such a lull is not unusual during monsoon. However, with the poll scene hotting up in Chhattisgarh, the CPI(Maoist) is reportedly campaigning in the Bastar region asking the local tribals to boycott the election.
The Union home ministry fears landmine attacks, targeting of polling parties and Central para-military personnel as they access polling booths in Naxal-infested interiors, and firing attacks on choppers ahead of and during the first phase of polling in Chhattisgarh scheduled for November 11. All Maoist-hit areas are going to polls during this phase.
Early 2013
Jharkhand records highest Naxal violence this year
Bharti Jain, TNN Apr 20, 2013
NEW DELHI: Jharkhand not only fared as the state with the highest incidence of Naxal violence in the first quarter of this year, but it also further consolidated its lead over Chhattisgarh with twice the incidents and thrice the deaths reported by the latter.
According to the latest statistics of Red terror compiled by the Union home ministry, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar together account for over 80% of Left-wing extremist violence across the country. Odisha has shown a significant decline in Red terror, while West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh reported nil/negligible violence.
The total number of incidents relating to Naxalism fell to 272 (until March 31, 2013) from 417 in the corresponding period of 2012, and deaths to 89 as compared to 120 in the first quarter of last year. However, the share of Jharkhand in the nationwide Naxal violence is a worrying trend. The state, which has been under the President's rule since January, accounted for over 40% of the countrywide incidents and over 58% of the deaths in the first three months of this year.
Chhattisgarh, which was the worst-hit state in terms of Red terror until Jharkhand overtook it in 2011, recorded 59 incidents and 14 deaths in first quarter of this year — down from 91 incidents and 17 deaths in the corresponding period of last year. The figures for Chhattisgarh are far lower than those in Jharkhand, which reported 118 incidents and 52 deaths between January and March, 2013.
Of the 52 people who died due to Naxal violence in Jharkhand, 37 were civilians (of which 14 were killed after being branded 'police informers') and 25 from the security forces. Though the figures are lower this year as compared to 2012, Chhattisgarh showed higher civilian killings (up from 6 to12).
However, to give the counter-Naxal forces credit, killings of Maoists by the security forces rose to 18 in the first quarter of 2013 from 14 in the corresponding period of last year. Of these, most Naxalite killings were in Chhattisgarh (8); followed by Maharashtra (6) and Jharkhand (3).
Arrests of Naxalites were up from 107 to 120 in Jharkhand, from 52 to 82 ( Andhra Pradesh) and from 83 to 100 (Chhattisgarh). While arms snatching dipped to five in the first three months of 2013 from 26 in the corresponding period of last year, arms recoveries rose from 149 to 167, of which 60 were from Jharkhand alone.
Nationwide police encounters with Naxalites rose to 55 — from 46 last year — till March 31.
