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India: an Empire in Denial
Indias's Simmering Revolution
15 - 22 September 2009
India is 'losing
Maoist battle' says Indian Prime Minister. Maoists have a presence in almost 200 Indian districts,
15 September 2009
Indian Maoists in fierce battle,18
September 2009
Maoist guerrilla commanders providing
basic military training to local youths in West Bengal, 22 September
2009
[see also
Old Habits Die Very
Hard: India's Ugly Underbelly - Badri Raina, 19
September 2009
"Never a day goes by when some senior member of the cabinet does not lambast
"internal challenges to the state." Invariably they have left-wing extremism in
mind... Matter of time, as dominance
carries within it the seeds of its own destruction. Those that everyday swear by
democracy while wishing to contain it cannot succeed."
India Bans Communist Party
of India -Maoist (CPI-M) , 22 June 2009
Maoist Naxalite attacks in
Central India, 16 March 2007
'It�s outright war and both sides are choosing their weapons'-
Arundhati Roy
March 2007
 "..What we�re witnessing is the most successful secessionist struggle
ever waged in independent India � the secession of the middle and
upper classes from the rest of the country. It�s a vertical
secession, not a lateral one. They�re fighting for the right to
merge with the world�s elite somewhere up there in the stratosphere...
to equate a resistance movement fighting against enormous
injustice with the government which enforces that injustice is
absurd. The government has slammed the door in the face of every
attempt at non-violent resistance. When people take to arms,
there is going to be all kinds of violence � revolutionary, lumpen and
outright criminal. The government is responsible for the monstrous
situations it creates... There
is
a
civil war in Chhattisgarh sponsored, created by the Chhattisgarh
government, which is publicly pursing the Bush doctrine: if you�re
not with us, you are with the terrorists. The lynchpin of this war,
apart from the formal security forces, is the
Salva Judum � a government-backed militia of ordinary people forced to become spos
(special police officers). The Indian State has tried this in
Kashmir, in
Manipur,
in Nagaland.
Tens of thousands have been killed - thousands tortured, thousands have disappeared. Any
banana republic would be proud of this record. Now the government wants to import these failed strategies into the heartland... I have no doubt that the Maoists can be agents of terror and
coercion too. I have no doubt they have committed unspeakable
atrocities. I have no doubt they cannot lay claim to undisputed
support from local people � but who can? Still, no guerrilla army
can survive without local support. That�s a logistical
impossibility. And the support for Maoists is growing, not
diminishing. That says something. People have no choice but to align
themselves on the side of whoever they think is less worse.does this mean that people
whose dignity is being assaulted should give up the fight because
they can�t find saints to lead them into battle?. "
Sumanta Banerjee - India's Simmering Revolution: The Naxalite Uprising,
1984
 ."...The term `Naxalite' (from Naxalbari) has continued to symbolize any
assault on the assumptions and institutions that support the established
order in India. It has become a part of the common speech all over India,
and along with 'Huk' of Philippines, 'Al Fatah' of Palestine and `Tupamaros'
of Uruguay, has today found a place in the vocabulary of world revolution...
Obituarists of the movement have always proved to be premature in their
pronouncements. If the movement was contained and declared "crushed" in one part
of India it soon erupted in another, sometimes a very unexpected corner of the
country. Naxalbari was followed by Srikakulam: Srikakulam by Debra-Gopiballavpur;
Debra-Gopiballavpur by Birbhum; Birbhum by Bhojpur �where still today, peasant
guerrillas of the CPI (M-L) continue to fight back against a repressive feudal
regime...
The ideologue of the movement � fiery-eyed, frail Charu
Mazumdar, who was a victim of cardiac asthma and was driven to death by police
persecution � was fond of saying:
"No word ever dies. What we are saying today may not be accepted by the
people at this moment. But our propaganda is not in vain. Our words remain
embedded among the people...
One who doesn't dream and can't make others dream, can
never become a revolutionary."]
India is 'losing Maoist battle'
says Indian Prime Minister. Maoists have a presence in almost 200 Indian districts
BBC Report 15 September 2009
India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says his country is losing the battle
against Maoist rebels.Mr Singh told a meeting of police chiefs from different
states that rebel violence was increasing and the Maoists' appeal was growing.
The rebels say they are fighting for the rights of the poor. They operate in a
large swathe of territory across central India, and in some areas have almost
replaced the local government.
More than 6,000 people have been killed during their 20-year fight for a
communist state.
"I have consistently held that in many ways, left-wing extremism poses perhaps
the gravest internal security threat our country faces," Mr Singh told a
conference of Indian police chiefs in the capital, Delhi. "We have discussed
this in the last five years and I would like to state frankly that we have not
achieved as much success as we would have liked in containing this menace."
The prime minister said that despite the government's best efforts, violence in
Maoist-affected areas was going up. The prime minister admitted that the Maoists
had growing appeal among a large section of Indian society, including tribal
communities, the rural poor as well as sections of the intelligentsia and the
youth.
Mr Singh said a more sensitive approach was necessary in dealing with the
Maoists. "Dealing with left-wing extremism requires a nuanced strategy - a
holistic approach. It cannot be treated simply as a law and order problem."
The rebels operate in 182 districts in India, mainly in the states of Jharkhand,
Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and West
Bengal. In some areas they have virtually replaced the local government and are
able to mount spectacular attacks on government installations.
Indian Maoists in fierce battle
, BBC, 18
September 2009
A fierce gun battle between Maoist insurgents and security forces has taken
place in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, police say. They say that at least seven Maoists were killed in the fight, and one
paramilitary soldier. The clashes happened during an operation to remove more than 100 insurgents from
a forest. Thousands of people have died in the Maoist insurgency since it began in the
1960s as a backlash against poverty.
Chhattisgarh police chief RK Vij told the AFP news agency that more casualties
were likely after an intense battle in the jungles of Singamadagu district,
500km (300 miles) south of the capital Raipur.
Parallel administration "Nine Maoists and an assistant commandant have died and five troopers are
missing," he told AFP. Some unconfirmed reports say that up to 30 Maoists were killed and 10 soldiers
were missing. Security officials in Raipur told AFP that up to 250 personnel from the police,
paramilitary and commando units were involved in attacking a rebel arms factory
in the Singamadagu offensive. The rebels are believed to have established a parallel administration in the
area and telephone communications there are virtually non-existent.
Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram told police chiefs this week that the
guerrillas were growing stronger and refining their tactics in the forests of
Chhattisgarh and had even acquired advanced military hardware.
India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday also warned that his country
was losing the battle against Maoist rebels. The rebels - who operate operate in 182 districts in India - say they are
fighting for the rights of the poor. They control large swathes of territory
across central India.
Maoist guerrilla commanders
providing basic military training to local youths in West Bengal -
BBC
Report, 22 September 2009
Casualties are feared in a gun battle between Maoist rebels and supporters
of the ruling Communist party in the Indian state of West Bengal. A
five-hour battle ended after police arrived to break up the clash. Villagers
in the West Midnapore region said that up to 15 people may have been killed
or injured in the clash which began on Monday night.
Maoist-linked violence across central and eastern India has killed 6,000
people in India over the past 20 years. The Maoists say they represent the
rights of landless farmhands and tribal communities. Last week at least
seven Maoists and one soldier were killed in a battle in the central state
of Chhattisgarh and more than 20 police were killed in the eastern state of
Jharkand.
In the latest incident, the rebels surrounded an office belonging to the
Communist Party of India (Marxist) at Enayetpur in West Midnapore district
on Monday evening. Rebel leader Kishenji told the BBC that the Communist
supporters had hoarded a large number of weapons at the party office in
order to carry out attacks against villagers who supported the Maoists at a
later stage. "The party supporters were harassing local women, so thousands
of villagers led by our fighters encircled the party office," he said. The
rebel leader said four local tribal women had died in the gun battle.
More than 30 Communist party supporters have been killed by rebels in the
Midnapore region since the West Bengal government launched a security
offensive against Maoists in June. The offensive was initiated after the
Maoists had taken complete control of the Lalgarh area in Midnapore in
November last year.
Our correspondent says the insurgents and the CPI(M), which has been the
state's dominant political force, have been fighting a turf war. In the past
few years, he says, the Maoists have extended their influence with guerrilla
commanders camping in the area and providing basic military training to
local youths.
Last week, Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh said India was losing the battle against Maoist
rebels.
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