MAOIST ATTACK

The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is a Maoist political party in India which aims to overthrow the government of India.[1] It was founded on 21 September 2004, through the merger of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People's War and the Maoist Communist Centre of India (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.[2]

They claim to be fighting for the rights of the tribes in the forest belt around central India. That region contains deposits of minerals[3] which are of interest to mining companies like Tata and Essar. There have been numerous human rights violations of the tribal people at the hands of government agencies. [4] [5]

The CPI (Maoist) are often referred to as Naxalites in reference to the Naxalbari insurrection conducted by radical Maoists in West Bengal in 1967.

In 2006, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh referred to the Naxalites as "the single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country."[6][7] 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, Indian Government has identified 83 districts in 9 states as "Naxal-hit".[8]
Contents


* 1 Ideology
* 2 Location
* 3 Organisation
* 4 Strategy
o 4.1 Governance tactics
o 4.2 Military tactics
* 5 Funding
* 6 Legal status
* 7 Controversial organisation
o 7.1 Opposition
* 8 International connections
* 9 Recent violent activities by Maoists
* 10 See also
* 11 References
* 12 External links

Ideology
Communism in India
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v • d • e

According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, the two factions 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 Pradesh announced 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.[2]

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.[9]

It is claimed by the Communist Party of India (Maoist) that it is conducting 'people's war', a strategical line developed by Mao Zedong during the phase of guerrilla warfare of the Communist Party of China. The 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."[9]
Location

Currently it has presence in remote regions of Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh as well as presence 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.[2]

A 2005 Frontline cover story called the Bhamragad Taluka, where the Madia Gond Adivasis live, the heart of the Naxalite-affected region in Maharashtra.[10]
Organisation

The current general secretary of the party is Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapati. The highest decision making body of the party is its Politburo, comprising 14 (or 13[11]) members, 6 of whom were either killed or arrested between 2007-10. Amongst those arrested, Kobad Ghandy is the senior-most member.[12] Other arrested Politburo members include Pramod Mishra, Ashutosh Tudu and Amitabha Bagchi.[11] Mallojula Koteswara Rao alias Kishenji[13] and Katakam Sudarshan alias Anand are the two prominent members of its Politburo. Kishenji and Anand currently head the Eastern Regional Bureau and the Central Regional Bureau of the party respectively.[14] Cherukuri Raj Kumar alias Azad is another Politburo member.[11] The Central Committee of the party, which takes command from the Politburo and passes on the information to its members, comprises 32 members. The party hierarchy consists of the Regional Bureaus, which look after two or three states, the State Committees, the Zonal Committees, the District Committees and the dalams (armed squads).[12]

The military wings of the respective organisations, People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (military wing of MCCI) and People's Guerrilla Army (military wing of PW), were also merged. The name of the unified military organisation is 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.[15] 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.[7][16]
Strategy
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 prevent aid from getting through to people who need it.[7] 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.[17]

The organisation has been holding 'Public Court's, which have been described as kangaroo courts,[18][19][20] against the people who have opposed the Maoists. These "courts" function in the areas under de-facto Maoist control.[21] The Maoists have also taken care to demolish government institutions under their de facto jurisdiction.[22]
Military tactics

It retains the tactics of its predecessor 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 of bases in rural and remote areas and transforming them first into guerrilla zones and then as "liberated zones", besides the area-wise seizure and encircling cities.

The military hardware used by Maoists, as proved through a number of seizures, include RDX cable wires, gelatine sticks, detonators, country-made weapons, INSAS rifles, AK-47s, SLR and improvised explosive devices. According to MHA reports, the CRPF seized over 6000 kg of explosives in Bihar and 893 kg in Jharkhand till October 2008. Security forces also recovered codex wire in Jharkhand for the first time, a highly potent explosive with a blast-range of up to 720 meters, which has so far been used only by modern national armies (The Telegraph, 16 October 2008).
Funding

The funding for the Maoists come from abductions, extortion and by setting up unofficial administrations to collect taxes in rural areas where official government appears absent.[7][23]

Another major source of funding for Maoists allegedly comes from poppy cultivation 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 screened and hidden behind peripheral maize cultivation. The Naxals are also believed to be patronizing hemp cultivation to fund their activities as reported from Debagarh district in Orissa.[24]
Legal status
[show]Organizations listed as terrorist groups by India
Northeastern India
National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM)
Naga National Council-Federal (NNCF)
National Council of Nagaland-Khaplang
United Liberation Front of Asom
People's Liberation Army
(Manipur)
Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL)
Zomi Revolutionary Front
Kashmir
Al-Badr
Al-Badr Mujahideen
Al Barq (ABQ)
Al Fateh Force (AFF)
Al Jihad Force (AJF)/Al Jihad
Al Mujahid Force (AMF)
Al Umar Mujahideen (AUR/Al Umar)
Awami Action Committee (AAC)
Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DEM)
Harakat-ul-Ansar
Harakat-ul-Jihad-I-Islami
Harakat-ul-Mujahideen
Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HUM)
Ikhwan-ul-Musalmeen (IUM)
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM)
Lashkar-e-Mohammadi
Jammat-ul-Mujahideen (JUM)
Jammat-ul-Mujahideen Almi (JUMA)
Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP)
Jammu and Kashmir Islamic Front (JKIF)
Jammu and Kashmir Jamaat-e-Islami (JKJEI)
Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET)
Jaish-e-Mohammed
Kul Jammat Hurriyat Conference (KJHC)
Mahaz-e-Azadi (MEA)
Muslim Janbaaz Force (MJF/Jaanbaz Force)
Muslim Mujahideen (MM)
Hizbul Mujahideen
Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
Farzandan-e-Milat
United Jihad Council
Al-Qaeda
Students Islamic Movement of India Tehreek-e-Jihad (TEJ)
Pasban-e-Islami (PEI/Hizbul Momineen HMM)
Shora-e-Jihad (SEJ)
Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen (TUM)
North India
Babbar Khalsa
Bhindranwala Tigers Force of Khalistan
Communist Party of India (Maoist)
Dashmesh Regiment
International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF)
Kamagata Maru Dal of Khalistan
Khalistan Armed Force
Khalistan Liberation Force
Khalistan Commando Force
Khalistan Liberation Army
Khalistan Liberation Front
Khalistan Liberation Organisation
Khalistan National Army
Khalistan Guerilla Force
Khalistan Security Force
Khalistan Zindabad Force
Shaheed Khalsa Force
Central India
People's war group
Balbir militias
Naxals
Ranvir Sena
v • d • e

The party is regarded as a "left-wing extremist entity" and a terrorist outfit and several of their members had been arrested by the Indian Government under the defunct Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act (POTA).[2][25] The group is officially banned by the State Governments of Orissa,[26] Chattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, among others. The party has protested these bans.[27] 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).[28] Earlier, the union home minister, Mr P. Chidambaram had asked the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, to ban the Maoists following the Lalgarh Violence.[29]

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 bank account frozen.
Controversial organisation
Opposition

They 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.[17] In 2005, Chattisgarh State sponsored an anti-Maoist movement and called it the Salwa Judum. The group, which the BBC alleges is "government backed" [30], an allegation rejected by the government as biased and Indophobic[31][32], has come under criticism from pro-Maoist activist groups[33] for "perpetrating atrocities and abuse against women,"[34] using child soldiers[21], and the looting of property and destruction of homes[34]. These allegations were addressed and rejected by a fact finding commission of National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC), appointed by Supreme Court of India, who determined that the Salwa Judum was a spontaneous reaction by tribals against Maoist atrocities perpetrated against them[35][36]. The camps are guarded by police officers, paramilitary forces and Salwa Judum activists[17][21] empowered with the official title "special police officer."[21][37]
[edit] International connections

The CPI (Maoist) maintains dialogue with the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) who control most of Nepal in the Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organizations of South Asia (CCOMPOSA) according to several intelligence sources and think tanks.[2] These links are however denied by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)[38]

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.[39]

Latest reports indicates that the Maoist Communist Party of the Philippines Southeast Asia’s longest-lived communist insurgent group—has been reported to have engaged in conducting training activities for guerrilla warfare for Indian Maoists. [40]

The Indian Maoists deny operational links with foreign groups, such as Nepalese Maoists, but do claim comradeship[41]. Some members of the Indian government accept this[42], others argue that operational links do exist, with training coming from Sri-Lankan Maoists and small-arms from China[43]. 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 Phillipines are less reticent about their shared goals[44].