Maoist Insurgency Rocks India

Re: # 35
jang...
wherever VHP guys, through Vanavasi Kalyan Sangh, brought tribals in their fold, the maoist insurgency is very less there...mineral is another angle....

hamid writes ".for all the hoopla, it seems the isi is highly overrated ........ "

You mean as overrated as their employers the CIA?

Re: # 35

jang mian,

.... i have the same question ...... it is obvious that the isi is not doing its job ........

Re: # 35

Jang:

The problem as I see is, that in the troubled states there is lot of income from mining activities. Great majority of this activity, in one or the other, is controlled / influenced by mining mafia in these states. This mafia pockets the money with arms, weapons and threats. No different than what Maoists are doing.

i have a question..why have tribal belts of gujrat-maharastra border, bheels, gonds and warlis have not been affected by maoist insurgency?

The Left parties are no doubt in cahoots with the Maoists. Bardhan of the CPI for one has been regularly advising the Maoists and no doubt have been so many so called communist functionaries in Bengal.
Also the main stream parties are fully to blame for not having addressed the issues facing the poor in this belt. Most parts of the Maoist infested areas are located in states where corruption and lawlessness is rampant, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh to name a few. There has been no attempt to improve the lot of these people.
While there no justification for the violent methods they adopt, one believes it is only out of utter desperation that they have taken this path.
If the ruling Congress manages to sort out this issue during its term, it will be a big achievement

.."the maoist movement fills up the space left by an absent government.."
Above extract fom bongdongs interact describes the situation. 1970-71 was the peak year for naxal movement. West Bengal, Andhra, Bihar were worst hit. After Charu Majumdar, I did not come across any ideologue for this movement.
Government has failed the people in certain areas and politicians should acknowledge the fact. They are un-willing to deal with situation tactfully and politically so they look for forceful solution. Militarism and mafioso politics has become endemic and local level politicians hire guards in Pakistan. Political parties have their armed wings. Violent politics is best seen in cities like Karachi and Mumbai where migrant workers are discriminated. I do not find it in me to support state violence against suffering people.
Peace.

Re: # 16
hamidm2...
back again with usual ****!!!!
http://www.chowk.com/ilogs/72913/46954

Re: # 15
malik...
without disagreeing with you ( rather to say agree with you. Tribals are denied the land holding rights as they live in reserved forests. They get nothing for the minerals extracted from tribal belts) , I would say, India is well developed democracy and CPI(M) showed that, if you keep faith in power of people, you should leave guns....

Now some section of naxalites are engaged in killing the leaders, who want to bring development into triabls areas and even opposing infrastructure projects....In AP, some section of Naxalites are mere hooliguns....having 4/5 wives and leading lavish lives on loot money.

Anil,
you are right sir. Ultra - left movement is gaining ground in Calcutta again.

if anybody is interested you can buy "Kohima to Kashmir" straight from the publisher's (Rupa India) for the princely sum of $10 (even Atif can afford that)

http://www.rupapublications.com/client/Book/KOHIMA-TO-KASHMIR.aspx

i think malik was refering to the original "naxalbari" movement of the 60's.

Though there are ideological links I think practically todays Maoists have very little to do with the '60's naxabari's (someone please correct me if I am wrong). I do not know all the reasons that led to the decline of the '60's movement but anecdotally I have heard of brutal police tactics under the supervision of Siddarth Shankar Ray who was then CM of Bengal (and a firm Gandhi family loyalist). If I am not wrong this same guy was brought out of cold storage in Punjab in the '80's to apply the same tactics I presume.

According to people I know from the trbal belt ("chhota nagpur") the maoist movement fills up the space left by an absent government. The evangelicals and the maoists are the two most prominent forces in the tribal belt.

In general there is a lot more sympathy for the maoists among the educated elite of India (In contrast to say the Paki's). Maybe the situation is like that in Pakistan in the '90's with regard to the Taliban. They may have wandered from the path but they are very much "us".

On the topic of how to deal with the naxalites (and the proposals are very different than the Kashmir and NE insurgencies) an interesting book I read was "Kashmir to Kohima" written by Prakash Singh, a decorated IPS officer who headed many counter-insurgency operations (including Punjab in the '80's) and was head of UP police.

Re: # 27
Sorry, I meant insurrection.

Re: # 26
It did not? Media reported that Naxalites were limited to 2 or 3 districts of West Bengal and the peasant resurrection, Naxalbari movement was famous for, has not been been on front page for quite some time.

Re: # 25

It did not subside in West Bengal. Recently troops were sent to deal with the situation.

Re: # 24
How did the Naxal movement subside in West Bengal? Lands were distributed among the rural poor making them self-employed. If state does not understand the needs of its citizens, they resort to protest and employ violent measures to attract attention. Mahatama Gandhi would oppose ruthlessness against Mumbai attackers as well.

Ellora:

There is one thing in eforcing the law ruthlessley against terrorists like Mumbai attackers. These are extremely poor and disadvantaged people, who have taken for ride by even communists like CPM. Instead companies like ITC have been their partners. Such partnership, rather than ruthlessness is what is needed. This is my point.