The Red Menace

[Suppiah]

The trans-Himalayan cousins our of Stalinist rapist goons/mass murderers have ejected Indian priests and appointed local (party cadre?). Is this simply a local vs foreign issue or something deeper?

[Avinash R]

Maoist killed in encounter
Friday, Jan 16, 2009
http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/16/stor ... 020100.htm

ONGOLE: Police killed a Maoist leader, Karamthota Govinda Naik alias Sanjeevi alias Raju (34), in an encounter at Mullampalli village of Pullalacheruvu mandal in Prakasam district on Thursday.

The encounter death of the district committee secretary of the CPI (Maoist) broke one-and-a-half year lull in the war between the police and extremists in Nallamala area of Prakasam district.

According to the police, about five leaders of the Maoist party gathered in Pullalacheruvu mandal lying on the border of Guntur and Prakasam districts for a meeting on Thursday. On information, police raided the camp held on a hill top leading to the encounter.

While Govinda Naik was killed on the spot, four other leaders escaped. Police recovered a carbine and 20 rounds from the place.Govinda Naik was carrying a reward of Rs. 3 lakh on his head.

[Avinash R]

Maoists back to their old tactics of looting and terrorizing people and then their sympathizers in media will brand this crime as an robinhood type social service.

Naxals torch bus, loot passengers in Chhattisgarh
http://news.indiainfo.com/2009/01/16/09 ... sgarh.html

Friday, January 16, 2009 17:15 [IST]

Raipur: More than 150 armed naxalites torched a bus in Dantewada district after looting passengers on board, police said today.

The naxalites last night stopped a private passenger bus on its way to Hyderabad from Bailadila district by felling a tree near Manikanta village, 450 kms from here, Dantewada SP Rahul Sharma said.

"The naxals asked the passengers to disembark the bus and looted valuables from them," the SP said adding before leaving they broke the fuel tank of the vehicle and set it on fire.

TOI Link
Naxals torch bus, loot passengers in Chhattisgarh

[Avinash R]

After looting bus passengers now maoist thugs turn their evil eye on farmers. Already farmers are suffering from poor climatic conditions and poor returns so they lease out their tractors to contractors who use them to ferry construction materials. But these maoist have now started destroying those tractors to end the source of income that farmers could have earned.

First maoists will make farmers dirt poor by destroying their every source of income and then start their propaganda that farmers are being ignored by govt and vow to solve their problems through people's war.

10 tractors set on fire by naxals
Dantewada | Friday, Jan 16 2009 IST
http://news.webindia123.com/news/articl ... 54022.html

Ten tractors were set afire and five cellular phones were looted by the Maoists naxals in Dantewada district of Bastar division, police said today.

A total of 60 to 70 naxals arrived at Surnar village in Kunwakonda police station limit and set ablaze on the tractors involved in road construction last night.

The naxals also looted the mobile phones, some cash and fled away from the spot.

A case was registered in this regard, police added.

[Avinash R]

The public backlash against maoists for killing swami laxmanananda saraswati has forced them to expel the person who claimed for the maoists that they killed the swami.

Maoist press release creates flutter in Orissa

http://www.newkerala.com/topstory-fullnews-76124.html

Bhubaneswar, Jan 16 : A Maoist press release announcing the expulsion of one of Orissa's most wanted left-wing rebels appeared in some newspapers here Friday, creating a flutter in the state.

The release on the letterhead of the Communist Party of India-Maoist, faxed Thursday to some media organisations in the state capital, announced that the party has expelled its Orissa unit secretary Sabyasachi Panda for anti-party activities.

It also threatened him with dire consequences for his "anti-people activities".

Published Friday in two newspapers, The Sambad and The Dharitri, the release held Panda responsible for the recent communal violence in the state that killed at least 38 people and forced thousands of people to flee their houses.

A senior state police official said he had doubts about the authenticity of the press release. "The Maoists in the state are divided on religious lines after the communal violence and it may have been the handiwork of a rival group," he said on condition of anonymity.

Panda, 39, who is one of the most wanted Maoist rebels, said on television October last year that his group killed Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others in Kandhamal district.

[rajsunder]

The public backlash against maoists for killing swami laxmanananda saraswati has forced them to expel the person who claimed for the maoists that they killed the swami.

Maoist press release creates flutter in Orissa

http://www.newkerala.com/topstory-fullnews-76124.html

Bhubaneswar, Jan 16 : A Maoist press release announcing the expulsion of one of Orissa's most wanted left-wing rebels appeared in some newspapers here Friday, creating a flutter in the state.

The release on the letterhead of the Communist Party of India-Maoist, faxed Thursday to some media organisations in the state capital, announced that the party has expelled its Orissa unit secretary Sabyasachi Panda for anti-party activities.

It also threatened him with dire consequences for his "anti-people activities".

Published Friday in two newspapers, The Sambad and The Dharitri, the release held Panda responsible for the recent communal violence in the state that killed at least 38 people and forced thousands of people to flee their houses.

A senior state police official said he had doubts about the authenticity of the press release. "The Maoists in the state are divided on religious lines after the communal violence and it may have been the handiwork of a rival group," he said on condition of anonymity.

Panda, 39, who is one of the most wanted Maoist rebels, said on television October last year that his group killed Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others in Kandhamal district.

Wow! i was expecting some sort of news on these lines. Anyways did our DDM spent any time on this news.

[bharat_r]

It is unfortunate that the left-liberal media continuously suppresses any movement (e.g. Salwa Judum) to counter the Naxalites.

As a rare exception, the Hindu published an article by Ravi Shankar Prasad about his take on Naxal menace and Chhattisgarh elections. See http://www.hindu.com/2009/01/14/stories ... 930900.htm

The very next day, they published a rejoinder by Ramachandra Guha thrashing BJP in Chhattisgarh. see http://www.hindu.com/2009/01/16/stories ... 981100.htm

While this is a rare exception of coverage of both sides, there is no doubt that the secularists dominate our media and most Indians do not know both side of the picture due to censorship. To counter liberal Indian media, we have started a website:

http://www.bharatright.com

This website provides links to nationalist articles published in various newspapers. All the items in website appear as hyperlinks and a summary of article is provided just under the article header. We also pick up liberal opinions and compare with nationalist opinion, so readers can compare both the views and reach their decision. The articles are updated on a daily basis. The headline news stories are updated every 30 minutes.

[Ananth]

Another corraboration on expulsion of Sabyasachi Panda:
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/stor ... kuKw=&SEO=

However, the real motivations of Naxals could be different. This act could be just a mere self-preservation act, just like those indulged by our Paki friends with respect to Let/JuD, where they put up a show of arrest and accomodate their underlings when the storm dies down.

The communique released under the signature of Saket said Sunil’s ways have invited retaliation and rebellion from inside. Though CPI (Maoist) does not take any religious stand as per its ideology, murder of the Swamiji as well as his four associates put the party on a sticky wicket since it was done on the advise of Sunil. The incident, the press release said, led to bloodshed of the innocents and the revolutionary movement suffered a loss of face.

That is the key. That is how Naxals lost their "romantic" appeal in Telengana, and that is how they will have to be combated.

That Bailadila-Hyderabad bus incident is a tragedy. One thing that we hear very clearly is the "loud silence" of various overground naxal-sympathizers like PUCL, Civil liberty organizations and other assorted bleeding hearts. Are those passengers not human? Are they categorized as bourgeoisie, and hence it is legitimate to loot them?

Another interesting tidbit:

However, insiders say the release could be the handiwork of a faction of the radical outfit which is not in good terms with Sunil. ‘‘It is basically a growing friction between the Telugu and Oriya factions, the latter holding sway because the mass movement originated from Andhra Pradesh and they have a say,’’ said sources.

In fact, the powerful Telugu faction is not willing to yield any space to Sunil because they decide the action plans. In fact, sources even say Sunil claims to be secretary of the State organisational committee although he is just a member.

This is the situation in CG also. All the naxal related operations are directed and mostly carried out by Andhra naxal leaders who are rank outsiders. These fellows used the timeout granted by YSR to bail out of AP with their assorted infrastructure to CG.

When all these PUCL and civil liberties come out with hypothesis of "exploitation of tribals, tribals fighting back", they expose their own ignorance rather than providing any insight. Now I am not claiming that the tribals are in utopia. A lot of work is definitely left to be done towards uplifting of tribals and bringing them to 21st century. However these are all governence related issues. These cannot be solved by Long March and other assorted nonsense. The useful idiots in DDM swallow the Naxal line hook, line and sinker and parrot the non-sense and the same resonates through the edit pages of national dailies. That is nothing but obfuscation of the facts.

The task is cut out for Raman Singh. That fellow has been given mandate by the poor tribals and he has to now really make a difference in their life. Living near Rajnandgoan and Bhilai is not going to solve problems near Bijapur and Dornakal. Sir, you need to camp right in Bastar district to make a difference.

[Avinash R]

The public backlash against maoists for killing swami laxmanananda saraswati has forced them to expel the person who claimed for the maoists that they killed the swami.

Maoist press release creates flutter in Orissa

http://www.newkerala.com/topstory-fullnews-76124.html

Bhubaneswar, Jan 16 : A Maoist press release announcing the expulsion of one of Orissa's most wanted left-wing rebels appeared in some newspapers here Friday, creating a flutter in the state.

The release on the letterhead of the Communist Party of India-Maoist, faxed Thursday to some media organisations in the state capital, announced that the party has expelled its Orissa unit secretary Sabyasachi Panda for anti-party activities.

It also threatened him with dire consequences for his "anti-people activities".

Published Friday in two newspapers, The Sambad and The Dharitri, the release held Panda responsible for the recent communal violence in the state that killed at least 38 people and forced thousands of people to flee their houses.

A senior state police official said he had doubts about the authenticity of the press release. "The Maoists in the state are divided on religious lines after the communal violence and it may have been the handiwork of a rival group," he said on condition of anonymity.

Panda, 39, who is one of the most wanted Maoist rebels, said on television October last year that his group killed Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others in Kandhamal district.

Wow! i was expecting some sort of news on these lines. Anyways did our DDM spent any time on this news.

So called Main Stream Media led by english channels like ndtv, cnn-ibn ignored it, while channels in indian languages reported it.

[Avinash R]

While this is a rare exception of coverage of both sides, there is no doubt that the secularists dominate our media and most Indians do not know both side of the picture due to censorship. To counter liberal Indian media, we have started a website:http://www.bharatright.com

bharat i request you to call them as pseudo secularists, that's the apt name for them. Calling them secularists would be insulting the real secularists.

[shyam]

In my opinion the word "secularism" itself is pseudo. As long as there is not formal debate about what is secularism, I will use that word negatively. I shouldn't be forced to use the word secularism to explain my tolerance of other faiths.

Actually I use words secular-brigade or secular-mafia to call these secularists.

[rajsunder]

The communique released under the signature of Saket said Sunil’s ways have invited retaliation and rebellion from inside. Though CPI (Maoist) does not take any religious stand as per its ideology, murder of the Swamiji as well as his four associates put the party on a sticky wicket since it was done on the advise of Sunil. The incident, the press release said, led to bloodshed of the innocents and the revolutionary movement suffered a loss of face.

Never heard of any Telugu guy being named saket. I believe the whole thing about infighting between Telugu and Oriya guys is just a cover up by church funded media.

[Avinash R]

If you ask common man in India what secularism means he will describe it as being non-discriminatory towards any religion. The media too uses this definition while reporting but when you describe a commie person say for example ramchandra guha as secular it goes against the definition of secularism in the indian context. Guha is a hard core commie who aims to one day see the communist party rule this country. Guha hates religion and like all commies considers it to be opium of the masses. He is anti-religion and NOT secular in the true sense. So calling these guha,romila thapar as seculars will be mistake as it misleads the person who reads those articles or posts.

In my opinion the word "secularism" itself is pseudo. As long as there is not formal debate about what is secularism, I will use that word negatively. I shouldn't be forced to use the word secularism to explain my tolerance of other faiths.

Actually I use words secular-brigade or secular-mafia to call these secularists.

[Avinash R]

The communique released under the signature of Saket said Sunil’s ways have invited retaliation and rebellion from inside. Though CPI (Maoist) does not take any religious stand as per its ideology, murder of the Swamiji as well as his four associates put the party on a sticky wicket since it was done on the advise of Sunil. The incident, the press release said, led to bloodshed of the innocents and the revolutionary movement suffered a loss of face.

Never heard of any Telugu guy being named saket.

Must be from karnataka then. Police had previously killed a person with similar name in karnataka who was chief of the maoist terror cell in karnataka.

[shyam]

If you ask common man in India what secularism means he will describe it as being non-discriminatory towards any religion. The media too uses this definition while reporting but when you describe a commie person say for example ramchandra guha as secular it goes against the definition of secularism in the indian context. Guha is a hard core commie who aims to one day see the communist party rule this country. Guha hates religion and like all commies considers it to be opium of the masses. He is anti-religion and NOT secular in the true sense. So calling these guha,romila thapar as seculars will be mistake as it misleads the person who reads those articles or posts.

Use the word secular lliberally while pointing out the anti-India actions of such brigade. Point out anti-Hindu actions done in the name of secularism and openly call them secularists. Objective of seculaists is to paint Hinduism in negative light. Also highlight that Hindu religion doesn't discriminate others becaue they have different form of worship. The word secularism must be given a negative connotation as in liberalism, leftism etc. Once we start using the adjective pseudo, we become defensive.

[Avinash R]

If you ask common man in India what secularism means he will describe it as being non-discriminatory towards any religion. The media too uses this definition while reporting but when you describe a commie person say for example ramchandra guha as secular it goes against the definition of secularism in the indian context. Guha is a hard core commie who aims to one day see the communist party rule this country. Guha hates religion and like all commies considers it to be opium of the masses. He is anti-religion and NOT secular in the true sense. So calling these guha,romila thapar as seculars will be mistake as it misleads the person who reads those articles or posts.

Use the word secular lliberally while pointing out the anti-India actions of such brigade. Point out anti-Hindu actions done in the name of secularism and openly call them secularists. Objective of seculaists is to paint Hinduism in negative light. Also highlight that Hindu religion doesn't discriminate others becaue they have different form of worship. The word secularism must be given a negative connotation as in liberalism, leftism etc. Once we start using the adjective pseudo, we become defensive.

Shyam if we owned the media or the media was accountable to the people of this country then what you are suggesting would be possible. Right now the english lang media is willing to force a person to commit suicide for trp's but wont have serious discussion on secularism on their 24X7 channels. Since we cant redefine the meaning of secularism better keep calling fake secularists as pseudo. The meaning of the word is instantly understandable to even the most ignorant person.

[Ananth]

If you ask common man in India what secularism means he will describe it as being non-discriminatory towards any religion. The media too uses this definition while reporting but when you describe a commie person say for example ramchandra guha as secular it goes against the definition of secularism in the indian context. Guha is a hard core commie who aims to one day see the communist party rule this country. Guha hates religion and like all commies considers it to be opium of the masses. He is anti-religion and NOT secular in the true sense. So calling these guha,romila thapar as seculars will be mistake as it misleads the person who reads those articles or posts.

Guha would roll on the floor if you were to term him commie. He is a Gandhi family bootlicker trying to make a career out of hagiography and position himself as modern day "eminent" historian.

Most of the articles (on serious subjects) are devoid of insight and forget about reaching a reasonable diagnosis of the problem, his confusion prevents him from even precisely identifying the problem itself. If you read them for gleaning information you would be seriously disappointed. However his articles does manage to confuse the reader and if not careful would leave you in a depressed state than before you started to read it. The way he manages it because he himself is confused, and by liberally mixing his guilt ridden drivel to obfuscate the issue.

[Avinash R]

Ananth agree with the second part of your post but ramachandra guha is hardcore commie no doubt about it. The only reason he praises the congress is that he is playing the role of shakuni. Internal subversion is the mantra for naxals since they cant defeat mainstream political parties in elections. So they weaken them internally through such shakuni's while they consolidate their hold in rural areas through violence.
While guha trashes mainstream commie parties for the congress he also supports the naxals. Here is an example of this dual nature.
If Ajay is Naxal, I am al Qaeda : Dr Ramachandra Guha
Ajay is known to be a overground supporter of the naxals and guha equates himself with al-qaeda to try to protect his comrade.

Even the most moronic congresswalla wouldn't have jumped to defend naxals and the policy of congress w.r.t to naxals has been clarified many times. Even the ever confused shivraj patil called them the biggest threat to the nation and the UPA's Administrative Reforms Commission equated them with jihadis.
Treat Naxalites as terrorists: Moily panel
So i wonder why guha would support the naxals if he was congresswalla and wouldn't want to become another margaret alva(kicked out of the congress for indiscipline)?

[Avinash R]

Ananth here is something you might find interesting about guha.
Ramachandra Guha - History's Footman - a profile by Anita Nair

As far back as the early nineties, before labels like environmentalist and activist became fashionable, Ramachandra Guha had authored two books. The Unquiet Woods; Ecological Change and Peasant Resistance in the Himalayas and This Fissured Land; An Ecological History of India. But it is his choice of an epigraph for one of his books, a poem by Cherabandaraju, an Andhra naxalite translated by Guha's friend C.V.Subbarao that best explains Guha's approach to the business of balancing ecology with social demands in India:

[Ananth]

Avinash thanks for the links. Unfortuantely I don't have the link to Guha's article where he opposes naxals. Will dig it and share it here.

Now for some more info about unprecendent events in Orissa.
A pro-Hindu Maoist splinter group in Orissa?

A new outfit calling itself M2 and claiming to support the Hindus and tribal people has surfaced in Orissa, raising doubts on whether the Maoist cadre in the state stand divided.

The outfit came out in support of the Hindus and tribal people after the Communist Party of India-Maoists claimed responsibility for the murder of religious leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati in August.

''A top Maoist leader had earlier told the media that they work for the protection of minority Christians and, therefore killed Saraswati," the official said adding some within the cadre might not have supported the move.

Generally, Maoists across the country never are known to take any religious line. "This could be the first instance of Maoists eliminating a religious leader and working on religious lines,'' he said.

Meanwhile, the Kui Samaj Samanwyay Samiti, a tribal body in Kandhamal, had announced its support to the new Maoist organisation.

''We do not know who the leader of M2 is. But we support the outfit on the basis of the content of its posters. They have announced plans to fight for the interest of tribal people who are exploited,'' KSSS leader Lambodar Kanhar told PTI.

My understanding is that the regional faultline between Andhra group and Orissa group is getting manifested as religious division. The Orissa guys might have the respect for the Andhra guys since they started the movement. However, in Orissa it is they would should be running the show rather than Andhra cadre.

One another interesting tid-bit. The naxal affected areas of Orissa viz: Koraput, Ganjam, Gajapati all border north Andhra and have significant Andhra population. Indeed in Behrampur, the whole trade was with Andhra people. That is one more platform which is used by naxals to spread from Andhra into Orissa.

[Ananth]

One interesting blog we should keep an eye on: http://naxalwatch.blogspot.com/

[vsudhir]

Ananth,

Another possibility is that the 'pro-yindoo' grup of maoists has tacit state support. The maoist menace cannot be eliminate easily through COIN action alone. Divisions and diversions become necessary. I do hope that now on, the maoist leadership will have to contiuously keep looking over their shoulder always unsure who is wih them and who is not. That would seriously hamper their operational freedom and compromise more than just a fe assets here and there.

[Ananth]

Sudhir:

Yep it could be. One of the tactics used to overcome the movement in Andhra was discrediting it and exposing the lack of control of central leadership and their ability to maintain discipline on their own cadres.

Another website tracking naxals, albeit filled with sympathetic articles: http://www.cgnet.in/N1

[MohanG]

Interesting Story.

Rs 50 lakh: Maoist bounty on this policeman’s head

[vsudhir]

Wow.

Ajitesh SIngh is a true hero.

Wish our national tv channels would spend some time telling his story rather than give airtime to WKKs and TSP mantris.

[Suppiah]

The age of the innocence is long gone...gone are the days when mass murderers and traitors fall out over differences on whether to kiss the rear orifices of Moscow or Beijing...now when they fall out, it is over very routine and boringly usual matters

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/snubb ... it/417321/

[kidoman]

Naxals gun down 15 cops
NAGPUR: Fifteen policemen including a young police sub-inspector were killed by Naxals in firing in Gadchiroli district on Sunday, police said.
A police patrol party was attacked at Markegaon under Kurkheda area by a group of Naxalites who were waiting for the cops to appear on the scene.
The naxals opened indiscriminate firing that killed all the 15 policemen on the spot. Meanwhile, all the bodies have been recovered, police said.
TOI

WTF?
PM was absolutely right when he said that the Naxal problem was the biggest during current times.
I guess the no of policemen killed by the naxals during the last 1 year will be greater than the no of security personnel killed in J&K.
Really sad news.

[namit k]

Naxals gun down 15 cops
NAGPUR: Fifteen policemen including a young police sub-inspector were killed by Naxals in firing in Gadchiroli district on Sunday, police said.
A police patrol party was attacked at Markegaon under Kurkheda area by a group of Naxalites who were waiting for the cops to appear on the scene.
The naxals opened indiscriminate firing that killed all the 15 policemen on the spot. Meanwhile, all the bodies have been recovered, police said.
TOI

WTF?
PM was absolutely right when he said that the Naxal problem was the biggest during current times.
I guess the no of policemen killed by the naxals during the last 1 year will be greater than the no of security personnel killed in J&K.
Really sad news.

WTF
PM was absolutely correct in speaking his written speech,
what netas don't want to say is that those police martyrs were fighting with inadequate kits,weapons,protection kits etc,
they fought wearing khakis and died a marty's death whether in a forest or in mumbai attacks with their .303
may God bless their souls
politicians are the biggest threat to the life of common Indian... all problems are due their incompetency ,at least mms who was a big intelligent babu he should understand

[Ananth]

Naxals kill 10 cops in Bihar

Happened quiet close to elections, with an attempt to marr Nitish's reasonable governance record. RJD is in alliance with CPM in Bihar. I understand that vectors driving naxals in Bihar are quiet independent of electoral motivations, but timing cannot be ignored and the actors who will exploit this incident.

Over 200 Communist Party of India - Maoist ultras, armed with sophisticated weapons, attacked a police team comprising district armed police, Special Auxiliary Police and Bihar Military Police personnel, sent to Mahuliatand village to provide security at a function organised on the occasion of Ravidas Jayanti, official sources said.

Four jawans each from SAP and BMP, sub-inspector of Kauakaul police station Rameshwar Ram and assistant sub-inspector I D Singh were killed on the spot in the attack.

The Maoists took away 11 rifles, including SLRs, besides several rounds of ammunitions during the pre-planned operation at the village which borders Jharkhand, the sources said.

[Ananth]

Orissa: Fissures in Red

Posting in full since the site doesn't archive

Orissa: Fissures in Red
Fakir Mohan Pradhan
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management

Two dramatic developments in Orissa towards the end of 2008 and overflowing into the early months of 2009 have been the source of confusion regarding the Communist Party of India – Maoist’s (CPI-Maoist) future in this State on the India’s eastern coast. The first was the ‘split’ within the outfit along religious lines, leading to the birth of a new outfit; the second was the expulsion of Sabyasachi Panda, ‘general secretary’ of the Orissa unit of the CPI-Maoist. Although there has been some speculation regarding these developments, since both the ‘split’ and the ‘expulsion’ came to light through posters and a ‘press release’, it is more than certain that there is something deeply amiss within the group, and that this could create a serious challenge for its future activities in Orissa.

Intrinsically linked with both these developments was the killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, an activist of the Right Wing Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), on August 23, 2008, an incident that sparked widespread communal violence in the Kandhamal District. An earlier attack on the Swami in December 2007 had also sparked clashes in the area. The Swami’s anti-conversion activities, targeting the Christian population mostly belonging to the Pana caste, brought him closer to the Kui tribals in the region, who constitute almost 51 per cent population of the District; this had, however, brought him into direct confrontation with the Pana Christians, who account for just 18 per cent of the population, of which some 70 per cent has converted to Christianity. Both the Pana Christians and Kuis fought pitched battle in August and September 2008, leading to the deaths of at least 38 persons in the area and the displacement of thousands from their villages. Due to their sheer numerical disadvantage, the Pana Christians were the primary victims in the conflict.

Initially, there was utter confusion regarding the identity of the killers of the Swami. But Sabyasachi Panda claimed responsibility for the incident in October 2008, even writing an article in a local magazine "Manishara Bartabaha Swabhimana" justifying the killing and accusing Lakshmananda of creating sectarian divisions among the poor of the Kandhamal District. Panda wrote "After the December 2007 communal violence in Kandhamal, we threatened to kill him if he and his supporters did not refrain from harassing tribals and Dalit Christians to change their religion."

This declaration in ethnically polarized Kandhamal was seen as an open stance in favour of the Christians and appeared to have sparked off an immediate division within the CPI-Maoist’s Orissa unit, which comprises significant tribal cadres. A new outfit calling itself ‘M2’ released posters on December 20, indicating that the group represented a breakaway faction of the CPI-Maoist, consisting of its Hindu cadres. The M2 renamed itself ‘Idealize of Democrat Guerrilla Army–Maoist’ (sic) (IDGA-Maoist). However, the shorter ‘M2’ has stuck, and M2 posters denouncing the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) of the CPI-Maoist and Sabyasachi Panda for the VHP leader’s death have claimed that, while the Swami was opposed to proselytisation and killing of cows, he was not opposed to the Maoists. It accused the CPI-Maoist under Panda’s leadership of unnecessarily straying from its original objective of ‘class struggle’, towards a communal conflict in exchange for money from the Christian missionaries. An M2 sympathizer thus stated in a media interview: "Maoists don’t have any religion. Their religion is to safeguard the vulnerable people and fight exploitation and oppression. But those under Panda are acting like a mafia." On January 3, the day M2 was formally constituted, the outfit called for a bandh (general shutdown) in the Kandhamal, Gajapati and Ganjam Districts.

The bandh call evoked a spontaneous response across the Kandhamal District, and had partial impact in the two adjoining Districts – Gajapati and Ganjam. M2 has, since, enlisted the support of the Kui Samaj Samanwyay Samiti (KSSS), a body of Kui tribals in Kandhamal District. "We do not know who the leader of M2 is. But we support the outfit on the basis of the content of its posters. They have announced plans to fight for the interest of tribals who are exploited by others,'' KSSS leader Lambodar Kanhar said. The Maoists have traditionally enjoyed significant support among the Kui tribals and the Kui tribal organization, Kui Labanga Sangha (Kui Youth Association) has been proscribed since 2005-06 for serving as a front organization of the Maoists.

Close on the heels of the M2’s rather successful general shutdown call, the CPI-Maoist’s Central Committee announced the expulsion of Sabyasachi Panda. In a faxed message on January 16, 2009, to two Oriya language newspapers – Sambad and Dharitri – the outfit accused Panda of "anti-party activities" and threatened him with dire consequences for his "anti-people activities". It also held him squarely responsible for the communal violence in the Kandhamal District. The CPI-Maoist claimed that, though fighting against "Hindu fascist forces" has been its policy, ‘power hungry’ Panda never sought permission or clearance from the Central Committee before executing such a crucial decision as that of eliminating Swami Lakshmananda. Because of Sabyasachi Panda’s ‘ego’, "poor people suffered" and the "outfit got blamed in public", the fax message read. The Maoists went further to accuse Panda of embezzlement of ‘donations’ collected in the name of the CPI-Maoist and passing on the funds to help his close relatives. As a result, some of Panda’s relatives have come to amass huge fortunes, the party alleged. The Fax further warned Sabyasachi to refund the money collected in the name of the outfit or else be ready to face the same consequence that other ‘traitors’ have faced. The Central Committee claimed to have received information about Panda’s plans to join the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party and contest elections. It also claimed that Sabyasachi, who is only a member of the State Organizational Committee of the Maoists, had made false claims of being the Secretary of the Committee as well as a member of the Central Committee. Bhaskar currently heads the Orissa unit of the outfit, intelligence sources indicated. Posters informing the public of Panda’s misdeeds were also found pasted in the headquarters town of Rayagada District, adjoining Kandhamal and Gajapati Districts.

Sabyasachi Panda had joined the Naxalite movement in 1991 and is credited with rejuvenating its activities in Orissa by 1996. He had formed the Kui Labanga Sangha to spread Maoist activities among the Kui tribals. Panda had gained notoriety for masterminding the Nayagarh armory raid in February 15, 2008. His involvement in the June 29, 2008, attack on the elite anti-Maoist Greyhounds personnel in the Chitrakonda reservoir was also strongly suspected. More than 20 cases of murder, extortion and dacoity are currently registered against Panda. The son of the late Ramesh Panda, a former three-time Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), who had later joined the BJD and was acting as the Nayagarh District President of the Party till his death in 2003, Sabyasachi Panda is also alleged to have links with several influential persons in the State’s power centres. Sabyasachi Panda’s mother-in-law is also a member of the BJD.

While Panda had been a source of significant strength for the CPI-Maoist in the past, his autocratic and corrupt ways of functioning are said to have led to at least three of his close associates – Abraham Gamang, Buddha Gamang and Hitringa Majhi – parting ways with the group. The trio now runs the Loka Sangrama Mancha (People’s Revolution Front), a non-violent group working for the removal of backwardness and poverty.

Intelligence sources informed SAIR that Sabyasachi’s expulsion also had to do with his refusal to be transferred out of Orissa, a policy that the CPI-Maoist follows to prevent cadres and leaders from developing vested interests in one area of operation. Towards the middle of 2008, Sabyasachi had been asked to move to the Telengana region of Andhra Pradesh by the CPI-Maoist Central Committee, a move that he chose to resist. Sources also indicated that it was Panda who provided the Police with the tip-off that led to the arrest of two officials of the Gandhi Institute of Engineering and Technology at Gunupur in Rayagada District on December 29, 2008, and the recovery of INR 1.2 million from them. The two officials were going to make a ‘donation’ to the Maoists. There are also references to an internal power struggle within the CPI-Maoist. Sabyasachi’s recent moves are said to have been propelled by Orissa’s non-representation in the 14-member CPI-Maoist Central Committee, which is dominated by nine leaders from Andhra Pradesh.

There is significant evidence that suggests that the Maoists have undergone a split in Orissa, and that Panda’s ‘expulsion’ is an attempt by the outfit to camouflage the consequent weakness that has temporarily set in, in its Orissa State unit. It remains to be seen whether the rebels’ vulnerabilities will persist, or whether the State’s enforcement agencies possess the capacities to take advantage of this transient infirmity to inflict further damage on the Maoists.

[Ananth]

Maoist attack: Procedural lapse cost Bihar cops their lives

"We had asked the police department not to participate in functions in remote villages and not accept any request to become the chief guest of any function there. It is one of the basic and standard warnings that we give to the policemen," Nawada District Magistrate Yogendra Bhakt told rediff.com on Tuesday.

An 18-member police party, led by the officer in charge of the Kauwa Kol police station Rameshwar Ram, reached Nawada district's Mahulitand village, close to the Bihar-Jharkhand border, to participate in a function organised by the Anushuhit Jati Vikas Samiti. Ram was supposed to have been felicitated at the function to mark Ravidas Jayanti.

As soon as the officer got on to the makeshift stage, the waiting Maoists opened fire from all sides, killing him and nine other policemen on the spot. The plight of eight other policemen is still unknown. "We are still in the jungle. We have not made any headway," a senior police officer leading a search party in the inhospitable terrain told rediff.com.

[kidoman]

Orissa: Fissures in Red

I can only pray to god that they fizzle out quickly form my lovely state.They have brought enough bad name to the state already..

[Ananth]

13 Maoists arrested for Gadchiroli attack: Police

The Gadchiroli police have caught 13 Maoists who were involved in the attack that killed 15 policemen on February 1. Rajesh Pradhan, Superintendent of Police, Gadchiroli district, told HT on Saturday that, “They were nabbed during the combing operation launched last Sunday afternoon immediately after the attack.”

According to Pradhan, the Maoists were arrested from three villages in the area, including Markegaon, where the incident occurred.

Sources said around 200 villagers from Markegaon have gone missing since the attack and the subsequent police action.

[Ananth]

CG's anti-naxal ops are bearing fruits. Whenever Naxals are under fire, they seek out breathing and regrouping time.

Chhattisgarh Maoists offer conditional talks

Pandu had also hinted at the Maoists' preparedness for talks in a statement released on January 19. 'We invite the Chhattisgarh government to the Abujhmar [a very dense and inaccessible forest area in the Bastar region from where the Maoists run their parallel government] for peace talks. We will provide the entire cabinet full security,' Pandu said in the interaction.

In his January 19 statement, Pandu criticised the government for the killing of 19 people in Singaram district and the Salwa Judum campaign. The Maoists said those killed in the Singaram encounter are innocent villagers while the government claimed they were Maoists.

The last paragraph of that long statement signed by Pandu said the Maoists would be willing to sit for talks provided a conducive and pro-people atmosphere is created. 'Our party announces that it will take all steps, including talks, in the interest of the hardworking but suffering people,' his statement said.

However, the same statement rubbished an earlier offer for talks from the government as a diversion tactic and a 'step to misguide the people'.

Chief Minister Raman Singh was reported as saying even the government favoured talks to bring peace in the region but insisted that the Maoists had to end violence if they want to come to the table for talks. The home minister and senior government officials also indicated that the government may be favourable towards the move while saying that they will adopt a wait and watch approach. Sources said the government is planning to nominate the director general of police or someone from the same level for talks.

Senior intelligence officials, however, are of the view that this is just one more diversionary tactic of the rebels to buy time. "Though they are by no means a spent force, they certainly have suffered heavy setbacks last year. So we do not know how genuine their offer is," said a senior intelligence officer. "It also remains to be seen how the government is going to react to it and how seriously they are taking the offer," he added.

[Virupaksha]

I do not know what to do with these buggers
Febrarury 17th edition of eenadu
http://www.eenadu.net/panelhtml.asp?qry ... panel9.htm (link will go tommorow)
http://www.eenadu.net/archives/archive- ... panel2.htm


Loose translation of essentials.

I was a maoist for 16 years. I still believe in it. However due to my recent illness and family longing, I have come forward to surrender. I do not repent or feel sorry for my actions in anyway

This guy was the brain in the murder attempt on CBN near tirumala. He was the ap state "karyadarsi". Do not know its english translation. Basically the chief of politburo

[Ananth]

karyadarshi: manager, karyakartha: worker

Some more news:

Dreaded Sambalpur Maoist nabbed

SAMBALPUR, Feb. 16: Five days after the arrest of two Maoists, Sambalpur police and CRPF have arrested a hardcore Maoist, Nirmal Mirdha (23), during a joint raid. The dreaded Maoist was arrested in his village Topapada under Jujomura police station, about 40 km from here last night.
Nirmal was allegedly involved in the murder of Kadar Singh on 23 January, 2003, the first ever attack by the Maoists in Sambalpur district, SP Mr Sanjay Kumar said. “Trying to make a living after a series of injustices meted out to him by his friend, Nirmal kept sinking deeper into crime,” the SP said. Gobardhan Budek, the local chief of the Maoists, wanted to keep Nirmal away from Sambalpur to escape police action. He took him to Punjab where he was reportedly sold to another person for Rs 2,000, Mr Kumar said. However, Nirmal returned to his village, Topapada, a few months back and again resumed Maoist activities. “We conducted a joint raid with CRPF personnel and arrested him in the wee hours today. We are also hopeful of arresting few others very soon who were with Nirmal,” the SP said. n SNS

More on Sambasivudu: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Hyde ... 139429.cms

Although Sambasivudu claimed that he surrendered due to ill health, police sources said his transfer to the Maoists' Karnataka state committee in December 2007 was not to his liking. He was also reportedly unhappy with top Maoist leader Ramakrishna who is now in charge of Andhra Orissa Border (AOB) and central committee member.

"He was supposed to go Karnataka from Nagpur on February 13. But he sent a letter to the party informing them of his decision to quit the Maoist party. Thereafter he came directly to city," sources said.

[Ananth]

Maoists on the back foot in AP
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Hyde ... 139432.cms

Senior cops said the recent losses suffered by Maoists are enormous. "The surrender of Sambasivudu certainly will have a considerable impact on the revolutionary movement in the state," an IPS officer involved in anti-naxal operations in coastal districts told `TOI'. Sources said the Maoists bore the brunt because of AP police's extensive intelligence network, training in counter-insurgency warfare and "unlimited powers" of the cops.

"The AP police has the upper hand from the tactical point of view. No wonder, the Maoists have lost a sizable part of the state leadership and cadre in the last two years," a senior cop averred. Apart from Madhav, top Maoist leaders like Matta Ravikumar, Vadkapur Chandramouli, Obulesu, Sande Rajamouli, Vijaykumar have been killed in encounters, while Malla Rajireddy, Lanka Papireddy and M Srinivas Rao have surrendered.

But the fact that the Maoists have made advances in other states in spite of the reverses in AP cannot be ignored. "They could make inroads in Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand only because of centralised planning, direction and AP Maoist leaders' tactical guerrilla warfare," a naxal-hit district SP revealed.

Police sources said though Sambasivudu had stayed away from the Maoist activities for about six months now, he was good at hoodwinking cops with his alacrity and presence of mind. "It was no surprise that he survived 30 encounters. He is brainy and extremely good in guerrilla warfare," another IPS officer said.

Sources said Sambasivudu was well versed with the topography of the Nallamala forests and was instrumental in spreading the extremist movement in the area. A top official said Sambasivudu was more like former State Committee secretary Nalla Adireddy alias Shyam -- killed in the Koyyuru encounter -- who was adept in counter-strategies. "Sambasivudu has got a great eye in field firing," he stated.

[Ananth]

http://www.siasat.com/english/index.php ... =Hyderabad
Ilaiah’s surrender dampens hopes of TDP, TRS

Ilaiah became the AP State Committee (APSC) secretary sometime in September 2006 after his predecessor Burra Chinnaiah was killed. He continued to call the shots till the end of 2007, when the Maoist leadership put him on the move from Andhra-Orissa Border (AOB) to Dandakaranya (DK) to Maharashtra to Karnakata.

The party had formed a three-member A.P. Special Committee to rekindle the embers of the revolutionary movement. (Later, the committee was neutralised with the arrest of its member Gopu Sammi Reddy and killing of Valluri Venkat Rao and Ramchandar). A disappointed Ilaiah was believed to have protested, but he was ordered to move to AOB area and lie low for sometime.
Looked down upon

Look at the above article, not only at the story that it is telling but other aspects that it is acknowledging. During 2004-2006 we had upsurge in Naxal generated violence in CG, all manner of bleeding hearts were going ga ga over how the poor tribals were exploited by contractor class which forced them to take the arms. At that time when it was pointed out that Halbas in DK were backward and were not exploited like in Telengana, since there was not equivalent system of Dora like system, the point was not accepted. The tribals in CG are backward because of lack of penetration of opportunities and due to distance-from-Bhopal factor. That Bhopalis were quiet satisfied in racking in the royality provided by CG without commensurate development work. Now with the formation of CG, there is acceleration of peneration of gov schemes in remotest parts of CG.

The second point that was made during those discussions was that these naxal acts were planned, administered and exectued primarily by the Andhra cadre with peripheral local support. But this was pooh-poohed by saying there has to local support and drawing analogy with TSP-JK. However the above article crearly shows who dominates the naxal show in CG and adjacent states. The above article also propagates the myth that naxals in CG/OR are different than TL:

Maoist fighters in Chhattisgarh and Orissa, whose writ runs large in their respective areas, are known to look down upon their comrades from Telangana in view of the irreparable losses suffered by the party there in recent times.

The violence in CG increased predominantly due to the rest-and-recuperation time provided by YSR's government. Naxals vacated their bases from upper Telenagana and shifted enmass to DK, AOB and Chandrapur area in MH. But CG government was caught with its pants down so it reverted to what GoI itself did in JK after collapse of civil admin there: it armed the Salwa Judum militia. The bleeding hearts have a valid point, that if the state is going to arm civilians it also has to accept the consequences of the acts of those very civilian militia. The luxury of accepting reponsibilities will come when sanity will return. But with naxals run amok and their overground sympathizers writing tear jerking stories adequately supported by city resident useful idiots, the atmosphere was totally vitiated and prevented the correct recognition of the problems.

Naxals have the habit of pissing in 1 sq cm area and claiming the whole district as conquered territory. The terrain in DK is tough and makes it real neat place for guerilla ops. The CG government is slowly clawing back more territory, and it is getting successful. With Orissa also toughening its posture, the popular support must also be sapped.

Inspite of my opposition to Naxals, they have one particular positive affect. If you need development in an area, you pay Naxals to reck havoc in that area. GoI will be forced up from its collective a$$es and dragged to the area and some work will happen. Unfortunately innocent lives are lost in the process.

[Ananth]

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/ind ... 58262.html
Chhattisgarh reluctant to take up Maoists’ peace talk offer

The officials said top police officers and some security experts had serious doubts over the sincerity of Maoists’ peace talks, terming the move a ‘diversionary tactic’ by the rebels to buy time through persuading the government to halt anti-Maoist operations so that they could regroup and also reassess their strategy to overcome relentless police attacks on their bases.

This being the first offer of naxals, CG would do well to open lines of communication with Naxals, may not be for peace process or dialogue but to gain insight into their logistics, plans, capital assets, infra etc. That option must not be closed.

Follow on to my earlier post above see who is the spokesperson for Naxals in Bastar:

Spokesperson of Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), Pandu alias Pandanna, had offered twice within a month to hold peace talks with the government to find a solution to the decade-old Maoist militancy in the state.

CG naxals are predominantely headed by Telengana refugees.

[vsudhir]

Ananth,

Thx for keeping this thread alive and relevant with pointed info on the red menace.

How bad is the red menace in Maharashtra? Has it been wiped out from non-Telengana AP?

I recall naxal forays as far away as the Krishna and Prakasam districts. How bad is the infestation in Orissa, Jharkhand, WB and Bihar proper?