The Red Menace

[Avinash R]

Maoists kill two villagers in Chhattisgarh

13 Sep 2008, 0309 hrs IST,TNN

RAIPUR: Maoists on Friday killed two of the eight villagers whom they abducted last week on suspicion that they were police informers in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district.

According to Dornapal sub-divisional police officer O P Sharma, the villagers are residents of Palamargu village. "Police had killed three rebels in an encounter last month. The Maoists killed the two villagers suspecting that they were police informers," he said.

Sharma added that on September 4, about 50-60 armed Maoists reached the village and took eight villagers with them to the dense forest. "Initially, we received the information that about 40 villagers have been abducted, but on inquiry it was found that only eight were taken away," Sharma said.

The Maoists later released six of the villagers. They told police that two villagers, Panjam Podia and Hemla Nanda, have been killed by the rebels. Following their leads, police later recovered the badly mutilated bodies the two villagers, said Sharma.

now were are those human rights jholawallas fighting for protection of terrorists. will they condemn this barbaric act or sit quiet hiding in their houses. one person was posting nhrc report and saying that it is his duty to condemn such acts. where is he now?

[Avinash R]

Acharya's post
http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... 38#p538038

[Bharati]

Maoists flourish because of civil rights activists

Vishwa Ranjan, Director-General of Chhattisgarh Police, points out how Maoists are emboldened by those who refute the harsh truth

Mr Ramachandra Guha and others have responded partly to the last of a series of four articles by me published in The Pioneer on September 2-5. I would have liked them to respond to the entire series. In the other articles I have shown how the psy-war machinery of the Maoists works. The fourth article unfolds from the first three articles.

Mr Guha and the others have wrongly castigated me and attempted to show me my place. In the transformed caste hierarchy of modern India, new castes have emerged after the Constitution banned discrimination on the basis of caste, creed or religion. In the new caste-system, a policeman is a 'Shudra'. I am a policeman and hence a 'Shudra' who must be shown his place. How dare I respond or challenge the 'Brahmins' of the transformed caste hierarchy!

Let me assure Mr Guha and the others that I am aware of my duties and responsibilities as a police officer and citizen of India. Had he gone through the various articles I have written and interviews I have given, he would have realised that I am an unabashed admirer of the Constitution and judicial system. I have acquired this genetically. So if the Supreme Court has made an obiter dicta that civilians cannot be armed, I am in total agreement.

But the obiter dicta was in response to an allegation. The State of Chhattisgarh had yet to file a counter-affidavit to show that the allegation was false and that only Special Police Officers, appointed under the Police Act, have been armed. So my pointing out that this is not a judgement is not contempt. It is the depiction of it as a judgement by interested groups that is contempt.

Mr Guha and the others have not cared to find out the truth that around 3,250 SPOs were discharged on various grounds of indiscipline. A few among them have also been sent to jail for criminal acts. Mr Guha should have at least known of two such cases as they were registered on the information of a person who sends him 'friendly SMSes'. Even criminal cases have been registered against some policemen and Salwa Judum activists. Mr Guha visited the area for only a few days. This is also the case with many study teams visiting Bastar.

Mr Guha has wrongly claimed that I have called him, Ms Nandini Sunder and Mr Sarma supporters of Maoists. What I suggested was that it is possible they may have been used by the Maoists. Maoist documents talk of the necessity of getting petitions against Salwa Judum filed in High Courts and Supreme Court. Mr Guha should know how Goebbels had managed to influence the best brains of Europe. Even Ezra Pound was duped into supporting Nazism and Hitler.

It has been wrongly alleged that I have made criminal charges against the Planning Commission. I have made some comments on the working of expert committee which was nominated by the Planning Commission. These cannot be considered, by any stretch of imagination, as comments on the Planning Commission. Some members of the expert group have been named. I know they are not supporters of Maoists and I respect them. But I can also name a few who have Maoist leanings, some of whom I know well and also respect.

Further, having Maoist leanings is not an offence under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Being a member of CPI(Maoist) or its front units is. As long as you show allegiance to the Constitution, you can believe in any ideology.

In the first three parts of my series, I quoted in detail from Maoist documents to show their intention to penetrate civil liberty bodies in such a manner that they are not exposed as Maoist cadre. Such cadre have been instructed to gain position in such organisations so that they are able to direct the activities of the organisation, at least to some extent. While this does not make every civil liberty organisation a Maoist front, the possibility of contamination cannot be ruled out.

As for Salwa Judum , I quoted from a Maoist Polit Bureau document to show its intention of isolating the movement. The directions include inviting national and international fact-finding teams to Bastar. After the Polit Bureau decision, there was a spate of visits to Dantewada and Bijapur by study teams.

A historian of Mr Guha's caliber should reassess his opinions instead of advising me to fight in the Supreme Court while he continues to attack Salwa Judum in various articles. As I said, it is immaterial what the truth is. The evidence of a 'Shudra' has no value in the eyes of the elite.

[sanjaychoudhry]

Who the hell is this Ramchandra Guha? What are his qualifications that Indians should submit to his views? He is a non-entity who owes his prominence to deliberate American recognition to raise his profile, and the leftist jholawala editors who publish Guha's articles. It is the same old story: The White Christians will identify a leftist "intellectual" lying in some gutter of provincial India, give him an award (Booker, etc.), the jholawala/Marxist editors immediately begin to publish his articles to bring him into circulation in national discourse, and suddenly all Indians are frothing at the mouth to listen to the newly-found leftist windbag.

Americans are strategically identifiying leftist "intellectuals" (historians, sociologists, etc.) and as a tactical move raising thier profile in India by throwing at them one or two of thier awards (which are specially created for this purpose, such as magsaysay, etc.). It is time Indians rebuffed with contempt all Indian leftist windbags whose only claim to fame is a White man's award.

[Avinash R]

Commies and "i'm better than commie" didi force tata to pull out of wb. good example of what commie ideology does to people. nano which was to be pride of bengal is turned into an shame for the whole of bengal and constant reminder to other industries on the dangers of dealing with an commie govt.
this is the right time for people to think why communism and it's derivatives like maoism are an failed ideology which are destined to take it's followers either to a premature death or a life of misery.

It's final: Tata Motors to pull out of Singur
NDTV Correspondent

Friday, October 03, 2008, (Kolkata)
Ratan Tata has finally decided to pull out their Nano car plant from Singur, the controversial site in West Bengal.

"The decision to move out is taken with great deal of sadness and the opposing parties were sole reason," said Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata group.

"We are moving out now because we have a deadline to meet. We are leaving because of Mamata Banerjee and not the state government," he said.

"We do not see any changes on the horizon. We have been caught in political cross-fire," he added.

On being asked where Nano is moving now, Tata said that the company has offers from three to four state governments.

The meeting between Tata and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee came at the end of more than a month of agitation led by the Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.

Banerjee wanted 300 acres carved out from the land leased to the Tatas and returned to farmers, who did not willingly give their land.

A long struggle

The protest against the Nano plant started between May and December 2006, when locals heckled Tata officials to protest land acquisition. Police had to teargas them, following which Mamata went on a hunger strike for 26 days.

Then, from August 24, 2008, Mamata began her gherao of the Tata factory. Four days on, her supporters threatened Tata employees and on September 2, Tata Motors declared the suspension of work at Singur.

On September 7, West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi oversaw an agreement between the Trinamool and the government but could not get them to agree on what the term maximum in the pact meant. Mamata claimed 300 acres while the government offered 70.

Hopes for a resolution rose on September 12 when Buddhadeb offered a revised economic package for Singur's farmers. Mamata rejected the package out of hand.

Since then, there has been no work at the factory though the deadline to produce the Nano in the October to December quarter is looming large enough for Ratan Tata that made him take the final call.

[Avinash R]

Naxals in Chhattisgarh interfering in life of tribals: NHRC
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indi ... 565708.cms

6 Oct 2008, 1340 hrs IST,PTI

NEW DELHI: Naxalites in Chhattisgarh are interfering in the day-to-day life of tribal forcing them to support the movement, indulge in human trafficking and enroll minors in their organisation, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has said.

The Commission said the right to life of tribal is being "practically enjoyed" only at the mercy of naxalites and anyone who tries to raise a voice against their "tyrannical" ways were "killed or maimed".

"The naxalites interfere in the day-to-day life of the tribal - in family matters, education, marriages, religious beliefs etc. They force tribal to give one boy or girl from each family to become 'sangham' member," it said.

These are among the findings of a three-member NHRC inquiry committee which investigated a complaint against Salwa Judum, an anti-naxal programme in Chhattisgarh.

It said naxals were "indulging" in human trafficking and forced labour by compelling villagers to send one young member from each family, either boy or girl, to become members of their organisational units called 'sangham' or 'dalam'.

"In addition, it is also well known that the naxals use minors in one of their oraganisations called Bal Sangham," the report said.

It said many villagers told the inquiry panel that naxalites always "discouraged" education beyond Class V and "forced" the villagers to send their children to 'Bal Sangham' besides destroying school buildings.

On the rights violation of Salwa Judum, the report said there have been instances where Salwa Judum activists, Special Police Officers and security forces have also been involved in excesses.

[Rahul M]

Are we even going to talk about it, or is it another sacred cow of BRF? How do we consign the 'Indian' Left (the loathsome excreta of the Indian body politic) from WB and Kerela, to the dustbin of History? It is not being addressed anywhere.

no sacred cow thing. commies are anti-national by definition, action and self-declaration.

discussing possible ways of their removal is not going to cross any redlines on BRF.
and if you meant any regional biases I might have, well I have none. I'm proud to be a bong as a part of the bigger Indian identity.
that does not and should not prevent me from seeing the truth.

before we discuss methods of countering the commies in bengal(my knowledge about malluland politics doesn't warrant a similar analysis) we need to understand
1) how they came to power
2) how they continue to hold on to power
.....a) who support them and why
.....b) why have the opposition parties failed

to that end, some of the posts from the FHL thread might be relevant.

1)How they came to power.

the reason of wholesale "crimsonisation" of WB intellectuals stems from the situation right after the independence.
Abhi_G has already pointed out some of it.

the treatment that WB refugees got from the center and those from Punjab did was hugely different. next to nothing was done by the congress govt at the center in this regard.

I consider this to be a failure of the bengali leaders at the center more than anything else but undoubtedly this created a very fertile ground for marxist indoctrination.

that period was one of the worst ever in bengal's history, there was abject poverty, widespread unemployment, food was scarce and a huge refugee problem. for a region that had been facing regular famines for quite sometime, independence didn't bring any respite. if anything, the situation worsened leading to a general disillusionment with the incumbent politicians.

in such a scenario the left parties silently started creating mass support.

Never, not even for a moment think that the public indoctrination of left ideology talked about the issues we ascribe to the FHL.
No Sir, it was all about empowerment of the masses, how everyone will be happy in an ideal society and how congress will only see the interests of the land owning class(mostly true, almost all congress leaders came from that category).
see for example of the agenda of the 1967 united front govt comprising of left and breakaway congressmen.

The points listed in the programme announced in Calcutta promised that their government would ensure availability of primary needs of the people; handle the food crisis, provide rehabilitation to refugees; fight against corruption, nepotism, black-marketing, unemployment, food prices; pay special attention to women, scheduled castes and tribals; reorganise the police force to respect democratic rights.

for a huge group of people suffering from the after effects of partition and observing the general apathy of , this was like a voice from heaven. they didn't care what this party said about china or russia or India for that matter, if they were being promised land and food, they were happy to support it.
hail china and hail mao in fact came much later, with the naxals. at that time it was confined to the inner meetings of the party.

So why am I making this big lecture note on the revolutionaries of bengal ?

There remains one thread that connects virtually every revolutionary of the agni yug, they were ALL influenced and inspired by the teachings of Vivekananda, without fail. That list includes Netaji, whom many have described as Vivekanda's spiritual son, and if you have read his biography, aptly so.
Incidentally, even MN Roy was a nationalist (again influenced by Vivekananda) and quite different from the DIE communists we see around us. He gets a lot of undeserved flak IMO.
And yet, almost all of them, including Netaji had socialist ideals. Outside bengal, that includes Bhagat Singh. They considered socialism and in some cases, communism to be a legitimate and unifying way to move India forward without forgetting the poorer class.
Were they DIE ? hardly !

If we want to understand the evolution of the FHL, we need to first differentiate between the pre-independence revolutionaries and the post-independence fake liberals.

The growth of the DIE marxist liberals started from the early 40's with active support from the british government. these are the characters who have helped develop the individuals we see now, the bengali marxist DIE doesn't originate earlier than that.

What I think are two major events that triggered the leftist rise post independence. The partition of Bengal and the Bengal famine before that. The leftists found a rich area to launch their class struggles that led to huge detrimental effects much later on. But I would say that many old timers who were revolutionaries pre-independence did some real good work to rehabilitate the refugees. The refugee situation in Bengal was tragedy. The leftists, many of them refugees themselves, blamed the Congress to be step motherly, which was true in those circumstances. They conveniently whitewashed the Muslim League, the Direct Action Day etc.

2.b) why have the opposition parties failed

riding high on the credit for independence the congress managed to stay in power till 1967 when a coalition comprising of left and breakaway congressmen came to power for a short period. then it was back to the congress for sometime before IG's disastrous policies during the emergency and the state congress govt's repressive measures finally shut down the doors on the congress. as soon as the left was in power, they captured all the important unions, formed unions where there were none and subjected all approval of academic and bureaucratic postings and promotions to party vetting.
this stifling of opposition voice is what has kept the left in power for so long in WB.

The thoroughness and ruthlessness with which the left works to continue its hold on power has to be seen to be believed. The left organisation is almost military like in discipline and commitment of the cadres. it bears absolutely no comparison with any other political party in India, not even the left in kerala, where alternating LF and UF have thankfully prevented the left from capturing every position of importance.
2)a. Who support them and why

almost all of WB's left votebank knows nothing about the agenda of the left liberals. don't let the propaganda of the pinkos that "all bengalis supports their stand" fool you.
support of left is much more issue based than people think -- they support the stability and familiarity that left leaders bring, not the ideology. as a matter of fact, a large portion of the left lower and middle rung leaders are practicing hindus. virtually every durga puja counts the local left leaders among its patrons. would a state full of atheists manage to hold as many as 2000 large durga pujas and numerous smaller ones in kolkata alone ? not to mention celebrate it with unrivaled enthusiasm and extravagance ?
visit kolkata at least once during the pujas, you might be surprised with the religious fervour of a communist state !
WB still remains a place with its people well connected to its roots. the coming to power of the left is more a matter of lack of political choice than anything else.

the populace votes for one category of people while that support is used to create quite another category of people. the people of the state DO NOT vote for the FHL, period.
once they have an alternative, nor will they.

.......you continue to imply that ALL people from that state are a problem, when clearly you mean that the current administration and ruling party of that state and SOME left wing intellectuals or pseudo intellectuals are the problem (as you define it). As such you do a disservice to the many people from that state who ably serve in India's defense forces and elsewhere in the best interests of the nation, and many of whom frequent this forum.
this is no different to propagating the martial race theory, etc., as far as I am concerned, and gets to the heart of the 'sub-Indian' thinking psyche rather than 'super-Indian' thinking psyche which is essential if we are to really become a great power. it annoys the hell out of me when people (not you personally) continue to put their state ahead of the nation in matters of national importance.

conclusion: while at the national level the commies are a menace, the election of their candidates happen solely on the local situation.
to remove the left in bengal, a political party would have to be ready to fight the left in small local skirmishes all over bengal on mostly local issues and a few state level issues.

[fanne]

So Rahul M, let me ask these questions -
1. Do you think that the general voters in WB do not know left's intention (their anti- nation/Hindu stance). I mean in this age of mass media, though quite possible. There is almost no right wing national media in India.
2a).If they know the left , they are willing to overlook it because what left is doing does not hurt them directly (I mean few soldier die away in far off Kashmir or a blast happens in Delhi - we all are guilty as charged) but the familiarity and the benefit that the left brings at the local level is a good news. This is a perverse version of what Laloo did to his voters in Bihar. As long as they get s a say in the power structure, they do not care about what happens to the state or what laloo does at the national level. Or a more sophisticated version is what the Maratha voters does to NCP. The sugar cooperative there gives good money to everyone in the constituency. They are willing to look Sharad power alleged links with D group or bomb blasts n Mumbai.
2b) If they are really unaware of left agenda, will knowing the truth makes any difference to them. Will they put nation above personal comfort (70% Indians do not do that as of now).

Thanks,
fanne

[Manu]

Link

Rajya Sabha chairman condemns bomb blasts
Press Trust of India
New Delhi, October 17, 2008

Strongly condemning the bomb blasts in various parts of the country this year; Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari on Friday said "such heartless acts of terrorism need to be dealt with firmly".

"We express our firm resolve to fight terrorism with determination," Ansari said.

As many as 157 people were killed in bomb blasts that took place in Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Modasa, Delhi, Malegaon and Agartala between May and October this year. Over 750 people were injured in these blasts.

As the Chairman made references to those killed in bomb blasts, the Left members demanded that similar tributes be paid to those who lost lives in communal clashes.

NDA-ruled Orissa has recently seen a spate of communal violence after the killing of a VHP leader.

[JwalaMukhi]

Perfect, how about starting with tribute to hapless peasants killed in Nandigram where they were butchered by the communal godless (except for chailman mao, marx or whoever bigoted guy happens to occupy that seat) communists.

[Arun_S]

Frontline: COBRA will have separate intelligence wing

NEW DELHI, OCT 12 (PTI)

As part of its efforts to go against Maoists in a big way, the Centre has decided to create a separate intelligence wing in each of the 10 battalions of the proposed anti-naxal special force COBRA.

Each battalion (approximately 1,000 personnel) of Combat Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA) will have at least three platoons, totalling to nearly 30 personnel, for the specific task of gathering intelligence on the naxals, their movement and operations.

"Intelligence becomes very crucial when it comes to countering militants or naxals. COBRA will have its own intelligence unit which will specifically look into gathering information about naxals, their strategies, local contacts in the villages besides others," a top official of the CRPF said.

The 10,000 personnel strong COBRA force will function under command and control of CRPF.

The intelligence unit of each battalion would be headed by an Assistant Commandant.

As per the deployment plan, two battalions of the force would be raised this financial year, culled from CRPF and would be posted in Chhattisgarh.

"In the next fiscal, four more battalions would be raised followed by another four. In three years, we would raise 10 battalions," CRPF sources said.

The CRPF, which is involved in various anti-militancy and naxal operations, including in Jammu and Kashmir, has already moved a proposal to set up a separate intelligence wing of its own. The proposal is lying with the Union Home Ministry for a long time.

The approval for raising COBRA was given in August after the proposal was stuck in bureaucratic wrangling for months even though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had described the Left-wing extremism as a "virus" sometime back.

According to an earlier intelligence report, submitted to the Home Ministry, Left-wing extremists were spreading their presence to as many as 22 states with the Maoists even approaching banned groups like LTTE and ULFA for arms procurement.

The report had said there were more than 20,000 underground Maoist activists across the country, nearly 50,000 overground members and more than a lakh naxal sympathisers and supporters working in various frontal organisations.

The Prime Minister during his address to the top police brass in October last year had called for a special force to tackle Left-wing extremism.

The new Force that will be set up at a cost of Rs 1,389.47 crore will focus on "effectiveness and operational success" and they would be imparted exclusive training in the terrain and topography of the area of operation.

[Suppiah]

Guys why is this thread so inactive?!

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Citi ... 627642.cms

Great news after long time. The ideology of mass murderers, rapist goons and in the Indian context, treacherous leeches is being challenged by brave students in the red bastion. They deserve all support. It is also extremely important to note that the challenge is led by an Iranian and not an upper class Delhi-ite. It will serve to tear away the mask of liberal pro-minority these lefties wear.

[Avinash R]

Naxals attack church

[JaiS]

Manipur’s 1950 Revolution Revisited

[Avinash R]

Eyes, wings for CRPF to combat Maoists
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081110/j ... 088826.jsp

New Delhi, Nov. 9: Home minister Shivraj Patil has promised the CRPF air support and intelligence in its fight against Naxalites.

The paramilitary force will soon have four choppers, one each in the worst-affected states. Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh are the states likely to get the helicopters.

Patil has also accepted a long-standing demand of the CRPF for a dedicated intelligence set-up.

The force had asked the home ministry for at least four helicopters to cover the area the Naxalites call Dandakaranya. It stretches from Andhra to Nepal, covering parts of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

The request was granted on the CRPF’s 69th Raising Day on Friday, when Patil also promised planes for quick transportation of soldiers to catch up with the rebels. Ministry sources said no specifications had been finalised yet.

But getting pilots could prove difficult. A Ran Air chopper hired by the Chhattisgarh government went missing on August 3 with the pilot and three crew members. It could not be found despite efforts by the Indian Air Force and the National Remote Sensing Agency.

The helicopter was believed to be lost in the Abujhmarh forests of Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district that is overrun by Naxalites.

Without air support, reconnaissance and transportation is tough in the Abujhmarh forests that are part of the Bastar region. Naxalites operate on difficult terrain in Jharkhand, Orissa and Andhra, too. At present, the air force helps with reconnaissance in the Bastar region. But the CRPF has no means to transport its troops quickly to any spot once it gets information of Naxalite activity — the roads are often bad and there is the threat of landmines and ambushes.

The CRPF’s two-year-old proposal for a separate intelligence set-up might also see the light of day.

“The CRPF not only does policing duties but also gathers intelligence to counter threats to our security. We are ready to help them have such a system in place,” Patil said.

Director-general V.K. Joshi said all operations against Naxalites were intelligence-based. There was no point in “just patrolling” without information as the rebels’ own intelligence was effective against security forces, he added.

At present, the force is dependent on state police for intelligence. In states like Chhattisgarh, the intelligence input from the police is poor, Joshi complained.

A full-fledged battalion may now be marked for gathering intelligence.

The 10 anti-Naxalite COBRA battalions sanctioned by the Centre — of which two have been raised — also include an intelligence component. Men have been drawn from the CRPF for these battalions.

[aditya]

Unreported in ELM:

Two Communist goon-leaders convicted of murdering a young girl who opposed Chinese Scientific Socialism in Kolkata

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7721783.stm

A court in the Indian state of West Bengal has found two Communist leaders guilty of murdering a woman who opposed a Tata Motors car plant near Calcutta.

Suhrid Dutta and Debu Mallick were convicted of murdering 18-year-old Tapasi Mallick in 2006.

[Avinash R]

^ has been reported in the media. wanted to post this news after the punishment is announced.

Suhrid Dutta, Debu Malik found guilty in Tapasi Malik murder case
Chandannagore | Tuesday, Nov 11 2008 IST

Additional District and Sessions Judge Amarkanti Acharya today found guilty Suhrid Dutta and Debu Malik, the two accused in the Tapasi Malik murder case.

Fast track court-I judge Amarkanti Acharya found CPI(M) Hooghly district committee member Suhrid Dutta and party worker Debu Malik guilty under various Sections of the IPC, including 302 (murder), 120B (conspiracy) and 201 (tampering with official documents).

The punishment in the case will be announced tomorrow.

On December 18, 2006, the charred body of Tapasi Malik, the daughter of a farmer who had participated in the movement against land acquisition, was found in a ditch at the Tata Motors small car project site at Singur.

The CBI started investigation in the case and arrested Debu Malik on June 24, 2007, and subsequently arrested Suhrid Dutta on June 28, 2007.

Another link
Suhrid Dutta, Debu Malik found guilty in Tapasi Malik murder case

[Suppiah]

http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/12/stories ... 511300.htm

Must have slipped through the censor scissors.

Wonder when the rest of the rapist and murderous goons are going to be convicted, if ever.

[Avinash R]

Bastar villagers yearn for home

GEEDAM (BASTAR): Rama Ichcham still remembers the day when his elder brother was hacked to death by naxalite sympathisers in his village in Satva in Dantewada district.

The victim had refused to accept the diktat of the naxalites and had been receiving threats for some time. But one day the worst fears of the family came true and he was killed brutally.

No choice

This was followed by a series of threats to the three other male members of the family, including Rama Ichcham. Left with no choice, the entire family shifted to a Salwa Judum rehabilitation camp set up by the government at Kasoli in Geedam, leaving behind land and property. While some members shifted to the Sitalanka camp in Dantewada, Rama stayed back here after he was made the special police officer and trained in use of arms. Within days all 100 families from Satva had left.

As many as 184 families are living in Kasoli village along with an equal number of local families. Each household is given Rs. 2,150 a month apart from rice, salt and kerosene. The government has also made two-room houses for the migrants with decent healthcare facilities. There is an anganwadi centre and a primary school with arrangements for sending the children to Raipur for higher studies. At least 35 students from this camp are enrolled in boarding schools in Raipur. But some of them have also been sent to the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram’s boarding schools run by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh for tribal children.

“We have facilities but nothing can replace our homes,” says Rama. “We grew enough paddy and vegetables for our needs. Now most of us have become daily wagers.”

Women, too, work as labourers under various schemes like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, he said expressing a desire to go back to their homes as they fear that their houses would have been burnt and fields encroached upon.

But, the “jungle bhais” (as naxalites are known) have displaced us. They had been working on this scheme for over 20 years – preventing villagers from receiving education, not allowing them exposure to the outside world and brainwashing them into believing that their aim in life was creation of “Dandakaranya Rashtra” and killing those disobeying this “holy diktat” brutally. Once they identify a person to be “eliminated,” they prepare small poems on him in their local Gondi and Halbi languages where they also tell how he is going to be killed.

The displaced people came together some months ago and marched to their villages with security men hoping that the naxalites would agree for a truce but to no avail.

The government runs 23 rehabilitation camps in Dantewada and Bijapur districts where 35,000 people are living, with the largest camp at Dornapal where 15,000 people reside. There are 13,000 voters in these camps.
Three lakh missing

Since the Salwa Judum movement was started in 2004 several lakh tribal people have been displaced from their villages. While officially the figure given is 50,000, three lakh people are still missing.

Even the government does not know their fate but it is believed that they have fled into the jungles and crossed over to Andhra Pradesh where they do not reveal their identity for the fear of being sent back to Chhattisgarh.

Where are the maoist sympathizers who were falsely claiming that these mao scums were helping the tribal villagers and it was the govt which was oppressing the villagers? Shame on such maoist dogs. because of salwa judum these tribals are alive today. need to inform about this to the judges who wanted to disband the salwa judum on false information supplied by the maoist scums.

[Avinash R]

CPM duo guilty in Tapasi murder case
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081112/j ... 098407.jsp

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Chandernagore, Nov. 11: CPM leader Suhrid Dutta and party activist Debu Malik were convicted in the Tapasi Malik murder case today.

The Trinamul Congress is viewing the verdict as a weapon to neutralise the fallout of the Tata pullout and has announced a string of protests in the run-up to a clutch of elections.

Bypolls are due in three Assembly seats at the end of the year and four civic elections are scheduled for November 30.

The Chandernagore fast-track court found Suhrid and Debu guilty of murder, criminal conspiracy, tampering with evidence and providing false information to protect an offender. The court will deliver the sentence tomorrow.

On December 18, 2006, the burnt body of 18-year-old Tapasi, a Save Farmland Committee campaigner, was found at the Tata Motors’s Nano plant site in Singur.

Trinamul chief Mamata Banerjee today announced rallies in Singur and other parts of the state. “We welcome the verdict. We will observe Tapasi Malik divas in Singur on Saturday to commemorate her death and highlight the CPM’s misdeeds,” she said at her Kalighat home.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee should resign as chief minister, Mamata said. “Buddhababu should quit, accepting moral responsibility for what happened in Singur.”

CPM leaders Benoy Konar and Balai Sabui said Suhrid and Debu were likely to move a higher court.

The judgment has come at a time when the CPM was hoping to reclaim Singur from Trinamul, banking on the backlash against Mamata after the Tata pullout. The CPM lost Singur in the May panchayat elections. Before that, it lost the Assembly seat in 2006.

Santasree Chatterjee, the CPM MP from Serampore, said: “The Opposition will use the verdict to campaign against us. But we will tell the people that Suhrid is the victim of a conspiracy.”

The party has distanced itself from Debu but has stood by Suhrid. “He has been a dedicated leader. He is still a district committee member,” Santasree added.

As soon as news of the judgment reached Bajemelia, where the Maliks stay, villagers flocked to their house. Malina Malik, Tapasi’s mother, is ill, because of which husband Manoranjan couldn’t go to court today. “My daughter’s soul will rest in peace now,” Malina said.

Manoranjan Hambir, a 70-year-old unwilling land loser, said: “We waited two years for this verdict.”

In Calcutta, CBI lawyer Partha Tapaswi said Suhrid and Debu could get the death sentence. “We are satisfied with the judgment,” he added.

Arindam Bhattacharya, Suhrid’s lawyer, said he would take a decision about moving a higher court after hearing the sentence tomorrow. But Debu’s lawyer Kishore Mondal said: “My client will move the high court.”


CPM workers get life term in Tapasi murder
12 Nov 2008, 1637 hrs IST, PTI
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/CPM_ ... 704235.cms

CHANDANAGORE: In a major blow to CPM, party heavyweight from Singur Suhrid Dutta and supporter Debu Malik were on Wednesday sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Tapasi Malik who had rallied farmers against land acquisition for Tata Motors's Nano project. ( Watch )

Additional Chief Sessions Judicial Magistrate Amar Kanti Acharya, who had convicted the two under sections 302 (murder), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of IPC on Tuesday, awarded the sentence in a packed court room.

The court also slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on each of them.

The verdict comes as a major embarrassment to the ruling party in West Bengal as its top leadership, including central committee member Benoy Konar, have been strongly defending Dutta, a former zonal secretary of CPM in Singur, as innocent.

The 72-page verdict was read out by the judge in the afternoon.

The judge, citing four verdicts, said that in such cases either life or death sentence was given, but he did not consider it among the "rarest of the rare cases" meriting death sentence.

Debu Mallik was given two life sentences for murder and conspiracy, while Dutta was sentenced to life for murder, conspiracy and for destroying evidence.

Dutta look shattered when the verdict was read out. When the judge asked them if they had anything to say, both said that they were innocent.

The counsels for the convicts said that they would appeal against the verdict.

There was strict security around the court with prohibitory orders imposed.

The charred body of 18-year-old Tapasi, an agriculture labourer's daughter, was recovered from a pit inside the fenced off area for the now abandoned small car project at Bajemelia in Singur on December 18, 2006.

This led to protests in Singur against land acquisition for the Nano project as Tapasi was an organiser of the Trinamool Congress led Save Farmland Committee.

She had also led a demonstration against Tata officials in Singur.

The case was initially handled by the CID, but in the wake of protests, West Bengal chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee handed it over to the CBI.

Debu was arrested on June 24, 2007 and taken to Delhi for a polygraph test. Dutta was arrested on June 28 on the basis of statements given to the CBI by Debu.

The CBI submitted the chargesheet based on Debu's confessional statement on September 15, 2007. Trial began on January 27, 2008 and continued till August this year. 65 witnesses were examined during the trial.

[Suppiah]

It is interesting to read the bland coverage in the mass murderers yellow press. They would have gone to town with all sorts of song and dance had it been the left's opposition. Perhaps orders have been received from the rapist goon HQ that this entire affair should be projected as if the murderers are the victims.

[Rahul M]

X-post.

Shooting at an IAF chopper and killing a flight engineer is serious escalation on part of the Naxals

Chopper shot at in Chhattisgarh, engineer killed

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chha ... 714503.cms

[Avinash R]

Suspected Maoist rebels kill seven in Bihar
17 Nov 2008, 1215 hrs IST, IANS
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indi ... 722287.cms

PATNA: At least seven people have been killed by suspected Maoist guerrillas in two separate incidents in Bihar, police said Monday.

A group of armed Maoists shot dead four members of a family late Sunday night at Kohbarba Rasulpur village in East Champaran district, about 250 km from here, said district superintendent of police NH Khan.

"Armed Maoists first surrounded the village, attacked the house of an affluent farmer, and exploded it with dynamites. Later, they set ablaze a tractor and motorcycles. They killed four people," police officials said.

Last week, the Maoists threatened the farmer's family of dire consequences for failing to pay protection money to them.

In another incident, Maoists killed three farmers at Maheshwari village in Jamui district on Sunday.

"Maoists slit their throats," a police official said.

Security forces have been deployed in the two villages.

[Avinash R]

3 naxals, 1 policeman killed in an encounter in Chickmagalur
Wednesday 19 November, 2008

Three naxalites and a commando belonging to Anti Naxalite Force (ANF) were killed in an encounter at Mavinahola forest area near the famous temple town of Horanadu, in Chickmagalur.

The encounter took place under Kalasa police station when an ANF team began combing operations following a tip off late on Tuesday night.

During the operation a gang of four naxalites, including a woman, started firing at the ANF team, A M Prasad, IGP (Western Range) said from Kalasa over phone.

Following this, the ANF team retaliated. The exchange of fire went on for over two hours till 0430 hrs on Wednesday, in which three naxalites and a policeman, Guruprasad, died on the spot, he said.

The woman naxalite however managed to fled the scene under cover of darkness, he said.

Arms and ammunition, including a sten gun, three loaded magazines, a country-made pistol and some hand grenades were recovered from near the scene, he said.

Two of the naxalites who were killed have been identified as Naveen and Manohar, while the third body was yet to be identified, he said.

[brihaspati]

I am not sure comments here reveal a great deal of understanding of the nature of communist organizational structure and principles. It is also important to understand the specific historical developments in the international communist movements as well as the motivating factors that produce its leadership and following. Restricting attention to the "armed struggle" version of it, one pattern stands out - it is not only the remoteness and ruggedness of terrain (Che's attempts failed in meso-America in very rugged and remote conditions) that helps communist guerrila tactics, they need fluid battle lines and territorial distribution of forces to succeed. Nowhere they could survive against tight "encirclement" campaigns that squeezes this geo-political space thereby reducing "fluidity". This was the main reason that the Chinese Communist Party decided to breakout of the "fifth encirclement" campaign by the Kuo-min-dang to save the core of the communist movement. This is the start of what was famously rechristened the "Long March" - at the beginning of which Mao was at his weakest point within the communist hierarchy, and only after successfully breaking out at the "Tsunyi" conference did Mao manage to overturn the then Party "command" and return to the older "fluid" strategy. Apart from the political and economic steps necessary to end the isolation and exploitation of tribals and rural populations, the military solution has to consider this aspect - only by tight encirclement and liquidation campaigns (which may also need large scale moving of populations to reduce support bases for the extremists) can this problem have a long-term solution.

[Rahul M]

sir, with due respect, this is what salwa julum is doing in the affected areas, including the moving population bit.

[brihaspati]

Recent updates on Salwa Julum show that politicians and figures prominent in the Salwa Julum leadership are reluctant to go into the interior. What the CRPF is doing does not amount to "tight" encirclement. This requires what is known in military parlance as "bloc" encirclement - fortified positions in tactical connection with neighbouring "blocks" putting up physical or virtual continuous barriers connecting blocs to make a complete encirclement of the interior. The CRPF lacks or has not been provided such resources. As long as complete encirclement is not established the supply networks remain active.

[brihaspati]

I am curious. Does anyone here in this forum have had direct experience or close personal opportunity to observe the Communists from inside their organizational structure? The "overground" so called moderate "mainstream" Communists have significant differences with "underground" communists. But they have some essential similarities. The majority of the top-rung of the CC and the PB for both streams come from "upper caste" mainly Brahmin or Kshatryia/Kayastha origin "Hindu" origins. Most are "higher-educated", with typically half or more having postgraduate qualifications (the Maoists top-brass have more PGs than mainstream - the largest group had at least 3 PhD's about a decade ago -compared to only postgraduates in the largest mainstream one - the level of postgraduate qualifications are decreasing in the mainstream Left's student and youth top committees indicating possible gain in the Right and extreme Left). There is a steady stream of Engineering/Medical graduates from "upper caste" background from the mainly Leftist bastions of WB and Kerala into absorption into the Maoist movements. Many of them get radicalized when they go to study away from family into regional residential institutions of higher qualifications which are placed within proximity of tribal belts and activity of the Maoists.

I have observed both streams quite closely, and know at least the day-to-day working of the mainstream organizational structure and technique. The key towards understanding the communist leadership is to be found in the mentality of the Brahmin's and Kshatryias who actively collaborated with Islamic invaders and regimes - (1) an initial alienation from their own culture either due to contradictions of "scriptural" or formal cultural "dogmas" ("nitikatha") and realizing that their immediate society and class practises the complete opposite (2) non-recognition of their ambitions of power and dominance which they are nurtured to believe as their birthright - it is power and dominance that the communist leadership seeks, and they simply have found a good ideological vehicle to utilize in the context of exploitation and pre-existing fractures in Indian society.

[Rahul M]

sir, here is something that is related to what you say but not the same.
http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... 36&start=0

you may find it interesting.

[brihaspati]

respected moderator,

the relevant clauses that I found browsing were (1) Most if not all Bengalis (and some Tamils and Keralites) are anti-Hindu/Europhile and therefore Left leaning (2) Brahmins were "targeted" or singled out becuase they were seen to be the "elite" associated with a "corrupt" system (3) and the main reason for all this being "subservience" to the ideology of the "conqueror" thinking military superiority as the chief item of "worship".

There are severe historical problems with this idea - (1) The social trauma and defeat at the hands of Islam was definitely more within what is now Kashmir, greater Sind (Sind under Dahir extending from the sea to the borders of Kabul and Zabul), Multan - there is little trace of communist resistance here - with greater than 90% conversion and even in the early British imperialist censuses, Bengal has slightly less than half of the population non-Muslim - and then Kerala never suffered from direct Islamic aggression (except the Bijapuri raids to chastize the Nairs leading to a lot of slaves being sold to the Dutch and taken to Dutch East Indies and the Mopla revolt crushed by the British) (2) To look at Bengali intellectual records, you have to only look at those whom the Thaparite historians curse day in and dayout as "revisionists" - R.C.Dutt - "Hindu nationalist and revisionist" (you can read his two volume work on the Hindu Civilization - my personal copy dates from 1906), R.C.Majumdar - "Hindu nationalist and revisionist", Jadunath Sarcir - "Hindu nationalist and revisionist", Shyamaprasad Mukherjee, Arabinda Ghosh, to name a few. The Bengali communists primarily descend from the Jugantar group of "armed struggle" - just one of the anti-imperilaist Bengali "terror" movements. Several scholars have tried to show that the Bengali communists turned towards communism from their failure to mobilize the Muslim masses against the British. Before the advent of communism the Bengali armed strugglers swore by the Geeta as a routine initiation rite - and we find not a single Muslim name among their cadre (the British appear to have "miraculously" known each and every details of their meetings, names of members, etc and hence we have almost complete records of their cadre). Apart from the Jugantar group later bolstered by those returned "Bilat pherat" barristers like JB the later CM of the Left Front (who were typically "converted" under the aegis of the British CP), none of the other strands in Bengali extremism were communists - like the most successful group of Anushilan Samiti (founded in Calcutta by P.Mitra but overshadowed by its organ Dhaka Anushilan Samiti under Pulin Das) which remained avowedly nationalist and anti-Muslim (look at Pulin Das's autobiography with a poignant passage at the very beginning of this work detailing his inspiration to form this organization after successfully resisting an Islam inspired "riot" with his "lathial" -stick warrior disciples). This was one group almost never cracked by the British and only weakened with the partition of Bengal - the WB group opting for anti-communist nationalist and socialist strands of the organization of Bhagat Singh and later the Congress socialists around JP (and leaning towards Trotsky in deliberate contrast to CPI-M-ML) - its shadow now one of the most troublesome partners of the Left front.

Fundamentally I think we are all saying the same thing - I am simply stating my case for the "alienation and power hypothesis" based on close "real observation" which others are free to repeat as far as possible on their own and consider as a plausible motivation behind the switching of "allegiance" by Hindu "elite" to Islam or communism. The internal methods, reactions of leadership when threatened with possible loss of internal committe/conference/delegate support, lack of actual democratic representation in choosing leaders at each level to the next higher level (they are all selected by the higher committe and delegates simply endorse - this leads to selection and recruitment of exactly those elements who will simply put up their hands and therefore those elements less popular or having strong support outside the party in the general population and forced to be dependent on higher party leadership for power and influence), the demand by the higher leadership that only their interpretation of "Marxism" is the correct one and any disagreement is a sign of "heresy" all this uncannily represents historical behaviour of the "priestly class". I will just stop short of saying more than that I have reasons to have observed this process first hand up to the national level of the mainstream of the Left. Professional reasons provided the excuse needed to opt out of next stages as realization dawned that communism was not what it officially pretended to be, and was not the answer to what India needs for the future.

On the other hand there are important lessons to be learnt from the "Left", the weaknesses of Indian society and culture that prevents nationhood, and the contrasting strategic shift to the Right we need for the next stage of societal transition.

[SRoy]

Half knowledge is dangerous.

[Rahul M]

sir, there is no need to refer to me as moderator and the honorific is superfluous too I believe.
we are quite relaxed about such things around here.

Does anyone here in this forum have had direct experience or close personal opportunity to observe the Communists from inside their organizational structure?

some have I believe but it is not always possible to guess a person's background from an internet handle as you must be aware of !

(1) Most if not all Bengalis (and some Tamils and Keralites) are anti-Hindu/Europhile and therefore Left leaning

from your response I believe you have only gone through the first page of that thread. yes, some people have presented such an idea but those were debunked in the next few pages.
I still think you'll find the rest of the thread interesting and some points similar to the thoughts you have presented.
In fact on this very page I've quoted one of my posts from that thread dwelling on the same subject.
I'll get back to your thoughts.
regards.
at the moment, what the right urgently needs is a strong intellegentsia that can argue with the category of HFL at their own terms. increasingly, due to the complete monopoly of the media and humanities space by the left, the majority of the educated youth runs the risk of turning into a India-hating elite. called DIE or deracinated Indian elite in these parts of the net.

[brihaspati]

Rahul, yes, now I have managed to finish the thread. I agree with your observations on the rise of Bengali communism mostly - but I diasgree on some points -

(1) as I have already mentioned the Anushilon samiti of Dhaka and Pulin Das's definite anti-Islamic stand as an example that not all were "left" leaning to start with or chose the non Stalinist-non-Maoist strand within Marxism even afterwards. Many joined mainstream Congress under the tacit "agreement" between Gandhiji and the British to "rehibilitate" ex-"terrorists". Subhas definitely did not have an easy relation with the communists although having links with the Bengal Volunteers.

(2) The fact is that the Congress under B.C.Roy had done more for industrialization and modernization compared to the Suhrawardy Ministry of pre-Independence Bengal. The stagnation of the late 60's was part of an overall phenomenon in India, but which was aggravated by the refugee problem. But remember that the political slide had begun from mid 60's - still 5 years away from the actual "refugee" problem.

(3) The communist agitations in the industrial sector and the role of strikes or industrial disputes has not been adequately studied yet in precipitating the economic crisis of the late 60's in WB. I am not claiming that this was the sole cause, but it could have provided data in support of excuses for "flight of capital" to western and southern India or "non-investment".

I think we give the Bengali communists too much credit for their "pro-Islamic" "anti-Hindu" or "secular" characteristics. I have seen how communal/cultural consciousness persists in the rank and file as well as leadership. For example, "oh you can always recognize a Muslim woman" in speculating about a delegate in a conference - this say from a state-level "activist", or say a whole party committee jumps in to convince a male that he must shave his head on the death of a relative as otherwise this will have a "negative impact" on the population, or finding excuses to avoid "beef" in a dish prepared as part of a Muslim festival, with many leaders retaining their "sacred thread" - more examples perhaps not desirable(! hope you understand!).

There is a generational aspect to all political movements. Each generation roughly changes in political impact over a cycle of 30 years as evident in Indian context. The 47's generation died out or became ineffective in 77, with increasing life-span I would therefore expect the 2007-2037 to be the next cycle. The loyalties shaped by emotional attachments to "past times" or "youthful times" have preserved the communist overall dominance with support from the 60's teenage generations. Its not going to be the same for the mainstream left. It is the Maoists who are of greater concern.

I did not understand about the "half knowledge" though!

[shyamd]

MK Narayanan has submitted a report to PM about Naxal threat especially in Bengal. Yindian yintel are very concerned about Naxal threat. They say this is the main threat India is facing.

The Naxalists also forbid mining of bauxite and iron ore on their territory, preventing foreign or Indian companies that produce steel or refine oil from investing in the regions they control.

In these areas, composed of huge savannas and forests, the Naxalists levy taxes, re-distribute land and conduct raids against Indian security forces.

Naxals control area where 85% of India's coal is and 75% of the coal-fired electricity generated in eastern India

Since then Beijing has occasionally backed the movement whenever it suits China’ s interests and in keeping with the state of its diplomatic relations with India

Presence in 11 states.

[brihaspati]

This focusing entirely on the Naxalite problem is mischievous. The Naxals have coordination with ethnic separatists, and Islamic militants in all likelihoods - given that Indian intel always wax warm only after "blasts" or "atrocities" take place - "oh I told you it would happen!" sort of attitude. This must be looked upon as a comprehensive militancy problem that threatens the economic and social survival of the nation. A special "disturbed area" legislation with no bar to using policies and strategies likely to be immediately dubbed "draconian" and unnecessarily "harsh" or a cannonshot to kill a mosquito, is necessary. Extremists have to be completely militarily encircled, populations removed and isolated for screening, and the remnant encircled to be given the ultimatum to surrender and join "rehabilitation" programs or be completely physically liquidated - this not only to be applied to Naxalites but also to Islamic or ethnic extremists. It needs a sufficiently thick skin and support given by the general population.

If the population feels the necessity of such measures they should try out the very effective and perfectly legal steps of social boycott of media, politicians and political groups that try to derail the process. Don't watch those TV channels, dont buy those newspapers or magazines, dont vote, talk or maintain social contact with, don't trade or serve people who try to stop liquidation measures for extremists.

[vishal]

The Naxalite's best friend

Last week, senior law enforcement officials including all the DGP’s, the 35 Joint Directors of the Intelligence Bureau and other senior officials from the security services went into a two-day huddle to discuss the threats India faces from terrorist and fundamentalist organizations. Dr. Manmohan Singh and Mr. Shivraj Patil also attended the conference which is heartening. Political leadership is essential if India is to tackle the many threats ranged against it. While no one expected a firm policy statement and roadmap on how to tackle the multiple threats of homegrown terrorism, the Naxalite issue and fundamentalism one also did not expect to see many miles of daylight between the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister.

The PM has said on more than one occasion that the Naxal problem is the biggest threat India faces today. Given the number of states the problem affects, the increasing sophistication of the attacks this group carries out, increase in their firepower and the appeal of the Naxalite’s ideology to some sections of society, the PM’s assessment cannot be called inaccurate. However, this is not how the problem is perceived by the Union Home Minister, Mr. Shivraj Patil. According to newspaper reports the intrepid Mr. Shivraj Patil believes that the Naxalite threat is blown out of proportion too much is being read into it. This is a cause for concern.

If the PM and the Union Home Minister have such divergent views on what is unarguably one of the gravest threats we face internally, it becomes very difficult for the instruments of state policy who were present in the conference to frame a response to the Naxalite problem. Such a divergence of views after the Naxalite problem has existed for so many years exposes dangerous faultlines in the top echelons of the government. By stating that the Naxalite problem has been blown out of proportion the Home Minister has undercut the PM’s authority. It would also lead us to believe that the formidable resources available to the Home Ministry have not been pressed into full service against the Naxalites. Also highlighted is the troubling possibility that the PM, Home Minister and the Cabinet have not discussed this issue enough to arrive at a consensus on the seriousness of the problem. Either that or Shivraj Patil has chosen to disregard the PM’s line on this menace for almost 5 years now.

Shivraj Patil’s stand on the Naxalites also adds a whole new dimension to the ‘soft-state’ view. One reason why India is viewed as a soft target for terrorist attacks is that the leadership has demonstrated an unwillingness to make tough calls. It is, however, a totally different thing to refuse to acknowledge the seriousness of a situation staring at us. It would be folly to assume that no foreign intelligence agency has established contact with the Naxalites to help them in their cause. The Home Minister is either unaware of this possibility or has discounted all advise the security services might have given to him. The other possibility, and a scarier one, is that his opinion has been forged based on the inputs given to him by the various security services. Even so, it is hard to believe that after engaging with the Naxalites for far longer than the present Home Minister has, the security services would be of the opinion that this particular threat is lesser than it actually seems to be.

Finally, if the assessment of the PM and the Union Home Minister differs so much, what is really our policy as regards the Naxalites? Or is there one in the first place? Have the states and their police forces been left to deal with the Naxalites as a law and order problem local to that state? If this is indeed the case, is there a mechanism for joint operations near the border areas and for sharing intelligence? Have the Naxalites had a free run for almost five years now? These are the hard questions we need to answer now.

Not much can be expected in terms of a firm response to the Naxalite problem till the next government is formed. If things turn out to be such that Shivraj Patil continues to be the Union Home Minister after the elections we can expect to see continued laxity in dealing with a problem that continues to snowball while remaining hidden to the man who is supposed to lead the fight against it. Be prepared for more good blood to be shed.

[brihaspati]

This is in response to VikramS's issue with treatment of Naxals in another thread:

The Indian state was not soft towards the Naxals at all. Naxal violence was the latest in a long line of violent or armed insurrection type Communist doctrines in many parts of India. Without going into the complicated twists and turns of the Indian Communist movement and its fundamental course being influenced by what was happening in the Comintern and the world Communist movement in general, agrarian armed uprising had been tried out as early as the first Telengana movements within the then native state of Hyderabad. There are theories that, the Nizam's increasing leaning towards Pakistan, was as much a factor as the fear (or painted to be so to gain US/British approval) of Communist insurgency. These early Telengana agrarian communist revolutionaries were as ruthlessly suppressed as the Hyderabadi Rajakars - although the communists did not show the Jihadi features of the Rajakars - rape/abduction/loot. Similar unpublicized uprisings took place in North Bengal then still under British administration under the "three-portions" movement, which the then elected provincial government, Cong, and the British collaborated to finish off ruthlessly.

The first Naxals were specifically screened for "brains" and the police specifically targeted the "brains", typically almost immediately finished off in so-called encounters. The first actions in Calcutta removed well-known academically brilliant kids, while for some reason, maybe for subtle astute tactical reasons, the academically dumber, the lumpen types were preserved. These were used as double agents to penetrate the Naxal cells. The Congress's political shortsightedness could have come from a variety of reasons. The state repression on the Bengal Naxalites could have simply been a continuance of Nehru's mistrust of Bengal (probably for having raised his hated rival Bose) in his daughter, pressure from USSR as Mao had split from Kruschev accusing him of departing from the "proper" Stalinist line and the Chinese could be encouraging the Naxals (adding to the memory of 1962), need for strategic cleanup of forward areas when a military op was becoming likely in East Pakistan. The main strategic fault came from Cong's political nervousness in dealing with the real face of Communism and not the tamed purely intellectual CPI brand that had been brought to the Cong fold through the mediation of the CPSU.

The Police was basically an inheritance from the British, almost unchanged, and this was a force trained under colonial admin to alienate themselves from the "ruled" and psychologically prepared to treat anyone pointed out by ruling powers as subhuman enemy. In liquidating the brains of the "movement" the state failed to control the factors that appear in witchhunts - opportunists can use this to carry out personal vendettas and satisfy jealousies. The social effects of such abuse is disastrous in the long run if not corrected early - Stalin did this and ensured the eventual demise of the USSR, Mao by all accounts practised this in moderation and PRC still continues to flourish.

Failure to maintain basic human rights, especially in conservative Indian societies - in raping, and innovative sexual abuse of women not even remotely connected to the movement, let alone innovative torture procedures matched perhaps only by Latin American military regimes, only helped in bolstering the Leftist movement overall - helping them to sweep to power in 1977.

This sort of cencentration of Sadists, people who specifically enjoy pain in others, in the security services damage state efforts to deal effectively with Naxalite movements. This is a tiny overview for the early behaviour of the state w.r.t Naxalites. Many of the subsequent developments in Naxalism can be directly traced to many of this early wrong tactics of the state.

[vsudhir]

Maoists admit to using children

Maoists are my brothers and sisters, says Soren

[Ananth]

Kandhamal killings split Orissa Maoists on religious lines

This event is unprecedented if true. This thing has to be considered in the light of the fact that Sarawati himself never had any ill-feelings against Maoists. There were also reports that he never faced any opposition to his activities from Maoists and his real nemesis were militant Christians.

The religious split among Maoists actually highlights the complexity of the issue. It is not as simple matter as ADS-afflicted DDM spin that "Hindu fascists were burning Christians". We know about Pana/Kondh caste angle, but never estimated that ill-feelings would result in a split among naxals. I would also add that jingo spin of "Church supported Maoist" is also simplistic. The situation is more complex.

This split if true could complicate the law and order situation in Orissa. Though the set up in Orissa is much stronger compared to what Chattisgarh had between 2005-2007, I would expect Orissa to tackle it relatively better than CG tackled Naxals with ad-hoc approach of Salwa Judum. However, if the L&O deteriorates, the UPA would slap Orissa government as it is itching to punish BJD+BJP combo. So we might see some political fireworks.

However, if what we heard of silent efficiency of Naveen Patnaik is true, then we can see them take full advantage of this split resulting in de-legitimization of Naxals in Orissa.

[Rudradev]

This video absolutely needs to be seen by as many viewers as possible.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_6v8nfaS7M

Click on it, watch it, and if you have a YouTube account, Rate it Highly. If you don't have a YouTube account, take two minutes to create one and then Rate this video Highly. Higher ratings will improve its profile on YouTube and more people will be able to see it.

Our enemies control the mainstream Indian media and have always controlled the mainstream Western media.

This technique... creating and raising the viewership of independently-produced videos on platforms like YouTube ... is one of our only available means to fight a guerilla campaign against the enemy's psy-operatives. Do what it takes, friends.

Moderators, I beg your indulgence for my cross-posting this. Thank you.