2004-2014, a decade of Maoist violence

Exactly 10 years ago, in Andhra Pradesh, they came out in the open responding to the offer of talks. Obviously, as was their intention, talks failed. For, their main agenda was to utilise the opportunity to regroup and emerge into what was soon termed as ‘the biggest internal security threat’ by none other than the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. Since September 21, 2004, the country has seen emergence of Communist Party of India (Maoist) as the most violent internal security menace. ‘The Hitavada’ Chief Reporter Kartik Lokhande takes a look at 10 years of internal security scenario vis-a-vis Maoist threat and how the Government and various sections of the society responded to it.
“There is no doubt that armed struggle is the principal form of struggle in people’s war. But people’s war doesn’t mean fighting using guns alone. This is a form which would come to the fore depending on the level of consciousness of the people and the response of the state. We consider our people’s war to be the consolidated and integrated whole of the entire stage of revolution which consists of many peaceful/violent, unarmed/armed forms of struggles and open/secret, legal/illegal forms of organisation.”
This statement made by none other than Ganapathy, the General Secretary of CPI (Maoist), makes it clear why Maoism in India is treated as the biggest challenge to internal security. The statement of Ganapathy highlights the sole aim of Maoists to disturb India from within through a mesh of peaceful and violent, unarmed and armed, open and secret, legal and illegal organisations. That is why CPI (Maoist) is treated as more dangerous than any other armed group. For, it operates within the country, within the society, in forested, tribal-dominated, rural, and urban areas.
Ganapathy made this statement highlighting the nefarious designs of Left Wing Extremists in India a few years ago. Apart from highlighting that CPI (Maoist) is actively engaged in creating disharmony in India, destabilising it internally, and waging a violent war against the democratically elected Government, the above-mentioned statement of Ganapathy also explains how the banned organisation is operating in even the unsuspecting intellectual sections of the society.

Published in 'The Hitavada' Sunday Forum on Sept 21, 2014

Since its foundation in 2004, CPI (Maoist) has forced violence upon India. Of course, there were varied responses from different strata of the society. Of course, the Government retaliated with different operations planned from time-to-time. However, in the gun-battle between Maoists and the security forces, tribals were the biggest casualty. Since its formation on September 21, 2004, Maoists have killed around 7,000 people including around 5,000 civilians and around 2,000 security personnel in different parts of the country. Maoists killed a majority of civilians, mostly tribals, branding them as ‘police informers’.
As far as Maoists are concerned, in their own admission, 2,500 of their cadres got killed between 2004 and 2014. Compared to the total of security personnel and civilians killed by Maoists, the casualties on the Maoist side is less than half. Still, the Maoist supporters and the brainwashed intellectuals raise the issue of human rights often criticising the security forces. This is a result of systematic propaganda machinery created in urban areas by the Maoists.
Apart from propaganda machinery, the Maoist organisation has got two more important wings -- military wing to engage security forces in gun-fight in forested or tribal-dominated areas, and intelligence wing to plant moles in high offices. In past 10 years, CPI (Maoist) is suspected to have infiltrated in many high offices in the Government set-up, to such an extent that they got details of a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s residence a few years ago, and had got advance intimation about carpet security plan in Chhattisgarh.
Of course, when these instances came to fore, the Government also took serious steps and started a careful profile check of ideological inclinations of officers being appointed in higher offices of security apparatus, and created a mechanism of filters. At the same time, the official Intelligence agencies revamped their structure and style of operations and planted moles in Maoist organisation. As a result, there was stunning success for the Government when the security forces not only arrested several of high-ranking Maoist advisors and supporters, but also killed in encounters the high-profile Maoist operatives like Azad and Kishenji.
While the Maoists expanded their network in different states over the years and started assembling weapons for them in the industrial units of supporters, the Police machinery also went under a revamp and modernisation especially during the tenure of P Chidambaram as Union Home Minister. The standard operating procedures (SOPs) were revised, police funding was increased, modern equipment were provided, police stations were modernised, anti-landmine vehicles were made available, recruitment and training of special units like Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) were raised.
Greyhounds, special force raised by Andhra Pradesh, also became a huge success with its effective strike against the Maoists. Other states affected by Left Wing Extremism also started training their police personnel on the lines of Greyhounds. Central Government also co-ordinated closely with State Governments and started implementing ‘security and development’ strategy to win the people’s support and erode cadre strength of Maoists.

Salwa Judum and
Op Green Hunt Chhattisgarh, the hotbed of Maoist activities, witnessed two major happenings vis-a-vis the Maoist violence -- Salwa Judum and Operation Green Hunt.
Fed up with violence inflicted upon them by the Maoist ultras, the tribals raised an armed movement that later came to be known as Salwa Judum. The man behind this was Congress leader Mahendra Karma. However, with Maoists becoming more and more violent, Salwa Judum activists also retaliated in fierce manner. Suffering a set-back in Chhattisgarh, Maoists started crying human rights violations by Salwa Judum activists. Maoist supporters in intellectual class, specially writers of different ilk, took the issue to international level and to the Supreme Court.
After a fierce legal battle, in 2011, the Supreme Court termed Salwa Judum vigilante group as illegal. There was escalation in Maoist violence and within two years, Maoists killed 19 people including senior Congress leaders including Mahendra Karma, V C Shukla, and others in the worst-ever attack. Since then, political functionaries as well as tribals in Chhattisgarh are living in shadow of terror.
Meanwhile, in 2009, the security forces launched a well-planned exercise called ‘Operation Green Hunt’ to flush out Maoists from their stronghold in Abujhmarh in Chhattisgarh. Though the Government denied existence of operation with any such name, the forces achieved a major success and much of the area was freed of Maoist terror. Of course, Maoists shifted their base to other places including Andhra-Odisha border, Odisha, other parts of Chhattisgarh, and even Gadchiroli district of adjoining Maharashtra. However, swiftness and resolute action of Maharashtra Police forced the outlaws to find newer places to hide.

Internal clashes, rifts
within CPI (Maoist)
With the Maoists forgetting the ideological foundation and objectives with which the Naxalbari movement started way back in 1967, differences started showing up within the new organisation in a span of just a few years.
CPI (Maoist) hailed founder of Naxalbari movement Charu Mujumdar but purposefully forgot co-founder Kanu Sanyal as he was more inclined towards ideological foundation. Sanyal, some time before his death, had termed Maoists as ‘anarchist caricature of Mao’s teachings’. There were many who were fed up of violence, reign of exploitation within rank and file, financial and moral corruption, instances of turpitude etc.
A group of tribal Maoists, who was fed up with the exploitation by senior non-tribal cadres parted ways with the CPI (Maoist) and then started the violent clashes between Maoist cadres and Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC) in Jharkhand. In these clashes, several Maoist cadres were eliminated and so were TPC cadres.
Those like Sabyasachi Panda were frustrated with the ideological, financial, and moral corruption within Maoist leadership. He wrote a letter to the top brass but was sidelined. There were many like Panda. Discontent was brewing in CPI (Maoist), and soon there was a series of surrender by top-ranking cadres including spokesperson Gudsa Usendi. Most of the surrendered cadres were frustrated by the killing of innocent tribals and civilians, for whom the Maoists claimed to fight the protracted war.

The Road Ahead
Of course, suffering several set-backs including drastic decline in the number of members even in its top decision making bodies like Politburo and Central Committee, the CPI (Maoist) tried to boost the morale of its cadres by way of announcing merger of some more splinter groups with it. It is also taking the opportunity of 10th anniversary of formation of CPI (Maoist) to once again focus more on drawing cadres from farming community across the country. The desperation is clear in the appeal of CPI (Maoist) to the people to ‘dare to fight’.
As far as the Government is concerned, it is concentrating on freeing the mineral-rich areas from the Maoist menace. However, while doing so, it will have to take ample care to see that once investors/industries start coming in these areas, local development and local employment is effected. Besides, it will have to choke the intellectual support base of Maoists especially in major urban centres, and also to block finance and arms channels of the outlaws. The Government also needs to step up intelligence apparatus to shatter any attempt of Maoists to build bridges with secessionist forces in the country.
Though the Government has scored well over Maoists especially in the past few years, it has tended to fall prey to the offer of talks with the Left Wing Extremists. It has been proven time and again that Maoists utilise the opportunity of cease-fire or talks to regroup, and then hit back with more force. Still, even the present-day Government recently expressed willingness to talk to Maoists. Of course, it is difficult to predict anything at this juncture on this front.
For today, there are several questions to which only future holds the answers. It will be interesting to watch how does CPI (Maoist) ‘celebrate’ its 10th anniversary year. For, it will decide the course of actions to be taken by the Government, and its impact on the lives of people in affected areas. 

(21-09-14)