75 Indian paramilitary troops massacred by Maoists

[Bigfella]

Most editorials are saying much the same thing....
here's another.

Samar Halarnkar, Hindustan Times

Nirmal,

excellent article. Thanks. One observation as an outsider - India's recent economic advances may actually make groups like the Naxalites more dangerous. Poor & tribal folk may be largely illiterate, but in a modern media environment you can be sure they know about how much better some parts of India are doing. If they feel they are being left behind it gives people like the Naxalites a powerful 'in' to people who might otherwise find Maoist ideas unappealing (it is ironic that in places like Vietnam & China the most important support for communist movements came from peasants who wanted the precise opposite of communist policies - private ownership of their own land). Communists are past masters at exploiting legitimate grievance. As part of India 'shines', other parts may become angrier at being in its shadow.

[nirmal]

Nirmal,

excellent article. Thanks. One observation as an outsider - India's recent economic advances may actually make groups like the Naxalites more dangerous. Poor & tribal folk may be largely illiterate, but in a modern media environment you can be sure they know about how much better some parts of India are doing. If they feel they are being left behind it gives people like the Naxalites a powerful 'in' to people who might otherwise find Maoist ideas unappealing (it is ironic that in places like Vietnam & China the most important support for communist movements came from peasants who wanted the precise opposite of communist policies - private ownership of their own land). Communists are past masters at exploiting legitimate grievance. As part of India 'shines', other parts may become angrier at being in its shadow.

I agree with you 100%.
While the tribals case may be different that they may not know much about the city, the danger of recruitment of unemployed urban youth and urban poor into the maoist fold is very real. But the police have much better intelligence networks in the urban areas, and in fact, most of the recent successes in arresting politburo members has happened in the cities where they sheltered.
So unless the maoists are kept under pressure, both thru socioeconomic policies and thru police pressure, they have the potential to create a bad situation - which will not produca any benefit for anyone - least of all the poor.
Prime minister is right - this is THE biggest threat - forget China, Pakistan, Taliban, or other groups.

[n21]

This is more of a sad commentary on the Indian democracy which has failed at multiple levels to deliver services to citizens. Ultimately true freedom does not come through votes, but through economic & social mobility.

But unfortunately there seems no guarantee that other systems will succeed where democracy has failed in India. I am no longer against the use of force to change GOI behaviour, though I don't agree with commie agenda.

pChan,

On the surface it definitely looks like this is the usual poor people who have badly treated, revolting against the system.

However this is more than that. The leaders of the Moaists are no poor peasants, who has come from hardship. Infact the leaders are well educated, graduates in Science to boot!

Added: Just read that one of the chap is a Masters in technology and that too from a prestigious college like Regional Engineering college!.

Add to this the main leader was a school teacher. There is no doubt that tribals in remote parts of the country are deprived of good governance. However they are been made cannon fodders by these well educated chaps having "People revolutions" fantasies.

Despite having a graduate degree, if the Moaist leaders did not consider it worth while to address poor people's issues through community participation and raising the issues democratically, then I consider the useless half literate corrupt politicians as more mature people!

Democracy is by the people, not just for the people. Hence I would be glad to see these "Lenin fantasy followers" shown the doors to heaven to join Lenin for a chat!

[n21]

Nirmal,

excellent article. Thanks. One observation as an outsider - India's recent economic advances may actually make groups like the Naxalites more dangerous. Poor & tribal folk may be largely illiterate, but in a modern media environment you can be sure they know about how much better some parts of India are doing. ....

Bigfella,

The issue of Moaist started even before India was growing. India opened up the economy in 91.

There is no question that there are real issues for people in remote areas, where education and facilities is not easily available. However the real people who encouraged these tribals/ poor people are well educated and well to do chaps. Instead of showing them the right way to address their issues, they encourage them to pick up arms.

People in Indian villages actually live in their world of own. They are not bothered about people in cities or India's boom as long as they are let to live as they having been doing for decades. Access to water,roads well and good, if not they will dig up a well for water and built a mud road themselves.

Frankly speaking, very self sufficient. The issues that I have seen are actually due to India's growth. Since India now has money the government wants to invest in these remote areas as land is running out needed for the growth in industrialization. This would mean farmers would have give away their land for roads, industries, minerals etc. Some are ready, some are not no matter how much ever the government is ready to pay.Lot of emotions with land.

This is where the conflict starts.

[Tronic]

And how's that working out for you so far?

After ignoring the naxals for decades. We really just started. So just sit back and find out. The CRPF got a beating, but that doesn't mean they will not learn something from this. Its all about learning and innovating.

[Tronic]

KPS Gill speaks..

'CPMF are 'sitting ducks' due to poor intel, flop strategy'

NEW DELHI: A deadly combination of "flop strategy", poor intelligence and "complacency" has made Central Paramilitary Forces a "sitting duck" in the Naxal-affected forests of Chhattisgarh, security experts feel.

"Anti-Naxal strategy is a flop strategy. It is totally flop. Somebody has picked up the strategy from some book and forced it down on the paramilitary forces who are obedient servants and they never objected to what is thrust on them," K P S Gill, who was ex-security advisor to the Chhattisgarh government, said.

Gill asked as to who is being hunted in the Green Hunt operation, launched as a major anti-Naxal operation in the country.

"You are sending 100 people in a forested area where the terrain is not known to them very well. Up to four days, they are sitting ducks," he said.

Gill, who is known for flushing out Punjab militancy, was very critical of the anti-mine vehicle used by the forces in the Naxal-affected regions, saying it is a "death trap".

"Everyone in the vehicle, if it is a mine attack, will die either because of the explosion or when he comes out of the vehicle in the ambush," he said.

Former DGP of BSF Prakash Singh is of the view that there was clear lack of intelligence and complacency among the ranks of CRPF and state police.

"Both CRPF and local police have been to some extent complacent. Otherwise, ambush on such a big scale normally does not happen unless you are very very negligent and very very complacent about your movement. You have not taken the precautions which are required to be taken while operating in such areas," Singh said.

He said there has been some laxity on part of the CRPF if they were ambushed from both sides.

"If they were ambushed from both sides, if IEDs were blown up obviously there has been a lack of intelligence the local police cannot escape responsibility," Singh said.

Singh blamed the CRPF for increasing the manpower but not taking care of their equipment, training and discipline along side.

"New battalions are being raised...at the same time proper training of the men, their equipment, communication, vehicle, all that has not gone alongside. The government has just raised the extra battalions at a break neck speed," he lamented.
IndiaPost - Voice of Indians Worldwide - 'CPMF are 'sitting ducks' due to poor intel, flop strategy'

[Tronic]

Govt to use aerial route to hunt down Maoists

New Delhi: Jolted by the Maoist strike at Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, the Centre has decided to provide an aerial route to the paramilitary forces to track down the insurgents and para-drop troops for combat. There is, however, no agreement yet between the home and the defence ministries on using the Indian Air Force (IAF) to strike at the Left insurgents.

The government will soon acquire unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), available only with the army so far. “The first trial of the UAVs will be held next week at an undisclosed place,” an official said.

In another significant development, the home ministry has started bifurcating the CRPF into specialised categories: law and order, and anti-insurgency operations. “It will be a slow process as it involves sensitising 260 battalions of the CRPF. But we have to adopt this approach in view of the challenge posed by the insurgents,” the official said.

Significantly, the official did not rule out the possibility of the insurgents having been trained by ex-army and CPMF personnel. “The intercepts have revealed that the insurgents have been using terminology normally associated with the armed forces. It has raised a suspicion about the chances of ex-servicemen training the Maoists,” he added.

The home ministry has also ordered a high level probe into the Dantewada attack which left 74 CRPF personnel and two police constables dead. Former Border Security Force (BSF) DGP EM Rammohan Rao, an Assam cadre IPS officer, will head the one-man committee that will look into the shortcomings leading to the massacre. He would be submitting his report within 15 days, a senior home ministry official said. The committee has been mandated to reconstruct the actual events that took place at Dantewada before the arrival of the first rescue party. It would also analyse and establish the decision/command structure/ hierarchy which took relevant decisions leading to the incident.

The ministry has ruled out any rethink on the anti-Maoist operations. “In fact a fresh operation has been launched against the Maoists at a place in Chhattisgarh,’’ officials said without disclosing the location.

Govt to use aerial route to hunt down Maoists - dnaindia.com

[calass]

Ideally yes the state governments assisted by central govt paramilitary forces should be able to deal with the problem.
The problem is the fact that many of these politicos have cozy agreements with naxal/maoist leaders for their help come election time. On the other side of the coin they routinely support exploitation by big business of the rich natural resources in the area while driving the tribals from the land and paying them little or no compensation.
In addition state level corruption is so high as to render the state machinery such as schools, hospitals etc nonexistent or barely functional in most rural areas.
The government of india does not have the political willpower to change this in any meaningful way.
The only option left is to bypass the state machinery completely and use the army for securing the area with dvelopment handled by central government.

About the development angle, I agree to an extent but we cannot coddle our tribals like a richer nation would be able to.
If the amount of jobs generated and money pumped into the economy from a certain project is big enough, then yes clear off the tribals, bribe them with lots of cash and start the project.

If i was to dream, then the ideal solution would be to detain indefinitely all members of the state houses of Chattisgarh, Jharkand, Orrisa and West Bengal in a nifty Guantanamoesque facility out in the Andamans. The states to come under Central emergency rule and state bureaucracies and paramilitaries ruthlessly purged. THEN you can think of fighting an efficient counter insurgency campaign against the reds.

Er...the poor dirty tribal hugging his land has as much right to it as any IPL watching,pub hopping software engineer in Bangalore. Continue with this attitude and watch India keep burning.

[nirmal]

Police recruitment of local tribals....

Indian Express
Next door to Dantewada, tribals line up for biggest police job drive

Vivek Deshpande Posted online: Friday , Apr 09, 2010 at 2325 hrs

Gadchiroli : About a month before the Dantewada ambush that killed 75 CRPF men, the police ground in bordering Gadchiroli in Maharashtra was teeming with 25,000 young men and women, about 16,000 of them from the district itself.
They had come for the first phase of this Naxal-hit area’s biggest police recruitment drive till date, aiming to recruit two full battalions (1,250 constables in each phase) for Gadchiroli and newly carved out Aheri districts. Of the posts, 376 would be reserved for girls.

Despite the deadliest Naxal attack ever in nearby Dantewada now, the resolve of these men and women to join the police force remains unaffected — to some extent driven by the few options available to them in the vastly forested tribal district, but to a large part motivated by anger against Naxalites, their empty promises and the reign of terror they have come to symbolise. They are even willing to risk the wrath of the Maoists that may follow. Gadchiroli itself has seen three ambushes in the recent past, killing 48 policemen.

All of those who appeared for the recruitment drive cleared the physical tests — with the criteria relaxed in their case — and are awaiting a written test next month. If they get through, they get a job. If they don’t, they would have only two options — stay back in Gadchiroli and do anything else for a living, or return to the village and face Naxal backlash.

For the police, it’s nothing less than a moral victory. “If we are their tormentors, how is it that they come to us for jobs? And do they join us to go back to their villages and harass their own people? Today, 50 per cent of our force in Gadchiroli comprises local tribals. Would they like the idea of their kith and kin being harassed?” says Superintendent of Police Jayakumar.

A new recruitee in Naxal-affected areas gets Rs 15,000 to start with, something the entire family can’t earn for a whole year. The height and chest expansion requirements are relaxed to encourage more to apply.

Sunita, a tribal girl hailing from Bhamragarh village (name changed for fear of Naxal wrath), the eldest in her family of three brothers and parents, sneaked out to register for the recruitment. Five acres of rain-fed paddy agriculture can hardly meet the family’s livelihood demands.

Davraj from north Gadchiroli also ran away to get himself enrolled. “The job is more paramount than everything else,” he says. “We have no jobs here. A village youth had been killed by Naxals for a bid to join the police a few years ago. But I am not afraid. I need a job,” he says.

Sangita, hailing from another Naxal-affected village in Sironcha, lost two of her kin to a Naxal attack. She had testified against the Maoists and has been under pressure since then. However, she says: “I made up my mind to join the police for livelihood, not revenge.”

Vijaya, on the other hand, wants to “get back” at the Naxals for her brother’s death in an ambush. “Of course, money is important,” she adds.

Shyama lost her father in an encounter about six years ago and says she has been determined to become a policewoman. “I don’t think Naxals are doing any good to the people,” she says.

Naxals have already been to Sunita’s house seeking to know where she was. “The family didn’t know, but Naxals refused to believe them,” she says. “My brother somehow traced my whereabouts and telephoned. I told him I am joining police. Parents would never have allowed me if I had told them.”

A local tribal activist feels “Naxals are clearly the losers”. “Not only have they failed to deter the tribal youths from joining the police, but have ended up creating more policemen to fight with.”

Even Dantewada hasn’t changed that. “When we come here, we know we have to be ready for any eventuality,” they all say.

[bolo121]

Er...the poor dirty tribal hugging his land has as much right to it as any IPL watching,pub hopping software engineer in Bangalore. Continue with this attitude and watch India keep burning.

India does not have any right to property legislation and even in cities land has often been taken for flyovers, road widening etc.
Starting the project or not starting it will not affect us nasty arrogant pub going ipl watching middle classes.
However the great mass of the people need jobs and for said jobs to appear the economy has to grow. So if providing jobs for people means that some tribals will be displaced, then yes bribe them with revenue from the project and move them out.

Nirmal, Nice article. This is the true problem the grinding poverty. Even threat of death at the hands of the naxals is not deterring them from joining.

[nirmal]

Here's an article on how the Govt end up funding maoists thru NREGA development funds meant for tribal areas!!!!



The Telegraph
Issue Date: Friday , April 9 , 2010
Who funds Maoists? The govt
SANKARSHAN THAKUR

New Delhi, April 8: Ironic and incredible though it may sound, a chunky portion of funds for Maoists comes from the government and its related agencies. The Maoist milch cow, especially in south Chhattisgarh, is the NREGS, the government’s pet mass welfare project.

There is no established estimate of the quantum of the Maoist heist on rural employment guarantee funds, but a top officer in Raipur guessed it could be as high as 70 per cent. “It’s simple,” he said, “NREGS funds flow directly to sarpanches and most of them in Bastar are either backed by Maoists or dominated by them, it’s ready cash for them.”

The NREGS is currently on an expanded budget — up a Rs 1,000 crore from the Rs 39,100 crore granted by the Centre last year — conservative estimates are that nearly 40 per cent of that kitty is flowing into Maoist-dominated areas, which also happen to be some of the country’s most backward and poverty-ridden.

The Union minister for rural development, C.P. Joshi, has often helplessly admitted to a Maoist paw on NREGS funds; his officials, though, have not tabulated the extent of its grab.

“It’s tough to do that,” said one, “we know that there are other sources of leak, such as local corruption, but it can safely be said that in states like Chhattisgarh, a substantial amount of NREGS funds are literally looted away by Maoists.”

Extortion, the officer held, remains a major provider to Maoist coffers, but increasingly they have come to rely on siphoning off development funds. “Look at the bitter twist of it from our point of view: development is prescribed as the essential antidote to Maoists, and yet funds meant for development are helping them expand.”

Asked if the government could do nothing to plug the leak, he retorted sardonically: “Stop development, that’s one way to starve the Maoists.”

Maoist leaders themselves are open about what they call “utilising” development funds. During several conversations over a week in the Dandakaranya jungles of south Bastar last year, middle-ranking Maoist military commanders justified to The Telegraph the idea of “controlling and channelling” welfare funds.

“This is public money and we are the public too, we live and work among them,” one of them said. “One of the reasons these areas have remained backward is that officials and contractors have eaten away whatever public money came, we are now utilising it for the benefit of the public.”

Asked how, she said: “We run mobile dispensaries, for instance, and feed the hungry, the government has not done that all these years.” She admitted, too, that part of the public funds they lay their hands on is meant for Maoist muscle. “Consolidating and strengthening the peoples’ movement and the peoples’ army,” is how she put it.

In areas that Maoists hold, or dominate, barely anything moves without them getting a cut from it. Timber and public works contractors must regularly pay them a cut, coal and iron ore transporters — government and private — must buy safe passage, industry, big and small, must cough up protection money.

One big industrial house is able to fast-belt raw materials from Orissa to processing units and ports in Andhra Pradesh right through the Maoist hotbed of Chhattisgarh. It’s an open secret that comes at a huge — though unnamed and unacknowledged — price.

Yet, the oft-held impression of the Maoists being a force flush with the surpluses of their loot could be misplaced.

A big part of their modern arsenal is made up of acquisitions in successful raids on government armouries; the rest comes either from commercial deals with insurgents in the Northeast and Nepal, or, often, as fraternal aid from revolutionary groups in the region.

But all of that does not add up to making them an armed-to-the-teeth blitz force.


A senior paramilitary officer, who has conducted anti-Maoist operations in Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, said the Maoists’ military prowess needed to be demystified and put in the perspective of how they use what they have, speaking in near-laudatory terms of the Maoists’ frugality and fighting discipline.

“They have become better funded than before, surely,” he said. “But it is not as if they are prosperous bandits having a lavish picnic in the jungles. Their modern weapons — both looted and purchased — they use very judiciously, even when they suffer casualties, they make sure weapons and ammunition are not lost with the dead.

“Most of the cadres have only country weapons, their modern weaponry is in fewer hands and used to optimal purpose, as in the strike near Sukma. They live rudimentary lives, eating and dressing simply, almost at no cost. Commitment does not cost money.”

[axeman]

BJP backs Chidambaram, asks him not to retreat - The Times of India

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday said it supported home minister P Chidambaram and asked him not to be seen to be retreating as any such move would mean that the Maoist guerrillas would "hail it as their victory".

"Chidambaram deserves the support of the government, the support of all political parties," BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters amid reports that the home minister had offered to resign following the massacre of 76 security men in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday.

Rudy said the BJP had made no demand for the resignation of the home minister.

"We would like to speak clearly about it. We are not agreeable that Chidambaram should quit. The Maoists will hail it as their victory."

The BJP leader said the home minister "cannot be seen as retreating". "We expect him to face the situation boldly. We cannot see the country standing defeated by Maoists."

Asking Chidambaram "not to make confessional statements", the BJP leader said: "He should make aspirational statements to boost the morale of the security forces. The BJP will support all the endeavours of the government in its battle to finish the Leftist rebels."

Rudy said the home minister had become the victim of his own "the buck stops" idiom.

Chidambaram at a CRPF function earlier in the day had said he accepted "full responsibility" for the Chhattisgarh massacre and said that the "buck stops at my desk".

[Samudra]

Stop trying to send in company after company of CPMF men and getting their collective posteriors whipped. Puhleese.

Instead get them goddamn wannabe Mao's running the show. Collect intel - hound out the leaders. They've done it before. Chandra Babu Naidu gave them the bird, flew in a car turned turtle and walked out alive.

They can do it again. But then our dee-ah Home Minister has found his whipping boy. Admire him for re-working the internal intel/security set-up. Old man got it wrong with hara-hunt.

[Zaitsev]

Well thankfully the political parties have'nt gone down to petty politics over this.BJP has acted surprisingly responsible in this matter.

Getting back to the matter in hand.Since intelligence gathering is a problem now,inspite of the best of the paramillitary's best efforts to befriend the tribals..they should assess where is the problem in gathering intelligence. Well they would'nt need to see far,for the poor tribals its a choice between their bullets and our bullets:
-If they help the forces with intel they are being slaughtered(Case point:Killing of CPM cadres by maoists in Bengal at the onset of joint forces offensive,they were accused of being police informers)
or
-If they help the maoists they are being branded symphatisers and being picked up and tortured.

Often its is being forgotten that the tribals help the maoists with supplies only because maoists threaten them with guns to do so.Something which the paramillitary could'nt do.Firstly instead of thus going into a heavy offensive it would make sense if the Paramilltary could foster a sense of protection among the tribals.That 'we will protect you from the guns of maoists.Just dont help them'.Something which they haven't been able to do.Cut of their support base do reverse propaganda if required.Spread false rumors about the maoists, just as they do of the govt.Considering the illiteracy of the tribal folks propaganda would achieve much more than development(mind you i am not telling to put development on a back foot though)

Secondly the so called people's fronts(which are nothing but maoist propaganda forums) have to be cracked down hard upon.I wonder why they are not picking them up when it is very well known what their real intentions are.

If you do these and alienate their support base,half the battle is won.

[bolo121]

Before the paramilitaries can get intel they need to demonstrate to the locals that they are there to say long term and that they can win. So set up a chain of OPs and small bases near villages in the area, cover them with overlapping firebases and stay. After the first few months when you have turned away attack after attack you will get locals approaching you with info.