Opinion
Is the Government Underestimating
the Maoist Threat?
by P.V. Ramana
In a daring
raid, believed to be codenamed Operation 22, guerrillas of the outlawed
Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) looted 1,100 weapons
-including pistols, Self Loading Rifles, AK and INSAS rifles and Light
Machine Guns (LMGs) - Feb 15 night in Orissa's newly carved-out Nayagarh
district.
The town was seized for approximately two-and-a-half hours. Those
familiar with the Maoist method of organizing fighters and weapons think
the rebels would be easily able to raise three battalions, given the
number of weapons looted.
Home Minister Shivraj Patil thinks the rebels do not pose a big threat.
But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh thinks they do.
The Nayagarh raid was clinically precise, very meticulously planned and
finely executed. It is the largest ever looting of weapons and
ammunition in the history of the sub-continent - until now the largest
was the Chittagong armory raid during the independence movement.
Reportedly, the Maoists blocked all approaches to the town, infiltrated
it during the day, laid siege to the residences of the district police
chief and the district collector, and launched simultaneous attacks on
the district armory, town police office and reserve police office.
They also reportedly launched an attack on the Daspalla police
inspector's home, which is close to Nayagarh.
Incontrovertibly, the People's Militia participated in the raid in big
numbers. Of the reportedly 600 attackers, an overwhelming number
belonged to the militia, the Base Force of the rebels. The Maoist
military machine - People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) - comprises
of the Primary Force (attack/protection platoons), Secondary Force
(guerrilla squads) and the Base Force.
The Base Force - the largest component of PLGA - comprises of ordinary
villagers, who otherwise have a vocation in life, but have received
rudimentary military training. Eventually, as the strength of the Base
Force increases with a larger number of people joining in it, the
Maoists hope to convert the PLGA into the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
Presently, this seems to be the immediate task of the Maoists.
The Nayagarh raid is the sixth synchronized attack on multiple targets
within a given town by the Maoists. Incidentally, the first was also
staged in Orissa, in Koraput, Feb 6, 2004. The last of these was in Riga
block of Bihar's Sitamarhi district March 31, 2007. In 2007 alone, the
People's Militia took part in 37 attacks, according to this author's
databases on Maoist movement in India.
The involvement of the People's Militia, in fact, went unnoticed until
the Jehanabad jail break - which the Maoists called Operation Jehanabad
- that was carried out by 1,000 attackers, two-thirds of who were
militia members.
In a press release issued after the raid, the rebels said: "It is a
turning point in the ongoing people's war in the country... This daring
action has also inspired the masses all over the country... It shows
that the well-equipped, well-trained and numerically superior mercenary
forces can be dealt heavy blows by a numerically weaker but determined,
fearless and politically motivated armed force of the people through
concrete survey of the weak points of the enemy force, meticulous
planning and effective execution based on the principle of taking on the
enemy through surprise and lightening speed."
Apparently, the Indian state has not taken these warnings seriously. As
a result, such synchronized attacks are being staged with impunity from
time to time.
Nevertheless, the home minister believes the Maoists "do not pose the
single largest challenge to the country's internal security". He has
made a habit of taking the less grave view of the Maoist challenge. He
reportedly said on a TV channel: "Some particular kind of statistics
would create fear psychosis".
Moreover, Patil has put his foot in his mouth on various occasions on
the spatial spread of the Maoists. For instance, while replying to the
debate on Demands for Grants for his ministry, Patil told the Lok Sabha
May 22, 2006: "I have personally collected data... only 50 districts are
affected". On the other hand, speaking a month earlier, the prime
minister said, while addressing a meeting of the Standing Committee of
Chief Ministers of Naxalite affected states, on April 13, 2006 that the
Naxalite movement "has now spread to over 160 districts".
A former governor of Chhattisgarh begs to differ. He said in an
interview a few months back: "I would like to share that currently from
the figures I have been able to obtain, 256 districts have been declared
(N)axalite affected districts..."
Again in 2006, while addressing the chief ministers conference on
internal security, on Sep 5, 2006, the home minister reportedly said
that 509 police stations countrywide were affected by Maoist violence.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy said at the same
meeting that 500 police stations were affected in his state alone.
Evidently, either the prime minister or the home minister is unaware of
the spatial spread of the Maoists countrywide, and either Patil or Reddy
is ill-informed about the spread of Naxalite violence in Andhra Pradesh.
Apparently, we have no idea, even at very high levels, on the spatial
spread of the Maoists. Replying to a question number 320 in the Rajya
Sabha Nov 21, 2007, Minister of State for Home Affairs Sriprakash
Jaiswal said that 91 districts in 11 states were affected by Maoist
violence.
On the other hand, then cabinet secretary B.K. Chaturvedi, while
speaking at the annual conference of chief secretaries, said April 20,
2007 that a total of 182 districts were Maoist affected. But the Maoists
believe they have a presence in 17 states. Sonu -- who earlier used the
alias Bhupathi -- whose actual name is Mallojula Venugopal and is the
in-charge of the Dandakaranya Special Zone Committee (DKSZC) said in an
interview published in "People's March", a Maoist mouthpiece, in July
2007: "... our party has a presence in 17 states..."
Thus, while we grope in the dark about even the spatial spread of the
rebels, and the challenge they pose, they are gradually expanding their
reach, finely executing meticulous operations and working according to a
well thought-out plan, of capturing political power through protracted
people's war.
(P.V. Ramana is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies
and Analyses, New Delhi. He can be reached at
talepuramana@gmail.com)
Boloji.com is owned and managed by
Boloji Media Inc Privacy Policy |
Disclaimer No part of this Internet site may
be reproduced without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
