Recent naxal onslaughts in Ramgiri Udayagiri and Chattisgarh have sent shockwaves. DNA gives you a lowdown on the challenges posed by the country's fringe Left.
Friday's Naxal onslaught in the Orissa town of Ramgiri Udayagiri, in which over 400 armed Maoists freed 40 of their comrades and took hostage the jail chief and a sub-inspector, and Saturday's killing of 13 people in a landmine blast in Chattisgarh, have sent shockwaves. The incidents come just four months after Naxalites freed 389 of their comrades from Jehanabad jail in their most daring attack. DNA gives you a lowdown on the challenges posed by the country's fringe Left.
Tactical shift
Ramgiri Udayagiri and Jehanabad mark a significant shift in Naxalite tactics. The scale of the attacks show that Naxalites are better organized and equipped. They also point at deepening linkages between Indian leftwing extremists and Nepalese Maoist insurgents. More such attacks are anticipated in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa.
Change in strategy
A shift in Naxal strategy took place in September 2004 with the merger of Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) to form Communist Party of India (Maoist).
Guerrilla army
People's Guerrilla Army (PGA) and People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), the guerrilla units of the People's War Group and the MCC respectively, merged under the September agreement. It’s called PLGA.
PWG has 3,500 armed cadres and 3,000 firearms. MCC has 3,000-3,500 cadres and 2,500 firearms. Firearms include AK rifles, light machine guns and .303s.
Class war or caste war?
In Bihar and Jharkhand, Naxalites mainly fight private armies, like Ranvir Sena, of upper caste feudal elements.
In Chattishgarh, CPI(Maoist) cadres have stepped up violence in the entire Bastar region after a private army, Salwa Judum, which is reportedly supported by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, started six months ago.
In Andhra Pradesh and other states, Naxalites fight mainly the state machinery.
Compact Revolutionary Zone
Larger goal of Naxalites is creation of a red corridor called Compact Revolutionary Zone (CRZ) extending from Nepal through Bihar to Andhra Pradesh. The CRZ idea crystallised in August 2001 at a meeting of Nepalese Maoists and Indian Naxalites in Siliguri.
Command structure
CPI(Maoist) retains all hierarchies present in former outfits, including central committee, regional bureaus,.and state, zonal, district, division and squad area committees.
Naxals in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra
15 CPI(ML) dalams, or groups, are spread over north and south Gadchiroli in Vidharba.
Each dalam has 15-20 armed members. The dalam commander and his deputy are armed with sophisticated weapons ranging from AK-47s to SLRs.
The dalams carry out dry runs before executing any major operations.
Prominent dalams in south Gadchiroli are Sironcha, Aheri, Etapalli, Bhamragarh, Gatta, Chamorshi and Bimalgatta, and in north Gadchiroli are Tipagarh, Khobramedha, Kurkheda and Korchi.
Recent attacks
- March 24, 2006: 400 Maoists attack a jail in Ramgiri Udayagiri in Gajapati district of Orissa, free 40 of their comrades
- March 13, 2006: Maoists hijack train in Jharkhand with 200 passengers on board; release passengers after two days
- February 28, 2006: Maoists trigger landmine in Erraboru village in Chhattisgarh killing 25 people who were going to participate in an anti-Naxalite rally
- June 2005: Naxalites kill officer-in-charge of Barikul police station in West Bengal
- May 2005: CPI(Maoist) cadres trigger landmine in Deori, Madhya Pradesh, killing seven policemen and a civilian
- February 2005: Naxalites trigger landmine in Gadchiroli district, Maharashtra, killing seven and injuring 11 policemen of a patrol party
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