Skip to main content

Air strikes on Chhattisgarh-Telangana border 'meant to protect' Indian top mining giants

Counterview Desk 

The civil rights group, Forum Against Corporatization And Militarization (FACAM), New Delhi, commenting on aerial bombing on Chhatisgarh-Telangana border in order to “eliminate Maoists”, has said, it isn’t just violation of various international conventions and charters, which bar using Armed Forces and Air Force on the domestic soil in an ‘internal conflict’.
Calling it amounting to war crime and act of genocide, FACAM said, it is meant to facilitate foreign and India corporates like Jindal, Tata, Adani and Ambani, are desiring to have unhindered control over those regions of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra which are rich in minerals, worth billions of dollars.

Text:

On Wednesday, 11th Jan 2023, a joint operation was launched by Central Reserve Police Force, Greyhound and CoBRA (Elite Anti Naxal Squad), District Reserve Guard (comprising of Infamous SPOs of Salwa Judum) in the wee hours. According to the varying news reports, the attempt is to target an armed Battalion of CPI (Maoist) headed by a top Naxal Commander. Some reports have clarified that the operation is aided by Helicopters, Drone and Global Positioning Data. The aim is to hit the Telangana-Chhatisgarh-Odisha border region. It has come to our notice that a widespread aerial bombing campaign has been undertaken to that end in Madkanguda, Mettaguda, Bottethong, Sakiler, Madpaaduled, Kannemerka, Pottemangum, Bottalanka, Raspalli and Erpad of Pamed and Kistaram blocks of South Bastar at Chhatisgarh-Telangana Border, from 11 am onwards. According to a recent media report, it was claimed that the drones, supposedly to be engaged in surveillance missions on the Naxal movement, will be operated by the Indian Air Force personnel from the National Technical Research Organisation, which was set up with the aid of US intelligence operatives of NSA, pointing to an all round offensive of State with the help of US.
This is not the first time that aerial bombing campaign has been undertaken in these regions to “eliminate the Maoists”. Last 2 years have seen aerial bombings in April of Year 2021 and 2022. Various villages bombed this time, have previously been bombed in above mentioned drone attacks of 2021 and 2022. It is dangerous that aerial attacks and all out war is unleashed on the people in the name of countering the Maoist movement or Naxalites, which had, until now been considered a socio-economic and political question that requires political attention not military intervention. Regardless, the use of Aerial Attacks, Armed Forces and Air Force on the domestic soil in an ‘internal conflict’ of the country is in violation of various international conventions and charters and amounts to war crimes. It is very important to understand that these very regions of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra are rich in minerals worth billions of dollars and the US along with other imperialist powers and help from their Indian lackeys like Jindal, Tata, Adani and Ambani, are desiring to have unhindered control on the same. For this very reason of extraction, a political question of resource and land, has been rampantly turned into a matter of military intervention, similar to the lines of various Latin American Countries where US imperialism has plundered.
Various villages bombed this time have previously suffered from drone attacks in 2021 and 2022
It is also very important to understand that the intensification of Brahmanical Hindutva Fascism is an important tool to aid the loot and plunder of land and resources of the people of our country and militarization plays a very important role in such onslaught. Under Fascism, socio-economic and political questions become a matter of military interventions and continuation of an intensified genocidal war against the people for plunder of resources are termed as “pro-development”. This exponential intensification of military campaigns and trampling of very basic human rights, is also an attempt by the Fascist forces to test the extent of our deafening silence and this onslaught is bound to increase at the very pace, if not opposed unitedly. At this hour of Brute militarization and Genocidal Military repression, Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization calls upon all the democratic, Conscious, justice and peace loving people of the country to unitedly oppose the military repression on people of our own country and demand the Indian state to address the socio-economic and political questions as such, through talks and deliberations. Forum also condemns in the most harsh tone possible, this rampant use of aerial strikes and genocide against the people of the country and demand the following:
1. Immediately stop aerial bombings in Chhattisgarh-Telangana Border and else where, on the people of our own country.
2. Immediately withdraw the troops from Chhattisgarh-Telangana border engaged in Genocidal operation.
3. Indian government must engage in political discourse with the CPI (Maoist)
4. Stop the loot of resources by imperialist backed mining giants.
5. Stop Operation Samadhan-Prahar.

Comments

TRENDING

From algorithms to exploitation: New report exposes plight of India's gig workers

By Jag Jivan   The recent report, "State of Finance in India Report 2024-25," released by a coalition including the Centre for Financial Accountability, Focus on the Global South, and other organizations, paints a stark picture of India's burgeoning digital economy, particularly highlighting the exploitation faced by gig workers on platform-based services. 

'Condonation of war crimes against women and children’: IPSN on Trump’s Gaza Board

By A Representative   The India-Palestine Solidarity Network (IPSN) has strongly condemned the announcement of a proposed “Board of Peace” for Gaza and Palestine by former US President Donald J. Trump, calling it an initiative that “condones war crimes against children and women” and “rubs salt in Palestinian wounds.”

India’s road to sustainability: Why alternative fuels matter beyond electric vehicles

By Suyash Gupta*  India’s worsening air quality makes the shift towards clean mobility urgent. However, while electric vehicles (EVs) are central to India’s strategy, they alone cannot address the country’s diverse pollution and energy challenges.

Gig workers hold online strike on republic day; nationwide protests planned on February 3

By A Representative   Gig and platform service workers across the country observed a nationwide online strike on Republic Day, responding to a call given by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) to protest what it described as exploitation, insecurity and denial of basic worker rights in the platform economy. The union said women gig workers led the January 26 action by switching off their work apps as a mark of protest.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra*  The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

Whither space for the marginalised in Kerala's privately-driven townships after landslides?

By Ipshita Basu, Sudheesh R.C.  In the early hours of July 30 2024, a landslide in the Wayanad district of Kerala state, India, killed 400 people. The Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Vellarimala and Chooralmala villages in the Western Ghats mountain range turned into a dystopian rubble of uprooted trees and debris.

Fragmented opposition and identity politics shaping Tamil Nadu’s 2026 election battle

By Syed Ali Mujtaba*  Tamil Nadu is set to go to the polls in April 2026, and the political battle lines are beginning to take shape. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state on January 23, 2026, marked the formal launch of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign against the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Addressing multiple public meetings, the Prime Minister accused the DMK government of corruption, criminality, and dynastic politics, and called for Tamil Nadu to be “freed from DMK’s chains.” PM Modi alleged that the DMK had turned Tamil Nadu into a drug-ridden state and betrayed public trust by governing through what he described as “Corruption, Mafia and Crime,” derisively terming it “CMC rule.” He claimed that despite making numerous promises, the DMK had failed to deliver meaningful development. He also targeted what he described as the party’s dynastic character, arguing that the government functioned primarily for the benefit of a single family a...

Over 40% of gig workers earn below ₹15,000 a month: Economic Survey

By A Representative   The Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, while reviewing the Economic Survey in Parliament on Tuesday, highlighted the rapid growth of gig and platform workers in India. According to the Survey, the number of gig workers has increased from 7.7 million to around 12 million, marking a growth of about 55 percent. Their share in the overall workforce is projected to rise from 2 percent to 6.7 percent, with gig workers expected to contribute approximately ₹2.35 lakh crore to the GDP by 2030. The Survey also noted that over 40 percent of gig workers earn less than ₹15,000 per month.