'Chhattisgarh Adivasis insecure': Failing to get mass support, Maoists go on rampage

By Harsh Thakor*

A gun battle took place between security personnel and armed cadres of the CPI (Maoist) in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district,on January 28th. Several Maoists may have been injured during the skirmish, though no injured persons or bodies were found at the site of the encounter, a police official commented. The firefight took place on the same day when three CRPF personnel were killed and 15 others injured in a separate exchange of fire between security forces and cadres of the Maoist party on the borders of Sukma and Bijapur districts in the state.

On the 30th of January, Indian paramilitaries tried to plant a new camp for their troops in the area. A few hours later they faced a jolt of an intense attack with improvised grenade launchers and with heavy machine-gun fire. The attack left three paramilitaries killed and another 15 injured. After this attack, a commander of the paramilitary forces stated that it “has taken many fatal and non-fatal casualties while creating forward operating bases called FOBs. This incident is an addition to that”. These actions of the Maoists were part of their People’s War strategy.

Ramesh Poyam from Bodga village of Bastar was killed by the bullets of the police and paramilitary on 30th January 2024 when he went to take bath in the nearby river. The Forces were reportedly returning from Abujhmad region after eradicating a 130-meter-long Maoist tunnel and razing to the ground a “Martyrs Memorial” of the Maoists when they met retaliation with the Maoist forces. After the firing stopped Ramesh went to take bath, and he was reportedly shot by the forces. The killing has been justified with the camouflage of “crossfire with Naxalites”.

After the operation, the paramilitaries and the police declared that they undertook a search and attack operation against the Maoist guerrillas, but they did not recover the bodies and there is no evidence of their existence. The establishment of military, paramilitary and police camps, and frequent attacks are part of the usual actions in the Bastar region, considered a stronghold of the Maoists.

This is the second time in less than two weeks that we have witnessed another wave of offensive actions challenging the security forces. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had declared that he planned to extinguish Maoism from the face of India in the next three years. Ironically, the beginning of 2024 has seen the Maoists' activity escalating.

Inspector killed

An Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast sparked by cadres of the CPI (Maoist) in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district on February 1st, a police official announced to a press conference. The blast occurred near Ghotia under Malewahi police station limits of the district when a joint team of the CRPF’s 195th battalion and local police were conducting a road security operation.

A cadre of the CPI (Maoist) was killed in a gun battle with security personnel in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on February 3rd, a police official announced. Earlier, an exchange of fire occurred in a forest between Nagaram and Pantabheji villages under Bheji police station limits when security forces were thirsty to liquidate the Maoists.

The operation was launched with the aid of intelligence inputs on the presence of a member of the Konta Area Committee of the CPI (Maoist), Sodhi Gajendra, and other leaders of the Maoist party, along with 15-20 armed Maoist cadres in the forest. In the aftermath of the skirmish, the body of a Maoist, a 12 bore rifle, a pistol and Maoist-related materials were recovered from the site of the encounter, the official commented.

The identity of the slain Maoist has not yet been verified. Personnel belonging to the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Bastar Fighters, (both units of the state police), and the 219th battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were involved in the operation.

The newly formed BJP government in Chhattisgarh has opened some new police stations to extinguish the Maoist party. Similar steps are being adopted in other states like Maharashtra, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Bihar, etc. The Central government has set out on a new military operation in the name of Operation Kagaar (Final War). The objective of this military operation is said to be to seize control of the Maad hills to eliminate the central leadership of the Maoist party and is to allow corporates to exploit the natural resources.

The tussle between security forces and Maoists is escalating, with the Adivasi peasants becoming easy victim. The Indian state has used drones for aerial bombings in Mettaguda, Errapali and Bottethong which lie on the borders of Sukma-Bijapur districts in Chhattisgarh

The Maoists have tried to challenge to aerial bombings, Operation Kagar and Operation Samadhan-Prahar and sharpen their striking capacity. However, there is hardly any presence of people in the Maoists’ retaliatory actions.

---

*Freelance journalist

Comments

How Hindutva and the Taliban mirror each other in power and ideology

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* The recent visit of Taliban-appointed Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to India and the warm reception extended to him by the Modi government have raised questions about India’s foreign policy direction. The decision appears to lend legitimacy to the Taliban regime, which continues to suppress democratic aspirations in Afghanistan.

Justice for Zubeen Garg: Fans persist as investigations continue in India and Singapore

By Nava Thakuria* Even a month after the death of Assam’s cultural icon Zubeen Garg in Singapore under mysterious circumstances, thousands of his fans and admirers across eastern India continue their campaign for “ JusticeForZubeenGarg .” A large digital campaign has gained momentum, with over two million social media users from around the world demanding legal action against those allegedly responsible. Although the Assam government has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has arrested seven people, and a judicial commission headed by Justice Soumitra Saikia of the Gauhati High Court to oversee the probe, public pressure for justice remains strong.

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Matter of grave concern: International finance capital 'onslaught' on Indian finance and banking

By Devidas Tuljapurkar* In recent years, there has been a concerning trend of increasing foreign control over Indian banks. It began with Laxmi Vilas Bank , which was acquired by Singapore-based DBS Group (Development Bank of Singapore). This was followed by the acquisition of Catholic Syrian Bank by the Canadian firm Fairfax . More recently, Yes Bank has seen a growing stake being taken over by Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), and now reports suggest that RBL Bank (formerly Ratnakar Bank Limited) is likely to be acquired by the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) public sector lender, Emirates NBD (Emirates National Bank of Dubai).

Search This Blog