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This week’s kickoff of India’s multi-stage election was marred by violence carried out by Maoist rebels, but for many of the country’s Christians, Hindu extremists are of greater concern. The communist insurgents killed at least 16 people, including security and polling officials, in three northeastern states – Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Bihar – on Thursday, one of five election days spread over the next month. Around 140 million people out of a total electorate of some 714 million were eligible to vote on the first day of what is described as the world’s biggest democratic electoral process. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s...

The 'business' of Maoist movement in India April 24, 2008 Financing a 'revolution' is not child's play. It is all the more tough when the organisation is proscribed and hence operates underground. For the Indian Maoists, also known as Naxalites, the conditions are a little more unfavourable because they claim to be fighting for the deprived and neglected sections of society who are poor. And the Maoists do not enjoy the support of the affluent. But still the Maoists are being able to collect and manage vast sums of money. According to a media report of April 9, 2008, the...

At least nine people, including six policemen, have been killed in clashes between security forces and Maoist rebels in India, officials say. Two rebels and a civilian were also killed in the shoot-out in Gaya district of the northern Bihar state. The fighting started when the police challenged a group of Maoists who were attempting to rob a bank, police say. More than 6,000 people have died during the rebels' 20-year fight for a communist state in parts of India. The rebels later managed to escape from the area after the clashes. Police are conducting a search operation. In April,...

Under pressure to crack down on a Maoist rebellion, Manmohan Singh, India’s prime minister, will review counter-insurgency plans at a meeting with state chief ministers to be held on April 13. In the wake of a recent hijacking of a train by Maoists in the northern state of Jharkand and the storming of a jail in neighbouring Bihar, Mr Singh has been criticised for failing to prevent the collapse of local government in vast swathes of the country. Thirteen state governments met in New Delhi on Friday to thrash out a strategy to combat Maoist guerrillas operating with increasing impunity...

Kathmandu : Nepal's Maoist guerrillas took advantage of the ceasefire called by them in September to buy arms from India, the official media here reported Friday. The Rising Nepal daily, the mouthpiece of the government headed by King Gyanendra, said the information was given to the Royal Nepalese Army by an ex-Maoist "combatant". The informer, the daily said, was a 13-year-old girl from Ilam district in eastern Nepal. Ishwara Neupane aka Richa, who reportedly surrendered to security forces and was presented at a press conference at the district administration office in Jhapa, also in eastern Nepal, was quoted as saying...

NEW DELHI, July 8: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers as they are commonly known, are providing military training to the Maoist rebels of Nepal in Bihar near the Nepalese borders. Some French trainers have also been hired, a Maoist rebel leader revealed to the South Asia Tribune.

JALPAIGURI (Indo-Nepal-Bhutan-Bangladesh Border), July 24: Over 165 Maoist cadres are being trained in Bhutan at present, as Bhutan has been included in the future Maoist country, ‘Dandkaranya Desam’. The United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and Kamtapur Liberation Organization (KLO) are imparting the training. A senior leader of the Standing Committee of a Maoist outfit confirmed this to the South Asia Tribune.

Kathmandu, Nepal's rebels may be teaming up with Maoist guerrillas in the Indian state of Bihar for joint attacks on security forces. The People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) says it is a joint force comprising Maoists from Nepal and the outlawed Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) of Bihar. The outfit was reportedly behind the attack on an Indian police post Tuesday night. Around 250 to 300 people attacked the Simraini police picket in Bagaha district, about 8-10 metres from the India-Nepal border, around midnight, heavily outnumbering the 13 policemen posted there at that time. The attackers, using loudspeakers, described themselves as...