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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...

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...

THE talks between the Andhra Pradesh government and the Naxalites began in October 2004. In this period, it is estimated by the Union Home Ministry, the Maoists have increased their core strength of 6,000 armed guerrillas by another 1,000-1,200. ‘‘It is difficult to put an exact figure to the number of fighting men Naxals have in Andhra Pradesh,’’ a senior official admits. He points out the quantum of sympathisers is even more of a guess. Security agencies say the Naxals have used the ‘‘peace period’’ to regroup and even grow. ‘‘They could move freely, talk to people, hold meetings and...

Why should Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh worry about absolute monarchy in Nepal? Well, for one because events in Kathmandu could impact the power of Maoists in the Himalayan kingdom. And here lies the rub. For some time now, it has been established that Nepal Maoists have developed linkages — in terms of personnel, fire-power and operations — with Naxalites in India. And therein lies the problem. As Naxalites strike, seemingly at will in a huge swath between Bihar and the Tamil Nadu border, police are getting jittery about the fallout of Nepal. Chhattisgarh's director general of police last week...

NEW DELHI/ VARANASI: The militants, who killed 17 Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) jawans in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, looted seven self-loading rifles and three AK-47 rifles, besides ammunition. State DGP V K B Nair rushed to the spot. According to the IG, Varanasi zone, Dev Raj Nagar — who was camping in Naugarh area to monitor the combing operation — the incident took place around 7.30 am when the police party was on patrol. Naxalites had placed the explosive under a culvert in the forest, about two km away from Chandraprabha dam. They set it off by remote control. The...

Communist guerrillas calling for a boycott of the Indian national elections are suspected of triggering a land mine that killed at least 26 policemen in the eastern state of Jharkhand. The policemen were blown up last night as they travelled in a truck and a jeep on a dirt road in the Saranda Forest. Police had raided a suspected guerrilla hideout in the dense jungle and were leaving the forest when the land mine went off, said a spokesman. The attack took place on the eve of deputy prime minister, Lal Krishna Advani campaigning in Jharkhand. Despite the attack, he...

THE success of Royal Bhutan Army’s operation against Indian insurgents operating from its territory has encouraged the Vajpayee government to mount pressure on Nepal for a similar strike on hideouts of Indian Maoists across the Indo-Nepal border. The issue was taken up by Union Home Secretary N Gopalaswami at his two-day interaction with Nepalese counterpart Ananta Raj Pandey that ended on Wednesday. Mr Gopalaswami is said to have offered technical assistance by the Indian forces in the proposed military crackdown by the Royal Nepalese Army on Maoist hideouts bordering Terai region in UP, Purnea in Bihar and Siliguri in West...

After the Bhutanese action against ULFA rebels, India now wants Nepal to launch operations against Maoist insurgents in its territory. The issue was came up at the two-day Home Secretary-level talks in Kathmandu that ended today. It was decided to share information and intelligence on the presence of Maoists in the respective countries. India had expressed concern on the Nepalese Maoists’ links with Indian Left wing extremists including the PWG, other Naxal groups and even with some fundamentalists. Sources said India had assured Nepal all possible assistance in terms of arms, ammunition, finances and training. ‘‘Officers and personnel of the...

With Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu narrowly escaping an attempt on his life on Wednesday, October 1, the spotlight is once again on the Naxalites, their ideology, and their violent movement. We present a brief primer: Who are the Naxalites? The Naxalites, also sometimes called the Naxals, is a loose term used to define groups waging a violent struggle on behalf of landless labourers and tribal people against landlords and others. The Naxalites say they are fighting oppression and exploitation to create a classless society. Their opponents say the Naxalites are terrorists oppressing people in the name of...

MUMBAI: Coming down heavily on US military campaign in Iraq and globalisation, the World Social Forum (WSF) began here on Friday night with a pledge to launch campaign for a new international order ensuring social justice at all levels. Speakers from different countries urged the US and its allies to stop their show of power in various parts of the world and hand over Iraq to Iraqis while Indian anti-globalisation leaders criticised growing fundamentalism in the country in the context of post-Godhra riots in Gujarat. Captain Laxmi Sehgal, the INA veteran, said globalisation was a danger and should be fought...

During the last year, Communist terrorist organisations have registered an unusual increase of 36 per cent in their activities. The precision with which mines were blasted with the intention to take Chandrababu Naidu’s life speaks a lot about the preparedness of the People’s War Group (PWG). Since the 1917 October revolution, violence has been an inseparable part of the Communist ‘practical party line’. From Stalin and Mao to EMS and Jyoti Basu, violence has always been the hallmark of Communist parties’ growth even as banners inscribed with the words ‘Peace, Harmony, People’s power, Condemn the Bourgeois, Long Live the Revolution’...

PATNA, India -- Suspected communist rebels detonated a land mine under a passing police vehicle in eastern India on Monday, killing 12 officers, police said. The attack took place in hilly terrain in Rohtas district, 125 miles west of Patna, the capital of the eastern Indian state of Bihar, said Ritu Raj, the deputy inspector-general of police. Raj said militants of the outlawed Maoist Communist Center were suspected in the attack since the area is their stronghold. Other details were not immediately available. The rebels work closely with the People's War Group, another guerrilla group, and are active in five...

The communist movement is long dead in India, and yet a large number of Maoists continue to thrive there. They have little hope of ever getting to the level where policies are made, and make no pretense of programmatic work; violence is their stock in trade. According to a recent report by New Delhi's Institute for Conflict Management (ICM), violent incidents committed by the Maoists and related deaths have climbed steadily in the past two years. As before, India's Maoism is an international movement: the difference now is that the international connections are exclusively to violent Mafia-like outfits, including gun-running...

RANCHI: Farmers fed up with harassment at the hands of left-wing insurgents killed nine Maoist guerrillas when rebels tried to storm a village in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand, the police said Friday. State police chief R.R. Prasad said after getting wind of an impeding attack by the Maoists residents of Longo village armed themselves and then shot dead nine rebels and left two other insurgents critically injured. Prasad said the militants slain in the village in East Singbhoum district were members of eastern India’s powerful People’s War Group. Many villagers have armed themselves in Jharkhand, where Maoist guerrillas,...

A Maoist group in southern India has attacked American business interests in Andhra Pradesh to protest the US invasion of Iraq, says a report released in Washington this week by the Overseas Security Advisory Council. The council, established in 1985 by the US Department of State, provides security related information to the private sector operating abroad. The council identifies the insurgents as the People's War Group of Maoists and Naxalites. The report says that PWG militants targeted warehouses used by US businesses in Markapuram and Anantapur. Militants claimed the attacks were a protest against the US and British action in...

Two Maoist guerrilla groups active in India's Jharkhand state (bordered by West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Chhattisgarh) are planning a merger to strengthen their base and counter an intensified police offensive, the Times of India reports. The Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) and People's War Group (PWG), both banned rebel groups, are expected to merge by October or November this year, Indian intelligence officials say. Security officials believe the merger indicates the pressure the rebel groups have been under due to increased police action. "Top leaders and commanders of both groups have been either killed or arrested in police action," an...