Separatist Insurgencies in India - News and Discussions.

[Neo]

Maoist insurgency can hurt industry in India: experts​

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

NEW DELHI: The growing Maoist insurgency in India over large swathes of the mineral-rich countryside could soon hurt some industrial investment plans just as the country suffers an economic slowdown.

The government banned the Communist Party of India (Maoist) on Monday, bracketing it with Islamist militant groups, but experts said the ban would have little impact in the battle against the rebels.

On the ground, police fight Maoist insurgents with outdated weapons and are often outnumbered by rebels, who are skilled in jungle warfare and are well-equipped with rocket launchers, automatic rifles and explosives.

Last week, hundreds of Maoists declared the town of Lalgarh about 170 km (100 miles) from Kolkata, capital of West Bengal, as a “liberated zone”, sparking unease among investors.

While the economic impact may be small compared with India’s trillion dollar economy, the insurgency and the sense that it is worsening signals that India does not fully control its own territory and adds to risks for companies mulling investments.

The Lalgarh incident worried the country’s third-largest steel producer, JSW Steel, which is setting up a $7-billion, 10-million tonne steel plant near Lalgarh.

“We are waiting and watching, so are the others,” Biswadip Gupta, chief executive officer of the company’s West Bengal operations, told Reuters on Tuesday.

“On top of the economic woes, you have the problem of Maoists now. It is very jittery,” Gupta said by telephone from Kolkata.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described Maoists as the biggest internal security threat since independence, and this year more than 300 people, mostly police, have been killed.

The Maoists started their armed struggle in West Bengal’s Naxalbari town in the late 1967, and have expanded their support among villagers by tapping into resentment at the government’s recent pro-industry push.

The rebels, estimated to have 22,000 fighters, operate in large parts of the eastern, central and southern countryside, and officials say they are now spreading to cities and bigger towns.

The Maoists, who are fighting for the rights of poor farmers and the disenfranchised, regularly attack railway lines and factories, aiming to cripple economic activity.

“It is still a law and order problem, but it has not been taken seriously and can have serious consequences if not dealt with properly,” said Anjan Roy, analyst at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, referring to growth of industry. The effect of the Maoist insurgency has already taken its toll on business.

In mineral-rich Orissa state, bauxite production at state-run National Aluminium Co Ltd (NALCO) has fallen by 20 percent since an April attack by Maoists in one of their mines.

 

[Gabbar]

^^ Tata steel has very big steel plant in Nexal effected area in Jharkhand state and they been runing that plant for years. Havn't heard any attacks on that plant from Nexals.

 

[Jako]

^^ Tata steel has very big steel plant in Nexal effected area in Jharkhand state and they been runing that plant for years. Havn't heard any attacks on that plant from Nexals.

1 or 2 yrs ago when west bengal cm Budhadeb Bhattcharya,was going for the opening of the videocon plant in Salboni,the maoists tried to kill him by blowing up landmines......attacks were also attempted on videocon officials..........In nandigram and singur,wb,the chemical hub and the tata nano plant was unable to happen not because of only mamata bannerjee but also for the support she got from the maoists..........SO YES,INDUSTRIES ATLEAST IN WB ARE TAKEN ABACK COZ OF THE MAOISTS........but as they are being wiped out,i hope bengal again wd have many industries developing....

 

[s90]

PTI 12 July 2009, 05:21pm IST

RAIPUR: Twenty-six police personnel, including a Superintendent of Police, were on Sunday killed in two separate attacks by Maoists in Rajnandgaon .

The state police said that 24 of its men, including SP V K Choubey, were killed when Maoists ambushed a party led by him while it was on the way to a police camp at Madanwada.

The militants had on Sunday morning killed two police personnel in a separate attack.

____________________________________________________________
I wonder why is western media not interested in this?

 

[pkd]

Army reluctant to spare special units for Maoist fight

New Delhi, Sept. 24: The army has expressed its reluctance to let its special forces be dragged into the Centre’s anti-Maoist offensive after Union home minister P. Chidambaram suggested that the units may be used.

The army’s reluctance is couched in advisories that the top brass have conveyed to the planners of the offensive.

A brigadier is attached to the anti-Naxalite cell of the Union home ministry and the army itself has been engaged in studying the Maoists.

In successive meetings of its commanders, the top brass have mapped the growth and spread of Left-wing extremists. “We do not have adequate special forces. We are in the process of expanding them,” said a senior officer at army headquarters.

All the six para-commando battalions of the army have been categorised as “special forces”.

Besides, army soldiers make up one wing of the National Security Guard. The wing, Special Action Group, is tasked with handling anti-hijacking and counter-hostage situations.

Another special force, the Special Frontier Force meant for high-altitude border operations, reports to the cabinet secretariat.

The army’s reluctance to embroil its special forces in the counter-Maoist offensive stems from three main reasons.

First, contrary to public perception, the army has a limited number of battalions that have been designated special forces. The size of a battalion ranges from 900 to 1,100 troops.

The special forces are currently being expanded and even the units that are not specially configured for counter-insurgency operations are being used in Jammu and Kashmir and in the Northeast.

For example, the 1 Para unit is currently deployed in the Valley. It replaced the 10 Para that was tasked with counter-insurgency duties for two years though it had been raised to do battle in the western sector. The unit goes by the name Desert Scorpions.

Second, the special forces have an acute shortage of officers. The shortage is so bad that the army is now likely to ask officers who join the service to do a short stint in the special forces before they are sent to their regular regiments.

Third, the special forces are tasked to move with regular support elements — infantry units and air support. This means deploying the special forces to, say, Chhattisgarh or Jharkhand, would mean moving more troops and hardware away from operational areas.

“One option is short-duration deployment — such as insertion of special forces to take out a defined target — but we are given to understand that the CRPF’s Combat Battalion for Resolute Action (Cobra) is supposed to do this job,” the officer said.

However, the Cobra took an unexpected number (six) of casualties in Operation Green Hunt in Chhattisgarh last week.

The Cobra force, which has about 10,000 soldiers, had to send personnel for counter-Naxalite operations in Bengal’s Lalgarh, Orissa and Chhattisgarh even before it completed its training period.

The officer said that for specific missions, the army has to be given hard intelligence and defined targets.

But an analysis of images taken by two unmanned aerial vehicles over Chhattisgarh’s and Jharkhand’s suspected Maoist dens has only shown clusters of bamboo and stone huts that may or may not be hideouts.

 

[pkd]

India is 'losing Maoist battle'

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says his country is losing the battle against Maoist rebels.

Mr Singh told a meeting of police chiefs from different states that rebel violence was increasing and the Maoists' appeal was growing.

The rebels say they are fighting for the rights of the poor.

They operate in a large swathe of territory across central India, and in some areas have almost replaced the local government.

More than 6,000 people have been killed during their 20-year fight for a communist state.

'Going up'

"I have consistently held that in many ways, left-wing extremism poses perhaps the gravest internal security threat our country faces," Mr Singh told a conference of Indian police chiefs in the capital, Delhi.

"We have discussed this in the last five years and I would like to state frankly that we have not achieved as much success as we would have liked in containing this menace."

The prime minister said that despite the government's best efforts, violence in Maoist-affected areas was going up.

The prime minister admitted that the Maoists had growing appeal among a large section of Indian society, including tribal communities, the rural poor as well as sections of the intelligentsia and the youth.

Mr Singh said a more sensitive approach was necessary in dealing with the Maoists.

"Dealing with left-wing extremism requires a nuanced strategy - a holistic approach. It cannot be treated simply as a law and order problem."

The rebels operate in 182 districts in India, mainly in the states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

In some areas they have virtually replaced the local government and are able to mount spectacular attacks on government installations.

 

[pkd]

No army involvement in anti-Maoist operations: Chidambaram

 

[Spring Onion]

Army not to be used against Maoists: Chidambaram

PTI 25 September 2009, 07:31pm IST
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RAIPUR/RANCHI: On a visit to Maoist-affected states of Chattisgarh and Jharkand, Union home minister P Chidambaram on Friday said there is no move
to involve the Army in the fight against Naxals who posed the "gravest challenge".

Chidambaram also said it was a matter of concern that Jharkhand has become the "epicentre of left-wing extremism" along with Chhatisgarh.

"There is no proposal to involve the army in anti-naxal operations," Chidambaram, who was in Ranchi to review the security situation in Jharkhand, told newsmen in reply to a question whether there was a move to use the Army or the Air Force for the operations.

"Left-wing extremism is the gravest challenge to our way of life, our republic and our democracy," he said of CPI (Maoist) which is a banned organisation.

"Our policy on left-wing extremism is very clear. There is no place for violence or so called armed liberation struggle in a republican, democratic, social form of government," Chidambaram said.

"They believe in armed liberation struggle. We reject that argument. So long any one indulges in violence, the state has to oppose and fight the group," he said.

The Centre, he said, had made it clear during the recent chief ministers conference in Delhi that the so called armed liberation struggle was unacceptable and the police would take action against it.

Describing the frontal organisations of the outfit as unfortunate, he said these organisations seemed to have taken a 'romantic view' of left-wing extremism.

Earlier, Chidambaram said in Raipur that the Centre is committed to fight Naxalism and that it would provide all possible help to the Chattisgarh government in its efforts to eradicate the left-wing extremists completely.


Army not to be used against Maoists: Chidambaram - India - NEWS - The Times of India

 

[advaita]

Thank god the Army refused.
What we need against the naxals is some Rapid Action Force (RAF) like force for policing naxal infested localities. Cobra is also ok for quasi military operations. But Army should be used only in the rarest of rare cases (rare by the standards of Indian judiciary and not some communist party).
Expansion of RAF and for Cobra further training and expansion both would be the best combination, combined with exponentially more investments in Intel.
Naxals have been in India since 1967 without being a major nuisance and it is a movement against inablity of the state to protect and enhance the interests of the tribals.

Respected Mr PM if this can ever reach you, pls dont send the Army in. Stronger policing is more important. Protection of tribals in such army operations will be extreamly difficult.

 

[R.A.W.]

There is no point of using engaging army against Maoists.

Already Cobra operations have started and many of the Maoist have already been killed or surrendered.

 

[advaita]

There is no point of using engaging army against Maoists.

Already Cobra operations have started and many of the Maoist have already been killed or surrendered.

Yes and it is high time we avoid putting our Army into police roles.

Indian state can afford to take on the Naxals with police action and that is what is needed of course with exponentially higher investments in Intel. Whatever investments are needed can be easily mobilised for this police action. Hell 10 times the needed investment can be mobilised. In fact this could be the chance to shape our police organisation to bring it upto the task of taking on better armed naxals.

BTW, there is already a thread for this.

 

[R.A.W.]

I think this is old news... before the start of Cobra operations....

 

[ISRO2]

I think this is old news... before the start of Cobra operations....

Yes sir this is old news. Pm said that before cobra operations. Our cobra commandos killing maoist like mosquitos at the moment.

 

[pkd]

Yes sir this is old news. Pm said that before cobra operations. Our cobra commandos killing maoist like mosquitos at the moment.

Cobras suffer big loss in Maoist battle

 

[R.A.W.]

Many more battles to be won against Maoists

In the second of a three-part series on the anti-Maoist battle mounted by security personnel in the jungles of Chhattisgarh, Krishnakumar P reports on security forces bust a weapons manufacturing unit in the forests of Dantewada.

Part I: New war against the Maoists

The most significant aspect of Operation Red Hunt -- the anti-Maoist offensive deep in the forests of Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district -- is the destruction of the rebels's arms manufacturing factory, Chhattisgarh police sources told rediff.com

The operation, launched last week, involved 650 men -- 200 of the Central Reserve Police Force's elite Cobra unit and 450 Chhattisgarh police personnel. It resulted in the deaths of six Cobra personnel including two assistant commandants. So far, the bodies of seven rebels have been recovered, though police sources say a higher number may have perished in the offensive.

"It might not seem special given the kind of casualties the security forces have taken but the most crucial victory is the fact that they destroyed the factory," said a senior Chhattisgarh intelligence officer who did not wish to be named in this report.

The destruction of the factory -- located in Dantewada's Singamadagu village -- is crucial because of the kind of firepower that it had been generating for the Maoists.

---------- Post added at 10:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:06 PM ----------

COBRA team snakes into Maoist fortress

Even as a massive mobilisation of special forces is going on for launching a decisive battle against Maoists in Chhattisgarh, a bloody battle between the highly-trained COBRA jawans and the outlaws at Dantewada on Friday left nearly 20 men dead and scores injured. The casualty figure comprises men from both sides.

Reports said the Left-wing guerrillas suffered a serious setback following a raid on their arms factory by a joint operation team of COBRA and police. Despite the element of surprise, the Maoists shot back and killed an assistant commandant of the elite force. At least six COBRA personnel went missing and an equal number was seriously injured. The number of Maoists killed in the fierce encounter was estimated at over a dozen.

“Nine bodies of Maoists have already been recovered while assistant commandant Manoranjan Singh died in the encounter,” said DGP Vishwaranjan. Confirming that six COBRA personnel were missing, the DGP said more Maoists might have been killed and a search was on to recover their bodies.

The police officials based in Bastar also said the casualty figure might go up as the security teams were yet to return and gun battle was continuing at several places.

The encounter took place after the security forces raided a rebels’ arms factory in the jungles of Singamadagu, 500 km from State capital Raipur.

The gun battle between Maoists and security personnel continued late in the evening and a helicopter was being used to evacuate the injured and the dead, said police sources.

Acting on a tip-off, several teams — comprising about 200 men led by the CRPF, COBRA commandants and Dantewada SP — moved from different sides towards the arms factory, sources said. While one of the teams was returning after destroying the arms factory the Maoists opened fire at them at Palechelma.

The assistant commandant was killed in the incident and the securitymen gunned down seven Maoists in the encounter, sources said. Two more Naxalites were shot in encounters elsewhere in the same region.

The security forcers recovered several weapons, including SLRs and grenades, said IGP RK Vij.

The area is located in deep forests and it was very difficult for the authorities to establish contact with the forces as it could only be done through satellite phones. “Only the team can get in touch with us, not vice versa,” a senior officer pointed out by way of explaining difficulties in getting details.

Significantly, the incident occurred when hectic preparations are on to launch a massive strike against the rebels in Chhattisgarh. The operation will pool together forces from the BSF, ITBP, CRPF, CAF and district police with the help of special police officers, who have been drafted in from the local youth. Already, Air Force officers have visited Raipur in connection with the proposed offensive against the Maoists.

Sources said IAF choppers and other aircraft may be used during the operation for transportation and evacuation purposes. “They will not be used at all for combat,” clarified a top source.

More than 20 battalions of Central and State forces are currently posted in the insurgency-hit Bastar region and nine more BSF and ITBP battalions are likely to join them in the operation.