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Naxalite–Maoist insurgency

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People's war or protracted people's war is a Maoist military strategy. First developed by the Chinese communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong (1893–1976), the basic concept behind people's war is to maintain the support of the population and draw the enemy deep into the countryside (stretching their supply lines) where the population will bleed them dry through guerrilla warfare and eventually build up to mobile warfare . It was used by the Chinese communists against the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II , and by the Chinese Soviet Republic in the Chinese Civil War .

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56-1598: Ongoing as a low level insurgency [REDACTED]   India Militias: (until 2011) [REDACTED] Naxalites: [REDACTED] Droupadi Murmu ( President ) [REDACTED] Narendra Modi ( Prime Minister ) [REDACTED] Amit Shah ( Minister of Home Affairs ) [REDACTED] Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar ( Director General ) [REDACTED] Pranay Sahay ( Former Director General ) Mahendra Karma   † (Leader of Salwa Judum) [REDACTED] Charu Majumdar   # [REDACTED] Jangal Santhal   # [REDACTED] Kanu Sanyal   # [REDACTED] Sabyasachi Panda  ( POW ) [REDACTED] Lakshmana Rao [REDACTED] Keshava Rao [REDACTED] Cherukuri Rajkumar   † [REDACTED] Katakam Sudarsan   # [REDACTED] Kondapalli Seetharamaiah   # [REDACTED] Satyanarayana Reddy   † [REDACTED] Koteswara Rao   † [REDACTED] Prashant Bose  ( POW ) [REDACTED] Ashutosh Tudu  ( POW ) [REDACTED] Naveen Babu   † [REDACTED] Narmada Akka   † [REDACTED] Deo Kumar Singh   # [REDACTED] Milind Teltumbde   † [REDACTED] Jagdish Mahto   † [REDACTED] Ravindra Kuswaha  ( POW ) [REDACTED] Mahendar Singh   † [REDACTED] CRPF: 313,634 The Naxalite–Maoist insurgency

112-553: A sharecropper of tribal background , who had been given land by the courts under the tenancy laws, was attacked by the previous landlord's men. When the police arrived, they were ambushed by a group led by Santhal, and in the ensuing fight, 11 people including a police inspector were killed. In November 1967, a group led by Sushital Ray Chowdhury organised the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries (AICCCR). The uprising led to

168-449: A state 's power with a large, professional, well-equipped and well-funded army. People's war strategically avoids decisive battles, since a tiny force of a few dozen soldiers would easily be routed in an all-out confrontation with the state. Instead, it favours a three-phase strategy of protracted warfare , with carefully chosen battles that can realistically be won. In phase one, the revolutionary force conducting people's war starts in

224-702: A fact-finding commission of the National Human Rights Commission of India in 2008. The commission, which had been appointed by the Supreme Court of India , determined that the Salwa Judum was a spontaneous reaction by tribals against Maoist atrocities perpetrated against them. On 5 July 2011, the Supreme Court declared these militia groups to be illegal and unconstitutional and ordered its disbandment. The court directed

280-520: A high of 180 districts in the late 2000s. Though there was a sporadic increase in Naxal activity in parts of Telangana , West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, the Maoist activity have relatively suppressed due to the increase in anti-terror operations conducted by the security forces in 2024. Operations like the 2024 Kanker clash and the 2024 Abujhmarh clash resulted in a great loss of personnel and material for

336-443: A remote area with mountainous or forested terrain in which its enemy is weak. It attempts to establish a local stronghold known as a revolutionary base area . As it grows in power, it enters phase two, establishes other revolutionary base areas and spreads its influence through the surrounding countryside, where it may become the governing power and gain popular support through such programmes as land reform . Eventually in phase three,

392-576: A rural rebellion and people's war against the government. The armed wing of the Maoists is called the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army , mostly equipped with small arms . They have conducted multiple attacks on the security forces and government workers, which have resulted in the deaths of more than 4000 civilians and 2500 security force personnel since the 2000s. The influence zone of the Naxalites

448-749: A sub-inspector of police in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh. In response, a special task force called the Greyhounds was formed by the Government of Andhra Pradesh . The governments of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa quelled down the rebels with a variety of counterinsurgency measures. The states established special laws that enabled police to capture and detain Naxalite cadres, fighters and presumed supporters. They invited additional central paramilitary forces, set up organisations to attract youth away from

504-470: A war, especially when the opponent did not fight within the norms of democracy and civility". With the support of the central government , Operation Steeplechase was launched with the aid of the paramilitary forces of the Indian Armed Forces , which resulted in the killing and imprisoning of suspected Naxalites and their cadres, including senior leaders. In July 1972, Majumdar was arrested by

560-523: Is called the red corridor , which consists of about 25 districts in Central and East India in 2021. The insurgency reached its peak in the late 2000s with almost 180 affected districts and has been on the decline since then due to the counter-insurgency actions and development plans formulated by the Indian government. Naxalite organisations and groups have been declared as terrorist organisations under

616-613: Is part of an ongoing conflict between left-wing extremist groups and the Indian government . The Naxalites are a group of communist supportive groups, who often follow Maoist political sentiment and ideology. The insurgency started after the 1967 Naxalbari uprising and the subsequent split of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leading to the creation of a Marxist–Leninist faction . The faction splintered into various groups supportive of Maoist ideology, claiming to fight

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672-777: The CPI-Maoist was founded through the merger of the People's War Group, and the Maoist Communist Centre of India . In January 2005, peace talks between the Andhra Pradesh government and the Maoists broke down after the government did not agree to the release of prisoners and redistribution of land. In August 2005, the government of Andhra Pradesh outlawed the CPI-Maoist party and other affiliated organisations and arrested suspected members and sympathizers of

728-485: The Chinese Civil War . The strategy of people's war has political dimensions in addition to its military dimensions. In China, the early People's Liberation Army was composed of peasants who had previously lacked political significance and control over their place in the social order. Its internal organization was egalitarian between soldiers and officers, and its external relationship with rural civilians

784-703: The Chinese Communist Party launched an aggressive campaign described by the Xi Jinping as a "people's war" to contain the spread of the coronavirus . In non-communist states such as Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps used the protracted people's war against Iraq. Conflicts in the following list are failed and successful wars labelled as people's wars by Maoists, and also both failed and ongoing attempts to start and develop people's wars. In addition to

840-501: The Civil Servant-Family Pair Up program. Xi was dissatisfied with the initial results of the People's War and replaced Zhang Chunxian with Chen Quanguo in 2016. Following his appointment Chen oversaw the recruitment of tens of thousands of additional police officers and the division of society into three categories: trustworthy, average, untrustworthy. He instructed his subordinated to “Take this crackdown as

896-479: The Government of West Bengal instituted countermeasures against the Naxalites. The insurgents clashed with the West Bengal Police and CPI-M cadres. With the public rejection of Majumdar's calls for extrajudicial killings, Naxalites alleged human rights violations by the state government, which responded that "the state was effectively fighting a civil war and that democratic pleasantries had no place in

952-472: The Sino-Vietnamese War in 1979, Deng Xiaoping abandoned people's war for "People's War under Modern Conditions", which moved away from reliance on troops over technology. With the adoption of " socialism with Chinese characteristics ", economic reforms fueled military and technological investment. Troop numbers were also reduced and professionalisation encouraged. The strategy of people's war

1008-589: The United States over Taiwan . In the 1980s and 1990s the concept of people's war was changed to include more high-technology weaponry. Historian David Priestland dates the beginning of the policy of people's war to the publication of a "General Outline for Military Work" in May 1928, by Chinese Central Committee. This document established official military strategies to the Chinese Red Army during

1064-754: The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of India (1967) . In 1967, a faction of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) led by Charu Majumdar , Kanu Sanyal , and Jangal Santhal called the "Siliguri group" wanted a protracted people's war in India similar to the Chinese Communist Revolution and Majumdar wrote the Historic Eight Documents which became the foundation of the Naxalite movement. The party

1120-531: The Uppsala Conflict Data Program . The 20 conflicts in the following list have caused at least 100, and fewer than 1,000, direct, violent deaths in the current or previous calendar year. The 15 conflicts in the following list have caused fewer than 100 direct, violent deaths in the current or previous calendar year. People%27s war The term is used by Maoists for their strategy of long-term armed revolutionary struggle. After

1176-597: The West Bengal Police and he later died in police custody. After his death, the CPI-ML split into further factions such as the Mahadev Mukherjee faction and the CPI-ML Liberation in 1972. By 1973, the main leaders of the Naxalites were either eliminated or arrested. As a result of both external repression and a failure to maintain internal unity, the movement degenerated into extreme sectarianism and

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1232-516: The 2000s. As per the BBC , more than 6,000 people were killed in the 20 years between 1990 and 2010. Al Jazeera estimated the total death toll as 10,000 between 1980 and 2011. List of ongoing armed conflicts The following is a list of ongoing armed conflicts that are taking place around the world. This list of ongoing armed conflicts identifies present-day conflicts and the death toll associated with each conflict. The criteria of inclusion are

1288-576: The Maoists continued to carry out planned attacks such as the 2014 Chhattisgarh attack , the 2017 Sukma attack and the 2018 Sukma attack , the security forces were able to retaliate in response. The security forces engaged in multiple gun battles which resulted in more than 1000 Maoists being killed in the late 2010s. In September 2018, the Naxalites killed Member of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Kidari Sarveswara Rao and former member Siveri Soma in Araku Valley . The Kerala Police eliminated

1344-515: The Maoists killed Member of Parliament Sunil Mahato in Jharkhand and a local leader in Andhra Pradesh. They were also involved in local protests against the establishment of Special Economic Zones and killed tribal youths of counter militia organisations. In 2008, Naxal attacks increased in Orissa, which inflicted multiple casualties on the security forces. On average, 700 people were killed in

1400-488: The Maoists. The influence zone of the Naxalites is called the red corridor consisting of about 25 most affected and 70 total affected districts in Central and East India in 2021. The most affected districts accounted for 85% of the Left wing extremist incidents in India. The insurgency was its peak in the late 2000s with nearly 180 affected districts across an area of 92,000 km (36,000 sq mi) and has been on

1456-480: The Naxalites attacked a convoy of then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu en route to Tirumala , in which the Chief Minister was injured. In response, the Andhra Pradesh government embarked on a rapid modernisation of its police force and up-gradation of its technical and operational capabilities to fight the insurgents and about 246 insurgents were killed during the year. In September 2004,

1512-661: The Naxalites kidnapped foreign nationals and a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Odisha to force the government to release its cadres held as prisoners. In May 2013, a Naxal attack in Chattisgarh resulted in the deaths of 24 Indian National Congress leaders including the former state minister Mahendra Karma and the Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel. In the later 2010s, while

1568-462: The Naxalites the "single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country" and in June 2011, he said, "Development is the master remedy to win over people", adding that the government was "strengthening the development work in the 60 Maoist-affected districts. In 2010, Home secretary Gopal Krishna Pillai acknowledged that there were legitimate grievances regarding the local people's access to

1624-481: The Naxalites, started rehabilitation programs for those who surrendered. In the 1990s, several incidents of mass murders happened in Bihar wherein Maoists killed members of the land-owning Bhumihar community, who then retaliated through militias. On 2 December 2000, the armed wing of the Maoists is called the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army was founded and are mostly equipped with small arms . On 1 October 2003,

1680-411: The affected areas and increased special police funding for containment and reduction of Naxalite influence. The Indian government launched a massive military offensive, code named Operation Green Hunt and planned to deploy nearly 50,000 soldiers over two years, with the objectives of eliminating Naxal insurgents and bringing stability to the regions. The Maoists targeted security personnel involved in

1736-407: The affected districts and established 18 industries that would employ 4000 people. Additionally, loans to tribals were waived, and land right ownership documents were granted. Since late 1990, several armed anti-insurgency vigilante groups have been backed by the government to fight against the Maoists. In Chhattisgarh, Salwa Judum was formed as an anti-insurgency vigilante group aimed at countering

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1792-507: The conflict every year from 2005 to 2008. The conflict escalated with the next two years being the deadliest with more than 1000 casualties annually. The Indian government announced a nationwide initiative called the Integrated Action Plan for broad coordinated operations aimed at combatting and undermining support for the Naxalites in selected states. The plan included funding for grass-roots economic development projects in

1848-474: The decline since then. In April 2018, 35 districts were classified as most affected amongst the 126 affected districts. As of the early 2020s, the Naxal activity is largely concentrated in two clusters, the first in and round the forested remote hilly areas of Dandakaranya spread across Chhattisgarh and Odisha and the second in the border region of Jharkhand-Bihar-West Bengal. The affected districts include: Then Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh called

1904-530: The economic development of the Naxal-affected areas. As of July 2021, ₹ 375 million (US$ 4.5 million) had been sanctioned for more than 10,000 projects, of which 85% were complete. About ₹ 276 million (US$ 3.3 million) of the funds were earmarked for the most affected districts. Under these SCA and SIS schemes, construction of about 17,600 km (10,900 mi) roads and 234 Eklavya Model Residential Schools were planned. The plan also included

1960-445: The establishment of 5000 mobile telephone towers and 3114 post offices . As a means of financial inclusion of people, 1077 ATMs and 1236 bank branches were operationalised. In 2018, the central government sought to stem insurgency by earmarking development funds for revolt-hit areas and improving policing. The government planned a ₹ 250 billion (US$ 3.0 billion) scheme for the modernisation of central and state police forces in

2016-438: The following: The 6 conflicts in the following list have caused at least 10,000 direct, violent deaths per year in battles between identified groups, in the current or previous calendar year. The 15 conflicts in the following list have caused at least 1,000 and fewer than 10,000 direct, violent deaths in the current or previous calendar year. Conflicts causing at least 1,000 deaths in one calendar year are considered wars by

2072-456: The forest land and produce and the distribution of benefits from mining and hydropower developments. However, he claimed that the Naxalites' long-term goal was to establish an Indian communist state and the government wanted to tackle the Naxalites head-on to take back the lost areas. The Indian government launched three schemes–Special Central Assistance (SCA), Security Related Expenditure (SRE), and Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS) for

2128-531: The formation of Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) (CPI-ML) in April 1969, which was announced by Sanyal at a mass meeting in Calcutta . It inspired similar movements in states like Orissa , Madhya Pradesh , Andhra Pradesh and Kerala . In 1971, Satyanarayan Singh revolted against the leadership and split the CPI-ML into two, forming a separate provisional committee . The Naxalites gained presence among

2184-402: The government to recover all the firearms, ammunition and accessories given to the groups. The court criticised the use of these groups, which had complaints of human rights violations and employment of poorly trained youth against them. The court also ordered the government to investigate all instances of alleged criminal activities of the groups. The Naxalites have conducted multiple attacks on

2240-611: The group. In March 1967, a few peasant workers seized a plot of land from its jotedar . In May 1967, the Siliguri Kishan Sabha, of which Santhal was the president, declared their support for the movement initiated by Sanyal and their readiness to adopt an armed struggle to redistribute land to the landless. The group advocated initiation of armed struggle and in Naxalbari in West Bengal , the peasants fought when

2296-411: The group. The Maoists orchestrated several attacks on government facilities across various states. They freed prisoners after attacks on prisons and stole weapons from government facilities. They also attacked anti-Maoist protesters, took hostages and killed those who opposed them. Police men and security forces were targeted in ambushes using automatic weapons and improvised explosive devices . In 2007,

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2352-558: The movement has enough strength to encircle and capture small cities, then larger ones, until finally it seizes power in the entire country. Within the Chinese Red Army , the concept of people's war was the basis of strategy against the Japanese, and against a hypothetical Soviet invasion of China. The concept of people's war became less important with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the increasing possibility of conflict with

2408-503: The next three years. Under the SRE scheme, 400 fortified police stations were established at the cost of ₹ 140 million (US$ 1.7 million). In addition, funds were utilised to hire helicopters, media services, and for other public relations and community activities. Women self-help groups and industries were established by various state governments. Government of Madhya Pradesh aided 23,113 women self-help groups covering 274,000 families in

2464-548: The operations against them with major attacks such as the Silda camp attack , Dantewada ambush and 2010 Dantewada bus bombing . They also killed civilians suspected of helping the government and those who were involved in building public infrastructure. Naxalites carried out a series of attacks, including shootings and bombings across Indian states and the security forces retaliated in response. Naxalites were also suspected of attempted train derailments .. In early 2010s, Karnataka

2520-488: The original party fractured into more than 40 separate small groups. The late 1970s saw the spread of Naxalism to other states of India. Though the first wave of insurgent violence ended badly, it did not eliminate the movement altogether. The insurgency arose in South India in the early 1980s and on 22 April 1980, the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People's War , commonly called as People's War Group (PWG)

2576-482: The presence of Maoists in Kerala in 2019. Sporadic attacks such as the 2021 Sukma–Bijapur attack and 2023 Dantewada bombing on security personnel and civilians continued into the 2020s. The anti-insurgency operations also intensified with higher success rate resulting in the death or capture of several insurgent leaders. The Naxal influence reduced to about 70 districts in 2021 of which only 25 were most affected from

2632-502: The radical sections of the student groups in Calcutta. Students left school to join the Naxalites and Majumdar declared that the revolutionary warfare was to take place not only in the rural areas as before, but now everywhere and spontaneously. He also declared an "annihilation line" and issued a dictum to assassinate individual "class enemies" such as landlords, businessmen, teachers, police officers, politicians and others. In response,

2688-498: The same. The groups were claimed to have involved in violence against women, employment of child soldiers, and looting and destruction of property. According to the Institute of Peace and Conflict studies, while Naxal groups recruited children in different capacities and exposed them, the same accusation was levelled at Salwa Judum and the special police officers assisting the government security forces. The allegations were rejected by

2744-496: The security forces, government workers and civilians, with casualties on both sides. To enforce their control over the population, the Maoists have often convened kangaroo courts to mete out summary justice, death, beatings, or exile. As per the South Asia Terrorism portal, the conflict has resulted in the deaths of more than 11500 people including 4000 civilians, 2500 security force personnel and 4500 Naxalites since

2800-482: The top project,” and “to preempt the enemy, to strike at the outset.” Following a meeting with Xi in Beijing Chen Quanguo held a rally in Ürümqi with ten thousand troops, helicopters, and armored vehicles. As they paraded he announced a “smashing, obliterating offensive,” and declared that they would “bury the corpses of terrorists and terror gangs in the vast sea of the People's War.” In February 2020,

2856-415: The violence in the region in 2005. The militia consisted of local tribal youth, who received support and training from the Government of Chhattisgarh . Various other paramilitary vigilante groups had emerged in other states such Andhra Pradesh. These groups were accused of extra-judicial murders of civil liberties activists. The Chattisgarh government came under criticism from pro-Maoist activist groups for

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2912-576: Was egalitarian. As sociologist Alessandro Russo summarizes, the political existence of peasants via the PLA was a radical exception to the rules of Chinese society and "overturned the strict traditional hierarchies in unprecedented forms of egalitarianism." In 2014 Party leadership in Xinjiang commenced a People's War against the “Three Evil Forces” of separatism, terrorism, and extremism. They deployed two hundred thousand party cadres to Xinjiang and launched

2968-533: Was founded by Kondapalli Seetharamaiah . He sought a more efficient structure in attacks and followed the principles of Majumdar. The insurgents kidnapped landlords and forced them to confess to crimes, apologize to villagers, and repay forced bribes. By the early 1980s, the insurgents had established a stronghold and sanctuary along the Andhra Pradesh–;Orissa border. In 1985, the Naxalites began ambushing police forces and killed N.Yadagiri Reddy,

3024-473: Was part of a coalition government in West Bengal. Majumdar believed that the party would support his doctrine with other leaders like land minister Hare Krishna Konar who had been supporting his rhetoric suggesting that "the militant confiscation of land was integral to the party's programme." However, the party did not approve of the armed uprising, which led to internal conflict with the sympathizers of

3080-439: Was removed from the list of Naxal-affected states. The Government of Madhya Pradesh claimed that the Naxal insurgency has reduced in the state and attributed its success to the rural development schemes. In July 2011, the central government announced that the number of Naxal-affected areas were reduced to 83 districts across nine states. Senior Maoist leaders were killed by the security forces, and many were arrested. In early 2012,

3136-584: Was used heavily by the Viet Cong in the Vietnam War . However, protracted war should not be confused with the "foco" theory employed by Che Guevara and Fidel Castro in the Cuban Revolution of 1959. In its original formulation by Chairman Mao Zedong , people's war exploits the few advantages that a small revolutionary movement has—broad-based popular support can be one of them—against

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