Incomeptent Minister ?

Before coming to the negotiating table for peace talks, even warring countries temporarily halt hostilities as a first step towards demonstrating sincerity and thus create the right atmosphere. The Maoists, however, have done the reverse. They have stepped up their offensive in West Bengal, immediately after making the talks offer. Just four hours after the CPI (Maoist ) spokesperson Kishenji said the guerrillas were willing to talk if the government stopped all ongoing operations against them for 72 days, they launched an abortive attack at a police camp at Kantapahari in Lalgarh in West Midnapore. In the early hours of Thursday, they killed the officer in charge of Sarenga police station in neighbouring Bankura district.

“The Maoists’ truce offer is nothing but a sham,” the CPI(M) central committee member Mohammad Salim said. He even wondered if they had made any truce offer at all! “It was Union home minister P. Chidambaram who said that the government was willing to talk to the rebels if they suspended violence for only 72 hours,” he said. Mr Chidambaram made it clear that the government was not asking the Maoists to either lay down arms or disband.

They did not respond to his offer. By insisting that the government call off all operations for 72 days, they were trying to play a game of one-upmanship. “They actually sent a message to the Centre: it is not you but we who will dictate terms,” Mr Salim said, while pointing out that the announcement of a cellphone number on which the government was asked to inform the Maoists by 5 pm on February 25 whether it was willing to suspend all operations from February 25 to May 7 was also a brazen attempt to up the ante.

Also, as West Bengal Governor and former national security advisor M.K. Narayanan said, there was a complete “lack of clarity” in Kishenji’s offer. “Past experience has shown that the Maoists are not interested in talks,” he said.

As Arun Prasad Mukherjee, who was the deputy commissioner (special branch) in the Kolkata police when the Naxal movement was at its peak in the late 60s, rightly asks: “Don’t you see the Maoists have laid down conditions that the government will find hard to accept?” Both Mr Salim and Mr Mukherjee agree that the Maoists’ offer of talks must be seen as a ploy to buy time, to re-arm and regroup themselves. “Maoists, who do not accept the Constitution and want to overthrow the government through armed struggle, do not believe in dialogue or negotiations. The talks offer is only a tactical move,” Mr Salim said.
Mr Mukherjee, however, said that there was no harm in talking. Indeed, he says, “The spectre of Operation Green Hunt may have unnerved the Maoists” and forced their hand into offering to talk in a bid “to avert the crackdown.” Particulary as they can no longer be sure of ground support after their killing of defenceless villagers whom they brand as police informers has begun to alienate the local tribals. Evidence of the discontent brewing among the tribals against the guerrillas became all too obvious when rebel Maoist leader Marshal openly accused Kishenji, a non-tribal. of explo-iting tribals and using them as ‘cannon fodder’, he said. “Des-pite all this, the government should talk to them, if only to call their bluff,” he added.

The Trinamul Congress, strongly advocates talks. Mamata Banerjee, in fact, went to Jangalmahal in mid-January and declared that she was even willing to fall at the Maoists’ feet to persuade them to come to the negotiating table. “It is no secret that the Maoists helped Mamata in her Nandigram and Singur movements. And it is no coincidence that the Maoists’ rapid growth in the state has coincided with the TC’s rise,” Mr Salim said.

It is these deep rifts among mainstream political parties that the Red brigade exploits. “While Mr Chidambaram favours tough measures, his Cabinet colleague and Trinamul leader opposes joint operations,” Mr Salim pointed out.

JANGALMAHAL aka THE RED CORRIDOR

It was in 1999 that the People’s War Group (PWG) started making its presence felt in West Bengal under the leadership of Asit Sarkar. While PWG was largely confined to West Midnapore and Purulia districts, the Maoist Communist Centre was slowly gaining ground in Bankura. Their merger and formation of CPI (Maoist) in 2004 helped the growth of the Naxals in all three districts, also known as the Jangalmahal.

Since then, parts of these districts, such as Lalgarh, Gwaltor, Belpahari, Banshpahari, Binpur in West Midnapore, Bandwan in Purulia and Sarenga, Barikul and Ranibandh in Bankura have become their strongholds. The Naxals also have some presence in Hooghly, Birbhum, North 24 Parganas and are trying to spread their wings to Nadia, Murshidabad and Malda.

223 DISTRICTS IN 20 STATES AFFECTED
One of the principal reasons why the Maoists have an upper hand in their fight against the police is their total commitment to their "cause" and their resilience. Life in the jungles is no picnic, specially for the educated urban youth who have joined the Red brigade, inspired by their ideology. They set up their camps in dense forests, preferably near a canal which is their source of water. For food, they depend on local villagers who are either sympathisers or too scared to refuse. Their only contact with the outside world is through transistor radios or cell phones.
Once a youth joins the guerrillas, he snaps all links with his or her family. Sushen Mahato, the commander of the Salboni Maoist squad, was one of the five ultras who was killed in the Sildah attack. It was only through the media that Sushen's mother came to know about his death. She had last seen him two years before, when he briefly visited his village. Like Sushen, there are hundreds who have been lured by the Maoists to the jungle to work as their foot-soldiers.

According to Union home ministry figures, out of 636 districts in 28 states and seven union territories, 223 districts in 20 states have been affected by the Naxal problem and they continue to expand their support base. The government must carry on large-scale development work in the remote jungle areas and take measures for the socio-economic-educational uplift of the adivasis who have remained neglected and marginalised for decades. Along with a concerted effort to counter the Maoists, the government should also make efforts to wean away the tribals from the guerrillas.

AP’s ‘MOST WANTED’
Forty two year old Ashanna alias Takelapalli Vasudeva Rao hailing from Warangal district in AP is the task master in guerrilla warfare of the CPI Maoists. Ashanna led the teams that executed attacks on VVIPs in the state. He is Andhra’s most wanted Naxal.
He is accused in the claymore mine blast attack on former CM N. Chandra Babu Naidu at Alipiri in Tirupati in which Naidu survived with injuries. He is also accused in the killing of former Home minister E Madhava Reddy.
Ashanna also pulled the trigger on IPS official Ch Umesh Chandra.

Hailing from a lower middle class family in a forward caste in Telangana region, Ashanna is a graduate, was active in the Radical Students Union and then went underground 20 years ago. He is married to another dalam member. "Ashanna is known for his military tactics. He uses Ak-47s as well as smaller weapons. He is suspected to be hiding outside Andhra but returns to carry out operations," said an intelligence official.

NOT THE FIRST TIME
I t is not that the Maoists have not entered into a peace agreement or a government has not called off security operations against them before. In 2004, the Andhra Pradesh government had not only suspended operations but had even allowed Maoists to hold public meetings in its eagerness to reach a peace deal. The Maoists reciprocated and stopped killings for some time. They participated in peace negotiations in October 2004 after the merger of the People’s War and Maoist Communist Centre which resulted in the formation of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). But the tenuous peace lasted for only a few months.

In January 2005, the guerrrillas unilaterally dumped the peace agreement and returned to their violent ways and killing sprees. The Andhra Pradesh government realised that it had been taken for a ride. The Naxals who were reeling under the twin blows of sharp erosion in their support base particularly in Telangana and loss of a large number of important leaders during Chandrababu Naidu’s rule after relentless police encounters, had agreed to a ceasefire for tactical reasons. The suspension of all operations gave them much needed time to regroup and rearm themselves. As soon as they achieved their objective, they broke the agreement.

- Bolt Nut.