Imphal Free Press, June 16, 2007
Bibhu Prasad Routray
182 districts in 16 states and still counting. The Naxalite (left-wing extremism) juggernaut continues to roll in India extending its sphere of influence on a perennial basis. Naxalites have come a long way since the days of Mao who advocated the use of the most basic of weapons to "inconvenience the enemy or reduce his fighting strength". In terms of the use of superior arms and explosives to achieve their objectives, days of Naxalbari, where it first took root, too have been left far behind. However, power still continues to flow from the barrel of the gun. Centrality of small arms in the protracted armed struggle by the Naxalites remains unchanged.
Government estimates put the Naxalite strength in the country at 9,300 hardcore underground cadres with about 6,500 regular weapons and a 'large' number of unlicensed country-made arms. However, there is little or no stamp of authority behind the estimate as the Government has itself admitted a steady progression in the Naxalite ranks. A status paper laid by the Union Home Minister in the Parliament on March 13, 2006, said, "In the recent past, Naxalite groups seem to lay greater focus on organising along military lines. They are also acquiring contemporary weapons. Their constant effort is to upgrade technology and sophistication of their weaponry and techniques."
Indeed, while during the initial years of the movement, Naxalite groups used traditional weapons like lathis (staffs), spears, sickles and other sharp edge weapons and single and double barrel guns, mostly stolen from village landlords and the police arsenal, the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) that originated as a result of a 2004 merger between the People's War Group (PWG) and the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI), has access to sophisticated weapons such as Kalshanikov rifles and Claymore landmines, modern wireless equipment and electronic gadgets. Periodic recoveries made by the security forces have provided insights into the war chest of the Naxalites.
On September 8, 2006, Andhra Pradesh police in one of the largest-ever haul of weapons in the country, recovered 875 rockets, 27 rocket launchers, 70 gelatine sticks and other explosive material belonging to the CPI-Maoist from the Mahabubnagar and Prakasam Districts. The Naxalite quest for acquiring indigenously-made rockets launchers and shells were first conclusively demonstrated on May 6, 2003 with recovery of documents and design layouts for rocket launchers and mortars from an erstwhile People's War Group (PWG). By 2006, the state of Tamil Nadu had turned into a sort of 'rocket launcher making centre' for the Naxalites. Intelligence reports indicate that technical wings, which employ Information Technology (IT) experts on monthly payment, have been set up to draw up plans to develop more potent explosives, tap governmental messages and access the latest techniques on guerrilla warfare.
It will, however, be misleading to conclude that there is a jump start in the use of sophisticated weapons by the Naxalites. At the same time, the quest for sophisticated weapons has not made the use of traditional weapons redundant, the former only supplementing the wide use of the latter. For example, landmines have been the most extensively used by the Naxalites. It is estimated that the Naxalites cause approximately 100 landmine explosions every year. On numerous occasions policemen travelling in vehicles have fallen victim to such attacks and their vehicles were blown up into smithereens. Unlike in Jammu and Kashmir where landmines are detonated with remote-control devices, the Naxalites use the wire-control method making them difficult to be electronically neutralized. Landmines with crude electric switches and then with camera flash guns have also been used. Similarly, techniques using wireless sets / mobile phones for setting off the explosions have also been perfected by the Naxalites. One of the high profile attacks executed by the Naxalites targeted the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu at Tirupati on October 1, 2003. Gelatin claymore mines packed with metal shrapnel were planted on the route, two months before the attack and grass had grown over it. Innovations in the use of explosives have been a constant feature in Naxalite manual. For example, some decades ago, the squads used to have what they called "Soap Bombs", a soap case packed with explosives with the wick/lead wire hanging out. Subsequently, Naxalites experimented with gelatine and electronic detonators. Another notable innovation has been the 'tiffin bomb', a derivative of the claymore mines widely used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of Sri Lanka. Similar innovation has been the 'pressure mine shells'. Several other innovations such as Booby traps have also been used by the Naxalites.
Snatchings during attacks on the security forces, a complex network of criminals, arms smugglers, gun dealers and networking with other militant groups provide a complex and varied source of arms for the Naxalites. Looting of weapons from security forces and their installations has been the easiest recourse available for the CPI-Maoist to arm their cadres. In one of the major incidents of this nature, on February 6, 2004, Naxalites looted approximately 200 weapons from different police posts in raids of Koraput town in Orissa. Again, on February 9, 2005, the Naxalites cadres attacked the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) store in the Hirauli area of Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh and looted 17 rifles and close to 50 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, an explosive used to detonate iron ore mines.
Apart from looted weapons, the Naxalites have gained appreciably from weapons manufactured locally. Whereas groups like the PWG and the MCCI had some number of dedicated underground arms production units, intelligence reports indicate that the Naxalites are getting weapons from unlicensed weapon factories situated in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Bihar. In certain areas of north Bihar, the Naxalites have opened their own weapon factories. According to an estimate, there are over 1,500 illegal arms manufacturing units in Bihar, mostly located in the Nalanda, Nawada, Gaya and Munger districts.
Networking with other insurgent groups has also produced a steady flow of weapons into the Naxalite armory. There have been several reports of PWG's links with the LTTE of Sri Lanka, from whom the PWG is suspected to have picked up the landmine manufacturing techniques. Similarly, sketchy details of the linkages between the Naxalites and the Pakistan-based Jehadi outfits like the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) have also emerged. Weapons supplied by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to Assam's insurgent outfit, the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) are also finding their way to Naxal groups.
As India explores an effective response to Naxalism, violence perpetrated by the Naxalite groups has been the source of manifold miseries for the civilian population. It has displaced population and led to a large-scale loss of lives among the civilians. Maoist recruitment of women and children in their ranks has constituted a serious violation of their rights and privileges. The attempts by individual states to build up popular resistance to Naxalite violence, like Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh, too have serious implications for the society. Armed civilians, apart from resisting the Naxalites, have also turned their guns on the civilian population.
It is still very early days as far as gaining control over Naxalite violence is concerned. And perhaps, till then, the affected regions will continue to bear the brunt of small arms and explosives induced mayhem.
Government estimates put the Naxalite strength in the country at 9,300 hardcore underground cadres with about 6,500 regular weapons and a 'large' number of unlicensed country-made arms. However, there is little or no stamp of authority behind the estimate as the Government has itself admitted a steady progression in the Naxalite ranks. A status paper laid by the Union Home Minister in the Parliament on March 13, 2006, said, "In the recent past, Naxalite groups seem to lay greater focus on organising along military lines. They are also acquiring contemporary weapons. Their constant effort is to upgrade technology and sophistication of their weaponry and techniques."
Indeed, while during the initial years of the movement, Naxalite groups used traditional weapons like lathis (staffs), spears, sickles and other sharp edge weapons and single and double barrel guns, mostly stolen from village landlords and the police arsenal, the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) that originated as a result of a 2004 merger between the People's War Group (PWG) and the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI), has access to sophisticated weapons such as Kalshanikov rifles and Claymore landmines, modern wireless equipment and electronic gadgets. Periodic recoveries made by the security forces have provided insights into the war chest of the Naxalites.
On September 8, 2006, Andhra Pradesh police in one of the largest-ever haul of weapons in the country, recovered 875 rockets, 27 rocket launchers, 70 gelatine sticks and other explosive material belonging to the CPI-Maoist from the Mahabubnagar and Prakasam Districts. The Naxalite quest for acquiring indigenously-made rockets launchers and shells were first conclusively demonstrated on May 6, 2003 with recovery of documents and design layouts for rocket launchers and mortars from an erstwhile People's War Group (PWG). By 2006, the state of Tamil Nadu had turned into a sort of 'rocket launcher making centre' for the Naxalites. Intelligence reports indicate that technical wings, which employ Information Technology (IT) experts on monthly payment, have been set up to draw up plans to develop more potent explosives, tap governmental messages and access the latest techniques on guerrilla warfare.
It will, however, be misleading to conclude that there is a jump start in the use of sophisticated weapons by the Naxalites. At the same time, the quest for sophisticated weapons has not made the use of traditional weapons redundant, the former only supplementing the wide use of the latter. For example, landmines have been the most extensively used by the Naxalites. It is estimated that the Naxalites cause approximately 100 landmine explosions every year. On numerous occasions policemen travelling in vehicles have fallen victim to such attacks and their vehicles were blown up into smithereens. Unlike in Jammu and Kashmir where landmines are detonated with remote-control devices, the Naxalites use the wire-control method making them difficult to be electronically neutralized. Landmines with crude electric switches and then with camera flash guns have also been used. Similarly, techniques using wireless sets / mobile phones for setting off the explosions have also been perfected by the Naxalites. One of the high profile attacks executed by the Naxalites targeted the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu at Tirupati on October 1, 2003. Gelatin claymore mines packed with metal shrapnel were planted on the route, two months before the attack and grass had grown over it. Innovations in the use of explosives have been a constant feature in Naxalite manual. For example, some decades ago, the squads used to have what they called "Soap Bombs", a soap case packed with explosives with the wick/lead wire hanging out. Subsequently, Naxalites experimented with gelatine and electronic detonators. Another notable innovation has been the 'tiffin bomb', a derivative of the claymore mines widely used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of Sri Lanka. Similar innovation has been the 'pressure mine shells'. Several other innovations such as Booby traps have also been used by the Naxalites.
Snatchings during attacks on the security forces, a complex network of criminals, arms smugglers, gun dealers and networking with other militant groups provide a complex and varied source of arms for the Naxalites. Looting of weapons from security forces and their installations has been the easiest recourse available for the CPI-Maoist to arm their cadres. In one of the major incidents of this nature, on February 6, 2004, Naxalites looted approximately 200 weapons from different police posts in raids of Koraput town in Orissa. Again, on February 9, 2005, the Naxalites cadres attacked the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) store in the Hirauli area of Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh and looted 17 rifles and close to 50 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, an explosive used to detonate iron ore mines.
Apart from looted weapons, the Naxalites have gained appreciably from weapons manufactured locally. Whereas groups like the PWG and the MCCI had some number of dedicated underground arms production units, intelligence reports indicate that the Naxalites are getting weapons from unlicensed weapon factories situated in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Bihar. In certain areas of north Bihar, the Naxalites have opened their own weapon factories. According to an estimate, there are over 1,500 illegal arms manufacturing units in Bihar, mostly located in the Nalanda, Nawada, Gaya and Munger districts.
Networking with other insurgent groups has also produced a steady flow of weapons into the Naxalite armory. There have been several reports of PWG's links with the LTTE of Sri Lanka, from whom the PWG is suspected to have picked up the landmine manufacturing techniques. Similarly, sketchy details of the linkages between the Naxalites and the Pakistan-based Jehadi outfits like the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) have also emerged. Weapons supplied by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to Assam's insurgent outfit, the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) are also finding their way to Naxal groups.
As India explores an effective response to Naxalism, violence perpetrated by the Naxalite groups has been the source of manifold miseries for the civilian population. It has displaced population and led to a large-scale loss of lives among the civilians. Maoist recruitment of women and children in their ranks has constituted a serious violation of their rights and privileges. The attempts by individual states to build up popular resistance to Naxalite violence, like Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh, too have serious implications for the society. Armed civilians, apart from resisting the Naxalites, have also turned their guns on the civilian population.
It is still very early days as far as gaining control over Naxalite violence is concerned. And perhaps, till then, the affected regions will continue to bear the brunt of small arms and explosives induced mayhem.
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