After nearly 20 years of sustained violence led by Naxalist Maoist groups in the Indian states of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, Indian state police and paramilitary forces are launching a coordinated offensive to bring the rebellion to a close.In a statement to the BBC, Indian officials claimed that the five northern states have been the worst affected by the violence, and intend to target the leadership cadre of the Maoist rebel groups.
“The purpose of this operation is not to engage in gun-battles but to re-assert the authority of civil-administration in areas dominated by the Maoists,” said Home Minister P Chidambaram.
Chidambaram, also the government coordinator of the operation, noted the government’s interest in minimizing civilian casualties, looking to Sri Lanka’s assault on the Tamil Tigers as a cautionary example.
“We don’t want a Sri Lanka-type operation that could cause much collateral damage to innocent civilians,” he said to the BBC.
Maoists have a presence in 200 districts across over 20 states, according to the BBC, and over 6,000 civilians have been killed in clashes between Maoists and Indian police and military. Part of a greater call to arms across East Asia, according to Reuters, Maoists claim to be fighting for communist rule in India, as well as the rights of the poor and landless.
The offensive was given the official go-ahead after Railway Minister Mamata Banerji visited the Junglemahal region, which traditionally falls under Maoist influence. Banjeri asked the rebels to end the violence and come to negotiations with the government in Dehli. However, the Times of India indicated that the negotiations were refused.
“Maoism does not have a good record,” said Assistant Professor of History Zhihong Chen. “It has failed in Vietnam, China, and Cambodia, and it should not be surprising that any state would be alarmed by the presence of such a group.”
Chen added that while the above-mentioned countries all began with Maoist ideology, they have moved towards a looser socialist ideology, while still practicing communism. The violent beginnings of the revolution in these countries would also serve as a cause for alarm.
“China and India have had a rough history,” Chen said, noting that India’s reaction to the Maoists could also be a reaction against perceived Chinese influence.
“The Maoists have become so powerful in China, and have amassed an armed force of over 25,000 men,” said Associate Professor of Political Science George Guo.
Guo attributed some of the major sources of the Maoist rebels’ power to widespread poverty in India, which can then be linked to failures in land reform – there are over 170 million Indians without land or any real property. The caste system, still prevalent in India, also contributes to the problem, making it so many people can never escape their social standing. Thus, to the country’s poor, Maoists appear to offer a solution.