UNITE AND FIGHT AGAINST PRICE-RISE, SCAMS AND STATE TERROR!

Press Release January 15, 2011 UNITE AND FIGHT AGAINST PRICE-RISE, SCAMS AND STATE TERROR! Make Success Country-wide Protests From 4 to 6 February And Bharat Bandh on February 7 The latest addition to the already long-list of sufferings of the people of our country is the new rise in food inflation to 18.5 percent with prices touching the sky. On top of this petrol prices have been hiked (Rs 2.50 per litre) from the midnight of 15 January which would again lead to more price-rise in all items particularly in food items. The life of ‘Aam Aadmi’ would become even more miserable with the prices of onion, mirchi, atta, pulses, vegetables soaring. Though price-rises have become an integral part of our life since decades, this kind of price-rise in the conditions where more than 90 percent of the workforce is employed in unorganized sector and where 83 percent of the people live on less than 20 rupees daily income, the connotations are grave and disturbing. Add to it the continuous loss of employment of even white collar jobs of the middle classes due to the world wide economic crisis and the picture which emerges is even bleaker. It is one thing to put up with this. But how should one also put up with the most inhuman, cruel, insensitive and callous statement of the person in the highest post in our country, that too a person who is supposed to administer this country efficiently so that the lives of the people turn for better? While the people and particularly the children of this country are dying in their lakhs each year just due to lack of food and nutrition, this person had the audacity to declare that the present price-rise is due to the increase in food consumption of the poor people! This is the zenith of shamelessness one can ever reach. It is not our fault if this sounds like an echo of what an equally if not a more barefaced person named Mr. Bush (Junior) said some days back accusing the people of countries like China and India of consuming more, leading to a crisis! At least one could understand the contempt a President of the imperialist country (US), the number one enemy of the world people, would have for the people of third world countries. But Mr. Manmohan Singh! You have out stepped all the limits of decency and humanity in expressing such contempt for the people of the country you are supposed to lead. The blood of every patriot boils and the face of every citizen burns with indignity to hear this from the high offices of this country. Surely our beloved country and its dignified people do not deserve this shabby treatment. It is under the aegis of this Prime Minister that a Mukesh Ambani builds a Mahal worth 3,500 crores, ministers function on a daily basis from five-star hotels, trillions of rupees are guzzled in scams by every single person who is even a bit of somebody in his parliament or his administrative mechanism and army/police/forest services (the 1,76,000 crore 2G Spectrum scam is still fresh in public memory) not to mention their billions of dollars stacked away safely in Swiss banks! All the future trading, hoarding, black marketing, faulty PDS which have become the trademark of the ‘independent’ India have all been brazenly pushed aside as the possible reasons for this appalling inflation rate and the poor people who are breaking their backs in conditions which can be compared to the medieval times (again a fallout of the LPG policies gifted to us since 1991 by this reliable servant of IMF and World Bank) and are not even able to have one square meal in a day have become the culprits. Wah ! Great Economics indeed, worth a Nobel Prize! This is not just a cruel joke on the poor people of our country (whom he doesn’t represent at all) but also an unabashed attempt to cover up the scams and hoarding of the richie rich people of our country and the imperialist countries (whom he represents so well) and to divert the attention of the people from the actual causes of inflation and burning problems at present. What is the actual condition prevailing? On the one hand, people are tragically suffering with this price-rise while on the other hand a new scam is rising on the horizon along with the sun every day. The price-rise is closely linked with the scam-rises of the ministers and high-rises of the comprador bureaucratic bourgeoisie along with the rise in their bank accounts in the Swiss banks. (Remember? India refuses to reveal the names of those persons who have amassed billion of dollars in these banks?) The recent 2G Spectrum scam has exposed the back door deals of the big players of the corporate world, ministers and hi-fi media people while the series of scams which came to light have uncovered the brash pillage by all the parliamentary parties of the resources rightfully belonging to the people. The BJP which had stalled the proceedings of the Parliament for a whole session with the demand of instituting a JPC on 2G Spectrum scam is desperately trying to masquerade as a ‘clean party’ hiding its own set of scams, one of the major of these happening in Karnataka under BJP Chief Minister Yedyurappa. The close relations which Congress and BJP, including the leader of opposition Ms. Sushma Swaraj have with the notorious mining mafia bosses Reddy brothers are well documented. There is another purpose too. With Aseemanand singing in police custody and the unearthing of other evidences, the direct involvement of the saffron terrorists in the Samjhauta Express, Malegaon and Mecca Masjid blasts stands exposed and the JPC probe demand and the uproar about price-rise are aimed at diverting the attention of the people from the heinous criminals involved in those blasts. The UPA government dumped A. Raja, of course after lot of hullabaloo due to inescapable evidence implicating him, in the 2G spectrum scam in order to save the skin of the Prime Minister and Sonia who are the directors of this sky-scraping scam and without whose involvement such a spectacle would be impossible. The names of highest level ranking generals in the army have also come up in scams not to mention the bureaucrats. The mother of all scams but which is not so visible is the stockpiling of thousands of crores of rupees by the likes of Naveen Patnaik, Raman Singh, YSR (now dead), Yedyurappa, Nitish Kumar, Narendra Modi, Vilasrao Deshmukh and Ashok Chavan in the form of commissions earned through the MoUs they are signing with the MNCs and imperialists. YSR had alone earned nearly 60,000 crores of rupees in his term as CM and one can imagine how many billions of rupees of the hard earned money of the common people is filling the coffers of all these super gangsters. The people of our country are not sitting quite while these scamsters and gangsters are pillaging our wealth. In every corner of our country people are agitating at various levels and in different forms against corruption, all kinds of anti-people policies, price-rise and loot of natural resources. Of all these resistances, the most organized and militant struggle is waged by our party the CPI (Maoist). That is why it was named the biggest internal security threat by the Sonia-Manmohan-Chidabaram gang and an unprecedented countrywide multi-pronged offensive was launched on it in the name of Operation Green Hunt (OGH). The intensification of the anti-people, pro-imperialist policies which give rise to scams and price-rise and the repression on CPI (Maoist) are directly proportional and this became particularly obvious in the past two months. The Prime Minister and Home Minister are conducting series of meetings to crush the Maoist movement and in the latest meeting held in January first week with higher level officers of police and paramilitary forces of six states, they laid emphasis on synergy between intelligence agencies, paramilitary and the police. This insistence on synergy is not an innocent proposal but is aimed at perpetrating more massacres, mopping up campaigns and clearing the adivasis and Maoists from the forests. Some more billions of rupees were allotted for this War on People. In West Bengal, the social fascist CPM in collusion with the central government has increased the number of camps to 140 in Jangal Mahal and Lalgarh and filled them with police, paramilitary and its own counter-revolutionary Harmad Bahini goons, with an eye on the upcoming elections. That the ongoing atrocities and repression on the people of these areas would increase is anybody’s guess and the massacre by CPM/Harmad cadres of eight people and injuring many more in Lalgarh area in the first week of January are an indication of the terrible things in store. On December 3, 2010, the police arrested the West Bengal state secretary of our party Com. Sudeep Chongdar, state committee members Kalpana Maiti, Barun Sur, Anil Ghosh and some other comrades while another state committee member Com. Dwijen Hembram was arrested earlier. They were cruelly tortured and false cases were foisted on them. Particularly, the insulting and inhuman treatment meted out to Com. Kalpana is denigrating the dignity of a woman. In Bihar and Jharkhand arrests, tortures, barbarous attacks and murders of Maoist cadres are continuing. In Andhra Pradesh despite the claims of the ruling classes that they have suppressed the Maoists, fake encounters and attacks on the people haven’t stopped. On 17 December, 2010, in an encounter in Visakhapatnam district four comrades including three women were killed. People fighting against seizure of their lands for SEZs, thermal power plants and for a separate Telangana state are being fired upon indiscriminately. In an unprecedented severe offensive on Maoist areas in Odisha in the past two months nearly 25 Maoist cadres and ordinary people were killed and most of these ‘encounters’ were fake. Five Maoists in Kalinganagar area on January 2, nine Maoists in Niyamgiri area on January 9 and two Maoists in Keonjhar area on January 12 were killed in so-called encounters. Right in the beginning of this year two villagers were killed in cold-blood in Bargarh district and the police claimed it was an encounter. On 8 October, in Savargaon of Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra (Dandakaranya), the ITBP forces had fired mortars shells on a school leading to the death of 6 people including two school children and injuries to eight more. On the next day on 9 October, in a fierce encounter in Mahasamund district of Chhattisgarh (CG) six comrades were martyred and the police killed two innocent villagers mercilessly in the same incident. On 23 November, the CRPF had massacred nine villagers near Jegurugonda in Dantewada district. The CG government is suppressing dissent in the most reactionary manner by arresting democratic intellectuals, putting them in jails and pronouncing harsh punishments on them. The recent conviction of CPI (Maoist) Politburo member Narayan Sanyal, Human Rights activist Dr. Binayak Sen, trader Piyush Guha and editor-writer Asit Sengupta is a blatant example of this. Though this offensive is obviously directed against the Maoists, in reality this is directed against all those individuals and organizations that are resisting the policies of the government. Beloved people of India! This is not the time to cry over the depths of despair and degradation the ruling classes are forcing us into. The need of the hour is for all the people to come together and fight back the anti-people, repressive and pro-imperialist policies of the state and to direct our fight against scamsters, hoarders, black marketeers and forces of the repressive state. Our Central Committee appeals to all the people to observe protests from 4 to 5 February and one-day Bharat bandh on 7 February against price-rise, scams and state terror. We are making it clear that there would be no bandh during the protest days and that Bharat bandh would be observed in six states – West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and three districts in Maharashtra – Gadchiroli, Gondia, Chandrapur and one district in Madhya Pradesh – Balaghat. Medical services and people attending examinations and interviews will be excluded from the bandh activities. (Abhay) Spokesperson, Central Committee, CPI (Maoist)

Rise of Red-army in the Last Shangri-La

 

By TP Mishra
Unlike in Nepal and India, they are still unfamiliar to the outside world. The red Maoists have just unfurled its flag in Bhutan, and have set the alarm bell of a new threat in the Eastern Himalayas.
Like the other South Asia countries, the secluded Dragon Kingdom too has started to witness Maoist movement, a political battle, aimed at abolishing the Monarchy from the last Shangri-La.


A series of bomb explosions mostly in the southern periphery of the Himalayan Kingdom, where majority of Nepali-speaking people dwell, during the last couple of years, is the announcement that the comrade-in-arms of the radical Communists are now looking for a political change.
The 2008 political transformation in Bhutan—from an absolute monarchy to a “constitutional monarchy” has been dubbed as an eye-wash by the Maoists. The red-brigade is determined to achieve a Nepal-like situation—establishment of Bhutan as a republic.
Formed on April 22, 2003, Communist Party of Bhutan, Marxists-Leninists-Maoists (CPB-MLM) is led by general secretary Comrade Vikalpa (literally means `alternative’). Birth of the radical Communist group came to fore after posters and pamphlets were first pasted couple of years ago mostly in the UNHCR-monitored seven refugee camps in eastern districts of Nepal.
Beginning of Maoist movement was natural in Bhutan as more than one hundred thousands genuine Nepali-speaking Bhutanese citizens have been living as “refugees” in Nepal since early 1990s due to forcible mass eviction from their villages in Bhutan. Doubtlessly, frustration due to long and unimproved living in refugee camps has largely contributed for many youths’ direct involvement in the CPB-MLM.
The Bhutanese Maoists announced their war after it faxed a 13-point demand to the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGOB) on March 22, 2007, almost four years after the formal declaration of party. The demands stressed the need to introduce people’s democracy replacing monarchy, guarantee multi-party democracy, repatriation of the refugees with honor and dignity to their original homes and release all political prisoners.
Though their activities in Bhutan hardly existed in media light, they triumphantly boosted the party potency in refugee camps—either through closed door meetings, publications, mass gatherings or community-focused cultural shows. Their pro-people cultural shows in Bhutan, aimed at raising public awareness during the time of Hindus’ great festivals like the Dashain and Deepawali were, however, frequently generalized.

The Party has frequently claimed that they carried out the similar activities in 16 districts of Bhutan on the same day. This, however, is still at odds since it was neither reported by any media nor any strapping substantiation has substituted it, mainly from Vikapa’s side.
Tactically, Bhutanese Maoists are operating like the United Communist Party of Nepal (UCPN-Maoists). The protracted People’s War, in their own words, is divided into three strategic phases—defense, balance and counter attack. Defense is again divided into three sub-phases: preparation, commencement and continuation. The preparation phase is again divided into four phases—ideological, organizational, technical and related to struggle.
CPB-MLM is operating with donation collection. They launch various fund-raising programs including cultural shows and direct donation from those having good income sources. All Bhutan People’s Cultural Forum, amongst at least half a dozen sister wings, organized a cultural program and a drama titled Paristhiti Le Janmaeko Lakshya (Goal Created by Circumstances) at the Nepal Academy in Kathmandu on May 10, 2007. They collected an estimated thirty thousand Nepalese rupees from tickets sales.
Due to ideological differences, now the party is believed to be divided into two factions–one led by Vikalpa and the other by Birat. A clear majority voice from the central committee members ousted Vikalpa from party’s brain-box position on January 20, 2008. He has been accused of being “opportunist”.
They are strongly guided by Mao’s doctrine of `encircling city from village.’ This should serve as one reason why the deviated faction of the same party led by Birat that waged arms for the first time in Bhutan on January 3, 2008 termed it `armed rural class struggle’.
LinksThe decade long arm struggle by Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists), now UCPN-Maoists, in Nepal is one of their major sources for motivation. Nepal Weekly, one of Nepal’s largest magazines, ran a special report by Deepak Adhikari on rise in communism in Bhutan in 2007. Quoting unnamed source, the report disclosed that Nepali Maoists have provided ideological and material assistance to them. Also, cadres of CPB-MLM have a common say – Maoists around the globe have common ideology and they support each other.

If the findings in this national magazine were to be fact-based, it has mentioned that the senior leaders of UCPN-Maoists imparted training in firearms, ideology and cultural issues to their Bhutanese comrades.
Both of the party’s direct links with Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organizations of South Asia (CCOMPASA), as they are members, could be one basis of their closeness in exchanging good-will carry—both logistic and materials. Local leaders of UCPN-Maoists are often seen as guest speaker during the CPB-MLM’s mass meeting in refugee camps. CPB-MLM actively participated in an international seminar organized by Nepali Maoists in the last week of December 2006.
The weekly magazine also quoted CP Gajurel `Gaurav’, who is now secretary of UCPN-M, as saying “we are very close, for we follow the same ideology in the first place and they are also people of Nepali origin in the second.” He had disclosed that most of the CPB-MLM leaders were trained and inspired by the People’s War of Nepal. According to Gajurel, they are helping the Bhutanese Maoists in guerrilla warfare strategy and working policy.
In 2003, Nepalese security forces had arrested several cadres of CPB-MLM, whom the party later described as their “well-wishers”, for having direct links with Nepali Maoists and were sternly interrogated.
Securing Indian support is a must for any parties in Bhutan—be it the one carrying peaceful agendas or the one claiming to be revolutionary outfit, to strengthen their call for democracy in Bhutan. A report by BBC on November 14, 2008 (India-Bhutan rebel link exposed) articulates this fact.
The separatist United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) – the former fighting for Assam’s independence and the latter for an independent homeland for Bodo people – had more than 30 bases in southern Bhutan. The bases were demolished by the Royal Bhutan Army during the Operation All-Clear in December 2003.
During police interrogation, Tenzing Zangpo, a leader of the Druk National Congress had disclosed about Bhutanese Maoists’ “close links” with rebels in Assam since his party, as per Zangpo, had links with Maoist movement in Bhutan. Zangpo was arrested in by the Assam police for his alleged involvement in October 2008 blasts in Assam that killed 84 people.
Political analyst and senior Bhutanese leader R. P. Subba, who is now in USA, says reciprocation for India’s soft approach towards the Bhutanese dissidents during their initial days of the pro-democracy movement, the Bhutanese regime invited and sheltered various Indian militant insurgents in the Bhutanese soil in the early 1990s. This alliance was built on a stream of mutual interests between the Royal government of Bhutan and the north east militants.
Interestingly, a book titled `Bhutanese Communist Movement: Brief Study of Essence’ by “Vigyan”, central committee member of the Birat-faction of CPB-MLM have flatly denied their connection with Indian radical force. In an e-mail interview with the writer of this piece, Vikalpa, however, claims about their working relation with radical forces in India
OperationsSoon after Vikalpa was ousted from the party, the Birat-led CPB-MLM rocked the kingdom with a series of bombs on the night of February 3, 2008 in Samtse district which damaged the materials brought by the Druk government for the National Assembly election. Their call for arm-launch against the monarchy, thus, was called `armed rural class struggle’.
Vikalpa’s MLM also separately marked the start of arm revolt against the absolute regime with twin blasts, one near Nainital Primary School in Samtse district and another near the Damchen Petroleum depot in Chukha on June 5, 2008. No human casualties were reported, however, a central committee member of the latter faction was detained by the Royal Bhutan Army.
Besides Maoists groups, two other groups—United Revolutionary Front of Bhutan (URFB) and Bhutan Tigers Force (BTF) are also actively seen for plantation of explosives in Bhutan at various times.
The URFB had exploded serial bomb between January 20 and March 20, 2008 in Thimpu, Chukha, Dagana and Samtse as warnings to the Bhutan Government and for a response to resolve all the impending problems before any significant political changes.
The two bomb blasts in Sibsoo police station of Samchi district on March 20, 2008 at about 12.45 and 01.12 p.m. was the sequel of three blasts since January 20, 2008. This was the third blast of the URFB within time span of five days in the wake to foil the first general election in the country on March 24, 2008. A blast near Singay village in Sarpang district on December 30, 2008 claimed the lives of four leaving two injured.

Cadres of CPB-MLM in a closed-door meeting in refugee camp. Photo/E-kantipur
The BTF is often seen actively involved in raising awareness about the armed struggle through pamphlets and posters in the Himalayan country. The frequent hoisting of the communist flag in the southern districts has been publicised by the Druk media. The hit-and-run operations indicate that the armed struggle in Bhutan will continue unless an amicable solution is not found at the earliest possible.
Though it is difficult to claim the cooperation between the insurgent outfits, but their common minimal program seems to launch an armed struggle against the absolute regime. However, both the BTF and the URFB are not ideology-driven.
In the wake to address the immediate demand to daunt the Maoists attacks, the government arrested at least 39 civilians in December 27, 2007 from southern part of the country for their alleged involvement in radical Communist movement. The government imprisoned them ranging from 5-9 years jail term. The CPB-MLM has denied the involvement of those detainees in their party.
The Royal government introduced volunteers to patrol at night in early 2008. Each household had to send a volunteer to patrol every night. They used to check on schools, hospitals and other public places. This is not a fair initiation of the government to counter armed attacks. Innocent civilians should not be used as shield in the name of fighting armed rebellion. Rather, the government should resolve the issues politically.
Initially, the CPB-MLM cadres opposed the resettlement scheme, brought up by the UNHCR and US government, and even camp residents were threatened to boycott the process. The Birat-led faction of the MLM outfit claims that several cadres who used to work with ousted Vikalpa have already reached western countries under third country resettlement process. An estimated 26 thousands have been already resettled in seven different western countries including the US.

The Class Struggle, a news bulletin published by the Vikalpa faction of MLM. The paper is widely circulated inside camps. Photo/Author
If Comrade Birat and his cadres are true, there is a strong possibility that a section of the resettled Bhutanese refugees, after attaining financial independence, would extend full support to the Maoists groups, and plunge Bhutan towards a bloody war.
Monarchy Vs CommunismRise of communism in Bhutan pose obvious threat to the Monarchy, if the present political system goes unaddressed for some more years. Right decision on wrong time often pushes the country to political turmoil. No where in histories we find monarchy and communism standing on the same political platform.
The RGOB should not escape from furnishing a peaceful solution through dialogue, and this is the right time. It must see what is happening in neighboring countries – the ongoing violence in Sri Lanka, India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The decade-long Maoist insurgency in Nepal could be a better lesson. The Bhutan government should try to resolve its political problem before it is too late.
Senior Nepali journalist Dhruba Hari Adhikari sees Bhutanese monarchy bordered with threats if ascend in communism keeps its expedited pace. “At the moment, New Delhi is protecting Bhutanese monarch but once people rise up, I don’t think it can be stopped for ever.”
Peaceful means can never be replaced by any other forms of struggle for the establishment of democracy and human rights in any country. Yet, with the rise of communism in the last Shangri-La, a bigger challenge may end the Druk monarchy if all Bhutanese revolutionary outfits, by chance, come to a single platform and wage a bigger arms struggle.

COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MAOIST) CENTRAL COMMITTEE – Serving people is not conspiracy! Supporting people’s struggles can never be sedition!!

COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MAOIST)

CENTRAL COMMITTEE

Press Release

December 24, 2010

Serving people is not conspiracy!
Supporting people’s struggles can never be sedition!!

The Scamsters who amass billions of rupees are the real conspirators!

The Gangsters who sell-out our country to imperialists are the real traitors!!

Observe Protest Week from January 2^nd to 8^th, 2011 against the fascist Chhattisgarh government’s court judgments that sentenced Civil Rights activist Doctor Binayak Sen,
Maoist leader Narayana Sanyal, trader Piyush Guha under sedition for life imprisonment and magazine editor Asit Sengupta for eight years imprisonment!

On December 24, the Raipur district additional sessions court sentenced for life civil rights activist Dr. Binayak Sen, our party Politburo member Comrade Narayan Sanyal, trader Piyush Guha under IPC, Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act and UAPA implicating them in false cases. The life sentences were pronounced by B.P. Verma under IPC section 124 (sedition), 120 B (conspiracy) and many other kinds of sentences were pronounced under various sections of CSPCA and UAPA. The eight year sentence for Asit Sengupta was pronounced on the same day by O.P. Gupta. Both these judgments are the latest additions to the huge cache of anti-people, fascist repressive measures of the Indian ruling classes.

Sentencing for life our party Politburo member Comrade Narayan Sanyal, Binayak Sen, a doctor who had dedicated his life as a doctor serving the poor people selflessly, a prominent civil rights activist and the vice-president of PUCL and Piyush Guha, a trader belonging to Kolkata is the most shameless thing for the rulers to do even while boasting that this is the biggest democracy in the whole world. Opposing the repressive policies of the government, the fascist Salwa Judum, raising his voice for the repeal of the black law CSPSA and standing in support of the just peoples movements are the `crimes’ committed by Dr. Binayak Sen for which he has been punished with life sentence. When he was arrested in May 2007 and kept in jail for two years, immense protests were held and severe condemnations were issued by democratic sections, medical community, Nobel laureates and many others in India and abroad. Pronouncing this sentence ignoring all this can only mean that the fascist rulers are without any scruples or embarrassment issuing a threat to all the democratic, progressive and patriotic sections of our country. If responding positively towards people’s issues in a legal, democratic manner, serving the people sincerely and criticizing the anti-people policies of the government is `sedition’, then one can imagine what kind of `democracy’ is being practiced in this country and how dangerous it is for the people. The eight year sentence for Asit Sengupta (editor of the Hindi version of ‘A World To Win’ which is published in various languages all over the world) who is languishing in jail since three years with the false accusation that he was participating in Maoist activities is nothing but stifling the Freedom of Press. Recently, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, DGP Viswaranjan, Bastar IG Longkumer and Dantewada SP Kalluri gang had published pamphlets under the name `Maa Danteswari Adivasi Swabhimani Manch’ and had openly declared that they would kill journalists SRK Pillai, Anil Sharma and Yaswant Rai along with democrats Himanshu Kumar and Arundhati Roy and had the audacity to declare that it is indeed their own doing! So much for the `rule of law’ harped upon by our rulers day in and day out!

Comrade Narayan Sanyal, a 73-year old veteran communist who began his revolutionary life in 1968 and has dedicated more than four decades of his life for the liberation of the oppressed people, is ailing with various health problems and has been languishing in the dark dungeons of the fascist Chhattisgarh government since five years. The Sonia-Manmohan-Chidambaram-Raman Singh terrorist gang is killing Maoist leaders in fake encounters and sentencing many of them to harsh punishments under black laws. They are subjected to physical and mental tortures in the inhuman conditions prevailing in jails.

On July 29, 2010, our party activist Comrade Malati @ Santi Priya and a worker Surendra Kosaria were sentenced to ten years imprisonment using false witnesses under the case that Maoist propaganda CDs were sent to the MLAs. Amitabh Bagchi, a Politburo member of our party and Comrade Kartik, a state committee member of West Bengal, incarcerated in Ranchi jail, were also sentenced to life imprisonment through fast track court in Jharkhand. On October 29, the AP government sentenced Comrade Panduranga Reddy and three others to four years imprisonment in the Alipiri case (attack on ex-CM Chandrababu) using false witnesses. Many more revolutionary activists and ordinary people are being sentenced to very harsh punishments including capital punishment by the reactionary courts serving the exploiting ruling classes. Comrades Sushil Roy and Kobad Gandhi who are senior leaders and ailing with various health problems and old age; comrades Shobha, Patitpavan Haldar, Pramod Mishra, Vijay, Asutosh, Balraj, Chintan, Biman, Bidhan, Chandi Sarkar, Balganesh, Jharkhand Abhen’s Jeetan Marandi and thousands of other comrades are denied bail, being implicated in false cases one after another and made to languish in jails for years together. In West Bengal, Comrade Swapan Das arrested under UAPA was denied health care in Jail and became the first martyr of this draconian law.

The UPA government bent on selling our natural and human resources to imperialist MNCs like Vedanta and to comprador bourgeoisie like Tata, Essar, Jindal, Mittal etc has declared CPI (Maoist) as the biggest internal security threat as it is standing in their way offering stiff resistance to this unlimited loot. As part of this, the government is carrying on vicious foul propaganda using its propaganda machine. Since August 2009, in the name of Operation Green Hunt the central and state governments are resorting to brutal attacks on the revolutionary movement and particularly adivasis are being massacred by deploying millions of police and paramilitary forces in Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and other states. This offensive is carried on under the guidance and full support of imperialists, particularly the US imperialists. The exploiting rulers are using every means at their disposal to portray our party which is fighting with the lofty aim of establishing people’s government of democratic classes basing on the unity of worker-peasants by overthrowing the imperialists, bureaucratic comprador bourgeoisie and the feudal classes, as `terrorist’ and `traitor’.  Why are the ministers, political leaders, big bourgeoisie and their brokers, the real traitors who are amassing billions of rupees in scams and stacking them in Swiss Banks shamelessly roaming in the corridors of power not booked under SEDITION? Why are all those criminals who perpetrated and facilitated the Bhopal Gas Tragedy not called CONSPIRATORS? How could striving for the liberation of the toiling masses become SEDITION? How could democrats who raised their voices and pens in support of people’s movements be called CONSPIRATORS?

These sentences are nothing but a part of the bigger conspiracy of the ruling classes to eliminate all kinds of hurdles to their anti-people, unpatriotic and immoral neo-liberal economic policies. This is an alarm signal that fascist repression would intensify further in the near future. These judgments are an eye opener for those who believe and get deceived innocently that there is still some semblance of democracy in this country. Though the overt statements of the ruling gang declare that Maoist movement is their prime target, what is happening in reality is a fascist onslaught on progressive and democratic forces who wish for the welfare of the people and aspire to protect the interests of our country vis-à-vis the imperialists. Our party is appealing to the people to stand united against this offensive and defeat it through a determined fight.

The comprador governments are resorting to suppression of people’s movements and nationality liberation struggles using black laws like UAPA, CSPCA, MCOCA and AFSPA following in the footsteps of the US government which promulgated black laws like the Homeland Security Act. The reactionary legal system which had never bothered to book or sentence the saffron terrorists who had killed many innocent people in the Mecca Masjid, Malegaon and Ajmer Sharif bomb blasts or the scamsters and political gangsters involved in scams like 2G Spectrum (worth 1,76,000 crores of rupees), Commonwealth games, Adarsh housing society, Karnataka lands and dozens and dozens of other scams are eagerly sentencing revolutionaries, people’s leaders, democrats and activists of national liberation movements in Kashmir and North-East.

The CPI (Maoist) Central Committee is appealing to all democratic, patriotic forces, national liberation activists and to all civil rights activists, organizations, students, intellectuals, teachers, writers, artistes, doctors, lawyers, media friends, workers and peasants to come out on the streets condemning and opposing these judgments delivered through the reactionary legal system by the collusion of the UPA government at the centre and the BJP government in Chhattisgarh. We appeal to all of you to build united and militant agitations demanding the immediate repeal of UAPA, CSPCA, MCOCA and AFSPA. We appeal to all the progressive, democratic and revolutionary organizations, communities and individuals of various countries to condemn in severe terms this criminal act of the Indian ruling classes and express their vigorous protest in various democratic struggle forms. In the past the international community stood in strong solidarity with the Indian people’s movements and had condemned the arrest of Binayak Sen and demanded his immediate release. Now the time has come for it to play this role more solidly.

Our party calls upon the people to observe protest week all over the country from January 2 to 8 against these judgments by creatively taking up various protest activities including press conferences, statements, dharnas, rasta rokos, meetings, protest rallies, processions, signature campaigns, wearing black badges, waving black flags, burning of effigies etc., and to take up legal battles condemning severely the anti-people, traitorous and fascist policies of the ruling classes.

Our party is calling upon all our ranks, PLGA forces and revolutionary mass organizations to take up various protest forms on this occasion by mobilizing vast masses.

Our Central Committee is making it very clear that no call for bandh is being given as part of this protest week and is requesting the people and media not to believe the deliberate propaganda of the police to portray this as a bandh call.

(Abhay)

Spokesperson,

Central Committee,

CPI (Maoist)

To Comrades and Friends of the Indian Revolution’

COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MAOIST)

CENTRAL COMMITTEE

November 30, 2010

Dear Comrades and Friends of Indian Revolution, On behalf of our Party, the CPI (Maoist), Peoples Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA), Revolutionary Peoples Committees (RPCs), revolutionary mass organizations and revolutionary people of India, firstly, we send our heartfelt Laal Salaam (Red Salutes) to all the parties, organizations, various forums and individuals from India and abroad, who had sent condolence messages to our CC and who had condemned the brutal murders of comrades Cherukuri Rajkumar (Azad) and Hemchand Pandey on July 1, 2010 by the fascist Indian ruling classes.

As all of you have acknowledged, losing comrade Azad is one of the biggest blows our party and Indian revolution had suffered. Azad was one of the topmost leaders in our party. He has been leading the Indian revolution since a long time. In our country, Peoples War is intensifying with each passing day. With the aid and support of imperialists, particularly the American imperialists, the Indian reactionary ruling classes are trying to suppress the revolutionary movement and are carrying on ruthless atrocities in an unprecedented severe manner.

In this war between the people and the ruling classes, the enemy had particularly schemed to murder our leaders and concentrated on comrades like Azad who are leading the revolution. It is as part of that conspiracy that comrade Azad was caught and killed in the most brutal and cowardly manner.

Comrade Azad was leading the entire urban movement on behalf of our Central Committee and was also looking after political propaganda, party periodicals, party education and other such crucial responsibilities. He was a most experienced and popular mass leader. He maintained close relations with many comrades at various levels and with the revolutionary masses. In the midst of severe repression, he worked selflessly and unflinchingly in spite of the many risks involved. It is under such circumstances that the enemy came to know about his whereabouts somewhere and could catch him by laying in wait. Your messages and condemnations released in the true internationalist spirit had given the necessary moral support to the oppressed peoples and the comrades who were grief-stricken with this shocking news. Due to the severe repressive conditions here, we could not receive all the messages and even the messages we received had reached us very late. Hence we feel very sorry for this delay in sending you a reply. Comrade Azad was attracted to the revolutionary movement while he was studying in the Warangal Regional Engineering College in 1972.

Azad who was exceptionally brilliant in his studies had played a dynamic role in the revolutionary movement too. He played a role in the formation of the Radical Students Union (RSU) in 1974. He was elected as the state president of RSU in 1978. He was one of the founders of the All India revolutionary students movement and guided it from its inception in 1985. He played a key role in conducting a seminar on Nationality Question in the then Madras city in 1981. Later he took up the responsibility of building the revolutionary movement in Karnataka and build up the Maoist party in this State for the first time. He attracted many comrades like Saketh Rajan into the party. When opportunistic elements tried to split the party in 1985 and in 1991, comrade Azad had played a crucial role in defending party line and keeping it united and strong enough in defeating their opportunist politics. He worked tirelessly for twenty years as a CC member and Politburo member from 1990 till now. We cannot separate Azads life from the history of revolutionary movement of the past forty years. Particularly, he played a key role in the ideological, political spheres, party education and running of periodicals. He fulfilled the responsibility of the party spokesperson since three years as Azad in the most excellent and exemplary manner. He used his intellect and sharp pen outstandingly in fighting back the War on People led by the Manmohan Singh-Sonia-Chidambaram gang. He stood as the powerful voice of the people against the rulers and exploiters. In the development of the party political line, in the development of the party, peoples army and mass organizations, in expanding the movement, in the emergence of new democratic power organs and in all the victories won, Azad’s ideological, political work and practice played a key role. Unflinching commitment in face of any odds and during the ebb and flow of the movement, great sacrificing nature, selflessness, simple living, indefatigable work for the revolution and for the interests of the people, astounding study, study of changing phenomena in the society from time to time, being with the people always are some of the great proletarian ideals established by Comrade Azad. Though he is no more, it is undeniable that he would serve as a revolutionary role model to every revolutionary and particularly to the youth, students and intellectuals. Hemchand Pandey was a progressive free lance journalist from Uttarakhand who had used his pen to bring to light the plight of the poor oppressed people of our country. He was killed as he could bring out the truth behind Azads murder. The brutal murder of this pro-people young budding intellectual is just another instance of the callousness of the fascists. You have rightly condemned these ghastly murders by exposing the conspiracy of the Indian ruling classes in killing Azad, which is to crush the ever expanding revolutionary movement under the leadership of CPI (Maoist) and to render the people and party leaderless. Azads murder is the latest one in a series of such murders of our leaders carried out in the name of encounters for the past 40 years and especially since the successful completion of our Unity Congress-9th Congress in 2007. The government had declared CPI (Maoist) to be the biggest internal security threat and launched many suppression campaigns to crush the movement, the latest being Operation Green Hunt, launched in mid-2009. This is the biggest offensive launched on the revolutionary movement in India so far and it has resulted in unprecedented destruction of lives and property of the people. Extra-judicial killings of leaders and massacres of people are all part of this counterrevolutionary multi-pronged offensive. All of you had condemned this war on Indian people, particularly on the adivasis, with right indignation and demanded that it be immediately stopped. The people of revolutionary movement areas warmly remember this international solidarity expressed by various parties, organizations, individuals and the proletariat of various countries as this is exactly the kind of support which must be extended to any genuine movement of the people when it faces such fascist onslaught. We very much appreciate this kind of support and solidarity and firmly assert that we will reciprocate the same towards other fighting masses in various parts of the globe. This kind of solidarity infuses great confidence and reassurance among the fighting people that there are not alone in their fight. It also points sharply one more time towards the common enemies we all are facing, namely imperialism and all kinds of reactionaries. It enhances the fighting spirit of the people and helps them to advance the movement firmly. Our party, PLGA, RPCs, Revolutionary Mass organizations, revolutionary people and all progressive and democratic forces of our country exactly wish for such unity and solidarity at the domestic and international scale. This is extremely important to defend the people�fs movement and to advance it. We once again pledge before all of you that we would carry on the lofty aims of all great martyrs of the world proletarian revolution including Comrade Azad and announce that no amount of fascist repression can subdue the fighting spirit of our Party and the revolutionary people of India. We will march forward with renewed determination braving all kinds of odds and making sacrifices till the final victory. This is our promise to all the friends and well-wishers of Indian revolution.

 @ LONG LIVE PROLETARIAN INTERNATIONALISM!

LONG LIVE THE UNITY OF INTERNATIONAL PROLETARIAT, REVOLUTIONARY AND DEMOCRATIC FORCES AND THE OPPRESSED NATIONS AND PEOPLES ALL OVER THE WORLD!

With revolutionary greetings,

(Abhay)

Spokesperson,

 Central Committee,

CPI (Maoist)

Hail the Historic 6th Anniversary of the Party Formation Day! COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MAOIST)

Press Release

August 30, 2010

Hail the Historic 6th Anniversary of the Party Formation Day!

Defeat the fascist Operation Green Hunt!!

Come together for a united struggle  against the loot of our country!!!

 

Call of the Polit Bureau of CPI (Maoist) on the occasion of the 6th anniversary of the party to be celebrated with revolutionary enthusiasm and great fervor from September 21 to 27, 2010

 

Our beloved comrades and people!

On the 6th anniversary of our party formation day on September 21, 2010 , our PB extends hearty revolutionary greetings to the Party, PLGA, Revolutionary people’s committees and comrades of all mass organizations and to the revolutionary people who are advancing the people’s war by fearlessly fighting back Operation Green Hunt, the countrywide massive counter-revolutionary military offensive of the enemy, who is bent upon annihilating our party. On this fervent occasion our PB also congratulates the comrades in the jails who are bravely facing the enemy.

Our PB humbly pays homage to the more than 10,000 great martyrs, 1500 of them after the unified party was formed in 2004, and 300 in one year, who sacrificed their invaluable lives for the success of the New Democratic Revolution in India and for the achievement of the greatest cause of human kind, i.e. socialism and communism. The fact that a majority of these martyrs are common people, revolutionary mass organizations’ members and militia member shows how the vast masses of India are thronging into the revolution.

Since we celebrated our party formation day last year, the war between revolution and counter-revolution in our country has intensified further. There have been many significant changes of strategic importance in this period which would affect the Indian revolution for a long time to come. It is necessary to look into our strengths and weaknesses, the favourable and unfavourable conditions for the revolution on this occasion and place before the people and the ranks of the party.

Firstly – starting from May 2009 to July 2010, eight topmost comrades including PBM and beloved leader Azad and ten state level comrades had either been caught and killed by the enemy or had been put behind bars. Many leadership comrades from district level to lower ranks were either arrested or killed. These losses had all affected our party and movement seriously. Particularly, losing comrade Azad who had been fulfilling key responsibilities in the highest committee and had been rendering multi-faceted services most efficiently in many fields is a great loss.

The formation of the new party in 2004 placed before the people of our country enriched political, organizational, military lines, a strong party, a strong leadership, a people’s army, the PLGA and a vast mass base and struggle areas. This created very favourable conditions for the advancement of the revolution. Fearing all these favorable conditions, the enemy sought to crush our party and all the losses in 2005 and 2006 occurred due to this conspiracy. Yet, the Unity Congress – 9th congress had strengthened the unity of the party and the party leadership and laid down a thorough plan for the advancement of the revolution. Though Andhra Pradesh movement and North Chhattisgarh movement suffered setback and though we suffered heavy losses in North Odisha , the successes won filled the revolutionary camp with self-confidence.

The successful completion of the Unity Congress and the later successes worried the enemy camp to no end and so the enemy had intensified war on people at an unprecedented level to annihilate the party leadership. These losses which occurred since 2009 May are larger in number and more serious in nature than before. However, serious they may be, in the past 45 years, revolutionary movement had been giving birth to new leadership constantly and it will do so again. As long as masses need a revolution, they give birth to its leaders too.

Secondly – UPA-2 had launched the fascist ‘Operation Green Hunt’ (OGH) as a concrete form of the multi-pronged offensive strategy. Of all the offensive strategies formulated by the Indian ruling classes to crush the revolutionary movement in India , the one which started from mid-2009 (and continuing) is unprecedented, country-wide, most severe, deceptive, centralized and protracted one till date. The military suppression campaign is concentrated on our strong rural areas and guerilla zones, especially Dandakaranya, Jharkhand-Bihar, Lalgarh and bordering areas of Jharkhand-Odisha, Andhra-Odisha and Telangana-Chhattisgarh. This ‘War on People’ has intensified social contradictions. No other suppression campaign had earned the wrath and resistance of people as much as the OGH in the past 45 areas.

Thirdly – after UPA came to power for second time, there was a qualitative change in implementing the counter-insurgency theories which are restructuring or influencing the state machinery, Indian constitution, judiciary, legislating bodies, administrative bodies, politics, economy, culture, media and so on. This is inspired and led by the ‘War on Terror’ waged by the imperialists under the leadership of US imperialists. This will lead our country to a disastrous situation. The more they try to wage this brutal war, the more protest and resistance they would encounter from the vast masses. Such resistance is clearly seen all over the country.

Due to the struggles waged by us in all the fields and due to the immense sacrifices of our most revered and beloved three hundred martyrs in the past one year we have won significant successes. They are:

1.             The successful attacks in Singanamadugu, Mukaram (Tadimetla) and Kongera of Chhattisgarh; Laheri in Maharashtra; Sankrel and Silda in Bengal; Gumla, Vishnupur and Latehar in Jharkhand; Sono, government toll plaza (Gaya) and Tandwa bazaar in Bihar; Potakal and Baipharguda in Odisha, particularly the historical Mukram (Tadimetla) attack had broken down the initiative of the enemy and increased that of the guerilla forces. These attacks had armed the PLGA with more weapons and new experiences in guerilla war. Tadimetla experience is of the highest level of all these. If not for this active resistance of our forces and people, the enemy would have found more ground to obliterate our movement. These great experiences would definitely help us in fighting back the enemy forces employed for a bigger attack. It was nothing else but the active support of the people which served as the foundation for all these successes.

2.             The struggles of Kalinganagar, Singur and Nandigram shook the ruling classes and later Lalgarh and Narayanpatna struggles had burst forth on an extensive and higher scale than these struggles. These were led by our party against revisionism or right opportunism and were waged against the enemy classes, imperialists and the state. We had not seen a deluge of such vast, militant, long drawn mass uprisings in the past 25 years. The lessons of these revolutionary mass uprisings for the development of people’s war in our country are invaluable.

3.             Lalgarh armed peasant movement which had erupted, spread and consolidated in a period when the enemy had deployed forces on a large scale and was attempting to crush the peasant uprising, is very significant and earned a special place in the annals of Indian armed agrarian revolutionary struggle history.

4.             Vast masses under our party’s leadership have successfully thwarted the attempts of the MNCs and CBB corporations to loot the natural resources in Eastern and Central India . Our PB sends revolutionary greetings to all the people, revolutionary, democratic, progressive and patriotic organizations and individuals who stood firmly in these struggles and promises that our party would stand in the forefront in these struggles.

5.             Our party had conducted ideological and political propaganda war against the enemy’s psychological war, under the leadership of Comrade Azad. If our entire party had not fought along with Com. Azad at various levels, the people’s war would not have won this much credit. His services in this field are most significant and paramount. Let us continue the struggle in this field with Com. Azad’s inspiration.

Along with these five main successes, in some states, we had expanded to new areas, consolidated party, PLGA, politically and militarily, consolidated the existing Revolutionary People’s Committees/Janatana Sarkars and expanded them in newer areas. All these successes had won us the support of many revolutionary forces, intellectuals, democrats, progressive and patriotic forces.

Comrades!

Our losses had been very severe. Unless each committee from the CC to the lower committees and the entire party strives very hard to build up new forces in a planned manner on a wide scale and continues the rectification campaign effectively we will not be able to fulfill the losses incurred, particularly that of Com. Azad and other leadership comrades at central and state level.

Only when we understand the real reasons behind the losses, we can prevent them and only then we can strengthen the party as an impregnable fort to the enemy. To identify the real reasons we have to take lessons from the experiences of our party and Maoist parties of other countries.

We have to expand and intensify the self-defensive war waged under the party’s leadership by PLGA, people and by uniting with all struggling forces of our country and other countries. If we firmly rely on the masses and make use of our PLGA properly in the war, we would definitely be able to defeat Green Hunt.

Let us prepare ourselves to wage people’s war with utmost courage and determination. Celebrate the 6th anniversary of our party formation day with brimming revolutionary enthusiasm and zeal. Let us propagate widely the successes won even amidst severe repression in the past one year.

Our beloved comrades and people of India !

The CPI (Maoist) is issuing a call to all the people of our country to unify under the leadership of the party and rise against the feudal and comprador rulers who are selling our country to the imperialists. We cannot liberate our country from the clutches of these predators without a revolutionary party. The party calls upon all the resistance struggles against the loot of our country to come together which would lead to a broad united front. The fight for land to the tiller, democratic power to the people and basic needs and against SEZs, displacement, corporate mining, plunder of our natural resources, price rise, corruption and all such burning problems have to be carried out in an united manner. We can win only through our unified strength. As our fight intensifies, the state onslaught on all the democratic and revolutionary struggles would also intensify. Let us prepare ourselves for this. Jan Jagrans , Salwa Judums , Sendras and Green Hunts can never break a determined people or their revolutionary party. Final Victory belongs to the people.

 

¬ Let us consolidate our party as an impregnable fortress and avoid huge losses to leadership and ranks !

¬ Hail and follow the exemplary model battle of Tadimetla to defeat ‘Operation Green Hunt’ !

¬ Let us unite with and bring together all resistance movements paving the way for a countrywide strong United Front !

¬ Let us hail and follow the exemplary model of Comrade Azad in effectively fighting back the enemy’s psychological warfare !

¬ Let us extend to vast areas to fulfill the multi-faceted tasks of People’s War!

For Polit Bureau,

(Abhay)

Spokesperson,

Central Committe,

CPI (Maoist)

In Chhattisgarh’s war zone, no value on an Adivasi’s life

Aman Sethi, hindu

After ‘encounter,’ police try to buy villagers’ silence with Rs. 3,100 and packets of biscuits, chivda

The monsoon skies have cleared over this village in Dantewada district, but a cloud of doubt still lingers over the site of last week’s encounter between the police and suspected cadres of the CPI (Maoist).

On August 4, according to the official version, the Koya commandos spent 18 hours combing through the rain-soaked forests near Kutrem, during which they broke through a Maoist ambush, engaged in a fierce gun battle lasting several hours and ultimately recovered the body of a uniformed Maoist fighter, a 12 bore shotgun and two improvised explosive devices.

The Koya commandos are a specialised police team largely comprising surrendered Maoists or Adivasis whose families have been targets of Maoist violence.

“We were ambushed deep in the jungle and fought the Maoists for about four hours,” said a policeman who was part of the operation, “We fired hundreds of rounds of ammunition … and killed six Maoists, but could recover only one body.” The corpse was identified as Kunjami Joga, a 23-year-old resident of Kutrem.

At Kutrem, however, the villagers have a very different account of the circumstances that led to Joga’s death.

About 11.30 a.m. on August 4, the villagers say, a party of the Koya commandos cordoned off Kutrem and took positions outside several houses in its Kotwalpara neighbourhood. Kunjam Hidme, 40, sat quietly in her house when she suddenly heard a policeman scream, “Hold your fire, don’t shoot!” followed by a burst of automatic fire.

“Kunjami Joga was stepping out of his sister, Karti Budri’s house, when he was shot,” said Hidme. He was unarmed, and was wearing a blue shirt. “I could hear him shouting ‘Ma, Ma’ as he lay on the path.” Hidme says the commandos hurriedly dumped the body on a wooden cot they took from one of the houses and left the village soon after.

On August 5, the Chhattisgarh police conducted post-mortem, initiated a magisterial inquiry and handed over the body to Joga’s parents. “When I got back his body, Joga was naked except for his underclothes,” said Joga’s father, Kunjami Lakhma, “He had a bullet here [pointing to the small of the back near the kidneys] and knife marks on his chest.” As per custom, the body was cremated the same day.

On August 7, the villagers say, the Koya commandos visited Kutrem again, this time with a carton of biscuits and sachets of Haldiram’s mixture. “The force called a public meeting outside the primary school,” said Kunjami Aiyte, Joga’s aunt, “They said, ‘If the press comes, tell them that Joga was killed in the forest, not in the village’.” Aiyte says the police then gave Rs. 1,100 to the gathered villagers for “food and alcohol.” The biscuits and mixture were distributed among the children.

“The Koyas gave me Rs. 2,000 and told me to keep quiet about Joga’s death,” said Kunjami Lakhma when asked whether he had been given any compensation.

Senior police officers expressed surprise when The Hindu questioned them about the money paid to Kunjami Lakhma. Sources refused to come on record, citing the sensitive nature of the allegations and the ongoing magisterial inquiry.

“No one has authorised this [payment],” said a senior policeman speaking on background.

“It is hard to keep control of the Koyas once they are sent out on operation,” continued the source, “The wireless set is our only link to the patrolling companies.” On the day of the encounter, this link was severed by heavy rain and inclement weather. Police officers said the Koyas were not supposed to go to Kutrem at all.

“We were just supposed to go up till Hiroli,” admitted a policeman involved in the operation, “But at Hiroli we received information that a Maoist company was moving between Gumiapal and Kutrem village.” The patrolling party tried to radio headquarters for permission to pursue the Maoists; when the wireless set stopped working, the patrolling party chose to press on moving to Kutrem without waiting for permission.

INTERNATIONAL CALL: Support people’s war in India!

In India an impetuous people’s war against the Indian bourgeoisie and the imperialism is developing and spreading more and more in nearly one third of the districts of the country. It is not simply a guerilla waged by few thousands of fighters, coming from the castes and tribal areas of the country. It is a real people’s war, led by the Party of the proletariat of India, the Communist Party of India (Maoist), in which are involved – or is supported by – millions of poor peasants, women, “untouchables, ” fighting to free themselves and it has already took big areas throughout a dozen of states of the Indian Federation.

The people’s war began where the root of the riot, the poverty, the tribal and capitalistic exploitation, the caste oppression, the plundering of the natural resources were deeper and therefore the contradictions brought by the Indian capitalism ruled by the imperialism were sharper. Today this people’s war is winning masses of young people, students, democratic and revolutionary intellectuals also in the cities and gains attention and support over the world.

Against the people’s war, the Indian State, supported by the imperialists, launched a giant repressive offensive called “Green Hunt,” a real manhunt that hits the poor masses in India as animals to exterminate. The Indian State launched an internal military offensive against the people, waged by hi-tech-armed troops, police units and paramilitary militias, in order to spread terror and genocide in the villages, with raids, crop destroying, massive rapes and killings, selective murders, mass detentions and disappearing – like the recent genocide offensive occurred in Sri Lanka against the Tamil people and liberation movement.

All this with the illusion to drown in blood the struggle of the people for their liberation, with the silent/consent of the imperialist governments of US, Europe, Russia, and their mass-media. The crimes of the Indian State found the internal opposition of a wide front of intellectuals – including the prominent representative of the world anti-globalization movement, the writer Arundhati Roy. And in all countries of the world political activists denounced those crimes and mobilized to stop “Green Hunt.”

A world campaign of information and solidarity has been launched by ICAWPI (International Campaign Against War on the People in India). But we need more than the condemnation of the crimes of the counter-revolution in India. The masses led by the Communist Party of India (Maoist) are writing a historical chapter of the class clash in the world between, on one side, the imperialism and the reactionary bourgeoisies and, on the other side, the proletariat and the people of the world. The development of the people’s war in India is a new proof that the revolution is the main tendency in the world today.

It shows again that Maoism, the Marxism-Leninism of our era, is the command and guide of the world revolution against the imperialism in crisis.

The vanguard proletarians must understand that the advance of the people’s war in India seriously questions the strength balance, not only in the South-Asian region but also on a world scale. That is why we, Maoist and revolutionary parties and organizations, launch a big campaign of support and call to form an International Committee of Support to organize conferences, meetings, demonstrations in various countries, particularly in the heart of the imperialist beast.

With people’s war in India towards the victory!

Maoist Communist Party – France
Maoist Communist Party – Italy
Maoist Communist Party – Turkey/North Kurdistan
Revolutionary Communist Party – Canada
Communist Party of India (ML) Naxalbari

Chhattisgarh has reached West Bengal. The forces, the rapes, the resistance, and the State response: it’s an eerie replay

BY TUSHA MITTAL, tehelka

Wary A village woman peeps at patrolling security forces in conflict-ridden Lalgarh, West Bengal Photo: AFP

Pover Wars

IF MAYA had been born in a city, you would have heard her name by now. You would have heard a quivering voice describing how she was flung onto a bed by a jawan sent to protect her. You would have seen a delicate old woman holding up trembling fingers to her forehead — a description of how she was raped at gunpoint.

But Maya has lived in the forests of West Bengal for 50 years, in a village called Sonamukhi. That has turned her into a different kind of citizen, invisible, easily ignored. Perhaps that is why she will never stir a nation’s collective consciousness — the same nation that was outraged over accusations of an IG raping a schoolgirl, Ruchika, in urban Chandigarh. Perhaps that is why it has been left to another group to take up her cause — PCAPA (People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities), that began as a movement against state repression, but which the West Bengal government claims is now a front for the CPI (Maoist). And that is why — whether PCAPA is what the State thinks it to be — the group has secured Maya’s firm support.

One year since Operation Lalgarh began, it seems the zone of conflict has shifted, moving from Lalgarh towards Jhargram subdivision. Jhargram first came to the fore when the Maoists attacked a police station in Sankrail. Some months ago, Jhargram was declared a new police district, given a new SP, and additional troops were sent in. Jhargram could now be on its way to becoming the new Lalgarh.

TESTIMONIAL MAYA*, 50 On June 30, I returned from grazing the cows. A jawan dragged me into my house and pushed me onto the bed. He put a gun to my head and said he would shoot if I screamed for help. He raped me. My husband was in a room above, but I was too scared to yell for him

The village of Sonamukhi too is part of this new battle ground. Until two months ago, the PCAPA had no presence in Sonamukhi. Nor had the joint-forces ever raided the village. Now, the PCAPA has already helped villagers build their own road here. The reason why Sonamukhi is significant is because it shows that then group continues to expand despite the State’s crackdown. The State’s strategy of rendering the committee headless has yielded little result. Its first president Lalmohan Tudu was killed in what TEHELKA reported was a fake encounter, and its secretary Chhattradhar Mahato has been in Midnapore Jail, booked under the draconian UAPA act since November 2009. Yet, the committee claims to have approximately 20,000 active members and have 80 percent of conflict zone Bengal as it base, stretching over the three worst affected districts — West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura. (Incidentally also Bengal’s poorest areas.)

The PCAPA runs a parallel government in the conflict zones with an astonishing ease. It is also fertile territory for the Maoists

This is further significant because PCAPA has been held responsible for the Gyaneshwari train derailment that killed atleast 120 people in West Bengal last month. The CBI has already arrested eight men including a mastermind named Bapi Mahato, a PCAPA member. It has named PCAPA spokesperson Asit Mahato and Central Committee member Umakanto Mahato as the other two most-wanted in this case. While investigators say that Bapi has confessed to his involvement in the incident, the PCAPA claims innocence. The Maoists have also denied involvement in this.

Last week, TEHELKA journeyed inside the PCAPA, visiting its strongholds and speaking to cadres. TEHELKA met PCAPA spokesperson Asit Mahato, 32, near his hideout in the forests of Jangalmahal. Before Mahato went underground, he was a supporter of the Jharkhand Party, which currently holds the Lalgarh assembly seat. Asit says his father was tortured by CPM goons in 1998 when he raised his voice against corruption by local CPM leader Anuj Pandey. That is what shaped Asit’s politics.

Rebels all CBI most wanted Asit Mahato (Top) and Manoj Mahato (Bottom)

GREETING US in a pair of sunglasses, brown pants and a striped collar shirt, Asit laughed at his status as CBI’s most-wanted. “The PCAPA is not involved in the Gyaneshwari incident. We had no knowledge of this,” he said. “This has been done by the CPM to defame us. Everyone who has been arrested is a former CPM worker. Bapi was a CPM mole. The CBI has no evidence against me. They have declared Rs 1 lakh reward for me, so we have declared our own reward – 1 lakh each for 9 absconding CPM netas – Sushanto Ghosh, Lakhan Ghosh, Anuj Pandey, Prashanto Das, etc. We will also reward villagers who can bring us the real planners and perpetrators of the Gyaneshwari derailment.”

In many ways, PCAPA is at a crossroads, desperate to prove it has no links with the CPI (Maoist). The committee was formed in 2008 after the police tortured a tribal woman called Chidamani, almost blinding her, during anti-Naxal raids in Salboni. “Our primary demand was an apology from the SP. If he had done that, the andolan might have ended there. But now the public at large hates the police and the CPM. People want to live with dignity, for that we are ready to fight,” said Ajit Mahato, a PCAPA member who, like most, had to flee underground when the joint-operation began in June 2009.

As the joint operation flared up in Lalgarh and the Maoists offered to support PCAPA, there were several internal debates. Chhatradhar Mahato and Lalmohan Tudu walked the middle ground, meeting the Chief Election Commissioner before the general election, negotiating the release of an Assistant Sub-Inspector the Maoists had abducted.

After Chhattradhar’s arrest by policemen posing as journalists, Asit declared the group to be an armed militia. But now, he denies any use of arms by PCAPA. “We only declared that if needed we will use arms in self-defence, but have not done so yet,” he said. That may be a false claim since there are men with arms wandering around PCAPA strongholds.

Sources say there are differing schools of thought within the PCAPA. Some are in touch with Chhattradhar Mahato, letters have been exchanged, and the idea of a political party has been discussed. “We believe in democracy. We are not ruling out the idea of a political party,” Asit Mahato said.

While the hard line faction of PCAPA is comfortable with use of arms, the soft liners would rather that Chhattradhar Mahato contest an election, even if from within jail. That such a thought exists in the party could be seen in two ways. At worst, it could be a strategic move that has the backing of CPI (Maoist) while attempting to distance the PCAPA from them on the surface. At best, it is an indication that the CPI (Maoist) may have influence, but does not remote control the ‘front’. It is possible that the majority of the CPI (Maoist) recruitment in West Bengal is done from within the PCAPA. Yet, the PCAPA is not a banned outfit. The irony is that by treating it as such, the State is only pushing it further underground. “We are ready for talks. The State is not allowing us to come overground,” Asit said.

Even if Asit is caught, there will be new faces ready to take his place. Already younger, more confident leaders are emerging. During TEHELKA’S interview with Asit Mahato, the spokesperson said very little. All along, 26-year-old Manoj Mahato, a Central Committee member, sat by his side, whispering into his ear. He was only distracted when he received a phone call from Midnapore town. “What is my shirt size? Double XL? Or XL?” he asked other cadres before turning to us. “My lahver,” he grinned. “We will get married soon.”

Defiance Residents of Sonamukhi village gather to protest the alleged rapes by security forces

TESTIMONIAL LOKHI*, 35 Two men pressed me down. They wanted to rape me but I held my knees together. I didn’t want to part them. I’m a married woman. I have selfrespect and dignity, which they stripped me of. They also stole Rs 1,500. I will identify those bastards. I want them hanged

IN THE distance, PCAPA’s new flag swayed in the wind. White represents peace, green for the forests, and a bow and arrow symbol represents the Adivasis. PCAPA is the first Maoist-backed outfit to have a flag. Walk around this PCAPA stronghold and it is easy to forget one is in a conflict zone. There is a PCAPA-run kitchen distributing hot rosogallas and jamun, a vast open field with cycles, motorbikes and cows, and a make-shift thatched roof dining area where all PCAPA workers eat together. Nearby, workers are busy building PCAPA’s first state of the art health center. It will have an operating room, an outpatient room, an office, and a room for the MBBS doctors and surgeons PCAPA plans to recruit. Already the PCAPA says it is providing basic health care in 26 health camps across Jangalmahal.

In Salboni block, it has built 50 small dams or water reservoirs from where canals can extend to irrigate fields. It has also built about 20 km road at the cost of Rs 47,000. In the village of Belasol, another PCAPA stronghold, Pradeep Mahato can now cultivate his five bigha plot three times a year. Earlier, he could only grow rice and harvest once. For 40 years, he depended on rain. “The land is so fertile, but there was no irrigation facility,” he says. PCAPA installed a water pump in the village at the cost of Rs 16,000, covered by collection Rs 100 from each the joint-forces. In a matter of minutes, villagers say about 500 armed men had surrounded the village.

The State pushed the PCAPA underground. Now, it can use justice to pull them out. It still has more tools than it chooses to use

Police sources said they raided the village because they had specific “human and technical intelligence” that CBI most-wanted Umakanto Mahato was hiding there. During the search operation, gun shots were heard from Kajol Mahato’s house. Police claim they were fired at by Maoists and PCAPA members hiding atop her house. They say the rebels escaped, but left two jawans severely injured. Locals contest this version and say the police entered the same house from two directions. Both search parties ended up firing at each other, injuring the jawans in the process.

While search operations proceeded through the day, villagers say the forces told the women to collect in the courtyard. “They separated the older women, asking us to wait at a different spot,” says Shayoni Mahato, 55. “Utho, Utho, bheetar chalo,” Shayoni says she saw the forces pointing to a few younger women. “When they began calling the married women into a room, I suddenly realised what their intention was,” she says.

TESTIMONIAL UMA*, 30 The forces halted outside my door. They asked me if anyone was at home. I said no. Three of them pushed me in. They laid down the charpai and flung me on it. After they began to tear my clothes, I lost consciousness. One of them pressed himself upon me and raped me

As the forces dragged the women in, Shayoni ran to her daughter-in-law Soma, encircled her and refused to leave. “They beat me with a stick and threw me to the ground,” Shayoni says. “It was only after I told them that Soma is 5 months pregnant that they let her go.” Maya was also dragged into the room, her cupboards opened, and belongings searched. She says a jawan pulled a cheek and stole Rs 10,000 from her drawer. Her husband, a contractor, sells Sal leaves in Orissa. He had just returned the previous night with the money. What saved her from being raped was perhaps a photograph of a police contingent that fell out from a notebook. The jawan let her go after realising that her brother-inlaw was a constable.

On June 6, the villagers of Sonamukhi – led by local PCAPA members — marched to the Jhargram SDO’s office, C. Murugan. They detailed the incident and asked him to order an inquiry. Murugan constituted a special medical board. The next day six women underwent a swab test at the Jhagram hospital. Hospital sources said the swab samples have been sent to the SDO office. Since the swabs were taken more than 24 hours after the incident, the medical board has recommended that they be sent to the FSL lab in Kolkata. However, no police case has yet been registered.

BUT A troubling revelation complicates this story of rape. In all, eight women in Sonamukhi allege rape. TEHELKA met five women, of which two said they had been beaten but not raped. Significantly, in hushed whispers one of them spoke of how villagers were insisting she had been raped. “I was taken to the fields, encircled by a group of men and beaten so hard, I can’t bend down to collect water. Maybe they had intentions to rape me, but they were called away. I’ve told the local PCAPA leaders that I have not been raped,” said Kajol Mahato. Yet, the PCAPA alleges otherwise. The local leaders took these women, Kajol included, to the SDO’s office. “We have no knowledge of such an exaggeration. This is the first we are hearing of this. We will look into it,” a PCAPA Central Committee member said when confronted.

While this could be read as mere propaganda from the PCAPA, it would be wise not to dismiss it as such. The villagers march into an SDO’s office is a window of opportunity for the State. If the government is able to order an independent inquiry into these rape allegations, it would strengthen those in the PCAPA who believe in democracy. If it doesn’t, it will give more ammunition to the hardliners. The State first pushed the PCAPA underground; it can now use justice and democracy to pull them out. A year into Operation Lalgarh, the State still has more tools than it chooses to use.

PHOTOS: PINTU PRADHAN

PEOPLE’S MARCH 2010 – 03

PM2010-03

Naxals kill 7 in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand

Seven people were killed in attacks by Naxals in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand even as the 48-hour bandh called by them entered its second day on Thursday.

Security personnel of Railway Protection Force inspect a railway track in Patna after Maoists called a 48-hour bandh on Wednesday.

Two of the eight attacks were reported in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada region. The Naxals attacked Congress leader Avdesh Singh’s house in the area around 1 am, leaving four people dead.

Among the dead were two security personnel posted at Singh’s house. The Congress leader’s son was admitted in hospital with bullet injuries.

The Naxals also blew up the Kaukonda police station in Dantewada on Thursday morning. At least two police officers were killed.

In Jharkhand, the Naxals made their presence felt in Latehar by triggering blasts at a railway station.

The blasts blew up the station bhawan and relay room at Hehegarha station. Two cabinmen were kidnapped but released later.

Police engaged the Naxals in a gunbattle in Hehegarha. At least one policeman was killed in the crossfire.

The Naxals also blew up a portion of the railway track near the Nikitpur railway halt in Dhanbad. Both the up and down lines were blown up, affecting the movement of trains such as the Howrah and Sealdah Rajdhanis