India: battle against Maoist rebels moving forward

Some 272 civilians killed in Chhattisgarh

INDIA: India is moving forward in its battle against Maoist rebels despite a sharp jump in casualties in the worst-hit state, a government official said.

The statement by Home Secretary V.K. Duggal came after a one-day meeting with government officials and police chiefs from 13 revolt-hit states on how to stop Maoist violence from spilling into India's remaining 16 states.

Some 272 civilians were killed in the central state of Chhattisgarh, seen as India's worst hotbed of Maoist militancy, in the first seven months of 2006 compared to 130 in all of 2005.

Duggal attributed the rise in violence in Chhattisgarh to rebel anger at a state-sponsored anti-Maoist movement launched about a year ago called Salwa Judum (Marching for Peace). Consequently, the rebels there were staging an increasing number of attacks, he said.

But "generally from all (state) chief secretaries there was a definite hopefulness that things are moving in the right direction."

The Press Trust of India said 486 people had died so far this year in Maoist-related violence across the country but gave no comparative figures.The rebels control 10 of Chhattisgarh's 16 districts.

The guerrillas, who say they are fighting for the rights of neglected tribes and landless farmers, also hold sway in states such as Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last month ordered state governments to step up operations to tackle the Maoists, which experts say have links to leftwing guerrillas in neighbouring Nepal.

"We must recognise past responses are inadequate in dealing with these problems which are of a different intensity, magnitude, scale and scope," Singh said, branding the revolt "probably the single biggest challenge" facing India.

States have moved to bolster security at police stations in vulnerable areas by supplying extra manpower and modern weaponry and communications, Duggal said.

Kanwar Pal Singh Gill, dubbed "supercop" for stamping out a Sikh separatist revolt in India's Punjab state, was named by New Delhi in April to advise the Chhattisgarh government on how to tackle the Maoists. But an analyst said a military solution was not the answer.

"Development must go hand-in-hand with security operations or else Maoism will gain currency among India's landless populations who live in virtual bondage," said Saaji Cherian of the Institute of Conflict Management.

India was encouraging states to reduce poverty among tribes and landless farmers but a strong military response was also needed, the home secretary told reporters.

"If a person chooses to pick up a gun there's only one answer - either to apprehend him or to neutralize him," Duggal said.

New Delhi, Thursday, AFP