By Trevor Selvam
Recent statements from Indian leaders and police officers gives away the new strategy on the war on Naxalism. To make the movement "headless" by carrying out selective assassination of its leaders with the help of Israeli operatives
Plucky savvyness combined with unnecessary bravado has recently marked the attempts at media interface by some Maoist leaders. There are benefits to reap and a price to pay, as a result. On the one hand, it has been a long time coming for the Maoists to come out of their jungle bases and give press conferences, or invite selected correspondents to visit their bases under armed escort. They correctly understood that their political program (and not their military campaign only) needed to be promoted and publicized. They realized that innovative tactics needed to be implemented to popularize their struggles and their demands and acquire some mainstream presence. It took them a long time to also realize that when you wish to take on the state of India, that you must at least marginally capture the imagination of some of those who read papers, surf the net, hang out in cafes and do occasionally get agitated about issues of justice, honesty and righteousness. Such people cannot be ignored. In fact their chatter can eventually affect the mood of the nation. For too long the media in India has been significantly successful in disorienting, deflecting and mesmerizing the minds of urban folks into imagining a country that is not up to par because it is behind the West in so many ways. This state of stupor persists, but there is now an increasing awareness in some circles at least, that India’s postures about its growth, success and international stature can overnight become a hollow dream, if the word gets around that India has treated its first citizens with violence, deprivation, displacement and eventual genocide. The hollowness behind the growth figures, much of which has limited authenticity when seen in terms of the high current account deficit, high unemployment, incredible rise of prices, is also becoming evident even among the India- shining crowd. Despite all the bravado that Kamal Nath and Montek Ahluwalia indulge in, in Davos (after all they would all be seeking International jobs, very soon) the baseline figures of India’s economic progress are quite undermined with the phenomenal rise in poverty, illiteracy, infant malnutrition, farmer suicides and poor potable water facilities and sanitation related fatalities. It is an interesting development that one of the Government’s own bodies has declared that the assault on India’s tribals “is one of the largest land grabs since Columbus”, --that brigand, pirate and drunken sailor, who landed somewhere, near the Bahamas and declared he had found India.
Well, a section of India’s population-I daresay a large section-- also needs to discover India. And, they are doing so. And it is because of that, there are some magazines on the net, and on print, that are taking the time to trek into the Naxalite bases and interview their leaders. Not everything is lost to the vacuous, hold the crotch, ape the West, get BPO-fever generation, MCed by the Shahrukh, Infosys, IPL and Kingfisher cultural nexus.
Initially, the Maoists’ planned to let some of their spokesperson come overground. This experiment failed, as the Governments of West Bengal (GWB) and India (GOI) wasted no time in slapping them with Unlawful Activities charges and put them in the slammer. No one talks about them anymore, other than the struggling Civil Liberties organizations. They are forgotten. Fortunately for the Maoists, there are a large number of academics and sympathetic journalists, ( as opposed to the band of poets, actresses and intellectuals who made a half hearted attempt to raise their voices on Lalgarh and then withdrew into their shells in no time at the first threats from the GWB) who have taken it upon themselves not to be intimidated and have spoken out in fairly clear terms both on TV and as well on the web and print media on the hypocrisy and superficiality of the mainstream media’s analysis (or extreme lack of it) in parroting the GOI’s and GWB’s mendacious piety about non-violence, abjuring arms, law and order and “foreign hand.”
In India, except for the alternate press and in most cases Tehelka, the media engages in sensationalist lies or they repeat the lies of the government and they get away with it. In India, an Inspector General of Police blatantly concocts lies about the wealth and assets of Chatradhar Mahato and also gets away with it, without anybody seeking litigation against spreading such falsehood. In India, the police go after the wives, husbands, children, brothers and sisters of those who are absconding or have launched cases against the police. In India, police chiefs openly boast about how to make a cold blooded execution look like an encounter and the Home Minister meets with those same experts to discuss democracy. In India, judges make pronouncements on corporate crime, based on whether it is good for India’s image or not! In India, an 80-year old woman’s breasts get chopped off and an 18-month old child’s fingers get lopped off by anti-Naxalite vigilantes and the press orders a martini with a twist and watches the sunset over Juhu.
Well, the Maoists have broken some ground in bringing to the surface the mess that lies below the pink obscenity that is the Indian parliament, where over one hundred and fifty criminally accused thugs occupy seats. The Maoists leaders have been audacious and dignified in giving interviews after much planning and deployment of their own security measures. It was necessary, because otherwise the Arnab Goswamis and the Barkha Dutts and their unapologetic clones were having a field day, dishing out report after report about the murderous Maoists, without analyzing what had been going on for several years, both at Abujhmarh and Lalgarh. For too long they were unable to convey their message to middle and upper class readers and net surfers about what they were fighting for. Now there is sudden mainstream discussion, on MOUs, Schedule 5 and 6, Abujmarh, Dantewada, Bastar and sites have sprung up all over the world that follow the Indian state’s war against its own people.
It is now time for the Maoists to take stock of the situation. The Indian state was caught off guard, both on the ground and in the airwaves. They sent in their khaki-pant wearing, Enfield rifle toting constables after the Maoists and they came back soon, pissing in their pants. Then they sent in their AK-47 and Insas-rifle toting para-military forces after the Maoists. They also have come back with their tails between their legs. Then they deployed Special Forces with reptilian and canine names like Cobra, Greyhound or some other fearsome moniker like Garudas. Their boats were sunk and their anti-mine vehicles were blown up and their helicopters beat a hasty retreat.
Enter the Israelis
It has been known for several years that India has acquired over 4,000 Galil 7.62 mm super sniper rifles, and night vision sights, laser range finders and other targeting equipment. This is not an infantry rifle, but the ammunition is the same as an Indian INSAS and an AK-47, purchased from Rumania. This is also all separate, of course from thermal imaging equipment, satellite transmission of such images and use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, better known as drones. All from Israel in the main. In fact India takes up more than 50% of Israel's arms exports. It has also been known that India manufactures under license the Russian gas-fired, super sniper semi automatic Dragunov SVD59. Now comes the report of a special training session involving at least 30 top ranking officers who have just completed special training under "foreign" instructors. Nothing works in Indian media lingo than "foreign hand." But of course, in this case it does not matter, because the foreign hand is only for a good cause! These trainers are not bearded Jihadists or Asiatic desperadoes in the north east with Chinese made grenades. A report from the PTI states the following.
“Special task force to tackle Maoist insurgency”
Kolkata: The Maoist-infested states, including Jharkhand and Maharashtra, have set up a special task force in their bid to jointly tackle the Naxal problem, a senior West Bengal police officer said.
West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and some other Maoist-hit states have selected 30 officers for the special task force to deal with the Maoist problem, he said.
The 30 selected officers had undergone a month-long training programme at Ghatsila in Jharkhand. Some foreign army officials, who have experience in tackling guerrilla warfare, also imparted them training, the police officer said.”
Mr. Chidambaram had one of his associates state recently in a press conference that the strategy of his initiative is to render the Naxalites "headless." In other words he stated very clearly, that the target is to eliminate the leaders of the Naxalites. As per the same report, “a highly placed official in the security establishment told IANS earlier this week, "We believe there could be around 50 such leaders scattered all over. We are targeting them to make the entire movement headless and make a serious dent," the official said. ”
In a special report cited by the BBC, the following was also stated by a security official, “So we are specifically targeting the Maoist leadership and you will see a lot of special operations based on specific intelligence."
The official said that "almost all the states are doing their bit, and that a special operation in West Bengal earlier this week - in which Maoist military wing chief Koteswara Rao narrowly escaped arrest - was a good example of that. ”
It is significant that Ms. Mamata Banerjee, the Central Minister and self-appointed Bengal-saver, (and stand-up comedian, live theatre activist who attempted suicide with a black shawl and danced on JP Narayan’s car) and who one walked in lock-step with LK Advani, was ready to beg and plead to the Naxalites to come and negotiate with her. She must be in on Mr. Chidambaram’s deadly game plan.
She also knows that by the time of the next polls in West Bengal, if she cannot make a settlement in the continuously expanding Naxalite terrain, she will have a hard time putting up candidates to fight the CPI(M) . She wants to make a deal with the Maoists, while all along claiming that they do not exist! She is a mockery of her own self and a pivotal Quasimodo for PCC.
Selective assassination
Selective assassination, use of UAVs, missile attacks on selected homes and sniper fire has been a hallmark of the Israeli Mossad and Defence forces, not only in Gaza and the West Bank, but also in different parts of the world including South America, Iran and Europe. For the past several years it is now well-known that India has entered into very close collaboration with the IDF and over 32 non-disclosure arms and security agreements have been signed with them. The Mossad has titillated gun-and ammo freaks and underhanded counter-insurgency nutjobs with their secretive killing techniques. Assassination and murder that goes undocumented, un-prosecuted and never brought to light, when the Mossad is involved. The CIA fumbles, trips and gets blown up. Not the Mossad. That is why India has chosen them to deploy dirty tricks on India’s citizens. Perhaps, Mr. Chidambaram would like to take out the Maoists leaders one by one and he has realized that it will not happen by sending in 100,000 troops and anti-mine trucks or IAF helicopters. So the next tactic is to walk away from the roads and get special forces trained to go into the jungles and “live there like guerillas” and seek the Maoists in their hideouts. Therefore high power sniper rifles, night vision sights have become necessary. The "headless" statement should be studied carefully. I am wondering if it is actually code word for carrying out assassinations.
The report went on to further state the following: "The force would be named soon and it will be pressed into action as and when the training programme is completed," Director General of Police of West Bengal Bhupinder Singh told PTI.
"More officers would be recruited to strengthen the force after the completion of the training of the first batch," the DGP said.
They were given training on how to use highly sophisticated weapons and taught the technique to detect explosives, he said. They were also told how to survive in deep forest areas for longer period of time, the officer said. The main objective of the force will be to stay in forest areas near the base camps of the Maoists and to gather detailed information about their activities and their strength, Singh said.”
It would be propitious of these Maoist leaders not to fall into the traps being laid out by the security forces.
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