Naxalism: A Turning Point in Chhattisgarh
Asia News Agency
The Chhattisgarh’s Vishnu Deo Sai government has mounted a concerted offensive against Maoist militants. Last year, 219 left-wing extremists (LWE) were killed, the highest in a year since the formation of the state.
About Basavaraju
The operations intensified this year. Wednesday, in perhaps the most significant anti-Maoist offensive in recent years, CPI (Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshava Rao, alias Basavaraju, along with 26 other Maoist cadres, was killed.
Basavaraju played a key role in some of the most brutal Maoist operations in the past 15 years, including the 2010 massacre that claimed the lives of 76 CRPF jawans and the 2013 Jhiram Ghati attack, which wiped out almost the entire Congress leadership in the state.
Basavaraju had been elusive since he joined the movement after completing his B.Tech. from the Regional Engineering College (now NIT), Warangal, in 1980. He figured in the National Investigation Agency’s most wanted list with a reward of around ₹1.5 crore.
He became the general secretary of the party after Muppala Lakshmana Rao, alias Ganapathi, paved the way for him on November 10, 2018. Before that, he was the chief of the party’s Central Military Commission, the main fighting force of the Maoists.
Known for his daredevil attitude, security analysts say he was an expert in guerrilla warfare and was trained by the LTTE leaders in jungle warfare, military tactics, and use of improvised explosive devices.
He had launched a project to teach Maoists the making of shoulder-fired rocket launchers, though they were rudimentary and technically failed.
Basavraju was born on July 10, 1955, in Jiyannapet in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh.
The CPI (Maoist) general secretary’s death could mark a turning point. Chhattisgarh may be on track to meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s target of eliminating Maoism by March next year.
Few remaining Maoist bastions
Chhattisgarh, especially its Bastar, Narayanpur, Dantewada and Bijapur districts, is among the few remaining Maoist bastions in the country. The movement has lost steam in its erstwhile strongholds in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Chhattisgarh’s geography — a forested area bordering Maharashtra, Odisha and Telangana, with poor transport and communication facilities — and the economic deprivation of a large section of the state’s people, allowed insurgents to gain a foothold. The state government’s complacency in the early years of this century also aided the spread of left-wing extremism. Instead of strengthening the security forces and initiating welfare measures, precious time was wasted on strategies such as arming civilian militias.
Political will
Now, things are different. The political will to counter the insurgents has firmed up — increasing inroads made by the security forces owe to greater coordination between the security forces of the Centre and the state. A network of base camps has ended the security vacuum in the forested areas, and at the same time, roads and mobile towers have put large parts of Maoist-affected areas on the developmental map. The state government has also started a policy of rehabilitating Maoists who surrender. Last year, more than 800 Maoists gave up arms in Chhattisgarh.
