World

2010 bloodiest year for India's Maoist rebellion: minister

Violence by Maoist rebels in India peaked in 2010, leaving a record 1,169 people dead, government figures show.

Afp January 05, 2011

NEW DELHI: Violence by Maoist rebels in India peaked in 2010, leaving a record 1,169 people dead, government figures show.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters Tuesday that 713 civilians died in Maoist-linked violence in 2010, compared to the previous year's tally of 591.

A total of 285 policemen and 171 suspected leftwing guerrillas were also killed last year, which started on a bloody note with the massacre of 76 police by rebels in the insurgency-riven state of Chhattisgarh in April.

"It will be apparent that the Naxalites (Maoists) have not only spurned the offer of (peace) talks but have also escalated the conflict," the Indian minister said.

Mineral-rich Chhattisgarh remained in the eye of Maoist violence during 2010 with 306 murders, including 142 civilians and 164 security men, according to latest figures published by the state government.

In comparison, 458 people died in the insurgency against Indian rule in Kashmir last year, marking the lowest ebb in violence in the disputed Himalayan region in a decade, according to regional police chief Kuldip Khoda.

Maoist experts have begun asking questions over India's strategy to tackle the leftwing guerrillas, who are entrenched in deep jungles across a swathe of northern and eastern India.

"Security personnel are being killed because of the gross negligence in their combat training," Basant Ponwar, director of the Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College in Chhattisgarh, told AFP on Wednesday.

The Maoist movement, which began in 1967, feeds off land disputes, police brutality and corruption and is strongest in the poorest and most deprived areas of India, many of which are rich in natural resources.

Premier Manmohan Singh, who has labelled the insurgency the number one threat to India's internal security, has repeatedly urged state administrations to speed up pro-poor welfare measures specially in Maoist-hit regions.

COMMENTS (13)

sharjeel+khan | 13 years ago | Reply @kamal my dear, i think you should also know about figure of killings in just one city of mumbai. just do a simple google search. besides i also dont think that Gandhi was killed by a muslim,,,,,,,again another hindutva magic

sumera | 13 years ago | Reply india is facing the naxal prob bcoz of the discrimination such as brahman ,vesh ,shouders...if indians can get over this y will they fight they r also hindus all they want is give them their proper rights .i know all hindus dont believe in this but the brahmans still dont want this thing to go coz they r getting lots of bbenefits...same like landlords would never want ppl 2 get educated

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saad | 13 years ago | Reply comeon all indian come out of the denial mode..the only way out of this situation 4 india is to stop terrorists organisation cming 2 parliament ..terror org such as BJP RSS and many others..the indian gov will have to stop let these terror org in the parliament what else du the indians need ,indian media has proved the involvement of such terrorists org in the bombings...all indians start excepting the truth denial can only fool u no 1 else

Anoop | 13 years ago | Reply @G.Khan, "This is also a Hindu Terror though under different name but still HINDU TERROR." --> Unfortunately or fortunately, the World categorizes Terror or Armed Rebellion in a different way than you, G.Khan. Nobody calls Irish Replublical Army(IRA) Christian Terrorists or BLA, Islamic Terrorists. Why? Because the root cause is not ideological, its either economic or political. Same with Naxals. If you want to call them Hindutva Terrorists to satisfy your swollen and wounded ego, go right ahead. Nobody can stop you. Technically some Tribals, are not even considered as Hindus. There are Tribals who are Maoists who are Christians in Orissa, for instance. So, your Hindu Terror line falls flat on your face. "But NAXAL are not going to disappear anyway.. " --> Of course they are not. Nobody is claiming they will disappear. Naxal/Armed leftist movement started in 1960s. And their calling is not ideological but Regional in nature, especially with respect to Economic Grievances. But, Islamic Terror is not economic in nature. One last thing. How many Hindutva Terror incidents happened in 2010? ZERO How many Islamist Terror Incidents took place in 2010? In the last month itself more than 10

Dinesh | 13 years ago | Reply @G Khan, You really are some thing, aren't you ?? Naxals- A hindu terror group?? Either your information about India is pathetically insufficient or you are a distant cousin of "Zaid hamid", good in cooking up stories. Stick your head out of the mud and then you will realise that there are people in the world who can fight for hings other than religion. There are Hinuds, muslims, christians and buddhits as well in the Naxal cadres. And they are not fighting for a "Hindu state". These Naxals are followers of Communist(Maoist) ideology, who does not believe in any god or religion. They are fighting for the right of the poor and marginalzed tribals who have been left out of the benefits of India's economic growth. They are fighting because their tribal land are rich in mineral resources and the government are alloting these to big Corporates for mining and other industrial activities with out adequeate compensataion to the tribals. In short these Naxals are a result of the growing divide between the rich and poor. If the Goverment of India is able to provide efficient governace in these areas and ensure that the tribals are given their share in the economic progress of India, this Naxalite problem will get solved on its own. Now i hope u get the big picture.

kamal | 13 years ago | Reply @sharjeel+khan Do you have any figure of killing in only one city of Pakistan "Karanchi"??And I do'nt think Salman Taseer was killed by "hindutava magic"..its your magic...rt??I hope u can name this magic as well...

ifesvr | 13 years ago | Reply @G.Khan The Naxals call themselves CPI(Maoists) Hence as communists they are supposed to be atheists. Still a majority of them if not all would be Hindu background, but the violence they create(though unacceptable) is not in the name of religion, like the Taliban does. The first comment from Sharjeel Khan took potshots at religion even though the article itself does not say anything about it and invited comments from Indians. Can't we keep it on the topic.

G.Khan | 13 years ago | Reply @Anoop Let's talk about your country and Naxals.. Do not dodge the question. Count the number of deads.. ? This is also a Hindu Terror though under different name but still HINDU TERROR. I don't care if Hindutva did not do it but someone else with different name (NAXALS) did it. But here are the two facts . Deny THEM 1) This Terror is taking place in INDIA 2) This is a homegrown TERROR. That means Terrorists are the HINDU TERRORISTS under XYZ name. So Hope you will come out of denial mode. I mean You can close your eyes But NAXAL are not going to disappear anyway.. Got the picture?

Anoop | 13 years ago | Reply @sharjeel+khan, How many bomb blasts were because of Hindutva groups in India last year? None. How many by Islamists all over the world? Hundreds in Pakistan alone. Get the picture?

sharjeel+khan | 13 years ago | Reply @kamal these figure is only for deaths by maoist actions and its reaction by indian police. these are not all the deaths in india related to crime. first get them then do your calculation and then compare the results,,,,,,,,,,,,,and see the hindutva magic

kamal | 13 years ago | Reply Just to put it in prospective...India's population(7 times of pakistan) and bigger area.It is equivalent to (1169/7=)167 people killed in a year..this is a daily figure in Pakistan.Is'nt it??

Ashwin | 13 years ago | Reply @SHARJEEL "Home Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters", it is from the HM of India not pakistan or netural country, as for media, they are privately owned corporations for whom bottom line is important, like pakistani media which likes to paint india in negative and cling on to Bollywood and other symbols success of india, since it sells in Pakistan

sharjeel+khan | 13 years ago | Reply how can this happen in the great maha bharat with the hindu rule of like rama rajya,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, i bet this would not get any attention in indian media but some negative story of pakistan would be the headline,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

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