At one point there were an estimated 800 children in the ranks of the Maoists. Variously known as Bal Dasta, Bal Sangh and Bal Sangham, they are used for intelligence gathering, carrying food and arms, and serving extortion notes.
The proscribed Communist Party of India (Maoist), Maoists in short, also known in India as Naxalites, is the most lethal and largest of all such groups. Its ultimate aim is to capture/seize political/state power through protracted people’s war (PPW), on the lines propounded by Mao Tse Tung.
The Urban Movement has a defined role in the political strategy and military strategy of the CPI (Maoist). In the Maoist schemes, Urban Movement is to broadly to mobilise and organise the basic masses and build the party on that basis ; build the United Front ; and military tasks .
Citing IDSA Report, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, RSN Singh said in the Rajya Sabha recently that “…the CPI(Maoist) party has been collecting not less than Rs 140 crores annually from a variety of sources. Further, the possibility of certain front organizations of the CPI (Maoist) … clandestinely getting foreign funds cannot be ruled out.”
In a document entitled ‘Our Financial Policy’, the Maoists mention that they have three types of economic needs, viz. the needs of war, political propaganda and the people. To cater to these needs there are three broad categories of resources, viz. (a) membership fee, levy and contributions from the people; (b) confiscation of the wealth and income of the enemy; and (c) ‘revolutionary taxes’ collected in guerrilla zones and base areas.
This article seeks to make a preliminary assessment of the surrender and rehabilitation policy being adopted towards Naxalites. The examples/experiences cited in this paper refer largely to cadres and leaders of Communist Party of India (Maoist), or CPI (Maoist). It is part of a multi-pronged conflict management and resolution strategy and is required to be implemented along with firm action by police against those who follow the path of violence.
The Urban Movement has a defined role in the political strategy and military strategy of the CPI (Maoist). The Maoists envisage that they would mobilise and organise the industrial workers.
Women join as fighters and participate in raids and attacks on police. The military training they receive is as rigorous and strenuous as their male counterparts.
Rockets in the Maoist arsenal may seem, presently, to have nuisance value. However, the possibility of the Maoists acquiring greater capability to fire the rockets with accuracy cannot be ruled out. Many strategic and static locations would come under threat with disastrous consequences.
Although there has been little change in the influence of Naxalites across the country over the past couple of years, patience and concerted effort shall no doubt make the Maoists irrelevant.
Children in Indian Maoist Ranks
At one point there were an estimated 800 children in the ranks of the Maoists. Variously known as Bal Dasta, Bal Sangh and Bal Sangham, they are used for intelligence gathering, carrying food and arms, and serving extortion notes.