Naxal strategy detailed in meet two years ago

The strategy guiding the Naxalite attack that wiped out 15 policemen in Gadchiroli district last Sunday, was formulated exactly two years ago at the Unity Congress of the CPI (Maoist) in February 2007, reports Soumyajit Pattnaik.

The strategy guiding the Naxalite attack that wiped out 15 policemen in Gadchiroli district last Sunday, was formulated exactly two years ago at the Unity Congress of the CPI (Maoist) in February 2007.

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Soon after the Congress, its general secretary — the most wanted Naxalite in the country — Mupalla Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathy, released a lengthy statement, in the form of an interview, which was published in its underground party organ People’s War. The interview details some of the proceedings of the Congress and explains the motives guiding Naxal attacks, including — as in the Gadchiroli case — their gratuitous brutality.

“The police and central forces will be taught how dangerous it is to enter our areas,” Ganapathy said.

A key decision, in his words, was to concentrate on “the most backward regions of eastern and central India”, within which Gadchiroli falls. The idea was also to “transform a vast area in this region into our war zone so that there is enough room for maneuverability for the guerrilla forces”. This is just what the Naxalites have achieved.

The Congress was also the culmination of a process going back to late 2004, when the two most important underground groups, People’s War Group and Maoist Communist Centre, decided to come together to form the CPI (Maoist). This led to a dramatic increase in their effectiveness, their attacks growing more lethal and frequent.