New strategy for Maoists?

29 November 2011

biswabrata goswami
MIDNAPORE, 29 NOV: Faced with aggressive government campaign against the wanton killings that have become the hallmark of their strategy, and against their sympathisers, the Maoists seem to be engaged in a re-think on using violence in the “class struggle”.
Indications of a possible change in their stance come at a time when both the Centre and state government have been aggressively attacking intelligentsia, supporters and human rights activists for espousing the Maoist cause, branding them as mere terrorists who had no ideological backing behind them.
In a re-think of the strategy of ‘individual killing’, a section of Maoists is trying to stress on mass movement by reviving its defunct organisations and forming units in new sectors based on priority.
Accordingly, a section of Maoists hiding in the Belpahari area of Jhargram in West Midnapore has formed a cooperative society called as Janasadharaner Krishi Samabay at Patharchapri village. In a leaflet (see sns photo) which was recently circulated among farmers of various villages in Belpahari, Kishan, a central committee leader of the CPI (Maoist), said: “This cooperative is now in a rudimentary stage. The main motto of this cooperative is to help the farmer; not to earn profit. Apart from this, it will help to protect the farmers from touts and mahajans”. The Maoist leader also claimed that farmers living in 14 villages in and around Patharchapri have joined the new cooperative. A Maoist leader on condition of anonymity said: “More cooperatives will be formed in Junglemahal in future as our leadership is now stressing on mass movement before going in for armed struggle against state oppression.”
“Individual killings, which are not the strategy of Maoists, have created a rift between the people and Maoists. A section of Maoists that is already detached from the party is still collecting money from people and they often kill people. But as the Maoists had started mass movement first in Junglemahal, the responsibility of each and every killing goes to the party,” said the Maoist leader. Intelligence agencies have already sent reports of the new developments to the Central government. According to reports, several youths in Belpahari have taken up arms training, albeit without weapons.  “The rebels stress on forming secret party units in the farming community first in the rural areas. Their main focus is that of mass political mobilisation by inculcating leadership qualities in the rural working class,” said a senior official.

Kishenji had host of acts lined up, reveal documents

28 November 2011

biswabrata goswami
MIDNAPORE, 28 NOV: Maoist second-in-command Koteswar Rao alias Kishenji, who was gunned down in an encounter by the security forces at Burisole forest on 24 November, had been camping inside the Parihati forest range in Jamboni for the past 15 days to observe the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) week in December.
This has come to light from the documents recovered by the security forces from the encounter spot at Burisole forest. “A lot of letters, a pen-drive and computer hard discs were seized from the spot which suggest that the top Maoist leader had come from Orissa at least 15 days ago and he was to organise a state committee meeting before observing the PLGA week here,” said Mr Alok Rajoria, additional superintendent of police, Jhargram, who had also taken part in the 24 November operation.
“As the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has started a probe into the “killing” of Kishenji, we have already handed over all documents seized from the site to them and they are now examining the documents,” he said. A senior CID official said: “The PLGA’s week-long celebration starts from 2 December each year. As the party had become quite weak due to the security forces’ massive operations in Junglemahal, Kishenji, who was also the party’s central military commission member, perhaps felt that it would be an ideal period to chalk out offensive strategies against the security forces’ operations.”
In a document seized from the site, Kishenji had written that he had come to convene sessions with the rebels in West Midnapore to strengthen the rank and file of the organisation as part of the week’s programmes, a CID official said.
Two days ago, a Maoist party insider told The Statesman from an undisclosed location that Kishenji had come to attend a state committee meeting which was scheduled for 22-23 November inside the Parihati forest range at Jamboni in which Kushboni and Burisole forests fall. “He was to dislodge the acting state secretary, Akash, from his post and to declare his decision over the inquiry regarding the killing of the party’s leader, Sasadhar Mahato. Akash was blamed of supplying information about Sasadhar to police,” said the party insider.
Besides, another of his important task was to prepare the assassination blueprints of top political leaders, including the chief minister Miss Mamata Banerjee, a state Intelligence Bureau (IB) official disclosed. With these goals in mind, Kishenji had camped in Junglemahal for the past 15 days, he added. Examining the documents, the officials of the state Intelligence branch and  the IB of the ministry of home affairs has come to a conclusion that Kishenji had a plan to show video clippings of “heroic” deeds of their cadres, who lost their lives fighting the security forces, to the tribal people with an eye to garner their support.

Conspiracy theory points finger at Akash

25 November 2011

biswabrata goswami
BURISOLE (West Midnapore), 25 NOV: At a time when the killing of top Maoist leader Kishenji raised a controversy with his supporters and some political leaders alleging that he was eliminated in a fake encounter, some party insiders of Maoists have also raised fingers at their party’s acting state secretary Akash for ‘conspiring’ with police to track down the rebel leader.
Akash, who was given temporary charge as the party’s state secretary following the arrest of former state secretary Sudip Chongdar alias Kanchan in December 2010, had developed " a sharp difference of opinion" with Kishenji, said a party insider from an undisclosed location.
The reasons ~ Akash was supposed to be dislodged from his temporary charge at a state committee meeting which was scheduled for 22-23 November inside the Parihati forest range at Jamboni in which Kushboni and Burisole forests fall.
An investigation into the death of Sasadhar Mahato was conducted under the leadership of Suchitra Mahato, wife of Sasadhar, in which Akash was blamed for supplying information about the hideouts of Sasadhar to police. Because of his specific information, security forces had been able to track down Sasadhar and kill him in an encounter.
Kishenji came to Junglemahal recently to attend the party’s state committee meeting and he was to declare his decision on these two vital issues. After realising that his political fate could be sealed, Akash tipped off police about Kishenji’s whereabouts, a rebel said.
The Maoist cadre argued "it is impossible that any of his security guards did not die while a top Maoist leader was killed. Kishenji had four strategic security cordons with heavy assault rifles protecting him. Then how could security forces kill the top leader, without any more bloodshed." Sources close to the rebels also said Akash was very much jealous about Sasadhar since he was a natural leader and he held sway over party activists. Though Sasadhar was not the party’s state secretary, the party members always  respected him and followed his instructions which enraged Akash.
Intelligence officials of different agencies have also corroborated that Kishenji sneaked into the forest to attend his party’s state committee meeting. "We were overwhelmed when we came to know that Akash was not present at the meeting. As we had specific information of the meeting, security forces had cordoned off the Kushboni forest on Tuesday, but the rebels managed to escape from the area. On the next day, we came to know that Kishenji and his accomplices could have taken shelter in Burisole forest and we launched an operation there," a senior police officer said.

Cong leaders shaken & stirred

19 November 2011

tirthankar mitra/biswabrata goswami

KOLKATA/MIDNAPORE, 19 NOV: While the Congress rank and file has been stirred into action a day before a convention on panchayats in the city, a section of the party's senior leadership has been shaken by chief minister Miss Mamata Banerjee's warning yesterday, asking the party party to decide whether it wants to remain in an alliance with Trinamul Congress. The leaders giving pep talks to the party workers tomorrow may witness disagreements between those activists loyal to pro-Trinamul leaders and those frustrated with playing second fiddle to the dominant alliance partner. The latter, though are sure to be buoyed by Union rural development minister Mr Jairam Ramesh’s statement, made in Midnapore town today, that the Congress party has not taken voluntary retirement in the state.
What riled Miss Banerjee was a Congress rally from Hazra to Mayo road in the city yesterday protesting against attacks on Congressmen in the state. The procession in the heart of a Trinamul stronghold has been a shot in the arm for Congress activists in the city, but Miss Banerjee felt it was a conspiracy planned to have maximum impact on the by-election in Kolkata (south) parliamentary constituency scheduled for 30 November.  But local Congress leaders said that it is perfectly normal for a political party to organise processions, and it was Congress' right to make its presence felt. Mr Jairam Ramesh, who visited several villages in Junglemahal in West Midnapore to look at the implementation of the Centre’s Integrated Action Plan scheme, echoed the sentiment, telling mediapersons, in the presence of Trinamul MP and Union minister of state for rural development Mr Sisir Adhikari: “Congress is a political party and it has every right to conduct a meeting and rally. Congress has not given VRS in this state.”
Mr Ramesh is among the leaders ~ others include Mr Pranab Mukherjee and Mr Shakeel Ahmed ~ who will address Congress workers at tomorrow’s convention, that, apart from taking up panchayats-related issues, is expected to focus on the need to shore up Congress' grassroots support, and prevent their organisationally stronger ally from ousting them.
Mr Ramesh, during his trip to Junglemahal, visited Bhalukhonia, Salboni, and various areas in Lalgarh and Jhargram, where he interacted with villagers. He said several development projects are planned for Junglemahal, including the construction of 1,800 km of village roads.

Jagori’s brother applies for cop job

 biswabrata goswami

18 November 2011

MIDNAPORE, 18 NOV: A day after Maoist activist Jagori Baske, along with her husband, Rajaram Soren, surrendered before chief minister Miss Mamata Banerjee, her brother, Sovaram Baske, today applied for a job in the police forces under the special recruitment drive of tribal youths launched by the state government in Junglemahal.
He is probably the first family member of any prominent Maoist in Junglemahal who stepped forward to apply for the special police constable force. “I am eager to get benefit of the special project launched by the chief minister. I agreed to work for the sake of the people and the nation,” he said after filling up the form at Belpahari police station today. As today was the last date for filing application to the posts of various police jobs, hundreds of tribal youths thronged the various police stations in Junglemahal.
Defying the Maoist diktat against accepting government jobs, thousands of tribal youths had cycled to police stations from distant areas to collect application forms for jobs in the posts of junior constables, homeguards and the National Volunteer Force in the last two months.
Former Peoples’ Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) convenor Chhatradhar Mahato’s son had also applied for a police job a few days ago.
On her first visit to the Junglemahal tribal belt after taking over as the chief minister, Miss Banerjee had addressed two public meetings at Nayagram and Jhargram on 13 July. At the events, she also distributed scholarships and bicycles to the meritorious adivasi students and promised 10,000 jobs to the youth in the state police and home guards.
She made a clarion call to the Maoists for joining the mainstream by laying down arms and promised that her government would provide them adequate financial compensation, besides taking care of their family members. “Surrender your guns and stop individual killings,” the CM had said, adding, “If you take up arms, do it for the country.”
Following her call, five Maoists have surrendered themselves before the state government so far and “more than 10,000 tribal youths have applied for police jobs so far,” said Mr Alok Rajoria, additional superintendent of police, Jhargram. sns

Demand soars, government to boost cashew trade

18 November 2011

biswabrata goswami
TAMLUK, 18 NOV: To boost cashew trade, the state government is planning to implement the Cashew Nut Cluster Zone Project at Contai in East Midnapore. The government also aims to expand the project to other parts of the state.
Three years ago, the Left Front government had taken up an initiative to popularise the trade amongst farmers, but it failed to implement the project following objections from traders. The traders had alleged that many fake traders had been included in the shareholders’ list.
Crisis in the industrial sector in Vietnam and Brazil, major competitors of India in the cashew nut market, had inspired the state government to take fresh initiative for expanding the cashew nut producing area.
Officials of the state industry department said the move would enable the state to export more cashew nut from the next financial year. To meet the growing demand, the state food processing industry and horticulture department is planning to reactivate the cashew nut cluster zones comprising East and West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia districts.
“Due to Maoist problem in parts of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia, the overall trade in the sector has drastically fallen in the past three years. But, the state government is now planning to reactivate the trade as the demand is growing in the international market," said an official of the state horticulture department. "Although the demand in the traditional markets like the USA, Europe, Japan, and Australia is stagnating or showing slow growth, consumption in other Asian countries is growing fast," the official said.
According to horticulture officials, India exports cashew nut primarily to the USA, Europe, Japan and Australia. The demand for Indian cashew nut has gone up as both Vietnam and Brazil have failed to meet the global demand. This has also led to a rise in the prices.
Maharashtra, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are the major cashew nut producing states in the country. Though in comparison with the average cashew nut production in India, which stands at 0.65 ton per hectare, West Bengal produces one ton cashew nut per hectare.
“But with the increasing demand in the global market, there is a huge scope for the farmers to treat it as a commercial crop here. So, we have planned to spread our cashew nut producing area by 200 hectares from 1.32 lakh hectares this year through various projects under the National Horticulture Mission," said an official.
Apart from this, the horticulture department will supply high-yielding variety of cashew to the farmers. The high-yielding variety, brought from Maharashtra, will produce cashew weighing between 8 and 10 gram, which has great demand in the international market, said an official of the department.
For speedy implementation of the "Front Line Technology Demonstration in Cashew", financial assistance to the tune of Rs 30,000 per hectare will be provided for a period of three years for conventional method of cultivation. In case of organic farming, the assistance will be to the tune of Rs 40,000 per hectare.
The department will also provide Rs 30,000 per hectare for three years for inter-cropping.
According to reports, around 450 cashew nut units (small and medium) are active in the Majna area of Contai and more than 50,000 people are engaged in this sector.

Maoists plan to strengthen students’ front

15 November 2011

biswabrata goswami
MIDNAPORE, 15 NOV: Maoist rebels, who are active in parts of Junglemahal in West Midnapore for the past three years, are now planning to strengthen its students’ organisation, called Chhatra Samaj, to mobilise tribal students to fight for their rights and welfare activities.
The reactivation of Chhatra Samaj is being seen as a part of a comprehensive strategy taken by the Maoists to revive its now defunct mass organisations, which had helped spread radical activities.
Information collected from different sources indicates that the Maoist strategy is to gain a foothold among the tribal populace in the forest areas first before spreading their activities to other parts of the state. The Maoist area committees, consisting of five to seven armed rebels, have already completed the task of identifying the issues on which movement can be launched.
According to local residents, some area committees in Jhargram have decided to take up the issue of corruption at the Centre, lack of facilities for students, scarcity of teachers in tribal residential schools, unemployment problem among educated tribal youth, withdrawal of security forces from Junglemahal and release of political prisoners from different jails.
“Though the Maoists are virtually engaged in guerrilla war against the security forces in Junglemahal, they are now trying to strengthen its various mass organisations, including the students’ front, to launch mass movement against the state government with an eye to mobilise more people from different sections of the society," said a local resident.
Sudam Kisku (name changed on request), a Class VIII student in Jhargram, said: “Some elders of my locality have asked me to lead the Chhatra Samaj in our school. They have asked me to encourage students about the demands and revolutionary activities of the Maoists."
Asked about the activities of the Maoist-backed students’ front, Mr Alok Rajoria, additional superintendent of police, Jhargram, said: “I am aware of the existence of Chhatra Samaj, but it is still not operational here."
A senior police officer in Salboni, who often leads operations against the rebels, said: “The students who are involved with Chhatra Samaj mainly act as informers of the Maoists. But, it is very difficult to arrest them as they are all students.”
A Maoist leader, who declined to reveal his identity, however, said: “Every political party has several mass organisations. So, we have also built many frontal organisations for different sections of people.”
Reports of several Intelligence agencies reveal that more than 1,000 tribal students are associated with the Chhatra Samaj, but this students’ front is active mainly in Jhargram sub-division of West  Midnapore. 
Experts on Maoist insurgency, however, said: “Maoists have built students’ front in the tribal area, but they are trying to bring them into the arm struggles which are absurd in respect to the present socio-economic pattern. Students may raise their voice against some social issues, including their demands, but they will not be involved in armed struggles with the Maoists."

Mobile network to get better in Junglemahal

8 November 2011

biswabrata goswami
MIDNAPORE, 8 NOV: The telecom department has decided to broaden the scope of the strategic mobile communications in Maoist zones to set up a strong intelligence-based network in these areas. Now the remotest areas in Junglemahal of West Midnapore, affected by acute Left-wing extremism, will soon be covered under a mobile loop.
Plans are afoot to include an additional 18 remote districts across the nine Maoist-affected states, including Purulia and Bankura districts of West Bengal, which are part of the famous 8,000 sq km Maoist corridor in West Bengal, a senior official of the telecom department in Kharagpur said.
"The mobile coverage plan has virtually doubled for security reasons. Originally, the government was focusing on Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, but now it is looking at a potential 78 Maoist-hit districts across the nine states. As a result, we will require multiple operators in each of these states," the official said.
"The availability of mobile network in remote fringes of Junglemahal is very vital for setting up a strong intelligence-based network. In Junglemahal, many areas are still outside the mobile network range which virtually hampers easy accessibility into the areas. So, decision to broaden the scope of strategic mobile communication will help the security forces to set up its own intelligence unit even in remote areas," a senior police officer who deals with the Maoist insurgency in Junglemahal said.
Lack of economic development and absence of decent telecommunication links has intensified the Maoist problem in these regions. "The rebels often take shelter in areas where the telecommunication facilities have not reached. Currently, driven out by the security forces, the Maoist’s action squad leaders are hiding in remote areas of Belpahari, Banshpahari and Kantapahari of Jhargram. But it becomes very difficult to trace the rebels hiding in such these areas where telecommunication does not work," said the police officer.
A CPI-M leader in Jhargram said Maoists prefer to keep communication alive through messengers. "They don’t depend on the mobile-connectivity. But when they want to communicate with their higher ranking comrades, they go to the nearby towns and use new cell-numbers," he said.
According to the latest master plan, as many as 15 districts in Orissa, 14 in Jharkhand, 10 in Chhattisgarh, eight in Madhya Pradesh, seven in Bihar, two each in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh and one each in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, have been identified as territories affected by acute Left wing extremism.
The telecom department will ask a minimum two operators to roll out mobile networks in remote areas of the Maoist-hit states by early-2012. It has also decided not to reserve any slot for BSNL after it declined to participate in the project without 100 per cent Central compensation, a telecom department official said.

Jute growers await hike in MSP

4 November 2011

biswabrata goswami
TAMLUK, 4 NOV: In a bid to aid farmers in areas of West Bengal, including East Midnapore, where jute is cultivated, the Centre is planning on hiking the minimum support price (MSP) for raw jute.
"The Centre is planning to hike the MSP for raw jute after considering Miss Mamata Banerjee's recent request for a bonus of Rs 400 a quintal for the current jute season in her meeting with the National Development Council in Delhi," said an official at the state Agriculture Marketing department.
The Opposition leader in the Assembly, Mr Surjya Kanta Mishra, also submitted a deputation with the state agriculture minister regarding the same matter.
He said that farmers in the state are reeling under the pressure of rising agricultural products, including fertilisers, and that they are getting sub-par prices for their products, primarily rice, jute, and potatoes.
East Midnapore farmers are dissatisfied with the jute minimum support price (MSP); they are blaming the Centre for fixing the jute MSP rate below the market price.
The chief minister earlier held a meeting with Jute Corporation of India Ltd. (JCI) officials, at which she had offered the additional price and urged them to start procuring jute at the enhanced price. The state will continue to cover the additional amount until the Centre enhances the MSP.
The JCI's current MSPs vary from district to district: farmers get Rs 1,700 for a quintal of jute in Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri, Rs 1,713 in South Dinajpur and Malda, Rs 1,725 in Murshidabad and Rs 1,738 in Nadia, Howrah, Hooghly, Burdwan, East and West Midnapore and South and North 24-Parganas.
“Farmers are virtually rotting in their fields because they are being deprived of the minimum support price of paddy and jute. Some are even burning their jute crop in frustration. If things continue like this, suicides might also take place,” said a Communist Party of India-Marxist leader. A senior agri-marketing official said, “Proper marketing of agricultural produce is critical for the development of the sector in the state. The state government plans to introduce a three-tier marketing facility within the state, with the primary tier catering to the rural population.”
The sector faces a number of major challenges, the officer added, including poor connectivity, a lack of warehousing facility, and the prevalence of middlemen.