Resistance

2007-08-06T22:54:00.001+06:00

Friends,

We have create a new blog,

http://maoistresistance.blogspot.com

please visit.

This blog is hacked!!!!!

2007-08-04T10:24:00.000+06:00

Friends,

We lost our ownership of this blog...somebody hacked our bloggger password..i am doing this post from my old mail id bimalck@gmail.com as a moderater..It is possible till the hacker allows. And it's too difficult to manage a blog with out ownership status...so we decided to move to another blog.. please cooperate with us..

Remember, please don't sent any mails to resistanceindia@gmail and If anybody mails you from this hacked mail account claiming to be Bimal please do not respond.......you may contact me trough resistanceindia@hushmail.com ....

With Revolutionary regards
Bimal
For resistanceindia

Andhra government extends ban on Maoists

2007-08-01T23:22:00.001+06:00

Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday extended the ban on CPI-Maoist and seven of its frontal organisations for a further period of one year. The group known as Peoples War Group (PWG) was first banned in 1991.

The state cabinet, which met in Hyderabad on Wednesday, took the decision to extend the ban on Maoist outfits, under the Andhra Pradesh Public Security Act, in view of the continuing Maoist violence in the state.

Briefing newsmen after the cabinet meeting, Information and Public Relations Minister Anam Ramnarayan Reddy said the ban would be extended till August 16, 2008 on CPI-Maoist and its frontal organisations, namely, Radical Youth League (RYL), Rythu Coolie Sangham (RCS), Radical Students Union (RSU), Singareni Karmika Samakhya (Sikasa), Viplava Karmika Samakhya (Vikasa) and All India Revolutionary Students Federation (AIRSF).

The ban on CPI-Maoist and frontal organisations was relaxed in 2004 but was re-imposed on August 17, 2005, following the killing of then Congress MLA Chittem Narsi Reddy and nine others by a Maoist action team at Narayanpet in Mahbubnagar district on Independence Day.

The ban came nine months after the peace talks between the Maoists and the state government began in October 2004.

http://www.hindustantimes.com

CPIML (Liberation) Rally video

2007-08-01T22:59:00.000+06:00

21 get lifer for Dalit massacre in Tsunduru

2007-08-01T13:45:00.001+06:00

Tsunduru (Guntur), July 31: A special court on Tuesday sentenced to life 21 upper caste persons and gave one-year jail terms to 35 others in the sensational Tsunduru Dalits massacre case. The case involved the murder of eight Dalits of Tsunduru on August 6, 1991 by people belonging to Reddy and Telaga castes.

Special Judge Anis of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Court acquitted 123 persons in the case, the trial of which took 16 years to complete. Pronouncing the verdict in the packed court room, the judge said the convicted did not deserve capital punishment as the case was not the 'rarest of rare kind'.

The village had a history of communal feud and clashes between Dalits and upper caste Hindus were common, she pointed out. Public prosecutor B. Chandrasekhar had sought capital punishment for the accused by claiming that it was a rarest of the rare cases. Police had cordoned off Tsunduru village and had imposed prohibitory orders to prevent any untoward incidents after the judgment.

Dalit communities were disappointed at the judgment. At the same time, the family members of those who were awarded life sentences wept outside the court. Modugula Mallikarjuna Reddy, Gudeti Brahma Reddy, Chidipudi Srinivasa Reddy, Padyla Haribabu and C. Punnareddy were sentenced to life for killing J. Mattaiah.

Poluru Prasada Reddy and Kosana Pitchaiah got life sentences for killing Mallela Subbarao. Kosana Nageswara Rao, Kosana Prasad and Kosana Sivaiah butchered one Dalit Mandru Ramesh, whose body was found near a canal. They too got life terms. The murder of Jaaladi Isaac got convictions for Gopireddy Kotireddy and Kolli Sambireddy.

Modugula Sitarama Reddy, Kosana Edukondalu, Myla Siva Prasad and Ambati Prasad were convicted in the murder of one Angalakuduru Rajamohan. His body was found near a railway track. Gorrepati Sambireddy, Topireddy Prasada Reddy and Mani Veerareddy hacked one Devarapalli Jayaraj to death. Modugul Mallikarjuna Reddy and Ikkurthi Sivaiah murdered one Jaladi Immanuel. All of them got life sentences.

The other 35 upper caste persons got one-year terms for moving around the village with deadly weapons. They should also pay a penalty of Rs 2,000 each or undergo imprisonment for one more month. Charges were levelled against 220 persons, of which 33 died during the course of the trial. As many as 179 accused were present in the court on Tuesday. The public prosecutor said he would recommend an appeal against the verdict so that some of those acquitted were also punished.

http://blog.socialist.in/?p=276

New Maoist activities: Why they target the Internet?

2007-08-01T09:23:00.001+06:00

Maoists extremist (Naxalites) are now trying to bring ideological revolution through the internet. Their effort is to induce urban youths in armed revolution and to give a strong foundation to their organisation. After strengthening their presence in rural areas of Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand and in Orissa they are now aiming at urban areas of the nation.

They are using the means of e-mail and internet and other networking facilities to spread their mission. In all prominent cities of India, they are sending e-mails to the youths to associate with them. The organisation has made many groups in the Yahoo portal. Naxal literature, information about armed activities and plans for future attacks are being reached to the targeted people. According to their plan, Universities and colleges of Delhi and other places are being included in the Naxal movement. Through the medium of the net, the organisation is also engaged in collecting funds.

By taking the support of Nepal youth they may have got the strength to overthrow the Nepal King. Through the medium of the net, information is being spread regarding the armed struggle and agitations against the governments. Hence the democratic institutions should mull over the issue and come out with solutions. The Communists have been ruling West Bengal for the last 30 years but not much has been achieved in the name of development.

It seems the government machinery there runs under the threat of terror and pressure. Progress does never mean that we keep moving backwards. If the Communists had faith in development then West Bengal would have been on the top today. Hence all the political parties need to become aware of the new designs of the Naxals.

http://www.centralchronicle.com

2007-07-31T23:37:00.000+06:00

Maoist Information bulletin [Published by International
Department , Central Committee,
Communist Party Of Nepal (Maoist)] extracts below.
Complete Information bulletin can be found at http://krishnasenonline.org/Bulletin/editorial.html

The Worker
Organ of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) 11th Issue Coming soon ! Contact lal_rpg@yahoo.co.uk to place your order.

EDITORIAL

After a gap of many months we are able to bring this issue in your hand; we must apologize to our readers for this delay. It was further more important for us to provide with the latest information regarding rapid political developments especially in Nepal, which we could not be done because of this delay.

After the outstanding development of People’s War for ten years, new situation arrived at in Nepal for the joint mass movement in order to overthrow the 239 years old autocratic monarchy and establish ‘republic’. As a result of ten years of PW and unprecedented 19 days joint mass movement based on the achievement of the PW, a new political situation has been emerged in Nepal. The agenda of election of constituent assembly which was the agenda of only CPN(Maoist) before six years is now major political agenda of the nation. The heroic people of Nepal have already established republic in the street during the Mass Movement-II and it is the responsibility of the eight parties to institutionalize the same through the process of election of the constituent assembly, which it seems far from being achieved. Under a grand design of the foreign and domestic reactionaries, namely, the US imperialists, Hindu fundamentalists of India and monarchists, to sabotage the election of constituent assembly, it was not held in the stipulated time of ‘mid-June’ and it has been rescheduled for November 22, 2007.

Some districts of Terai, plain land of southern part of Nepal adjoing to India, have now become the play ground for all the reactionary elements and use their stooges to fulfill their reactionary ambitions. The immediate aim of this design is to sabotage the process of election of constituent assembly and wipe out the influence of our party from Terai and its long term aim is to separate and split Terai or Madhesh from Nepal and incorporate in Bihar of India. Leadership of the seven parties who are engaged in the politics of appeasement and the interim government which is victim of inaction, there is every possibility that the reactionary conspiracy may succeed to disrupt the process of election of constituent assembly. Only a bold and daring decision of declaring ‘republic’ from the legislature-parliament and go to the election, which only can ensure the election to be held in stipulated date. But pro-US, pro-king and pro-Indian Hindu fundamentalist elements within the leadership of ‘Seven parties’ are causing obstacles in it. Thus we feel that another popular mass movement needs to be launched so that the government and the seven parties will be compelled to agree in declaring ‘republic’ from the legislature which can pave the way for the election of constituent assembly and form a ‘New Nepal’

Our Party, the CPN(Maoist) thinks that it is going through a new experiment of continuing and developing the revolution through peaceful way in a situation created by the ten years of PW and the successful historic April mass movement. It is quite natural that revolutionaries and oppressed people of the world have their eyes on the political development of Nepal. Definitely Nepal is in the cross road. There are definitely big challenges and big opportunities. Necessity of the hour is to face the challenges and achieve the opportunities.

Revolution in Nepal is the part of the world revolution. Therefore it should serve the world revolution and also deserves support from world revolutionaries. While developing the PW during the last ten years it was felt that the international support was not enough that was required to achieve the nationwide victory of the revolution. It is necessary to fulfill this task during this time of peaceful development of the revolution. Every body can easily see how our party is working hard for the enhancement of our international relations. It will not be any exaggeration to say that we have made a significant achievement in this regard during the last six to ten months.

To enhance the international relation is not only necessary for the nationwide victory but it is essential for sustaining the new state as well. In the event of the US imperialist working day and night to isolate our party, further enhancement of international relation is inevitable both for the victory of the revolution and sustenance of the new state. Who is real friend of our country and the people of Nepal and who is not, can be determined by the role played by them in relation to the development of revolution and its sustenance.

Maoists call Jharkhand bandh on August one

2007-07-31T23:33:00.001+06:00

LATEHAR (JHARKHAND): Maoists on Monday called a Jharkhand bandh on August one and torchlight rallies for a week from Tuesday over arrest of three of its cadres. The three cadres — Madan, Naveen and Kiran — were arrested in Patna by the Bihar police on July 29, but the police were yet to confirm it, a self-styled spokesman of the maoist's Jharkhand-Bihar-Uttar Pradesh Regional Committee, Pravirji, said in a statement here.

Demanding immediate confirmation of the arrests, the proscribed outfit in the release said that it feared their 'harassment' at the hands of the police. Essential services would be kept out of the purview of the bandh, which has been called in Jharkhand only, it added.

Source: Times of India

Andhra Pradesh ‘Gestapo’ police used AK47 on unarmed people

2007-07-31T22:30:00.001+06:00

Hitler's Gestapo style police of Andhra Pradesh used AK47 for firing on unarmed people in Mudigonda violence in Khammam district. According to rules directed by central government, AK47 should not be used in public places and they should be used only for encountering insurgents armed with similar type of weapons. In many countries, AK47s are not given to civil police but in India, they are given to civil and reserved police for encountering insurgents.

Andhra Pradesh government started giving AK47s to police in year 1993 for encountering Maoist insurgency but on condition that such kind of sophisticated weapons should not be used in public places and on civilians. But, present government didn't take any action on those police who used AK47 in public place and that too on civilians. They just decided to transfer officers but not to file murder charges on those police who killed civilians using AK47.

AK47 was invented by Russian army officer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1947 and it was named as Automatic Kalashnikov 47 (AK47) after him. Russia started using AK47 in 1951 for defending itself from America and other imperialist countries during cold war. Countries that were not allied in cold war refused to use AK47s but later some of those countries started using AK47s for encountering insurgency and terrorism.

Presently, 60 -70 countries are using AK47s but such type of weapons are not used by police for firing on civilians in those countries. Andhra Pradesh police stooped down to the level of using AK47s on civilians for serving the interests of bourgeoisie ruling class.

http://blog.socialist.in/?p=261

Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organisation of South Asia

2007-07-31T21:59:00.001+06:00

PRESS RELEASE

CCOMPOSA CALLS ON PEOPLE'S OF SOUTH ASIA TO OPPOSE INDIAN RULERS GROWING INTERVENTION IN NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES

The Indian rulers seek total domination of the countries of South Asia acting as the gendarme of the US in this region. At the recently held SAARC Summit it went so far as to propose a South Asia Parliament seeking to undermine even the existing limited sovereign of the South Asian countries. Earlier they had proposed a common currency for the region to further consolidate its economic hegemony in the region. At the SAARC Summit it continued to push its SAFTA {South Asian Free Trade Association, n order to dominate the markets of the region and allow the unhindered free flow of goods made in India {mostly by the big comprador houses and the TNCs} to all countries of South Asia.

CCOMPOSA CALLS for the disbanding of SAARC and the setting up genuine forums of people to people relations between the countries of South Asia.

Lately the Indian rulers have been even more crudely intervening in the internal affairs of neighboring countries and even more crudely crushing the national aspirations for self-determination of the Kashmiri, Naga, Manipuri, Assamese, etc people.

In Nepal they have been playing an active role to diffuse the democratic aspirations of the Nepalese people and prop up the reactionary elements after isolating the Maoists. They have been instigating the Madheshi people of the Terrai against the Maoists in league with the Nepalese monarchy. Hindu fundamentalists have been particularly active in setting up vigilante gangs to murder activists as happened in Gaur where 28 Maoists were killed. Recently these gangs murdered a Central Committee member of YCL {Young Communist League} in the terrain region together with another comrade. The Indian ambassador has, of late, pro-active roaming in the interiors of Nepal offering large sums of money for schools, hospitals, roads, etc in order to wean away the masses from the influence of the Maoists.

In addition the Indian Para-military have fired on and killed the Nepalese of Bhutani origin from returning to their motherland and have been fully involved the US conspiracy to transport 60,000 refugees to the West as some modern day form of slave labour. The US imperialists and Indian rulers have been working to prop up the reactionaries and neutralize the Maoists. CCOMPOSA strongly condemns the role of the Indian rulers in Nepal and demands that they stop meddling in the affairs of Nepal and the India people bring to justice the murderous gangs operating across the Nepalese border.

In Bangladesh the Indian rulers have not only openly backed their stooge Sheikh Hasina but have utilsed the present army-backed caretaker government to push through massive deals for Indian big comprador houses. They have sought help the Tatas to make massive investments there and lately the Mittals have signed a gigantic deal in the energy sector of Bangladesh. The Indian ambassador has been actively acting in the country together with the US ambassador in the dealings between the various political parties and the caretaker government. CCOMPOSA demands that the large natural wealth of poverty stricken Bangladesh be utilized for the development of their own country and not robbed by Indian compradors and the US imperialists.

In Sri Lanka they openly threatened the government when it sought arms from China and Pakistan. The Indian rulers have already imposed humiliating free-trade agreements on Sri Lanka. They have also surreptitiously been assisting the Sri Lanka government to crush the just aspirations of the Tamil people for a Tamil Elam. CCOMPOSA demands the scrapping all these unequal agreements and supports the just struggle of the Tamil people for their self-determination from the jack-boots of the Indian ruling classes.
In addition the Indian rulers continue to maintain and tighten their vice-like grip over the small countries of the region like Bhutan, Sikkim, Malldives, etc and continue their attempts to bully Pakistan utilizing the Kashmir card. Particularly they continue to forcibly maintain the oppressed nationalities within Indian hegemony. Not only does the Indian army of occupation crush their just demands with utmost brutality, they have been pitting one section of the people against the other to drown their just struggles in oceans of blood. This is to be seen in Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, Kashmir and elsewhere. CCOMPOSA demands that the people people of these oppressed nationalites be allowed to determine their own future and the immediate and total withdrawal of Indian army and para-military forces from all these regions.
South Asia has become a burning cauldron of revolutionary, democratic and nationality movements. CCOMPOSA supports all these just movements and calls on the peoples of South Asia to unite against their common enemy and not fall prey to the divisive policies of the rulers and their US imperialist backers in the region.

1) Proletarian Party of Purba Bangla-CC; PBSP (CC) [Bangladesh]
2) Communist Party of East Bengal(ML)(Red Flag); CPEB (ML)(Red Flag) [Bangladesh] 3) Bangladesher Samyobadi Dal(Marxist-Leninist) BSD(ML) [Bangladesh]
4) Communist Party of Bhutan (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist) CPB(MLM)
5) Comminist Party of India (Maoist) ; CPI(Maoist)
6) Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Naxalbari CPI-ML (Naxalbari) [India]
7) Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist) CPI(MLM)[India]
8) Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist); CPN(Maoist) [Nepal]

Mudigonda police firing: A well-designed Conspiracy

2007-07-31T21:56:00.001+06:00

Monday July 30 2007 12:02 IST

KHAMMAM: Saturday's Mudigonda police firing is slowly but surely turning out to be a well-designed conspiracy by some police officers.

Though it was not known whom they were targeting, locals say that it was Bandi Ramesh, a local CPM leader, spearheading the movement in the area.

Look at the sequence of events. The local SI makes a couple of rounds to the rastaroko place and asks the agitators to call off the stir.

At 11:30 am, the CI and SI, accompanied by some policemen come to the place again and take away agitating TDP and CPI leaders, who did not offer any resistance.

An hour later, the two officers come to the spot again and warn Bandi Ramesh of serious consequences. At exactly, 1:15 pm, they return to the place along with Additional SP.

Taking the agitators completely off guard, they drag Ramesh out of the dharna camp and beat him up mercilessly.

By the time, the agitators regroup, the CI whips out his revolver and a plainclothes constable opens fire from self loading rifle on the agitators.

It was then that the people rained stones on the police and rescued Ramesh. But, the firing continued and no one knows for sure who ordered the firing on the mob.

The plainclothes policemen were identified as 'special party personnel' who are under the direct control of Officer on Special Duty. It is not common for the officers to use them in such law and order situation as they are specifically trained in anti-Naxal operation. It was not clear under whose instructions Additional SP Ramesh Babu took the special party personnel with him.

This is not the first time that the Additional SP, who joined the force as SI and rose to this level with accelerated promotions, was involved in a similar situation. On January 29 this year, he ordered firing on CPM activists near Bhadrachalam.

One person lost his leg in the incident.

This website's newspaper managed to talk to one of the police personnel who were at the scene of the incident. The policeman, on strict condition of anonymity, said that the situation did not warrant firing. ''It was going on smoothly. They were not willing to call off the agitation till 4 p.m. Suddenly, the Additional SP descended on the spot and the scene changed. In a flash everything happened and the policemen were firing for about 15 minutes. They had spent about 80 bullets. Couple of them emptied AK-47 and SLR magazines (each magazine has 31 bullets). With bodies lying all around, we retreated slightly and by the time people regrouped, we left the place,'' he said.

On his part, Bandi Ramesh said the CI entered into an argument with him. ''I have nothing personal against the officer. But, he threatened to kill me and even attempted that. It was the activists who saved my life,'' Ramesh added.

Locals, who witnessed the incident said that the local MRO, who has the powers to order firing, was not present on the spot. Answers to all these questions may come up during the inquiry to be held by Additional DG Lokendra Sarma.

http://www.newindpress.com

Land clash sets off tit-for-tat game- Left settles Nandigram scores with sack cry

2007-07-30T14:33:00.000+06:00

Mudigonda (Khammam), July 29: Handed its own Nandigram in Andhra Pradesh, the CPM is using it to settle the Bengal Nandigram scores.

Politburo member Sitaram Yechury demanded the resignation of Congress chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy for yesterday's police firing in this village that killed four Left land activists and two by-standers.

"Reddy demanded the resignation of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on account of police firing in Nandigram. He should quit on the same grounds," said Yechury, who has rushed here with other Left leaders.

The CPM appears to have decided to use the tragedy at Mudigonda, 15km from Khammam town and 211km from Hyderabad, to polish its pro-landless image and offset its mistake in Nandigram.

Unlike Bengal, where the CPM is acquiring plots for industry in the face of Opposition-led farmer protests, the Marxists have joined theCPI in Andhra to agitate for land for the poor.

The firing happened during a Left bandh to protest the Congress regime's failure to keep its poll promise of handing vacant government land to the urban homeless to build houses and the rural poor to cultivate.

A mob had attacked the revenue divisional officer's (RDO's) office at Mudigonda, burning documents and furniture, when the police caned them, fired tear gas shells and then 70 bullets.
Yechury and CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta claimed the police had fired on peaceful protesters.

Police hide

Mudigonda today bore close parallels with Nandigram. The administration seemed to have collapsed amid simmering public rage, with most personnel having deserted the police stations in Khammam town and Mudigonda, which are being guarded by the reserve police.

The police's morale appears to have been hit after the government transferred Khammam police chief R.K. Meena and suspended his deputy, additional superintendent M. Ramesh Babu. A circle inspector and a sub-inspector, too, have been suspended.

The police may not have expected such a carnage. ASP Ramesh Babu, believed to have ordered the firing, left the scene in plain clothes, a resident said.

"He took off his uniform and escaped in a lungi and T-shirt borrowed from a constable," said schoolteacher Harinarayan, 46.

The bodies are still lying in front of the collectorate. Since morning, supporters of the Left, who have called another bandh, have been descending on Khammam.

As in Nandigram, motley Opposition leaders — such as the Telengana Rashtra Samiti's K. Chandrasekhar Rao and the Telugu Desam's N. Chandrababu Naidu — are making a beeline for the carnage site.

But not a single Congress leader dared follow them. S. Chandrasekhar, a minister from the district, chose to slam the Left from his secretariat chamber in Hyderabad.

Housing irony

The site of the land battle, ironically, is a place where the government had been touting its showpiece housing project for the poor.

Mudigonda is dotted with 500-600 half-finished houses, being built under the Indiramma project, which features 25 lakh houses across the state, each with a portrait of Indira Gandhi in front.

The Left says the houses are too expensive at Rs 40,000-45,000 and wants free plots for the poor instead. The Congress accuses it of playing politics.

http://www.telegraphindia.com

Violence erupts again in Nandigram, one killed, 25 injured

2007-07-30T09:54:00.003+06:00

Kolkata, July 29: One person was killed and eight others injured as fresh clashes erupted between members of the Trinamool Congress-backed Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC) and CPI(M) cadre in Nandigram today.

CPI(M) supporter Bapan Patra, who received bullet injuries, died in the evening. Two others, reportedly BUPC members, are said to be in a serious condition.

The BUPC has called for a 24-hour bandh in Nandigram tomorrow.

The RAF was deployed in the troubled
area, which has witnessed clashes since January.

BUPC members ransacked CPI(M) Zonal Committee office. Police had to resort to a lathicharge to control the mob. The clash started at around 11 am, when BUPC members took out a rally to celebrate the anti-CPI(M) mahajot's victory in seven wards of the Haldia Municipality. The BUPC rally followed a CPI(M) rally, celebrating Left Front's win in Haldia.

East Midnapore District Police Superintendent Anil Srinivasan said, "Both parties took out rallies in Nandigram today morning. During the rallies, there were some problems and a clash erupted, in which, guns were used and bombs hurled. Later, the mob tried to ransack the CPI(M) party office. Some of our men also received minor injures. We are deploying forces in Nandigram and the bordering areas to maintain peace."

According to police, on Sunday, CPI(M) first took out a victory rally in a Nandigram market. This was followed by a rally by BUPC members in the same market. While the BUPC rally was passing a bus stand, crude bombs were thrown on the supporters. This sparked tension and BUPC supporters attacked CPI(M) Zonal Committee office. At the time of the attack, local CPI(M) leaders and supporters were present at the office.

Meanwhile, a huge contingent of police personnel arrived at the spot and resorted to lathicharge to control the situation. CPI(M) leaders and cadres, including Zonal Committee member Ashok Bera, fled the spot.

Bera said, "They were trying to set fire to the party office. A number of our supporters were beaten up. I managed to save my life by escaping."

BUPC supporters, led by Abu Sufiyan and Abu Taher, then gheraoed Nandigram Police Station for an hour protesting police brutality. As the news of the clash spread, firings were also exchanged between BUPC members and CPI(M) cadre in Bhangabera and Tekhali, bordering Nandigram and Khejuri. The opposing factions hurled crude bombs at each other. Shops in Nandigram market downed shutters and the area took a deserted look with BUPC members and police patrolling various areas. The villagers and BUPC members also dug up many roads.

Sisir Adhikary, Trinamool MLA from Egra, said, "The CPI(M) has planned the attack with the help of the police. We were having a peaceful victory rally when they hurled crude bombs. Later, near their party office, police mercilessly lathi-charged us. Over 30 of our supporters are have been injured."

CPI(M) Zonal Committee member Ashok Guria said, "The Trinamool is trying to disrupt the peace process. They attacked our party office without any provocation and tried to kill our supporters."

IBN

Heroic Martyrs of the India's Revolution ( Random Images )

2007-07-30T09:42:00.001+06:00

Courtesy: Naxal Revoluton

Heroic Martyrs of the India's Revolution ( Random Images )

Com Charu Mazumdhar

Com. Vempatapu Sathyam
10-7-1970

Com. Panchadi Nirmala
22-12-1969

Com. Panchadi Krisha Murthy
27-5-1969

Puli Anjanna (Sagar) APSCS
October 1993

Com. Saroj Dutta
5-8-1971

Hari Bhushan
16-4-83

Swarupa (Jyothi)
Seernaplli 5-2-92

Kongala Sudhakar Reddy

Muralidhara Raju
8-6-86

I.V. Sambasiva Rao (Master), CCM
28 Feb. 1997

Seetha (Nagulakonda)

Chintala Venkata Swamy
(Suryam) APSCM
29-9-1994

Sneha Latha
1-1974

Madhava Reddy
DCM (KNR)

Gaddar at a Martyrs column

Naxalbari Lal Salaam !

Martyrs week respons

2007-07-30T09:17:00.001+06:00

Orissa

PARALAKHEMUNDI, July 29: The Martyrs' Week ~ called by the CPI (Maoist), which started yesterday did not have much impact on Gajapati district as the police had been deployed in full force and there was high alert in almost all places. Certain areas which had been termed as "hyper-sensitive" has commandos armed with "shoot-at-sight" order.

A maoist meeting in Bihar( a file photo)

Posters written in Telugu have sprung up in certain places of Rayagada and Gosani blocks. The people of Parida, Gothei, Kinchilingi, S Karadasingi and Gandahati villages and in some places near the Mahendragiri hills found the posters pasted at a few selected areas and immediately alerted the police. On the other hand, the bandh call called by the CPI and the CPI-M in Andhra Pradesh to protest against the killing of their supporters in the Kha-mmam district during the bhoomi paratam agitation, had its impact on Gajapati. SNS

http://www.thestatesman.net

Bihar Jails placed on high alert

PATNA: Having been caught unawares during the November 13 naxal attack on Jehanabad jail in 2005, the jail authorities are not willing to leave anything to chance.

It was quite evident when all the jails in the state were put on high alert from July 28, the date on which Charu Mazumdar, one of the founder-members of Ultra's movement was killed.

Laxmaunpure-Bathe monument

The CPI (Maoist) is observing a martyr's week in his memory.

"Special vigil is also being kept on jails located in Gaya, Bhagalpur, Patna, Sitamarhi and Motihari in the wake of intelligence reports hinting at a possible Naxal attack," said IG (Prisons) Sandeep Paundrik on Sunday.

Giving details of the special measures taken, he said, SPs of respective districts have also been asked to depute additional security personnel on the jail premises to counter any possible attack apart from the additional lighting arrangement done in the jails. "Leave of all those posted in different jails has been cancelled," Paundrik added.
Timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Maoists blow up railway signal system in Andhra Pradesh

Kuneru (AP), July 29: Maoists on Sunday blew up a railway signal system in Vijayanagaram, damaging property worth rupees three million.

About 20 Maoists, including five women, blew up the cab
in at Kuneru railway station in Vijayanagaram, where signalling system was installed.

The Maoists also set on fire the records of the railway station.

"They were 15 to 20, out of whom five were women. They took control of the station. They set all the records on the fire and blew up the signalling system," said Trimurti, Station Master.

Maoist left a note pasted on the wall of the railway station demanding their leader Dharma alias Bhupati, who was arrested on July 23 by Andhra Police, should be presented before a court immediately.

Maoists operate in 13 of 29 states along the "red corridor", referring to a stretch from the Indo-Nepal border to the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

According to Home Ministry, 76 districts in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are 'badly affected by Maoist violence'.

http://www.dailyindia.com

YS Raja Sekhar Reddy made Mudigonda as another Nandigram

2007-07-29T13:55:00.000+06:00

Eight persons were killed and eight others injured in police firing and related incidents when the Andhra Pradesh bandh called by the Left parties turned violent in Khammam district on Saturday afternoon.

Tragedy: The bodies of the victims of the

police firing at Mudigonda village, Andhra Pradesh,
being taken to hospital.

According to the police, six persons were killed in the police firing, one woman died due to injuries sustained in police lathi charge and another person came under the wheels of an ambulance and died when the ambulance was rushing the injured persons to the district headquarters hospital. Three of the eight injured persons were in a critical condition and they were undergoing treatment at the district hospital at Khammam.

A Left activist at a protest in
Hyderabad on Saturday.

Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy announced a judicial inquiry and suspended the Additional Superintendent of Police Ramesh Babu and transferred the Superintendent of Police Rajeev Kumar Meena.

The incident occurred in Modigunda village in Khammam district when a group of CPI-M and CPI activists and local people took out a rally, pitched tents on the road and set up a blockade in support of the bandh. They turned violent, pelted stones on policemen and tried to attack the local revenue office. The police resorted to lathi charge and later opened fire to quell the riotous mob, a senior state police official said.

Home Minister K Jana Reddy termed the police firing"unfortunate" and conveyed his sympathies to the members of the bereaved families. He said that a high-level inquiry has been ordered in the police firing incident and basing on the inquiry report, action would be taken against police personnel involved if they were at fault

The chief minister, however, quoted local legislator and minister for health and family welfare S. Chandrasekhar to say that an underground Maoist couple was leading the protest, which led to the violence.

Elsewhere in Andhra Pradesh, sporadic incidents of violence marred the state-wide bandh called by Left parties to protest against indiscriminate police lathi charge on their leaders and activists during the picketing of district collectorates across the state on Thursday as part of their ongoing "Bhoo Poratam."

The Telugu Desam Party and Bharatiya Janata Party also extended their support to the bandh call given by the Left parties.

The CPI-M and CPI leaders demanded the state government to implement the recommendations of Koneru Ranga Rao Committee in toto. The committee was appointed by the Congress government to examine the various land laws and suggest ways and means for improving the implementation of these laws.

The other demands include land for the landless, house-sites for the poor, an independent commission to monitor the distribution of lands in the state, an ombudsman to check irregularities in the weaker sections housing scheme and withdrawal of all the cases registered against the Left leaders and activists and poor people ever since "Bhoo Poratam" was launched on May 2.

Revolutionary author Pendyala Varavara Rao described YS Rajasekhar Reddy as fascist. Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader K Chandra Sekhar Rao described Rajasekhar Reddy as worse than Napoleon.

CPI (Maoist) karnataka press release on anti people land lords bandh call against our party and people

2007-07-29T12:53:00.001+06:00

Exploiting landlords are organizing irrespective of political parties, against peasents and common people of malenaadu with sangh parivaar's mastermind and conspiracy. They are organizing under the name of peace committee to oppose our party in the guise of peace, which we spoiled there; we are destroying family, brotherly and friendly relationships between peasants, workers and landlords there, they are projecting so, for malenaadu. We are the sole reason for violence in malenaadu, they are saying. Before our entry, malenaadu was very nice and peaceful region. There is no such exploitation oppression and violence on peasants and workers in malenaadu they are propagating.

But reality is quite opposite; they are putting efforts to cover their economic, social and cultural exploitation and oppression on common people in the wake of ongoing-armed class struggle. They are having larger land holdings; hundreds and thousands of acres of landholders are there. Areca, coffee, rubber, cashew, elaichi, pepper estates etc are there. They are controlling malenaadu and karavali economically and politcally directly and indirectly also. In this area comprador bureaucratic capitalists like tatas, ABC, tea companies were also having larger presence. Imperialists like Cadburys also there. Other than this after the imperialist sponsored liberalization, privatization, globalization, there were several forest and water, power, mining schemes are upcoming by destroying life of the people, culture, and environment of malenaadu and karavali.

Caste oppression on daliths and adivasis and sex exploitation are rampant. They were treated as second class or third class citizens. In some area they were treated as slaves. Free service is compulsory in few areas and in few feudal and religious institutions. Workers are less paid. Their condition is serious thing, they are provided with pig hut like houses without basic facilities like power water and toilets. Thrashing of workers are still continuing in few places of malenaadu. Majority of people of malenaadu were land less, poor or having small pieces of lands without having records, though applied for it from several years, but still not provided by the government authorities. Now they are threatened by evictions for various imperialist and comprador sponsored forest, water, power etc projects. Government and its authorities are implementing all terror, illusion creation, cunning methods to evict poor peasants from their ancestral home lands. Earlier they used to impose false cases, illegal arrests, tortures, laathicharge, cutting down the paddy, areca, banana and other plants, smashing houses etc like anti people tactics. Now they are terrorizing people by cold blooded murders. Exploiting land lords are supporting all these and opposing people's struggle from the beginning. All these are peaceful for landlords and their agents but for all common and poor people it was peace less and violent against them. People are fighting for peace and social justice for them. Naturally that becomes peace less and violent for exploiting landlords and their agents, sangh parivaar and comprador state.

Now exploiting landlords, goons of sangh parivaar and their agents joined together, as per their class interests, against people and our party, as our party is leading poor and common people. We are organizing adivasi and other exploited toiling people with revolutionary class politics. By that people are waging uncompromising struggle for their life, livelihood and nature.

We are condemning strongly the bundh call against us and people, given by these anti people exploiting elements on 31^st of this month. We are warning seriously to all these anti people pro establishment land lords and their agents to stop this immediately. Otherwise they will have to face wrath of toiling and common people. By doing these type activities they can't stop ongoing peoples struggle. So many such attempts of exploiters were utterly failed. Even like well organized and equipped state and feudal elements sponsored selva judum ,thrutheeya prasthuthi committee like reactionary mercenaries were beating back by our people's liberation guerilla army and people in jharkhand ,bihar, chattisghad,maharastra,west Bengal,Andhra Pradesh,etc. In Bidar Raichur of Karnataka also, people fight backed reactionary landlords and their agents by conducting people's courts and implementing people's court decisions including elimination of die hard class enemies. Don't spit skywards it definitely falls on you, the exploiters.

We are appealing all people, all pro people organizations, individuals and democrats to expose and fight conspiracies of exploiting landlords and sangh parivaar combine's anti people and anti democratic acts like bundh against the people and their cause in the name of maintenance of so called peaceful environment, which is for them.

With revolutionary greetings

Gangadhara
for the statecommittee
CPI(MAOIST)
KARNATAKA

28/07/07

FARC and ELN united in operation

2007-07-29T11:36:00.001+06:00

Author: FARC-EP and ELN

Tuesday, 24/07/2007

Like in 1999, today the FARC-EP and the ELN we followed together facing the narco terrorist punitive forces of the state that they look for to leave without bread the present and future generations. The victorious battles conducted jointly against the common enemy, imperialism-government-Para Military is example of unity of the guerrilla in the combat.

PART MILITARY: "the FARC-EP and the ELN unite their forces in the Catatumbo"

In front military Northeastern of the ELN and Column Resistance Bari FARC-EP

Army of National Liberation

The government army comes conducting a civic-military operation in the zone from catatumbo, fulfilling orders of the allied government and the narco paramilitary oligarchy to the empire. Everything with the objective to guarantee the expropriation and operation of the natural resources and to open passage to the macro projects of monocultures of multinational and imperial interest.

In such sense I exercise national but it seems I exercise of occupation that runs over, it sacks, it threatens, it moves, assassin and it disappears to humble settlers of the region, restricts free mobility, it blocks the food entrance, it carries out bombings and strafing on zones farmers and natives.

The legitimate and valiant answer of the town in arms in the last two months has been the following one:
Low known I exercise bourgeois enemy of the town.

Popular minings of defense (20), Died: 10, Hurt: 15, Harassments and shocks (17), Died: 9
Hurt: 12, Ambushes (1), Dead, hurt and disappeared: 20, between dead a helicopter pilot

Cars pump: (2) unemployment of the traffic to vehicular between convention-tarra and Ocaña-teorama by space of two days each one.

Armed propaganda and detents: 6 aserrio, san Pablo, tarra, cartagenita, Mira Flores, valve.
Sabotage to the oil infrastructure: 4 blasts to the pipe line sewer lemon and petroleum's of the north.
Total losses of the army in the operation *alacrán*: 66

The parts of dead and captured guerrillas presented/displayed by the commandos of brigades 15 and 30 the president, to the troops and the public opinion are false; the captured and dead are humble farmers of the region, inadvertent facts that are past, by the municipal and departmental authorities.

In our rows we have had 3 slightly wounded, 1 dead, two radios 2m and 1 lost gun.

The victorious battles conducted jointly against the common enemy, imperialism-government-Para military is example of unit of the guerrilla in the combat to the time that becomes a referring one for other regions of the country in the important search of the popular and insurgent unit.

We commemorated the 43 years of the invincible fight by La Paz and the socialism and inspired by develops anti colonial, anti-imperialist and anti oligarchic emancipator of our liberating parents. We ratified the persistence by the guerrilla unit, our combat summarizes the dignity dreams and hopes of the Colombians hasty and vilipendiados by its governors, this example of resistance it summons to the unit and it fights popular, including a the members of the troops and of police anointed of sacred love to Colombia and the town. By a new government and the great mother country that I inspire the heroic fights of the Simón liberator Bolivar, incontrovertible necessity of the generations of the present and the future.

In Bolivar we were all.
Mountains of Colombian nor-Orient.

In front military Northeastern ELN

Column resistance Bari FARC-EP

Julio of the 2007

Stiff opposition to Tata plant in TN

2007-07-29T11:35:00.002+06:00

Chennai, July 27: After a rough ride on its Singur car project in West Bengal, the Tata Group is now facing stiff opposition to the Rs 2,500 crore titanium dioxide project proposed to be set up in Tamil Nadu.

Expressing apprehension that the venture would displace them from their native land and deprive them of livelihood, local villagers, mostly belonging to the dominant Nadar community in the south, have decided to strongly oppose the project in southern districts of Tirunelveli and Tuticorin.

The issue is set to snowball into a major controversy with some political parties, apparently eyeing the Nadar vote bank, also joining in the issue.

PMK founder S Ramadoss, a ruling DMK ally who is trying to get a foothold in south Tamil Nadu, has also reportedly expressed support to the agitating groups.

A Viyanarasu, who has formed a struggle committee called Federation for Tamil Land Protection, told newspersons about 40,000 families would be displaced as the Tata company is planning to set up the plant on 12,000 acres of land.

"The government is talking about employment and economic growth. But take the cases of Koodangulam nuclear plant and Neyveli Lignite Corporation. Jobs and rehabilitation were promised when those projects were implemented, but most of the displaced families were left in the lurch. What is the guarantee a private company will honour its word?" he asked.

Though Tata Steel had originally inked a pact with the previous AIADMK government in 2002, the project did not take off due to undisclosed reasons.

The project was revived after the DMK government took over and Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata flew in to be present when Tata Steel managing director B Muthuraman signed an MoU with the Tamil Nadu government on June 28, 2007.

Muthuraman, talking to reporters after signing the MoU, said the state government had promised to acquire required land for the project as early as possible.

This has raised the hackles of local leaders and environmentalists who questioned the need for the government to play the role of a "broker" for a private company.

The issue has also prompted many Nadar associations to rally behind a strong man of the community, who has been holding monopoly in the business in the region till now.

"The people are not ready to allow a north Indian company to plunder their wealth by just getting a pittance in return. If our land contains natural resources, it is our property and only we should enjoy the benefits," G Karikol Raj, a leader of Nadar community, said.

"Our community people have overwhelmingly supported the ruling party in the last Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. If it wanted to retain the support, the government should immediately cancel the MoU with the Tata company," he urged.

Actor Sarathkumar, who is popular among Nadars and set to launch a political party next month, MDMK chief Vaiko and Puthiya Tamizhagam leader K Krishnasamy have also issued statements opposing the Tata plant.

With protests growing strong, the Tamil Nadu government came out with an appeal to the people not to fall prey to false propaganda and assured them the project would contribute to the industrial growth of backward districts. (Our Correspondent)

http://www.chennaionline.com

Maoist martyrs week affects life in Chhattisgarh

2007-07-29T11:35:00.001+06:00

A 'martyr's week' being observed by Maoist rebels from Saturday in Chhattisgarh's trouble-torn Bastar region has affected normal life in the remote hilly pockets with transporters keeping their vehicles off the roads apprehending violence, police said.

'Forces in Bastar region have been kept on high alert. As per reports coming in from the interiors of forested villages mainly from Kanker and Narayanpur districts, transporters have kept their vehicles off the road and people have preferred to remain indoors,' a senior police officer told IANS on phone.

Thousands of paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and state police personnel have been deployed in and around government buildings and establishments in Bastar as a part of stepped up security arrangements to counter possible militant attacks.

Last week, police found several posters and leaflets in the interiors of Bastar, mainly around the Durgkondal locality in Kanker district, in which they stated their plans of observing a 'martyr's week' from July 28 in memory of rebel commanders who were recently killed in encounters with the security forces.

Police estimate that thousands of Maoists armed with AK-47 rifles, mortar, rocket launchers and landmines are active in the state.

http://www.indiaenews.com

AP, Karnataka police meet in Bellary

2007-07-28T15:22:00.001+06:00

Saturday July 28 2007 13:48 IST BELLARY: The hardcore Naxalite Ranga Reddy, who was playing hide and seek game with the Bellary police, was the main topic of discussion at the inter-state high level police meet held here on Friday.

A meeting of officials of Karna taka and Andhra Pradesh, was held at a private hotel in the city. Bellary SP Amrit Paul, IPS (probationary) Sandeep Patil, and police officers from Kalyan Durga, Rayadurga, Kurnool, Alur, Guntur, Challakere, Molaklamur, Sirigere, Hacholli and other parts of AP and Karnataka participated.

Entry for media persons was restricted. But according to highly placed sources, officials mainly discussed the Naxal menace in borders areas and about the anti social elements. Bellary district police requested the AP officials to provide information on Naxalite Ranga Reddy, who has become a headache for both AP and Karn ataka since past many years. But the AP police said they had no information about him, sources added.

NewindPress

Observe Martyrs Week, July 28 - August 3

2007-07-27T20:49:00.001+06:00

Source: email

July 28 is very important day for Indian revolutionary people, on that day of 1972, great revolutionary leader comrade Charumajumdar martyred. He was killed by ruling class forces in the prison. We are observing that day as martyrs day for commemorating martyrdom of thousands of great revolutionary leaders and masses. Charu majumadar and com. Kannai chatterjee were gave turning point to the Indian revolution. They fought revisionism with deadly blows of revolutionary ideology and actions. From Naxalbari to till now hundreds and thousands I,e more than 10000, of revolutionaries martyred for the new democratic, socialist and communist cause.reactionary ruling class and its killer force of goons killed them.

After formation of the merged new party CPI (Maoist), more than 500 revolutionaries killed by reactionary forces. In Karnataka after merger 9 revolutionaries and people killed by the state mercenary forces.

Com. Shamsher Singh Sheri ; central committee member and politburo member, martyred from brain fever,. Com. Vadkapuram Chandra Mouli; central committee member and central military commission member, com. Saroja; district committee member ,com. Padma; state committee member, com Sende Rajamouli; central committee member and Karnataka secretary were caught by the AP police, severely tortured and murdered cold-bloodedly.

In Karnataka com. Saketh rajan, com. Parvathi, com. Hajima, com Shivalingu,com.Ajith kusubi, com.Umesh sabli, com.Dinakar,com.Chennappa and the struggling poor adivasi people of atyadka and vaderamata com. Parmeshwar,Ramegowdlu,Kaverakka were murdered by state police goons.

Prior to this chitradurga,s com.Koganoor Goneppa, com Prasad of kolar, com Bhaskar of sreekaakulam; who worked in Raichur, com. Buddanna of raichur were killed by ruling class forces.

There were hundreds of such martyrs from central committee members to revolutionary masses, who laid their life for cause of the people and revolution; hundreds of revolutionary people were massacred by state sponsored selva judum,TPC and Sendra goons in Jharkhand, Bihar and Chattisghad. They dreamt to thrown away yokes of feudal, comprador bureaucratic capitalists and imperialism. For making it into reality they personally engaged and sacrificed their life. They made hard and serious efforts for changing this rotten and cruel social system by uncompromising struggle. They chilled their blood and made the revolutionary movement stronger and bigger, that spread into the four corners of the India presently, with giving shining new hopes and confidence among toiling and democratic people of India.

We are remembering all those great revolutionary leaders and masses heart fully by hailing their martyrdom, dreams and spirits.

We are paying revolutionary red salutes to all martyrs of Indian revolution with taking oath to fulfill their aspirations by building revolutionary movement stronger.

We are calling all our cadres and revolutionary masses to observe martyrs week with commitment and dedication by taking all good and great revolutionary lessons and spirits from them. Take their dreams, aspirations and ideas among the common and democratic people as they are the real heroes of social change.

Martyrs are immortal. Let their aspirations into reality.

Hold high the revolutionary martyrs and their revolutionary ideas.

Com. Charu majumadar, com. Kannai chatterjee amar hai

Make a success new democratic revolution of India by building strong revolutionary movement and fighting back enemy offensive.

Let us build strong revolutionary movement in Karnataka by organizing masses and fighting enemy offensive.

Let flower of revolution flourish

Long live great revolutionary path of Naxalbari

Long live Marxism,Leninism,Maoism.

With revolutionary greetings
Gangadhara
for the statecommittee
CPI(MAOIST)
KARNATAKA

26/07/07

People's March August 2007 pdf version

2007-07-27T15:53:00.001+06:00

Dear friends,

People's March August 2007 pdf version

Download PM August 2007 pdf

P.Govindan kutty
Editor,
People's March

Efforts on by BJP to spread SJ to different parts of Chhattisgarh....

2007-07-27T15:18:00.000+06:00

Within few days of starting the website www.salvajudum.com the bourgeosie got a front page news in Dainik Bhaskar saying that villagers are joining hands to fight the maoist in Rajnandgaon District.....

See the Class War here,the only newspaper with this news was Dainik Bhaskar owned by Ramesh Agrawal...

The website launched is run by :

Gopal Agrawal,
Tapesh Jain,
Madhusudan Sharma,
Bharat Yogi,
Anupam Sharma,
Anurag Jain,
Girish Raj
and others ....

All the above are city dwelling Hindu Fundamentalist.....what credentials do they have to be talking about what is good for the Indigenous people???When deep inside all they believe is using the Tribal Issues to fill their pockets as is happening in the Salwa Judum Camps in Bastar......

http://bhumkal.blogspot.com

Security up ahead of Martyrs week

2007-07-27T14:35:00.001+06:00

NAGPUR: The possibility of a sudden attack on government establishments, especially police posts, along with Tactical Counter Offensive Campaigns (TCOC) during 'Martyrs week' (Shaheed saptah) annually observed by Maoists from July 28 onwards has prompted the security agencies to slip into alert mode.

High vigilance and bandobast are expected to be the highlights of police action gearing up to counter the annual event, which is usually stretched to 15 days. Deployed at the strategic locations in the naxal-affected districts like Gadchiroli, Gondia and Chandrapur, including key government establishments like MSEDCL sub-stations, telephone exchanges and MTNL towers and bus stations, police wants to ensure that the Naxal attacks can be countered on these 'soft' targets.

Anti-Naxalite Operation (ANO) cell has already been tipped off by the intelligence sources about the lethal tactics likely to be undertaken by the Maoists during the forthcoming Shaheed Saptah.

Sources claimed that the ANO has been informed about 'mobile warfare' or attacks on government establishments and police stations by Maoists armed with sophisticated weapons. Similarly, sources said that the ANO has also been alerted about the tactics like TCOC undertaken by the Maoists to target government establishments and sabotage government machineries.

"Security has been stepped up after inputs were gathered about the possible violent strikes by the Maoists,'' said Anti-Naxal Operation cell chief Pankaj Gupta. "Violent action against police personnel and government officials to avenge actions on naxalites by the security agencies would be the main focus of the violent plans of the naxals in this period but we are geared up too,'' said Gupta.

Co-ordination among the neighbouring states and different agencies would play a crucial role in countering the naxal's oppressive actions, he added. Apart from other challenges, heavy monsoon also has been worrying the ANO department.

"Taking advantage of the inundated nullahs and rivers in the districts, the naxals would try their utmost to cut-off the areas. Though rain would be a deterrent for naxals too but security agencies would be prepared,'' said Gupta.

Meanwhile, superintendent of police of Gadchiroli Rajesh Pradhan said that considering the naxal bandh call, extra State Reserve Police teams from Nagpur and Amravati had been deployed to spruce up security arrangements.

In Gondia, superintendent of police Pradeep Deshpande and special IG Shrikant Savarkar visited the naxal-affected villages of the district.

Deshpande has also deployed additional security personnel, including State Reserve Police Force, and has formed about 22 counter-insurgency teams in the area. The entire police machinery in association with the anti-naxal operations cell is geared up to meet any eventuality.

The local police have held coordination meetings with the officials of the forest, railways and other government departments to foil naxal designs.

The villages bordering Chhattisgarh and Gadchiroli are together keeping a strict vigil to thwart any naxal strike.
Like Pradhan, Deshpande too has appealed to the people not to sympathise with naxals and their nefarious and anti-national activities.

According to sources in the city police, security in the Orange city would be stepped up during the forthcoming Shaheed Saptah.

Apart from intercepting a vehicle with huge cache of arms possibly meant for distribution among the South-based splinter groups of naxal dalams last year, arresting state-level activists like Arun Thomas Ferriera and Murli along with two others, city police dealt a huge blow to the naxal movement in Vidarbha

Maoist cloud sends House under cover

2007-07-27T09:42:00.001+06:00

Maoist cloud sends House under cover

SHEENA K AND RASHEED KIDWAI

July 26: Maoists have driven the state underground.

For the first time since Independence, an Assembly today held a secret sitting — with no visitors, journalists or cameras present, only the MLAs and three officials.

The reason: the Chhattisgarh Assembly was discussing the Naxalite menace, described last year by the Prime Minister as the "biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country".

Chief minister Raman Singh said he decided on an in-camera session to allow members to discuss the issue "openly and freely". What the statement implied, but left unsaid, was that elected legislators are reluctant to speak out with the Naxalites watching.

Assembly secretary Devendra Verma said as much: "The members avoid speaking on such sensitive issues in the open. Even the government, which finalises strategic plans for such problems, avoids opening its cards."

The decision to hold the session behind closed doors appeared to have worked. The House, which met at 11am, was to sit till 3pm but the discussion was first extended by three hours and then again by another two hours.

Other than the MLAs, only the state's top officials — chief secretary Shivraj Singh, principal secretary S.V. Prabhat and director-general of police Viswaranjan — were present.

Speaker Prem Prakash Pandey said afterwards that members of the ruling and the Opposition parties had a constructive discussion and he was hopeful the debate would result in a solution. He refused to give details of the talks.

Leader of the Opposition Mahendra Karma and BJP legislator Devji Patel said all members had been briefed not to speak about the session. Even minutes of the discussion will be kept under wraps.

Rule 163 A — under which the Speaker gave consent for the session — says any disclosure of the proceedings will be treated as "gross breach of privilege of the Assembly".

Former chief minister Ajit Jogi was unimpressed. "Being the first to do this or that does not mean anything. Dr Raman Singh must remember it is the government's responsibility to ensure peace and safety."

But party colleague Karma, who leads the 35 Congress MLAs in the 90-member House, was more supportive. He agreed that the session had to be held in secrecy because Naxalites often target MLAs who speak out against them and hoped something "concrete" would emerge out of it.

"Generally, a secret sitting of Parliament or the Assemblies is held in wartime. It underlines that the menace of Red army is no less than a war," a Congress member said.

Hundreds killed in relentless attacks and 13 states designated Naxalite-hit have not caused the alarm that a single blast in Delhi or Mumbai does, but perhaps the sight of the state going under cover will force urban India to wake up to the problem of the outback.

International Conspiracy, Latest Logic of Repression by Marxist Gestapo Mechanism!

2007-07-27T09:31:00.001+06:00

International Conspiracy, Latest Logic of Repression by Marxist Gestapo Mechanism!

Buddhadeb Now sees International conspiracy! What for? Is it a Marxist government at all? Does this government undermine US interests or it has decided to overthrow the Zionist Brahminical system? Who is opposing his brand of capitalist Development?
Mrs Indiran gandhi was most quoted to warn of international conspiracies whenever she faced any challange within!
Mind you, this is the latest logic of repression by Marxist Gestapo Mechanism!

International conspiracy to destabilse India, says Buddhadeb while India's ruling Congress party looked set to lose power in the tiny western tourist state of Goa on Thursday after a group of legislators withdrew their support to the coalition. Expressing concern at terrorist activities in West Bengal like last year's blast at a railway station in Jalpaiguri that killed eight people, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said this was part of an international conspiracy to destablise India from within. Buddhadev Bhattacharjee today admitted that his Left Front government was not free from corruption and his `do-it-now` slogan given a year ago could not overnight bring transparency in the administration.

A total of 40 people were killed in political clashes in West Bengal last year, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told the assembly today.

The 40 included 24 CPI-M activists, three members each of the Trinamool Congress and congress and 10 from parties like the Gorkha National Liberational Front and Jharkhand Party, he said while replying to a question.

A total of 3,998 arrests were made in connection with the clashes and 19 cases were registered, he said.

West Bengal`s opposition Trinamool Congress today rejected Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee`s apology and appeal to lift its boycott of the assembly shortly after he expressed regret for his alleged derogatory remarks about the leader of the opposition.The political heat over farmland acquisition issue, sought to be cooled down during the recent parleys between Marxist veteran Jyoti Basu and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, is still raging in West Bengal with the latter's decision to boycott the chief minister for his alleged derogatory remarks in the Assembly recently.

The Basu-Mamata talks, which generated hope of an early restoration of peace in trouble-torn Singur and Nandigram as also ensuring normal relations between the government and the opposition, received a setback nearly a month after over the Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya's comments against the opposition leader in the state Assembly.

The Trinamool Congress' decision to boycott all House proceedings where the Chief Minister will be present, has come at a time when the state Assembly is on its extended budget session and that is likely to continue till end of this month.

The chances of rapprochement between the ruling Left Front and the main opposition Trinamool Congress over the controversial farmland acquisition issue had brightened after the former Chief Minister's diplomacy. The exercise however, received the jolt with the Chief Minister's comments on opposition leader Partha Chatterjee.

During his reply to Home (police) department's budget speech last week, the Chief Minister made a remark against Chatterjee, questioning his power and liberty to speak in his own party without fear.

It was a matter of concern that explosives used to trigger the blast at Belakoba Railway Station were brought from outside and local people were involved in the attack, he told the assembly in reply to a question.

Terrorists were active along the Western and the Eastern borders. "If we look at Pakistan and Afganistan, we can see what shape terrorism is taking on the subcontinent," he said.

Asked whether the US had a hand in this conspiracy, Bhattacharjee replied that the US had a role wherever terrorist activities were taking place across the world.

"I cannot say specifically whether the US has a hand here, but there is no doubt that they play some role in the subcontinent," he said in reply to a supplementary question.

Bhattacharjee said the state government was working in tandem with the Centre to combat terrorist activities. The danger remained despite stepped up vigil, he said.

Noting that information was regularly exchanged among intelligence agencies of the state, the Centre, the Army and BSF, he said in some cases, arrests were made on the basis of information provided by the central agencies.

Bhattacharjee, who also holds the home portfolio, admitted there were some weakness in the state intelligence agencies.

Replying to a question on the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), he said after the operation by Bhutan's army against rebels sheltering in the kingdom, KLO activities had stopped for some time and the militants took shelter in a neighbouring country.

The KLO was now trying to re-group in Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Siliguri in North Bengal, where vigil had been stepped up. The KLO problem would persist because of the Ulfa in Assam, he said.

Claiming that the KLO and other groups did not have the people's support, he said the state government had initiated a process to bring KLO militants back to the mainstream and around 150 of them had returned. But other groups like the Kamtapur People's Party were coordinating among themselves.

To another question, he said the state government would provide compensation of Rs 50,000 to families of the eight persons killed in the blast at Belakoba Railway Station. But this was getting delayed due to a complicated procedure, he said.

Asked whether the state had sought more security forces from the Centre, Bhattacharjee said: "We have asked for more forces keeping in mind the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the Western border."

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said on Wednesday that a just-completed nuclear deal with India complies with U.S. law, but some experts doubted that, and lawmakers said the agreement could face a rough road in the U.S. Congress.
\
Congressional sources and other experts told Reuters the agreement reached last week appears to go a long way toward meeting the demands of India's nuclear establishment, giving New Delhi rights only accorded to key U.S. allies Japan and the European Union.

"The administration is going to call this a success even though from policy and legal perspectives, there are major problems," said one congressional source, who spoke anonymously because he learned details of the deal on a confidential basis.

The pact, approved by India's cabinet on Wednesday, would allow India access to U.S. nuclear fuel and equipment for the first time in 30 years, even though New Delhi refused to join non-proliferation pacts and tested nuclear weapons.

"We're very satisfied because we know the agreement is well within the bounds of the Hyde Act," Burns told reporters after testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The Hyde Act, approved by Congress in December, created a unique exception to U.S. export law to allow nuclear cooperation with India. The just-completed agreement, called a 123 agreement after a section of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act, spells out technical details for that nuclear cooperation.

Communist Buddha of West Bengal confesses corruption but does any one know how much they have milked from expatriate Indians (NRIs)
Media Release
Jul. 26, 2007

Countless money has been stolen by the West Bengal communists from expatraite Indians who tried to set up industries in West Bangal but did not understand only bribes work with these communists.

These communists are in bed with Indian oligarchs like Tata, Birla, Ambanis who feed them well with money. These communists will do anything to get hold of money. They preach laziness in west Bengal. The approach to the expatriate Indian is simple - you have it, I do noy. So your's is mine.

When it comes to Indian oligarchs, the comminists are straightened top to the bottom. Thge oligarchs treat these communists as street dogs. They throw a some crores of Rupees (million of dollars) and ask them to secure the oligrachs'' interests at the cost of common people and poor farmers.

The communists are now in bed with Intalian born Sonia Gandhi's congress party too. That has happened because Indian oligrachs want that to happen.

http://www.indiadaily

Leaflet on Atyadka encounter

2007-07-26T23:57:00.000+06:00

Kannada Pamphlet.
Source: email
Click on images to enlarge

cpi(maoist) karnataka press release on reactionary activities,confiscation,attack on media

2007-07-26T23:50:00.001+06:00

Via: email

Reactionary Sangh Parivar and state police colluded and hatching conspicuous against the people these anti people goons did serial robbery nearby Agumbe and sent a team to Gore's house near Belthangadi etc. There several such near were conspicuously spreading by these anti people elements. Now they are floating anti people reactionary organizations in the name of peace committee, Jaagrutha Sena etc. Through these they are trying to organize landlords and their agents and creating mercenary killer gangs against the struggling people there. These are all against to the adivasis, daliths, backwards and women. By this they are putting efforts to get support for their reactionary crimes.

We are appealing to the struggling people and pro people organizations and individuals to expose these conspiracies of police and Sangh parivar, and fight against it by not allowing them to continue their anti people activities.

Karnataka government confiscated withdrawn book Aanudeva Horaganavanu by acceding to the reactionary swamies and leaders. There were politically motivated demonstrations organized by political and religious leaders, particularly in North Karnataka, in the juncture of transfer of power to the BJP.

Author himself clarified his version of suspected reality about Basavanna's caste origin and open for freely discussing the same. But several intellectuals were acted as feudal pandiths without even taking the responsibility of healthy and democratic discussions over the matters raised in the book. Rather than that they tried to get mercy and support of religious leaders and political leaders by using this issue. In this few democrats and progressive intellectuals clearly took position of middle path. They diluted discussions with personal hatred ness. They did not take the responsibility of conducting healthy and democratic discussions.

In midst of this reactionary atmosphere several democrats and few organizations actively conducted and participated in the discussions with firm standpoints by upholding freedom of expression and democratic discussion.

Kumara Swamy's coalition govt. confiscated the book after author himself withdrawing it. We condemn this act of government of Karnataka and demanding to withdraw this undemocratic,insane decision immediately.

Attacks on Journalists and media people are increasing alarmingly. Several Journalists were killed by anti people reactionaries and by the government forces also. Several were arrested under false cases. Hitting and smashing the camera and other valuables is becoming common thing.

In Mangalore, Bengaluru and other parts of the state, ransacking the offices of the media, physically attacking them, destroying their camera, imposing false cases and illegal arrests by the state were increasing. In earlier also sangh parivaar and travelmafia jointly ransacked an media office with threat.
Recently in Mangalore TV9 office ransacked and attacked it's reporters by the blue film mafia elements.

We are condemning these attacks on media and demanding to provide all necessary arrangement for the free and democratic functioning of journalists and media people.

Take stringent actions on attackers.
All these events reveals further how much democratic, our system is and how much democratic atmosphere prevailing in our society?.

We are appealing all people and demdocrats to raise their voices and fight it with organizing them selves for the sake protecting whatever rights people achieved through the struggles.

Gangadhara
for the statecommittee
CPI(MAOIST)
KARNATAKA
25/07/07

HIGH COURT REFUSES BAIL TO Dr. Binayak Sen

2007-07-26T13:34:00.001+06:00

PEOPLE'S UNION FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES–

CHHATTISGARH

Post Box No. 87, Main Post Office, Raipur – 492001: Chhattisgarh: India

E-mail: pucl.cg@gmail.com
============================================================

UPDATE On Dr. Binayak Sen's Illegal Detention:

Raipur, 23^rd July, 2007 (Monday)

HIGH COURT REFUSES BAIL TO Dr. Binayak Sen

Dr. Binayak Sen's Bail Application was rejected today (23rd July 2007, Monday) at the Chhattisgarh High Court, Bilaspur. The Hon'ble Justice Sunil Kumar Sinha passed orders in the matter today at 2:30 pm in the court that since there was a prima facie case that the applicant was involved with some banned organisation, and since the investigations have yet to be completed, he was of the opinion that it would not be proper to grant bail at this stage.

It may be mentioned that the arguments were concluded in the Bail Matter on 20 ^th July 2007 , and reserved for orders. Adv Kanak Tiwari, Senior Counsel appeared for Dr. Sen, assisted by Adv Prashant Mishra, Adv Sudha Bhardwaj, Adv Vimlesh Bajpai. Additional Advocate General, Mr. Pramod Verma had appeared for the State.

According to Adv Prashant Mishra, the junior counsel for Adv Kanak Tiwari, who read the orders in the Court, it appears that the bail application was rejected on the following principal counts as per the reasoning contained therein. We quote below some of the ingredients of the said order.

1. Letters seized from Mr. Piyush Guha are written by Mr. Narayan Sanyal for his specimen handwriting tallied with the letters;

2. Though they are addressed as "dear P" and "dear V" it divulges that certain unlawful activities were/are being carried out.
3. Dr Sen associated with Narayan Sanyal and met him frequently.

4. As per the statement of one Goppana (a Commander of the CPI-Maoists, arrested by the Chhattisgarh Police in the month of May 2007) Mr. Narayan Sanyal was a member of the politburo and a naxalite associated in a variety of unlawful activities.

5. Thus prima facie case of association against Dr. Sen also by the virtue of those letters.

6. Moreover, investigations are still on.

7. Case laws and instances of bail having been granted under Acts like TADA and MACOCA do not apply because there are provisions under such acts imposing restrictions on grant of bail; and since under the statutes presently under consideration there are no such restrictions, general principles of Cr.P.C. applies and therefore grant of bail not permissible as there may be further evidences."

(Note: This reasoning is, on the face of it, erroneous and perverse, for if under stringent enactments bail can be granted by courts, on the considerations of general principles it should be granted more and more. It appears that a majority of the arguments raised during the hearing by senior counsel Adv. Kanak Tiwari have not been adhered to and not met.)

The PUCL, and several other human rights and people's organisations are quite disappointed with this order, and would definitely go in appeal to the Supreme Court of India.

The Chhattisgarh PUCL has termed this order of the Chhattisgarh High Court as "unfortunate" as the Court has not appreciated all the material facts and evidence of the case as presented by Adv Kanak Tiwari, the legal counsel for Dr. Binayak Sen during the arguments. A critical and true appraisal of the decision will be possible only after the text of the judgment is available tomorrow. In the mean time, PUCL office-bearers and legal luminaries are being consulted for future strategy and agenda.

The PUCL-Chhattisgarh unit has organized a meeting of the State Executive Committee, along with other organisations and individuals committed to democratic and peaceful processes, to take stock of the alarming situation in Chhattisgarh with regard to ruthless use of repressive laws and anti-democratic actions of the State Government and, in turn, formulate future strategy and action plan to defend democracy and restore the rule of law.

Rajendra K Sail
President
(Mobile: 098268-04519)

Two Maoists Arrested In Orissa

2007-07-26T09:02:00.001+06:00

Wednesday 25th of July 2007 Two hardcore Maoist guerrillas were Wednesday arrested from Orissa's southern district of Malkangiri, police said.

The rebels, who were allegedly involved in over a hundred crimes in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, were identified as Sriramulu alias Srinivas, 38, and Sukel Madivi alias Manoj, 28.

They were arrested from the Tekguda forest under Kalimela police station, some 700 km from here, district police chief Satish Gojbaya said.

The Andhra Pradesh police had announced a Rs.1 million reward to capture Srinivas while Manoj was wanted by the police of his home state Chhattisgarh for his long list of crimes.

Police have also seized arms, ammunition and explosives from the du0

http://newspostindia.com/report-8804

Jharkhand cry for human rights

2007-07-25T20:18:00.001+06:00

Ranchi, July 24: Jharkhand is among the top five in the list of states when it comes to violation of human rights.

Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), justice S. Rajendra Babu told The Telegraph today that Jharkhand happens to be a state of "much concern".

Babu was here to inaugurate a separate academic block of the Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Sciences (Rinpas). "With regard to violation of human rights, Uttar Pradesh tops the list while Delhi is second. Bihar is third and Jharkhand comes in fourth or fifth," said Babu, a former chief justice of India.

Sources disclosed that as many as 84,000 cases of violation of human rights are in consideration with NHRC, of which more than 40,000 cases are from Uttar Pradesh.

"As far as I can recall, there are about 3,000 human rights violation cases from Jharkhand," said Babu.

NHRC only takes up cases when the state violates human rights.

Babu, however, clarified that there is no direct connection between the rise of Naxalism (in several states including Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand) and violation of human rights.

He revealed that NHRC is determined to widen its sphere and cover human rights violation in social, cultural and economic spheres.

Babu, who stays in Bangalore, described Jharkhand as "one of the best places to be", describing his home as "located between a crematorium and NIMHANS (another mental hospital)."

Referring to his judiciary days, Babu recalled that a lawyer had requested him to release all mental patients lodged in jails. "But where would they go? Families do not recognise them and they are looked down upon. The stigma has to end through proper awareness and education," said the NHRC chairman.

Babu also visited different wards of Rinpas and met patients with mental disorders in the morning along with Rinpas director retired brigadier P.K. Chakraborty, former NHRC rapporteur Chamanlal and secretary general of NHRC Ravi Kamal Bhargava among others.

http://www.telegraphindia.com

Maoists gun down informer

2007-07-25T20:05:00.001+06:00

Maoists gun down 'informer'
Wednesday July 25 2007 12:17 IST

GUNTUR: Maoists gunned down former Naxalite at Kallagunta village in Veldurthi mandal in the district late last night accusing him of being a police informer.

Nomula Mariadas (22) joined Naxal movement four years ago. After working in the movement in various capacities, he surrendered to the police at Veldurthi police station in April, 2005.

However, after surrendering, Mariadas formed a gang and took to extortion. A case has already been registered against him at Amarabad police station in Mahboobnagar district, in connection with which he was arrested a year ago.

In Kallagunta, Mariadas was leading a group, involved in the implementation of Cultivation and Land Development Programme.

http://www.newindpress.com

"Hugo Chavez has an oil strategy... but can this lead to liberation?"

2007-07-25T09:29:00.001+06:00

23 July 2007. A World to Win News Service. Following is the first of two instalments of an article by Raymond Lotta reprinted from the 1 July 2007 issue of Revolution, newspaper of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA. ( revcom.us) It is a part of a fuller analysis being developed by a writing group about Hugo Chavez and what has been happening in Venezuela since Chavez came to power in 1998.

The nature of Hugo Chavez's "Bolivarian revolution" is a highly important and widely discussed issue among progressive and radical-minded people. Chavez has carried out a host of social and economic measures whose stated aim is to empower and improve the lives of the poor and politically disenfranchised in Venezuelan society; he has condemned the US as an imperialist and bullying power; and in 2005 he announced that Venezuela was embarking on a project of "21st-Century Socialism". At a time when the US is waging its "war on the world" and at a time when the US has been spearheading a pounding and brutalizing neoliberal economic agenda for the countries of the Third World – developments in Venezuela have attracted great interest.

But what is the actual programme and outlook of Hugo Chavez, what is the character of the process unfolding in Venezuela, and where is it heading? Does Chavez's programme represent a real alternative to imperialist-led exploitation, a viable road to liberation in today's world? And what is the meaning of socialism in today's globalized world?

Our view is that the "Bolivarian revolution" does not represent a fundamental break with imperialism, nor embody a vision or path to truly radical societal transformation. But understanding why this is so is a complex matter requiring close analysis. In the full analysis soon to be published, we discuss the historical factors shaping Venezuela's development, the economic model that Hugo Chavez has been bringing forward, the role of the army and new popular institutions in the "Bolivarian revolution", the social and class forces involved in and leading this movement, and the larger debate about "21st-century socialism" and the real challenges of making revolution in today's world.

While we offer this critique of the Chavez project , it in no way cuts against our stand with the Venezuelan people and our total opposition to any attempts by US imperialism to undermine or openly commit aggression against the Chavez regime.

This article focuses on Venezuela's oil economy. We start here because oil has been so central to Venezuela's historical domination by imperialism and to Venezuela's economic-social development, and because oil figures centrally in Hugo Chavez's programme to reclaim sovereignty and change Venezuelan society.

Our goal is to contribute to understanding, to learn from analysis of others, and to deepen dialogue and debate about these crucial issues.

During his electoral campaign for president in 1998, Hugo Chavez took on the old elite this way: "Oil is a geopolitical weapon, and these imbeciles who govern us don't realize the power of an oil producing country." 1 He expressed his strategic thinking about oil in a 2006 interview:

"We are today implementing a strategic programme called the Oil Sowing Plan: using oil wealth so Venezuela can become an agricultural country, a tourist destination, an industrialized country with a diversified economy. We are investing billions of dollars in the infrastructure: power generators using thermal energy, a large railway, roads, highways, new towns, new universities, new schools, recuperating land, building tractors, and giving loans to farmers. One day we won't have any more oil, but that will be in the 22nd century. Venezuela has oil for another 200 years." 2

Chavez has spoken often about weaning Venezuela away from excessive dependence on the oil sector. But as the above statements and concrete policy underscore, oil will continue for some time, certainly for the medium term, to be the backbone of the economy and the keystone of Venezuela's foreign policy.

What kind of resource?

There is no question that Venezuela is rich in oil. Venezuela possesses the largest conventional oil reserves in the Western hemisphere (more than three times the proven reserves in the US); has trillions of cubic feet of natural gas; and has, by some estimates, untapped reserves in the Orinoco belt of the country that may exceed those of Saudi Arabia. Nor is there any question that oil revenues can grow astronomically: the price of oil is approaching near-historic highs, in the range of $65 per barrel.

But why is oil as a sphere of investment and as a "petrodollar" financial instrument "black gold"? Oil has become a source of productive and monetary wealth within a certain set of social production relations. The growth and contemporary expansion of world capitalism has produced a profit-based agro-industrial structure that relies heavily and disproportionately on a non-renewable resource, oil, as an essential economic input whose world price has impacted production costs, profits, and competitive advantage. In the post-World War 2 period, new oil-based and oil-related industries like auto, petrochemicals, and plastics, arose. Moreover, the exploration, extraction, refining, and marketing of oil form a highly profitable sector of the world economy. 3

An historical trajectory of oil-fuelled development under world capitalism has been ruinous of human lives and planetary ecology. The production and consumption patterns of the advanced capitalist countries – where 25 percent of the world's population lives but which consume 75 percent of the world's resources – are now culminating in a global climate crisis. A just and rational world economy would neither be organized around a social structure of exploitation and inequality nor be based on this kind of non-sustainable technical-resource foundation.

Oil has also become a weapon in world politics. This too is a function of imperialism. Power relations are integral to imperialism. Control over resources yields geo-economic advantage and geo-political domination – in which some powers gain privileged and monopolistic access to resources and the ability to control other economies and states. Oil has been an object of imperialist rivalry, collusion, and conquest, including through local proxy wars. Oil has been a means of propping up and controlling neocolonial regimes awash in oil revenues and corruption, like Nigeria. The modern, imperialist global military machine runs on oil.

Oil and Venezuela

Venezuela has played a certain historical role in the imperialist international division of labour: as a strategic exporter of oil. And the economic pillar of the modern Venezuelan state system has been the extraction of rents from oil companies, the charge for allowing them to pump oil out of the ground. Over the last half century, oil income has both lubricated a certain kind of growth and development in Venezuela and locked Venezuela in to an international oil economy dominated by Western imperialism.

Oil, with its booms and busts, reshaped the economic geography of the country. Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela, more than doubled in size between 1920 and 1936, and doubled again between 1936 and 1950. Then it tripled between 1950 and 1971. The oil economy gave rise to a new middle class dependent on the state and disbursement of oil revenues, while shantytowns of the rural poor spread through and literally seeped into the muddy slopes of western Caracas. Today, almost 90 percent of Venezuela's population lives in the cities and half of the population of Caracas lives in poverty. One measure of oil's distorting effects on the economic and social structure of Venezuela has been the vast growth of the "informal economy" in the cities: the urban self-employed (like peddlers and street merchants) and workers who perform unregistered or "off-the-books" labour and services. 4

Oil has produced and perpetuated a developmental trajectory marked by great economic and social gaps: between the productivity of the petroleum sector and the productivity of the non-petroleum sectors; between the development of the rural and urban areas; and between rich and poor, in the cities and in the countryside.

Let's step back. From 1958 to 1998, Venezuela earned some $300 billion in oil revenues. What has this meant for the masses of people in Venezuela, and what kind of development has resulted from subordination to the dynamics of the world imperialist economy and the world oil industry within that?

The production of oil has actually stifled any significant industrial diversification. Much of the new infrastructure built between the 1960s and 1980s is decaying for lack of maintenance. Floods and mudslides, aggravated by uncontrolled urbanization, have washed away towns. Health hazards stalk the shantytowns in which 60 percent of Venezuela's urban population lives. The number of people living in official poverty nearly doubled between 1984 and 1995; and, today, more than half of Venezuela's working population works in the precarious informal economy. 5

Hugo Chavez has decried the oligarchic oil economy with its corruption, patronage, and extremes of glittering wealth and grinding poverty. He has spoken of the need to revive the peasant economy. But can a different form of oil economy produce a just and viable alternative to the neoliberal economic model and lead to socialism? And just how different will such an economy be if it requires the massive infusion of foreign investment capital and a gamble in a game of oil markets?

A programme that cannot break out of the status quo; a programme wracked with contradictions

Chavez has pinned the success of his programme of social equity and diversification of the economy on oil revenues. His main economic order of business, as he repeatedly states, is "sowing the petroleum." This is a phrase and programme that has been part of Venezuela's populist-nationalist politics and discourse since the mid-1930s: the government is to assert greater control over oil revenues, use oil wealth to promote development, and allow more people to share in the oil bounty. Chavez is counting on high and rising oil prices to undergird vast increases in government spending, a growing state presence in the economy, and subsidized prices for certain domestic products (mainly gasoline but also imported consumer goods, including food). In 2004, $1.7 billion of the state oil company's $15 billion budget was allocated to fund social programs; soon thereafter it went to $4 billion a year. 6

Chavez, after having restructured the management of the state oil company, is moving along three tracks to maximize oil revenues to make good on his programme. He is seeking to expand oil production. He is seeking to increase state ownership and the government's share of earnings, royalties, and taxes deriving from foreign-based activity in the hydrocarbon sector (oil, natural gas, and coal). And he is seeking out new markets for oil, both to absorb expanded output and as a cushion against possible US pressure and retaliation. These are not simply technical tools of economic management; they are bound up with a capitalist logic, and are fraught with the contradictions of dependent, imperialist-led development.

On the first track, the strategic 25 year Plan Siembra Petrolera (Oil Sowing Plan), in its first phase for 2005-2012, calls for an increase in production from current levels (2006 estimates range from 2.8-3.3 million barrels a day) to 5.8 million barrels of oil per day in 2012. In the gas industry, similar large-scale development is also planned.

The Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) estimated in 2006 that this phase of the expansion plan requires some $75 billion to finance new investment. Where is this money coming from? Most will come from the state oil company. Some 25 to 30 percent is expected from external, private sources: borrowings from banks, offset by anticipated oil earnings, and investments by the foreign oil companies operating in Venezuela. 7

Chavez is counting on increased output from the so-called Orinoco Petroleum Belt, a region in the centre of the country that has been the site of major investments by the state oil company and foreign operators, like Exxon-Mobil, ConocoPhillips, and France's Total SA. Since the 1990s these imperialist transnationals have invested more than $17 billion, which may have grown in value to $30 billion. The extraction and processing of this extra-heavy crude oil requires expensive investment in heavy machinery, treatment, and storage complexes. Partial processing of this oil on the spot, to make it liquid enough to flow in pipes, produces enormous amounts of waste material.

There is a sharp contradiction. On the one hand, the state must extract financial resources from the oil industry to underwrite its development and social spending plans (and, increasingly, to meet rising popular expectations and shore up the political base of the Chavez regime). On the other hand, the state must invest to maintain the competitiveness of the oil industry as a capitalist enterprise in the international capitalist market.8

Again, there is great tension here. In the last two years, social programmes have absorbed a larger share of the state oil company's budget than has spending on maintenance and new oil capacity. This social spending by the government puts strains on needed investments in the oil sector. To say investments are "needed" is not to make some pure technical statement; rather, investments are "needed" from the standpoint of an oil-exporting economy and the dictates of the world market – improving efficiency and compensating for possible price declines with expanded output. Because Venezuela's wells are so old, output declines 23 percent a year – and so it is necessary to drill new wells just to maintain capacity. 9 There is a pull exerted by competition on the world market, intensified by low levels of investment in Venezuela's oil sector relative to other oil-producing countries, to upgrade and expand the industry, and maintain profitability.

If foreign investment comes forth to finance a major share of Plan Siembra, this investment carries with it real control and puts real leverage in the hands of those foreign investors. This is important to bear in mind. Venezuela is not unusual in having formal sovereignty over its oil. Some three-quarters of the world's oil and gas reserves and half of global output are controlled by national state oil companies like Saudi Aramco, Kuwait Petroleum, and the Algerian state company. But the national-state oil companies rely on international finance, work through international trade and marketing channels, and collaborate with the large, Western-based transnational oil companies, like Exxon-Mobil. These transnational corporations and their service company networks have strong competitive advantage: in scale, reach, and core managerial and technological competences, financial capabilities, support by the Western imperialist governments, and the ability to pull up stakes in a country like Venezuela.

In terms of the second track: higher tax and royalty payments. In April 2006, Chavez announced his intention to increase PDVSA's share in major projects to 60 percent from 40 percent. The Chavez government is creating new forms of joint ventures (what are now called "mixed companies") with Shell, Chevron, British Petroleum, and others. Oil resources and oil profits are jointly owned in the form of single new enterprises – only now, the Venezuelan government obtains a higher proportion of profits than it had previously, while the foreign oil companies, with heavy investments, benefit from current high oil prices and prospect of profitable new oil fields. At the same time, the government has negotiated with the 22 foreign companies operating in Venezuela to agree to a new tax law that is being enforced retroactively.

On May 1, 2007, Chavez made good on his ultimatum to the foreign companies that they accept a larger share of ownership by the Venezuelan government or cease operations. Chavez may be a tough negotiator (and did succeed in getting a larger slice of rising oil revenues from companies who want to stay put in order to recoup the value of their investments and make huge profits). At the same time, to keep these projects alive, to go forward with expansion plans, Chavez must reach some kind of understanding with foreign capital, as these firms are providing essential finance and technology. So the threat of takeover was sweetened with a commitment to compensate the firms. 10

The third track of the oil programme is to restructure Venezuela's external trade relations away from dependence on the US as a market and source of investment capital and technical expertise. Venezuela accounts for some 12 percent of the US's daily oil imports, and plays a certain strategic role in the US's ability to project power in the world. But the other side of the equation is more telling, illustrating an aspect of Venezuela's structural dependency: that 12 percent share of US oil imports accounted for by Venezuela represents 60 percent of Venezuela's total production!11

In seeking to diversify markets, Chavez has opened negotiations with China and has plans to sell Venezuelan oil to China, the world's second-largest energy consumer, and to India as well. But there are high costs of servicing these markets. Venezuela does not have a Pacific port, and large tankers cannot make it through the Panama Canal. So Venezuela would need to construct pipeline through Colombia in order to ship the oil. But shipment to Asia is costly, owing to the long distances involved. Further, China does not have adequate capacity to refine Venezuela's sulphur-rich crude. China is investing substantial sums to increase that capacity, but China is also exploring for oil and gas closer to its shores in the South China Sea and angling as well for deals in the Caspian Sea region.

The US connection is a difficult knot for Chavez to cut, especially if oil is to be the centrepiece of development. There is the close proximity of the US market and low transportation costs. There are the refineries in the US adapted to processing Venezuela's oil. And the US continues to be Venezuela's most important trading partner (US-Venezuela trade actually rose 36 percent in 2006). These are among the pressures operating on Chavez to maintain stable economic relations with the US, 12 even if the US has other plans.

Part of Chavez's strategy for diversification involves inviting foreign companies from outside the traditional circle of the big Western oil majors to invest in Venezuela's petroleum industry and to participate in his plan for a continental gas pipeline project stretching from Venezuela down to Argentina. These form part of Chavez's efforts to create more multilateral investment and trade links. Chavez is courting companies from India, China, Russia, and elsewhere. Chavez hails investment plans in Latin America as anti-US regional integration.

But whether in Venezuela or elsewhere in Latin America, the essence of these projects is: investment by capitalist firms... according to capitalist methods of exploitation...to be measured by capitalist criteria of profitability. These projects have enormous social consequences for local populations, including dislocation of indigenous peoples. And they have enormous environmental consequences. 13

Chavez must assure long-standing Western and new investors of a relatively stable business-receptive environment. It is revealing that the Chavez regime has designated the oil sector a "strategic industry." The state-appointed management tightly controls this sector (and the oil industry is one where worker co-participation, the limits and real nature of which will be discussed in a subsequent instalment of this series, is forbidden).

One critical-minded supporter of Chavez has observed, "the joint ventures provide a reality check to those used to only a diet of Chavez speeches...[B]ut in the current circumstances, paradoxically, a Faustian pact with foreign capital may be necessary to keep the forces of imperialism [US pressure and intervention] off Venezuela's back." 14

This captures much of the "best-case" thinking about Chavez's oil-based strategy of development. But this "best-case" thinking rests on a misunderstanding of imperialism. As desirous of genuine social change as many Chavez supporters are, that cold-water splash of "reality check" is worth pursuing further.

Modern-day enclave development

Imperialism manifests itself not simply through economic bullying or military threat and intervention – and US military action against Venezuela is by no means "off the table". It is also expressed through the structure and functioning of the world economy and the existing economic and social structure of Venezuela, which reflects and reinforces dependency on oil and subordination to the world market.

Chavez is perpetuating a form of export-led growth centred on the oil industry. The irrationality of an economy so geared to oil is expressed in the fact that only 20 percent of Venezuela's total oil production enters into the domestic economy. 15 It is expressed in the fact that while Venezuela's state oil company (PDVSA) is the country's single largest employer, with about 45,000 on its payroll, employment in the oil sector accounts for less than 1 percent of Venezuela's total work force. 16 It is expressed in the fact that, despite high oil prices and earnings, official unemployment in Venezuela has ranged from 8 to 15 percent in the Chavez years, with the poverty rate at 30 percent at the start of 2007. 17

This is a profoundly distorted economy: today, the oil sector accounts, and this has been a long-standing pattern, for about one-third of Venezuela's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 50 percent of the government's revenue, and 80 percent of Venezuela's export earnings. As one of the world's top oil producers, Venezuela is a top emitter of CO2 emissions in Latin America and has the region's highest per capita rate of carbon emissions. 18

The oil-export economy induces a form of "enclave" development. Such development responds to external sources of economic dynamism: the world oil market, conditions of demand in the major imperialist and regional economies, the rhythm and direction of world capital flows, etc. And such capital-intensive mono-export development is a barrier to integrated, all-around agricultural and industrial development in the exporting country.

Here it is necessary to elaborate on two related aspects of dependent development: lopsidedness and heightened exposure and vulnerability to the world market.

In the oppressed nations, the oil sector requires massive investment in advanced equipment and technology. These technology demands are met disproportionately from outside the economy – much of the advanced technology required by the oil sector is either imported, requiring that foreign exchange be generated to pay for imported capital goods, or obtained through the joint ventures (the foreign oil and oil-service companies involved, like Halliburton, provide the technology in-house or purchase it on the world market).

Moreover, much of this technology cannot be widely diffused and adopted throughout the economy to revolutionize social production. This is so for two reasons. First, much of the specialized oil-drilling and oil-engineering technology is not appropriate to overall conditions of social-economic development. Second, even where some of this technology could have useful direct and indirect spin-off applications, there does not exist a broad-based industrial structure to which the benefits could accrue – exactly because the oil focus has constrained broader development.

The oil sector is not significantly stimulating new demand for locally produced industrial products, nor is it resulting in a rising socially useful skills level of the overall work force. You do not have a process of agricultural and industrial development unfolding that strengthens local capacity to innovate and adapt technology. These are consequences of enclave-like, oil-based development. 19

Under Chavez, PDVSA, the Venezuelan state oil company, has been seeking agreements with foreign oil companies requiring as a condition of entry that they source (obtain) more oil-service supplies locally. But as oil resources are depleted, and as the extraction and processing of Venezuela's heavy crude and rich-rich oil grows more challenging, new technology requirements appear. And as these requirements are met with even more specialized and sophisticated technology, the technology gaps between the oil sector and the rest of the economy are reproduced on a new level. 20

Meanwhile, the huge port, pipeline facilities, and other infrastructure investments to facilitate the exploration, extraction, and shipment of oil and coal are often out of scale to the needs of the overall economy – again, since they serve these more self-contained, outward-oriented investment projects, like the Orinoco Petroleum Belt plans.

As mentioned earlier, the oil sector overall accounts for a very small fraction of total employment. Chevron's huge $3.8 billion investment in the Orinoco Petroleum Belt initially will have created 6,000 jobs – upon completion, the project will only need 700 permanent employees.

These are phenomena of the enclave-like character of oil-based development. But here is the rub: the overall agro-industrial structure is profoundly influenced and skewed by the oil sector. There is heightened unevenness as between the productivity and wage levels and technological dynamism of a modern oil sector and other segments of the economy; and, as will be discussed shortly, the oil industry has negative feedback effects on domestic agriculture and food production. At the same time, the build-up of the state-capitalist oil sector strengthens class interests and class forces that have a strong stake in maintaining the dominant macro-economic structure.

To develop an agricultural base that could meet the food needs of society, provide rural employment, and develop through mutually reinforcing links with an integrated and balanced industrial structure would require a) a very different allocation and prioritisation of resources serving the needs of the now exploited and oppressed, and b) a break with the economic logic, structure of options, and pressures of the local and world capitalist market system (what Marxists call the law of value).

Footnotes

1. Cited in Nicholas Kozloff, Hugo Chavez: Oil, Politics, and the Challenge to the US (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006), p. 7. No original Spanish-language source available.

2. Greg Palast, "Hugo Chavez," Interview in Z, July 2006. www.zmag.org.

3. See Larry Everest, Oil, Empire, and Power: Iraq and the US Global Agenda (Monroe, Me.: Common Courage Press, 2004).

4. On the growth of Caracas, see Allen Gilbert, The Latin American City (London: Latin America Bureau, 1998), pp. 7-11.

5. See J.P. Leary, "Untying the Knot of Venezuela's Informal Economy," naclanews, December 6, 2006. http://news.nacla.org.

6. US Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Country Analysis Briefs, Venezuela, June 2004. www.eia.doe.gov.

7. On the 2006-2012 expansion plan and its costs and financing, see the statements and interviews by PDVSA officials at www.pdvsa.com.

8. These kinds of contradictions are pointed to in Fernando Coronil, "Magical Illusions or Revolutionary Magic? Chavez in Historical Context," NACLA Report on the Americas, Vol. XXXIII, No 6, 2000. See this article and also the highly important analysis of the historical development of the rentier oil economy and modern Venezuelan state and various incarnations of plans to "sow the petroleum" in Fernando Coronil, The Magical State: Nature, Money, and Modernity in Venezuela (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997).

9. See David Luhnow and Peter Millard, "As Global Demand Tightens, Oil Producer Has Agenda," The Wall Street Journal , August 1, 2006.

10. See Simon Romero and Clifford Krauss, "Deadline Nears in Chavez Fight Against Big Oil," The New York Times , April 10, 2007; Simon Romero, "Chavez Takes Over Foreign Controlled Oil Projects in Venezuela," The New York Times, May 2, 2007. In his July 2006 interview with Greg Palast (see zmag.org), Chavez says about the foreign oil companies, "[W]e don't want them to go, and I don't think they want to leave the country, either. We need each other."

11. Claude Larsimont, "Hugo Chavez, the Bolivarian Use of Petrodollars and the Oil Market," ESISC Background Analysis 10/05/2006.

12. See James Surowiecki, "The Financial Page: Synergy With The Devil," The New Yorker, January 8, 2007, p. 26.

13. On the environmental and human rights issues posed by Chavez's petroleum and natural gas regional initiatives, see David Hallowes and Victor Munnik Poisoned Spaces: Manufacturing Wealth, Producing Poverty, www.groundwork.org.za , October 2006; "Open Letter to President Hugo Chavez," Sociedad Homo et Natura, posted at www.nadir.org in April 2006.

14. Steven Mather, "Joint Ventures: Venezuela's Faustian Pact with Foreign Capital," Venezuelanalysis.com , September 30, 2006, www.venezuelanalysis.com .

15. Year-end data for 2006 from US Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration.

16. "Venezuela: Minerals," Encyclopedia Britannica Online, www.britannica.com. [back]

17. Bernardo Alvarez, "Venezuela's Global Agenda: Six More Years," April 5, 2007, Venezuelanalysis.com , www.venezuelanalysis.com .

18. Data from US Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Country Analysis Briefs, Venezuela, September 2006, www.eia.doe.gov]

19. The question of appropriate technology and whether raw materials investments spur linkages to other parts of the economy has been a long-standing topic of research and analysis on the part of radical, dependency, and Marxist theorists. The 2003 report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Foreign Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2003 examines patterns of foreign investment in Latin America and questions supposed benefits and spillover effects resulting from natural resources investments.

20. On new oil seismic technology and highly sophisticated secondary and tertiary recovery methods, some of which are now being used in Venezuela, see Jad Mouawad, "Oil Innovations Pump New Life into Old Wells, The New York Times, March 5, 2007.

Karnataka: 'They are Caught in the Crossfire between Naxals and Police'

2007-07-24T23:06:00.001+06:00

Chhattisgargh: Relief to rebels as jawans ‘retreat’

2007-07-24T22:09:00.001+06:00

OUR CORRESONDENT
Raipur, July 23: Maoists have a reason to smile — the Naga police battalion has finally moved out of the state.

After a short stint of two years, the battalion of Nagaland Armed Police (NAP) left Chhattisgarh yesterday after their term of deployment expired. The rebels have been demanding the removal of Naga jawans from Bastar since they stepped into the Maoist territory in May 2005.

On the request of he Chhattisgarh government, the Centre sent a battalion of NAP for anti-Maoist operations. The Naga jawans' expertise in jungle warfare soon started bearing results and they managed to storm into the territories that the Naxalites had been claiming theirs.

"The Naga boys did a commendable job and succeeded in putting the rebels into defensive mode for the first time," said inspector-general of police (headquarters) Girdhari Nayak. He said the state government had started efforts to bring the Naga battalion back for another term.

In a secret move, the NAP personnel reached here last evening from Bsatar in more than 50 vehicles with all their equipment and resources. They would head to Nagaland in a special train.

"Since it is a movement of an entire battalion, the details of onward journey cannot be leaked," Nayak said.

At present, the state has a battalion of Mizoram Armed Police from the Northeast. But the imprint left by the Naga jawans was unmatchable.

"The Naga jawans were energetic and acted on lightning speed," said Bastar superintendent of police G.P. Singh.

On many occasions, he specially invited the Naga troops to storm into Maoists' camps. During its two-year stay in Chhattisgarh, Naga jawans wreaked havoc on the rebels' camp.

About 24 jawans lost lives during operations. Ten NAP personnel died on the spot when rebels triggered a powerful landmine explosion in Dantewada on February 6 last year. The blast blew up the vehicle the jawans were travelling in.

The Maoists had been demanding the removal of Naga force from Chhattisgarh from time to time. Besides issuing notes to the local media, the rebels had organised bandh in Bastar a couple of times in support of their demand to send back NAP battalion.

Security Tone Up In Chhattisgarh Ahead Of Maoist Martyrs Week

2007-07-24T19:47:00.001+06:00

Tuesday 24th of July 2007 The Chhattisgarh government has begun strengthening police presence in interior areas of the insurgency-hit Bastar region in the wake of a Maoist plan to observe martyrs' week from July 28, officials said Tuesday.

'We have begun moves to deploy paramilitary troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and thousands of state policemen in and around remote areas housing government buildings and establishments in the entire Bastar region in the backdrop of a Maoist plan to observe martyrs week,' a senior police officer told IANS.

In the past week, police have found several posters and leaflets from the interiors of Bastar region, mainly around the Durgkondal locality, in which Maoists have stated their plans of observing a martyrs week in memory of rebel commanders who were recently killed in fights with security forces.

http://newspostindia.com

People's March August 2007

2007-07-24T08:09:00.001+06:00

Dear friends,

August 2007 issue of People's March is dedicated entirely to the women martyrs.

We publish its contents in MS Word format. The pdf version of August issue with photographs of martyrs will be published in a few days.

For hard copies please send annual subscription of Rs 180/= in my name.

P.Govindan kutty
Editor, People's March

Download PM August 2007

Sourse: http://www.peoples-march.blogspot.com/

RED SALUTES TO HEROIC WOMEN MARTYRS OF CPI MAOIST

Realize the dreams of innumerable Martyrs

The spring thunder of Naxalbari was a clarion call for the poor, oppressed, and exploited people of India. It showed them the path for liberation. It has been forty years since four peasant women and three children had laid down their lives in Naxalbari village while fighting for land and life with dignity – their liberation.

The Indian Communist movement had gone through many ups and downs since then. Many were the twists and turns, ups and downs in these forty years. Finally on September 21, the two streams of revolutionary Communists – the MCCI and CPI (ML)(PW) merged into CPI (Maoist) and a strong single centre to guide the movement was finally formed. In the 37 years of class struggle and people's war of these two streams before the merger many comrades had laid down their precious lives for the victory of New Democratic Revolution in India. The soil in the remote villages of India turned red with the warm blood of these immortal martyrs. The unity of the party could be achieved only through their invaluable sacrifices. It is the base on which the party stands today and endeavors to advance the people's war. It is by paying homage to their glorious martyrdom that the unity was cemented.

It is the duty of every Communist Party to pay tribute to the memory of martyrs by continuing the tasks left behind by them till the victory of communism. People are always inspired by the sacrifices of martyrs. So it becomes our duty to propagate about their great qualities, which we have to emulate, their lives and their ideals, among the vast masses so that they are inspired to join the struggle to carry forward their lofty aims.

July 28th to August 3rd is celebrated as martyrs' week to commemorate them and to take a vow that we will follow their path with renewed determination. We are using this occasion to give the readers a glimpse into the lives of women martyrs of CPI (Maoist) party since the merger of the two parties. We are also planning to bring a book about all women martyrs since Naxalbari soon. This is a prelude to that attempt.
It is with great grief that we are writing here that out of a total of 139 women comrades who were martyred, we could collect the life histories of about 40comrades. CPI (Maoist) is leading a movement which is spread in a vast area and that too it is concentrated in the most backward and remote pockets of India. So one of the main reasons for the unavailability of their life histories is the lack of regular communication between the various zones. We have made an effort to compile the whole list of women comrades martyred between September 2004 and July 2007. We are giving the available life histories and the list of women comrades martyred in this period as far as we could gather. The list is more or less complete but there are some more women comrades who were martyred during the state sponsored Salwa Judum terrorist campaign unleashed by the Chattisgarh ruling classes in Dandakaranya whose names and details we could not get in time. Some more women comrades also died recently in encounters with para-military and other armed forces in DK whose details we could not obtain due to the war like situation prevailing there. We would definitely overcome these shortcomings for the book on all women martyrs. But meanwhile we thought it would be useful and inspiring to bring out as many life histories as possible on this solemn occasion when we commemorate our beloved martyrs.
When we look at the lives of these women martyrs many things strike us as significant. In the Srikakulam struggle, which was the major armed struggle of the Naxalbari period, there were 17 women martyrs. Altogether the total number of women martyrs of that period will be in dozens. But after 1985 and especially in the 1990s and in the new millennium their numbers reached hundreds. And more than a hundred women comrades have laid their lives just in this past two and half years since the merger. The majority of them were killed in the three zones of Andhra Pradesh (AP) due to the fascist repressive regime of YS Rajasekara Reddy and in Dandakaranya due to the Salwa Judum counter revolutionary terrorist campaign.
The reason for the repression becoming more and more severe in the past 15 years is the globalization policies pushed by the government under the guidance of the imperialists. The ruling classes of India i.e., the feudal landlords, the comprador big bourgeoisie and the imperialists want to plunder the vast mineral and natural resources of India especially in the forest areas of Chattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand and North Andhra. Many brave men and women have lost their lives in Kalinga nagar in Orissa and in Singur and Nandigram of West Bengal when they opposed such exploitation.

The reactionary ruling classes want to suppress the Party and PLGA which defends the interests of the people and which are organizing the people into struggles against the plunderers. That is why so many people as well as party activists and soldiers of PLGA have to lay down their lives in this bitter struggle against the imperialist led ruling classes. As more and more women are realizing the truth and joining the struggles, the number of women losing their lives also increases.

As the people's war advances the number may increase more. But this large number not only indicates the level of repression and the scale of the movement but also the fact that women are joining the party and army in large numbers. It shows that oppressed women are increasingly choosing the revolutionary path.

On the other hand when we look at some of the incidents we can gauge how the fascization of the armed forces has risen to unprecedented heights. It even looks like the state is exceptionally cruel towards women. In the bizarre Manala covert killings three women comrades (with another 7 male comrades) were very cruelly tortured after they became unconscious from the sedatives mixed in their food and then killed. The whole scene was so ghastly that people were terrified when they saw the mutilated, mauled bodies. In Sangidigundala six women comrades were brutally gunned down. Out of them three were Chenchu adivasi young girls and the other three were also young women from a poor peasant background. In the Seshachalam Hills encounter also six women comrades were killed. This was also a covert operation. In the Daraboyinapenta encounter (in which AP State Secretary Comrade Madhav was also killed) five women comrades had laid down their lives. In the Gunukuralla encounter three women comrades died fighting the enemy bravely. In the Badwel encounter four women comrades were killed. These are the major incidents in AP-NT-AOB zones where women were killed in large numbers. The notorious AP Police did not spare even an old mother of four children. They tortured and killed Eeswaramma in a fake encounter after she was arrested. In many incidents the AP and DK police raped women comrades who were injured in encounters and murdered them. This is the lowest level they can stoop to in bestiality.

If these sounds horrible then when we hear about the atrocities poor, adivasi women are subjected to in DK there are no words to describe the horror. They seem to have surpassed the Nazis and fascists in their cruelty. The kind of hatred with which their breasts and private parts are attacked has perhaps never been witnessed in India. When we remember the fact that these adivasi women had to wage bitter struggle with their men to cover their breasts and private parts properly with cloth, we may perhaps understand why those parts are so particularly targeted.

All along ruling classes the world over have always used rape and sexual violence on women as a weapon to suppress people's movements and Salva Judum is an appalling continuation of that policy. Whether it is the DK adivasis or AP's Chenchu adivasis or Jharkhand's adivasis or the dalit women in the various plain areas, it is always the poor, backward women who are becoming the victims of state repression. Their only crime was to try to take their life into their hands; to try to liberate their people. In Salwa Judum they especially targeted the KAMS leaders and members and sympathizer women. India, which boasts to be the world's biggest democracy, doesn't even allow poor adivasi women to organize into women's organizations for their basic rights. It is high time the world sits up and listens.

Some of the women comrades were martyred as part of people's war when they went to attack the enemy forces. Comrades Karuna, Somvari, Anju and Yenki are a few examples of such brave women soldiers of PLGA who dared to be in the forefront in the battlefield. Many women comrades died while fighting the enemy valiantly in encounters and while defending other comrades. There are innumerable instances of women comrades showing exemplary bravery when facing enemy's attacks. They had long ago shattered the myth of women being 'naturally' weaker then men.

Many women comrades like Chada Vijayalakshmi, Eeswaramma, Pushpa, one women comrade each from Chattisgarh and Orissa etc were killed after getting caught. They had been severely tortured but they chose to guard the party secrets with their lives. Their supreme sacrifice in the face of enemy tortures will remain etched in the hearts of people forever.

Women are also becoming victims of attacks of black gangs floated by the AP government to suppress the people's democratic movements. Comrade Pochamma of Medak who is a sympathizer went missing due to these black gangs.

Many mass organization members, sympathizers and ordinary people have lost their lives in the brutal repression of the enemy. Comrade Isrubai attacking the police who were firing indiscriminately on adivasis 25 years back in Indravelli is an example of the courage of ordinary women. She died recently due to the ill health, as a result of poverty. A mother and daughter of Sitamarhi district in North Bihar have been killed in the indiscriminate firing by the police on their home as part of the repression after the Madhuban raid.

One woman comrade belonging to CPI (ML) (Jana sakthi), two women comrades of CPUSI (DBSV) Veeranna group, and one woman comrade of Praja Prathighatana have also lost their lives in AP in 2005 and 2006.

Comrade Santhoshi died during childbirth and her husband and village elders killed Comrade Vadde Sushila as they could not bear to see her become a leader i.e., due to patriarchal arrogance. These are two deaths, which occurred just because they were women and this is a feudal patriarchal class society.

The life histories of the martyr women comrades shows that women have come into the movement from all castes, classes and backgrounds – rich peasants to bonded laborers, petty-bourgeois women to beggar women, upper caste women to dalit and adivasi women. Women came into the movement fighting the class, caste, and patriarchal exploitation, oppression and discrimination on them. Most of the women are from rural areas but women from urban areas like Rajitha, Swetha etc. are also not behind. This vast variety of women among martyrs indicates the vast variety of such women in the movement. This is in itself an achievement for the party, which seeks to lead all these classes and sections of people into the NDR.

Their life histories, especially those of adivasi, dalit, and poor women show the tremendous efforts they had put in to develop themselves politically, organizationally, militarily in order to become communist leaders of the movement. Most of them became literate after joining the movement. Many of them had developed as Party committee members right from village party committee to district/divisional level committees. We are very proud of the manner they carried on their responsibilities as committee members quite efficiently. Their efforts in this direction will serve as an inspiration for all comrades in the generations to come. They have forever buried the false dictum of this society that women are always inferior. So we see women doing all kinds of works and taking up all kinds of responsibilities in the party, army and united front activities. They are leading in all fronts.

Another myth that some of these comrades have shattered is that women follow their husbands whatever they may do. Comrades like Padma, who developed into a DCM in Adilabad district, did not leave the movement till her last breath even though their husbands abandoned the movement. This shows their high level of class-consciousness and their immense commitment of these comrades towards the people.

Many women have become martyrs as part of the ongoing nationality struggles against the Indian ruling classes in the past two and half years. Likewise there have been many sacrifices of women in the revolutionary movements of Peru, Turkey, Philippines and Nepal. The world over many women is sacrificing their lives in anti imperialist struggles. On this occasion we remember all those martyrs who gave their lives for building a better society for all of us.

On this solemn occasion let us bow our heads humbly before the martyrs and once again vow that till our last drop of blood we will continue their work and strike to realize their lofty aims. As the people's war advances the sacrifices also increase. No revolution can advance without such supreme sacrifices. Let us intensify the war and realize the dreams of our beloved martyrs.

Never in the history of Indian Communist movement have so many women comrades (that too in leading positions in party, army and UF) laid down their lives in such a short period. It is necessary to build up a strong civil rights and democratic movement to fight this brutal repression. Highlighting the repression on women should be one of the main tasks of this movement.

"They can kill all the flowers… They can not holdback the spring"

Comrade Padma

Comrade Padma's life history is one of the most inspiring in our revolutionary movement. Perhaps there are very few instances where women came into the movement on account of their husbands and stayed on even after their husbands had deserted the party and revolution. Those who had seen her—frail, physically weak, mild-looking and soft-spoken—during the early 1990s, when she used to come to the guerrilla zone to meet her husband Rajanna who was in the squad, would never have imagined that she would have moulded herself, a few years later, into such a hardcore revolutionary participating in several raids, ambushes and attacks on the enemy.

Comrade Padma hails from Adilabad district. Comrade Padma developed from a squad member to the member of the district committee. She joined the movement in 1995 after continuous persuasion by her husband who worked in the guerilla squads in the Adilabad. She was married to one of her relatives in her childhood and was always confined to the housework. She refused to leave the house and her son to join her husband. But once she decided to join the squads she remained until her martyrdom in October 2006.
The transformation of Comrade Padma from a house wife in a backward peasant family into one of the leaders of the revolutionary movement in Adilabad district, from the soft-spoken, sensitive, mild-mannered and gentle girl into a beloved leader and organizer of the people and a terror to the police and reactionaries is really an amazing story which will remain an inspiration to one and all. The growth of political maturity and individuality in Padma made her husband both envious as well as inferior. She fought back his attempts to dominate her and his exercise of patriarchal authority over her. As the state repression became more and more intense in the later part of the 1990s, Rajanna could not withstand the heat and decided to desert the movement. He naturally assumed that comrade Padma would also accompany him since they were married for long and also had a son. But she remained stubborn, steadfast and committed to the revolutionary cause and refused to accompany him. Thus she continued in the revolutionary movement even after her husband surrendered to the enemy. She served as a guard to Com. Lalitha, the then secretary of the Adilabad district committee.
Later com Padma became a commander and was elected to the DC a few months before her martyrdom. The confidence and courage, determination and tenacity, which comrade Padma had displayed during the most difficult phase of the revolutionary movement in North Telengana, had endeared her to the people. Her self-effort and hard work had played a great role in her development. The life of Comrade Padma shows that it is possible to transform millions and millions of backward peasant women suffering under the burden of patriarchal and feudal oppression into great revolutionaries to overturn this exploitative and oppressive social system and build a genuine classless society.

Comrade Prashanti
Comrade Prasanti popularly known as Comrade Ramana in the backward Palnadu area of Guntur district was killed in an encounter in the Badwel forests of Kadapa district on November 10, 2006. It was one of the biggest incidents in the ongoing war between the Maoist forces and the AP Police and a total of 9 comrades including her husband and AP State Committee member Comrade Raghavulu died in that incident.
Comrade Ramana was a very simple woman who was always very humble. She was a person who talked less and worked more. She had been associated with the Guntur rural movement centred around the backward Palnadu pocket for more than a decade. She developed herself from a squad member to a District Committee member through sheer hard work and dedication. She led the peasantry and wage labourers of that area in many struggles. She also led them in famine raids when the poor peasantry of Palnadu was reeling under famine and drought. As a woman she was conscious of the patriarchal oppression on women and so concentrated on building Viplava Mahila Sangham (VMS) the revolutionary women's organization of AP wherever she worked. The oppressed women rallied into the women organization under her leadership and Guntur district had always been a place where there were strong VMS units. She was one of the women comrades who ensured this. She fought patriarchal tendencies in the party too.
She had fallen ill many times and was down with the infamous Nallamala malaria umpteen numbers of times. But she was undaunted in her spirit and carried on her responsibilities with a determined look on her face.
She had been shifted to the Rayalaseema organization from Guntur in 2006 and she willingly integrated with the movement there. She tried to study the specific problems of that area in order to give better guidance. In her long revolutionary life she had seen many ups and downs inside the party and went through many rough patches of repression, but she never looked back or wavered. Dozens of comrades surrendered to the enemy in front of her eyes but she always believed in the victory of communism. That is what she told her family also when they feared for her life.

AP movement had lost many exemplary women leaders to repression especially in the past decade. Com. Ramana was one of those leaders whom we can compare to the bricks, which constitute the wall. It is a great loss to the AP movement and PLGA to have lost such a dedicated, humble leader. Let us vow to carry forward her lofty aims.

Comrade Karuna (Chada Vijayalakshmi)

Comrade Karuna worked in the party very sincerely fulfilling her responsibilities very patiently and without any vacillation. She laid down her life heroically. Comrade Karuna was born in a rich peasant family in Navabpet in Karim nagar district. Her parents named her Vijayalakshmi. She came in touch with the revolutionary politics in 1982. Since 1985 she has been working as a full time activist. She married Comrade Mahendar (Jaipal) while at home. He was martyred while working as the organizer in Visakhapatnam city in a fake encounter. At first they worked as the technical staff in Hydrabad city. Though she was from a rich peasant family she used to be very frugal in the room because she thought every pie of the party belonged to the people. Thus the young couple set good standards in maintaining party shelters. She took initiative to learn nursing while staying in the shelter. It was to serve as a cover, meet the expenses and also for treating guerrillas when the need arose. It was due to the meticulous care taken by them in maintaining the shelter with all precautions that safeguarded the leadership especially of the North Telangana movement. Later when Com. Mahendar was shifted to work in the workers' field in Visakhapatnam district in the late 80s, she too was shifted with him. She continued to work as a nurse in a hospital and began meeting women in the nearby villages, factories and slums to work among them. She had cordial relations with the neighbours and maintained the cover so well that nobody had an iota of doubt that this nurse with a frail body with such a serene face could be a naxalite. During this time she improved her nursing skills so well that she began to be given duty in the operation theatre too though she had not got a formal nursing certificate. Many were the gifts showered on her by the doctor and the patients she looked after for her service.

She established relations with working class women in the factories and was to concentrate on this work. After Comrade Jaipal became a martyr it was decided to shift her to other areas as it was a bit difficult to continue in the city and she was transferred to Srikakulam town where she strived to organize the women in the slum areas. From 1995 she worked in the Kondabaridi and other squads in the district. She took any work assigned to her actively and led a simple life. She was sincere in each and every aspect and was eager to learn. She bore the characteristics of an organizer. Though she had certain difficulties and limitations as a woman working in cover in the towns she fulfilled her responsibility with great patience. After she was transferred to the East Division she went into the broad masses and organized them. She stood committed to the party line and could face any kind of hardship. She worked with great will despite hard terrain and severe ill health. She took up responsibility as a squad commander and worked for a long time. In 1996 Comrades BK and Karuna got married and became partners. She gradually developed as the AC secretary and DCM. She later took up the responsibility as the East Divisional President of the AVMS (Adivasi Revolutionary Women's Organization) and was part of the women's sub committee formed in AOB to develop the women comrades and build a strong women's movement. Her sensitive approach to women's problems and keenness to fight patriarchy in anu form were added assets in this work. She conducted the first district conference of AVMS successfully. She strived to the best of her efforts to build a broad mass movement and a broad women's movement.

Karuna fulfilled utmost difficult responsibilities as a doctor in many military actions. She developed as an experienced doctor of PLGA. Comrade Karuna was a member of one Assault team and the doctor of the total raiding party in Darakonda and Kalimela raids led by Comrade BK. She provided medical help that doctors could not provide, to the severely injured comrades in these incidents. One of the comrades hurt his fingers in firing. It was not an ordinary thing to revive his hand. She brought to life those who everyone thought would die of injuries. She eased the profusely bleeding comrades without tension, gave them great support and treated them with utmost patience. She washed the clothes wet with blood and kept the patients in a clean condition always. She worked enthusiastically to bring them to normal condition and continue as great fighters in the war front. When the injured comrades were talking about their problems, she was patient and courageous. On some occasions when the leadership was not available she explained them many political issues. Many comrades recovered due to her services.

Comrade Karuna gave an understanding about political and health problems to the adivasi women and mainly regarding women's health problems. She brought before the leadership the problems faced by the women and suggested solutions. She made very serious political effort to entrench the women comrades firmly in practice and to develop them. Many persons were surrendering in the increasing repression and she was anxious to educate the cadre by teaching them the enemy tactics and revolutionary politics. She did not waver in her commitment to the revolution and never stepped back from her responsibilities even in one incident.

Central Military Commission (CMC) recently resolved to give special training to develop a higher-level medical department under the leadership of Comrade Karuna, in view of the necessity of doctors' teams for PLGA in the advancing people's war. We lost a heroic, dedicated doctor who could have evolved into a skilled doctor like a Norman Bethune.

The Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) police arrested comrades Vadkapur Chandramouli (BK) and Karuna with prior information in a highly secret operation. In fact they were missing since 26th December 2006 when they left Durg town in Chathisgarh. They were caught without anybody's knowledge but the enemy could not obtain any secret information despite cruel fascist torture for one whole day. The police got mad and killed Comrades BK and Karuna most cruelly and the tale of 'encounter' in the forest of Gudem Kotha Veedhi mandal of Visakhapatnam district. The tale was put in the media and their bodies were left in this place on 27th December. Comrades BK and Karuna kept to themselves the party secrets despite severe tortures and died a heroic death. Whoever had seen Karuna would definitely wonder how her frail, delicate body would have endured such severe torture. Such is the spirit of a true communist!

The nearly two decades long revolutionary life of Karuna is full of communist ideals, which we have to imbibe if we have to successfully complete the revolution. It is a great loss to the movement to have lost such a senior woman leader and doctor when our war is advancing. Only by intensifying war we can pay our real red homage to her.

Comrade Lakshmi
Com. Lakshmi was born in a dalit family in Madduru village of Pamulapadu mandal of Kurnool district. She came from a poor family and in a background of extreme exploitation of the landlords of her village. Their parents educated her but as a dalit woman she could not escape the various kinds of discriminations in the society. She was a sensitive girl and many questions were raising in her mind about the inequalities in the society. Her questioning nature led her to revolutionary politics while she was studying in Kurnool. Within a short period she decided that this was the path to end all kinds of exploitation and discrimination in the society.
She began working in a women's organization and mobilized the poor, dalit, exploited women as well as students and middle class women and women employees in various struggles in Kurnool town. She played a key role in establishing the women's organization as a champion of the oppressed.
She was an excellent singer and performer and put a strong impact on the people whenever she performed. When she used to sing about the agony of mothers of martyrs people used to be so moved that they wept. When she sang describing the people's singer as a nightingale it was as if she was also a nightingale singing. Such was the sweetness and expression in her voice. She had successfully conducted many cultural workshops of the women's organization and trained many cultural activists.

She gradually won the confidence of the cadres and was elected as a state EC member of the women's federation she was working for. She was active in propagating that New Democratic Revolution was the solution to the problems women were facing. She used to work very hard and carried on her activities even while doing tailoring work for her livelihood.

The YSR government wanted to end the talks process as soon as possible as it feared the enormous influence of the revolutionary politics on the people would turn against it. So it caught Com. Lakshmi and tortured her to death on January 8th 2005 in Prakasam district and ended the talks process.
It is still difficult for dalit women in our society to come out and participate in political activities. It is really commendable that Lakshmi developed herself into a state leader in such a short time.
She served as a model to many young girls in the slums who tried to emulate her. It is a big loss to the women's movement also as it is still not so easy to find such dedicated leaders who serve the people without any selfishness in an atmosphere where most of the women organizations and so called leaders are taking funds and becoming corrupt or insincere.

Comrade Shobha

Just two days before the International Women's Day the state resorted to the Manala massacre with the help of coverts and killed ten revolutionaries by torturing them to death. Three among them were women. Comrade Kamindla Shobha was one among them. At the time of her death she was the Secretary of the Local guerilla squad.

She was born in a poor family in Pattemalla village of Konaraopet mandal of Karim nagar district. She had two sisters and two brothers. She lost her mother when she was still a child. The doting father gave her the love and affection of both a mother and father. He could send her to school till 7th standard. She could not continue as they were poor and could not afford higher studies. She used to look after household chores and also roll beedies thus helping the family financially. As she grew up questions such as – why are women paid less than women though both of them worked equally, why is there patriarchal oppression on women, what is the reason for men's domination on women etc. crossed her young mind
The revolutionary politics in the village provided answers to her questions. So she organized women beedi workers against the exploitation of the company owners and fought for the workers' demands. She participated actively in the village revolutionary women's organization. She gradually prepared herself to join the squads and according to the party's decision joined in 1997. She first worked in the Sircilla squad and later in the Kamareddy squad till 2000 as a squad member. Then she worked as a guard to Com.Rajitha, the North Telangana Special Zonal Committee (NTSZC) member till mid 2001. She fought bravely in many encounters and safeguarded her leader Rajitha. From mid 2001 to 2002 she worked as a squad member of Jagityal. In January 2004 she was promoted as an Area Committee (AC) member and worked in Kodimyal, Kathalapur and Jagityal squads. She undertook the responsibility as the Local Guerilla Squad (LGS) secretary since 2005 January and continued in her responsibilities till her death in Manala on March 7th 2005. Com. Shobha went to any area that was assigned to her by the district party and gave importance to the party's needs. She was very active and mingled very well with the people wherever she went. Whoever had met her once would always enquire after her whenever the squad went there. She used to compete with the men comrades in the squads to do all kinds of works. Though she had a frail, weak body she never lagged behind in fulfilling any task. Everybody liked her as she mingled well with all and was a lively person.
She participated in military training in the year 2004 and learnt military techniques with lot of determination. She trained her body for the hardship filled life of a guerilla and tried hard not to become a burden to the squad. She married Com. Srinu (Jagityal LGS Secretary) in 2002. He was also martyred along with her in the same massacre.
Though many leaders like her beloved Comrade Padmakka were martyred and many surrendered before the enemy Com. Shobha continued in the movement and sacrificed her life for lofty aims of the party. Her sacrifice is invaluable.
She participated actively in punishing the class enemies and resisted the enemy valiantly when they attacked them. On February 23rd 2005 when the squad was attacked in three places on the same day she fought back bravely.
During the temporary respite in May 2004 she propagated revolutionary politics among the people through song and dance. The state cruelly ended the life of this promising young comrade even while she was developing herself politically, militarily and organizationally. Let us bow our head in red homage to her

Comrade Kadamanda Padma (Sunitha)

Com. Padma was born in the village Rapalle of Gollapalle mandal of Karim nagar district. Since she belonged to a poor, dalit family she could not afford to study. Since her childhood she worked as a daily wage labourer and helped her family to survive. She was married off at a very early age. But her married life was filled with harassments and difficulties. Meanwhile she gave birth to a child. But patriarchal harassment from her husband and in –laws doubled. Though she tried to bear all that with immense patience the harassment and violence increased day by day and finally she had to leave her in laws house and come back to her mothers' house. There she tried to contact the squad and got recruited into the squad in August 2003. She undertook all the tasks given to her as a squad member in the Jagityal squad since then.
She became a party member in December 2004 and worked as the deputy of the Jagityal squad since January 2005.
She was always in the forefront in doing collective jobs, doing sentry duty, carrying luggages etc. She married Com. Ramesh, the district committee secretary in 2005 February. On February 23rd the enemy attacked the squad at three places on the same day but she fought bravely and retreated through resisting.
Even while she was developing herself into an efficient leader she lost her precious life along with ten comrades on March 7rd , 2005 in the Manala massacre.
Padma believed that imperialism and patriarchy will end only with the establishment of communism and laid down her life for that cause. She was the shining star of the oppressed people. She leads them by her example.

Comrade Pushpa

Com.Pushpa was born in a village in Wanparthy mandal of Mahboob nagar district. Right from her childhood she used to work very hard in the fields and undertook all kinds of hard chores for her family. She was a terror to the landlords and bad gentry in the village. She was never afraid of anybody and stood her stead against anybody. She never knew what is fear. It was this quality in her and her hatred for the class enemies, which lead her into the armed struggle in 1997.
After she came into the party the Green Tigers black gang and the police threatened her family many times. They were harassed by the police umpteen number of times but she never looked back. She put class bonds above family bonds. She married Com. Santhosh in 1998 and they vowed that they would keep their personal life always subordinate to party life. This promise they kept till their death.
Com. Pushpa had a strong physical body, which she had improved more by rigorous physical training as a guerilla. She used to do lot of hard work during camps in the Nallamala forest areas and used to serve as a model to women comrades. By her practice she shattered the myth that women are perpetually weaker than men. She used to compete with men comrades in carrying heavy luggage to the camps. She tried to do all the items in the military camps without fail.
Once when a big poisonous snake crawled over her when she was asleep she bravely caught hold of it and killed it without panicking. In another incident while crossing the fields at night a fence put up for animals electrocuted Com. Santhosh. Though the party had propagated among the peasantry not to connect electricity during the nights sometimes police also forced the peasants to do so. Some of our comrades died in such incidents too. If not for the presence of mind and the bravery of Pushpa, Santhosh too would have met the same fate. Even while others were too shocked to do anything she immediately pulled him out of danger.
These are just two of the many examples of her bravery. The squads in Mahboob nagar had to cross the river many times at nights and she was one of the few women comrades who could row well for a long time. It was no small feat to row in the rough waters during monsoons. She had good grip over the routes and used to go for any task assigned to her even in pitch darkness without losing her way. In the encounters with the police and in attacks on police or class enemies hers was always a praiseworthy role. She displayed the same determination in learning to read and write. She was very studious and always tried to ensure that the school in the squad was conducted without fail. She was popular among the village women and whenever any squad touched their villages they used to ask for her.
In all the rough patches that the movement went through in that district she was one pillar who withstood everything till the end. Her decade long revolutionary life was no bed of roses as this whole period was one of severe repression from the government and black gangs. True to her class character (poor peasant) she used to be straightforward in her behavior and never hesitated to criticize shortcomings in persons or in the movement. She also fought against manifestations of patriarchy and tried to explain to village men also that they should treat women on equal par with men. Gradually she developed into an AC member.
The period of brutal repression unleashed by the YSR government after break down of talks was another testing period through which Pushpa had gone through in the true spirit of a communist. When the party put the proposal in front of her to shift to Dandakaranya she unhesitatingly agreed in the spirit of internationalism. The enemies got hold of the information of Comrades Pushpa and Santhosh when they came out of the forest area to go to Dandakaranya and killed them in cold blood.
The land soaked in the blood of this exemplary, poor daughter of the soil vowed to take revenge against the enemy. The backward Chenchu adivasi men and women of Nallamala forest and the poor peasantry of Panagal, Achampet areas will never forget the sacrifice of their darling daughter whose cheerful smile had lit up their life for almost a decade.

Comrade Karuna

Comrade Karuna was born in Mettapad village of Gangalur range of Bijapur Tehsil in Dantewada district. Her parents named her as Moti Punem. In spite of her village being situated near Gangalur Police Station it was like a bastion for the revolutionary movement. All the mass organizations in the village were actively functioning. Comrade Karuna was organizing women as a KAMS member. In this process she was inspired by Party politics and decided to dedicate her life for the cause of the revolution. With an understanding that women cannot achieve complete liberation without the success of New Democratic Revolution she joined the revolutionary movement. Local party unit was also impressed with her work. She became a guerrilla by joining the squad in 1997. In the beginning she was in Basagudem squad. Comrade Karuna was both physically and mentally quite hale and healthy. In 1998 South Bastar Divisional Committee took her into the special guerrilla squad and she worked for a year in that. In this process party gave her membership. In 1999 she was selected to be a member of the newly formed Platoon-2. Due to her initiative and leadership qualities in military affairs, first she has become Deputy Commander and later Section Commander. On 28th July 2004 Company was formed in DK in which there was a special section of women and Comrade Karuna became the commander of it.

Comrade Karuna participated in many military actions during her revolutionary life of 9 years from 1997 to 2005. She was a steeled woman fighter and once again she proved that a woman is no lesser than a man in any way in military field. The ambush near Torrem village near Basagudem was her first military action. In that action 16 police personnel were killed and 17 were injured. Karuna felt very proud of her participation in this successful ambush. Later she participated in Kongupalli, Wakulwai ambushes etc. as a member of support team. She showed her fighting spirit through participating in the ambushes conducted in Bajrangbali of North Bastar division and Tigeta, Motukupalli, Usikapatanam, Saalpalli etc. of West Bastar. She also took part in Tallagudem, Motu, Vedire, Geedam etc. police station raids. She was Deputy Commander of ambush batch in Geedam raid. With her martyrdom, PLGA lost a capable and efficient soldier especially an aspiring woman fighter. One important characteristic of Comrade Karuna is that she never turned her back to responsibilities. She always did whichever work was allotted to her and went wherever she was sent. She fulfilled all the responsibilities given to her in military field with commitment. Com Karuna happily accepted the responsibility in the newly formed first company in DK.

Comrade Karuna fought strongly against patriarchal trends in the party. Whenever some comrades pressurized her for marriage in an inappropriate way, she criticized them in the meetings of the platoon. She was always against any pressure of the men on women. Just before one or two months before her martyrdom she married a fellow fighter comrade. Since he works in another area they hardly spent a week together after their marriage. Since they gave more importance to the duties of the revolution than to their personal life, they proceeded to their areas to make successful the TCOC against the enemy in their areas. Comrade Karuna once again proved that the important aspect of married life would be sacrifice.

One more ideal characteristic of Comrade Karuna was her hardworking nature. Whether she was in platoon or in company, whether she was a member or a commander, she always used to come forward to carry luggage. In the memorial meeting held to commemorate Karuna, Company commander remembered her like this: "whenever I remember comrade Karuna, I visualize her with a bundle on her head because whenever there was an extra luggage in platoon or company she used to come forward to lift it. We must learn this quality of doing hard work from her life." In the same meeting a woman comrade said, "whenever we woman fighters feel that our self-confidence is coming down, we should remember Comrade Karuna. She is not just a source of inspiration but a source of energy also."

Comrade Karuna was selected for the assault team of Daula raid in which she had to fight by entering into enemy's fortress. She advanced without caring a bit for her life. She fell to enemy bullets while trying to enter it.

Comrade Yenki

The party in DK decided to annihilate the Salwa Judum goondas in the rahat sibirs (relief camps) where they are perpetuating atrocities on women and children especially. As part of this the Gangalur sibir was raided with a force of 400 led by the main forces and in which soldiers of secondary and base forces also participated. Eight SPOs (Special Police Officers) and Salwa judum goons were killed and ten more were injured. Some more of them were given warning and let off.

During the raid Com. Yenki, a section deputy commander in Platoon-2 led a team to raid another den of the goondas. But the two-inch mortar shell launched by the enemy fell near the team and the mines nearby also exploded. Com. Yenki and three militia members lost their lives in this explosion.

Comrade Indira (Manjula)

Com. Indira was born in a middle class dalit family in the Pedamoola village of Chandampet mandal of Nalgonda district. She was attracted by the revolutionary movement and joined as a full timer in 2002. She worked in the South Telangana platoon and was later shifted to Nallamala division. She worked hard as a squad member and developed into an AC member. She married a fellow comrade. She learnt to read and write. She put a proposal before the party that she wants work in an organizational squad. So she was shifted back to South Telangana. During that period she was killed in the encounter at Sangidi Gundala. She was a disciplined soldier and was always helpful to others. She was simple and straightforward. She serves as a model to all of us with such good qualities.

Comrade Swaroopa (Padma)

Com. Padma was born in an ordinary family in Panjugula village of Kalwakurthy mandal of Mahboob nagar district. Right from her childhood she used to herd cattle and help her parents as their eldest child. Since she was married to a revolutionary activist, she got interested in revolutionary politics and both of them decided to join the party as full timers. But by that time they had a small child. But they were determined to join the squad and so they left six month old baby with his family members and joined the squads. Leaving behind the infant she continued along with her fellow comrades in the movement and developed herself into a party member and then into the deputy commander of the Nallamala squad. She worked at first in the Upper Plot area and later her revolutionary life was spent with the Chenchu adivasis and the fishermen on the river Krishna. She participated in the struggles against the corruption of ITDA and Girijan stores and against the fisher company owners who exploited the fishermen. She was very patient as a deputy commander and mixed up well with the squad members. Though her physical condition was not allowing her to scale the big mountains in the Nallamala forest she continued to put in lots of efforts. It is not an exaggeration if we say that there was nobody in that area who did not know Swaroopa. That was the way she mingled with the people. She never expressed the desire to be with her baby and always believed that it is only a better society that will allow true relationships to prosper and worked for that aim till her death. Her life is an example for all of us to follow. In two police firings on Upper Plot and Nallamala squads she fought bravely with the enemy. In a greyhound police attack on the squad near Sangidigundala in January 2006 she was martyred along with eight other comrades. Just two days back she was bitten by a snake and was in a weak condition when they were attacked. This was one of the mostly ghastly incidents in the history of the revolutionary movement in AP and the greyhounds true to their name killed our beloved comrades in a cold-blooded manner.

Comrade Anju

Com. Anju joined the party when she was 15 years old as a full timer. She was very enthusiastic towards the party work and paid special attention. She was responsible, disciplined and had will power for achieving her task. She was very amicable with women, men, with people of her age, with children and others. She was exemplary to all. She developed commitment, firmness and revolutionary and communist characters. She advanced step by step in the revolutionary movement. She had a lot of hopes in the party and revolutionary movement. At times a small mistake would lead to a heavy price. This is what happened in the case of Com. Anju.

Martyr Com. Anju (Jhamur Marandi) was born in Jambuni village in the limits of the Kanksa police station in Bardwan district in West Bengal in a middle class peasant family she studied until 5th class. She joined the party in 1999. She started working in the women's front, organizing the women. In a short time she started wielding the weapon in the squad. In 2000 when Jharkhand state emerged she was recruited into the women guerilla squad. Later this guerilla squad was combined in Pl-30. Then she became a member of this Pl. She fulfilled her responsibility in imparting political training to the women comrades in the platoon. Later the Pl-30 and Pl-35 were merged to form a company in the erstwhile MCCI. Then she became a member in the company party committee.

She took medical training and took up the responsibilities of a doctor. She had a good role in developing the company politically and molding it in a disciplined manner. She was firm regarding discipline. She was keen on learning to read and write. She was the in-charge of the medical team in the company. Her nature was heroic, stable and serious. She had the capability to lead the guerillas. She was part of many raids and ambushes. She played a good role in these actions. In June 2006 she was in Assault group 2 in the short surprise attack on the Jhumra STF, CRPF camp in Bokaro district in Jharkhand.

This assault group went very near the camp, attacking and occupying all the rooms. According to the plan this group chased away one sentry. But it could not control another sentry since there was severe firing from it. It tried to advance with fire and movement. But the enemy concentrated LMG firing in this place and so it was difficult to advance. A comrade operating SLR asked Com. Anju to fire while he was changing his empty magazine. Then Com. Anju peeped out of her cover to observe the movements of the enemy. Exactly at that moment a bullet on the mouth hit her and it pierced through. In a few seconds she lost her life.

Com. Anju was the first woman martyr who died fighting with the enemy in Jharkhand. Her martyrdom is especially a heavy loss for Bihar- Jharkhand. She was exemplary among the front rank, efficient women in PLGA in the dynamic, strategic area of BJ SAC.

Now there is a lot of necessity of leading women guerillas, commanders and warriors. In such a situation it is a severe loss to have lost Com. Anju. Her martyrdom made the Jharkhand region, the whole party and the PLGA ranks became melancholic with her martyrdom. It is impossible to forget her. Her loss cannot be fulfilled. It is a challenge to fulfill her loss. Now there is a necessity for many Anjus. We can fight back the enemy offensive and take a qualitative step forward in the revolutionary movement only when thousands of Anjus come up. Only then it would be possible to develop guerilla war into mobile war and PLGA into PLA and guerilla zone into a liberated area. Now there is a necessity to bring thousands of young women and women into the people's army and prepare many women into efficient warriors like Anju. It is possible only when we take the revolutionary and communist characteristics of Com. Anju as an ideal and follow them. We have to study the life history of Com. Anju, take her revolutionary and communist characters ideal and mold ourselves into such an exemplary guerilla. Thus Com. Anju would be alive in our memories.

Comrade Rajitha (Sushila)

Rajitha was born in 1974 in Palem village of Palamur (Mahabob nagar) district. It was a drought affected district and theirs was a poor family and on top of it she was a daughter in a joint family. So she was brought up with many restrictions as an obedient girl and she always acted in a responsible manner. Though she had no proper food, no chappals for her feet, only torn clothes to wear and no books to read, she used to go to school regularly. As soon as she came back from school she used to help mother in housework. When she was still young, just in eighth class, she opened a small retail shop to help her family financially. Thus she studied till 10th standard in the village. Her parents thought that the girls have come of age and they should be married off. But they were so poor that they decided they could not marry them off then and migrated to Hydrabad city in search of livelihood. During summer holidays she worked in a candle factory. After holidays were over she joined in Inter in a government college.

Daily her father used to nag that there is no need for a girl to study. She never cared such comments. She went wherever she could learn some new things free of cost like tailoring, typing, computer, and shorthand, spoken English etc by walking long distances with determination. She fought a war for educating herself.

She faced sexual harassment from childhood itself and from her own eldest brother. She did not understand why all this was happening to her. She believed god would save her from all travails and so she used to religiously do puja to all gods praying that her brother should change, that her family should prosper and that her conditions should improve. But nothing changed. In fact the conditions worsened. Then she joined in degree in a college and came into contact with a women's organization called Mahila Chetana. This was a big turning point in her life. She understood that she was not alone in facing all these problems, that every woman in this society is facing some or the other problem and that the government is encouraging imperialist, obscene culture and literature which is giving rise to these problems. She understood that fighting against these was the solution to the problems faced by people like her. She also believed strongly that girls should learn karate and solve the problem of sexual harassment with self-respect. So she started learning karate. The problem she faced from her brother was solved with this. But other problems cropped up. Pressure was built up at home to stop her from learning karate as they thought it would be difficult to get her married. On the other hand karate instructors were also sexually harassing their girl students and so the girls were dropping out. So she firmly believed that only women karate coaches should teach girls if they are to learn freely and tried to develop herself in that direction. She became a coach and taught karate free of cost to girls in schools, colleges and slums. For that purpose she went cycling to many slums to gather girls. Actually she had a very weak body. Though she was a weak baby from birth she used to take lot of care in health matters because she did not want it to become a hindrance in learning karate. Though she came from a vegetarian family she changed her eating habits after joining the organization. She used to be very active and lively with all this. She never fell sick. She believed that we could work more if we are healthy.

Everyday there used to be quarrels at home as they brought new matches for her and forced her to stop karate. While working in the organization she developed the understanding that marriage is a union of two hearts and a union of ideologies and that it should not have anything to do with caste, religion, dowry or money. She declared in no uncertain manner that she would not have an arranged marriage. She even refused to sit in front of the prospective grooms and their families, as was the norm. Now beatings accompanied scolding. By this time Rajitha was already working as a receptionist in a private nursing home. Clashes intensified and she left home after declaring that she can live independently. Her sister followed in her footsteps. Her parents thought this act of hers would make them lose their prestige in society. So they went to the police and with their backing came to the organization's office and attacked it. They abused the organization in the most obscene manner. Finally both the sisters had to announce in the press that they both were majors and that they had the right to live independently. Everybody supported their act of bravery.

Within a short time Rajitha developed as an activist and went on to become the organization's Joint Secretary. Between 1995 and 2003 she was in the forefront in all the activities and struggles by the organization leading them militantly. She made the adversaries bow before the movement. We can see this in many struggles whether it was the struggle against lifting of subsidies, exposing the sham of Chandrababu's Mahila Janma bhoomi or fighting for water facilities in slums or demand for a school building, for implementation of welfare programmes or even in Bangalore when their state federation gave a call against the Beauty Contest in 1997 and the activists got arrested while doing rasta rokos. The activists were dragged by their hair and beaten black and blue till they bled. Instead of deterring her, with each incident her hatred against the state increased. She loved to have long hairs. But after the Bangalore arrests she thought that her long hairs came in handy for the police to beat her and so she cropped it.
In the year 2000, floodwaters inundated Hydrabad. Many slums got submerged and thousands of people became homeless. As the convener of the flood victims committee of twin cities she participated in the relief campaign and in distributing rice, money and clothes to the victims. The MRO embezzled the relief fund, which was to reach the slum dwellers and sent the police, as he could not face the questioning people. Rajitha and six more mass organizations' activists and slum dwellers were arrested as they questioned the police. She was kept in police station for two days and in jail for four days. She never lamented the fact that she was arrested and tried to get necessary things for those arrested by demanding the police. When they tried to take photographs she opposed saying that they were not thieves and the police had to backtrack. She used to give slogans non-stop every time she was taken to the court. In the two days she spent in the police station she used to sing songs and practice a play on how they were unlawfully arrested (though she was not an expert) thus filling everybody with enthusiasm, brimming with enthusiasm herself. The lady constables were so surprised that they said 'we have arrested so many people but we never saw anybody who is so happy and not at all worrying about being arrested'. Some of them started sharing their problems with Rajitha. This experience was repeated in jail also. She tried to understand the conditions of the jail inmates in the four days time she got. She used to go to all the women prisoners and ask them about their problems and why they got arrested. She did not participate in the celebrations of Gandhi Jayanthi in jail it as an act of protest. She exposed it from the stage. The jail inmates looked after the activists very affectionately. When she was released on bail after four days all of them felt as if one of their own was leaving and were very sad. It shows how much she mingled with them.
When asked about her jail experience she said that she did not get sufficient time to know about the sufferings and lives of women in jail and that it would have been nice if she had spent another week in jail! That was Rajitha for you. She tried to understand anything in a political manner.
She never liked to waste even one minute. She used to say that we must work hard and move fast and she implemented it. Even if she could not learn something quickly she never used to get disheartened. She used to strive hard to learn with determination. This could be seen in every aspect. She used to lift heavy loads easily. Rajitha was such a person who never got disheartened in spite of any number of people discouraging in any number of ways or creating hindrances in her work or in her endeavors. She did not give these much importance and took them as a challenge. She never looked at any matter in a superficial manner and dwelled deeply into it. If she liked to do something she went to great lengths to do it. She believed that women's liberation was possible only with the liberation of the proletariat and that it could be achieved only through armed struggle. So in 2003 she joined the Maoist party and was martyred in a fake encounter with the YSR mercenary police forces on July 23rd , 2006. Our Rajitha once again reminds us words of Marx that nothing is difficult in this world, there can only be people with no determination. She personified that determination. In fact, Rajitha did not have any talents in the beginning. She came from a backward area, from a poor family and from an upbringing full of restrictions. By achieving everything with her determination, fighting against the society and her family by breaking chains of traditions, she proved that nothing is impossible or difficult in this world.
Thus she became a model for all us to emulate.

Comrade Bhavani

Comrade Bhavani belonged to a Chenchu village in the Nallamala forest of Prakasam district. She was a very intelligent child and began observing the society from a young age. She felt oppressed by the backwardness of the people and was especially sensitive towards Chenchu women's plight. Being a woman she too was one of the victims of the age-old customs of that tribe. She opposed marriage and expressed her desire to join the PLGA at a very young age. The Party educated her and took her into the squads. Another Chenchu woman comrade had earlier joined the squad and she was inspired by her example. She had a melodious voice and was quick in learning songs by heart, as she liked to sing. Comrades and people always made it a point to make her sing whenever opportunity arose. She learned to read and write after joining the PLGA. She was a hardworking soldier and learnt military skills attentively. She had participated in all the military tasks assigned to her by the leadership. Gradually she developed into an ACM.

She readily agreed to shift to AOB when party put the proposal before her. She did not hesitate to leave the forest area where she grew up. She knows it would be almost impossible to visit her village or surrounding areas in the near future if she shifted to AOB. But she accepted the decision with the spirit of a communist. She was caught while traveling to AOB and killed after severe torture on March 1st , 2007 just a week before International Women's Day. We have lost a young rising leader and the loss is not replaceable.

Limmi Thimma

Limmi Timma (Sarita) was born in Gadder village in Kasansur range of Gadhchiroli district 28 years ago. Her village and family have been linked to the revolutionary movement ever since the Party reached her village in the early 1980s. The youngest in her family, her life too, from the very beginning has been integrally involved with the ups and downs of the revolutionary movement in the area.

In 1985 her father became a member of the DAKMS, the peasant mass organization in Dandakaranya (DK). By 1990 her brother was a leader of the mass organization. When the Maharashtra Government launched severe repression on the tribal peasant movement in 1991 her family was one of those affected. Both her father and brother were arrested. Her family faced a desperate situation because they had no one to till the fields and they could not afford to pay the legal expenses to get the arrested persons released. In spite of this the family's commitment to the revolutionary cause did not waver. They kept the mass organizations alive in the midst of severe police repression.

She brought food and water for the squad members secretly, listened to songs of the movement and of martyrs and thus learnt the primer of revolutionary politics. She taught her friends the songs and organized them. Thus in 1997 after a long gap the women's organization KAMS was re established in Gadder. Later as the revolutionary movement picked up in the area again she emerged as one of the most active women in the area. Hence she naturally became a member of the local people's government, the Kotimi Janatana Sarkar that was set up in several villages in her area. Though she lived in the village and was a part time party member she worked hard and gave most of her time to building the revolutionary movement.
In February 2004 the State launched one more round of repression in her area and on her family. Timmi and her brother had to flee their home and move about secretly organizing the villagers. In August 2004 the police raided her house when they heard that she had gone home. But she was not there. She had already left her home and decided to join the PLGA. She quickly started learning the basics of military science. She participated enthusiastically in the counter-offensive programs during the state assembly elections in September 2004.

On November 1, 2005 when the guerrillas were resting near Manewada village the special police reached there and launched an attack on them. Sarita boldly faced them but while retreating a bullet entered her stomach. Seriously injured she tried to retreat with her kit and weapon. But Sarita could not survive the injury and became a martyr. Sarita was one of the backbones of the revolutionary movement in Gadhchiroli district; the people at large loved her. She will always be remembered even after the success of the New Democratic Revolution as one who built the revolutionary movement in the face of the severest repression of the exploitative ruling classes.

Comrade Swaroopa/Penti Porteti

Com Swaroopa was a member of the special company of the PLGA formed for executing the historic Koraput raid. On November 17, 2004 she died in a police offensive in Batnur village in the hilly tracts of Vishakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh. On the basis of information from an informer the police launched the attack on the platoon of this company camping near the village. Swaroopa was injured in the leg but she continued to fight the Greyhounds valiantly for two hours and became a martyr.

Swaroopa was born in a poor peasant family in Karancha village of Gadhchiroli district. She had a younger brother and sister. From the early 1980s Karancha village was one of the strong centers of revolutionary activity. She grew up amidst struggle and revolutionary politics. She loved the songs and stories of struggle. Active and cheerful, young Penti soon joined the Bal Sangham (children's organization). As she grew up she became an active member of the women's organization Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sanghatan (KAMS). In the year 2000 when the revolutionary party approached her she unhesitatingly became a full time activist and got herself recruited in the PGA. Her close friend from the village, Laxmi also got recruited with her. But just one month after both of them joined the People's Guerrilla Army, Laxmi was killed in an encounter with the special police in Chamorshi tehsil of Gadhchiroli district. Swaroopa was determined to continue the fight after Laxmi's martyrdom. She became a member of the Platoon-3 in 2001 and remained a hardworking and sincere fighter till the very end.
Swaroopa participated in many military actions of the PLGA in DK forests. She participated in the tactical counter-offensive raid on Bande police station in 2001. She was also a member of the ambush team when the convoy of vehicles with district SP Rajvardhan was ambushed. She went with the platoon to Sironcha area when work in that area was revived amidst a state offensive to prevent the revolutionary movement from reviving in that area. To counter the growing and increasingly sophisticated offensive of the state police it was decided to train up a striking force. Swaroopa was a member of the team that was trained for this role. To fulfill the desperate need of the movement for weapons the raid on Geedam police station was planned. Swaroopa was an active participant in this raid.

Coming from a poor family Swaroopa was used to hard work. She retained her willingness to work hard in the PLGA. She had no education at home but joined the party and became literate. Swaroopa was among those brave young fighters who strove to raise the fighting level of the PLGA so that the guerrilla army can develop its military capabilities and take on the might of the State. Her death is a great loss for the PLGA but she will continue to inspire generations to come.

Comrade Santoshi

Up in the hills of Bastar in what was named as Abhuj maad (which means unknown hills) during British times, the revolutionary movement has spread with rapid intensity in the second half of the 1990s. In this Maad division, in the Kohkametta area, in Kacchepal village Santoshi joined the revolutionary movement as a young girl about six years ago. Initially she became a member of the KAMS. Then as the stirrings of people's political power came to realization a committee was formed in her village and she became a member of the committee. She had come to understand that women's liberation is possible only with New Democratic Revolution (NDR) and further through struggle in the process of building socialism. She was certain that without the people's army and people's power the oppressed, men and women, can never complete revolution. She strove to build revolutionary consciousness in her village and fulfilled every task that came her way. In every program and mass mobilization in her area Santoshi was there, always ahead of the others. Seeing her discipline and dedication she was given membership of the Party in the year 2000.

Several important tactical counter-offensives were launched by the PLGA in the Maad division. Several ambushes of the special police and raids on police stations were conducted. Santoshi participated in some of these actions along with members of the people's militia. Santoshi was an all rounder, organizing women, running the village activities and participating in military activities. But Santoshi's parents, in the traditional way of their tribe, wanted to marry her off to one of their relatives. Santoshi took the help of her comrades to convince her parents to let her marry a village youth whom she loved. After her marriage both she and her husband continued their active participation in the revolutionary activities in the area. But on February 10, 2005, when Bhoom kaal day was being celebrated all over Maad, Santoshi went into labour and both Santoshi and the baby died during childbirth. It was indeed a sad day for the revolutionary organizations in the region. It is a clear indication of the backwardness and denial of facilities that the ruling classes have kept our tribal people in, that force a woman to die giving birth to a child in this 21st century, a clear pointer to how much revolution is necessary for the oppressed in India. Santoshi's example will surely inspire hundreds more women to join and lead the revolution in India.

Comrade Swetha

Comrade Swetha was born in Amalapuram of East Godavari district some 30 years back. Later her family settled in Budithi village of Srikakulam district, which was her mother's village. Since her father died when she was a child it was her mother who worked hard to look after the children and impart education to them. From her childhood Swetha used to be very responsible. Society used to look at her family as one without a man at the helm. So Swetha had to undertake many tasks usually done only by men and she became the main pillar of her family.
After she finished her graduation she was married off. But she could not continue for long with the beast called her husband. She separated from him very soon. Later while she was staying with her sister in Rajahmundry she came into touch with progressive movements. She came into contact with Com. Ramana (Martyr, who was a member of Visakha city committee then). She became increasingly attracted towards the revolutionary movement after that. She wanted to observe the movement more closely. So she went to the Eastern ghats along with Ramana in July 2003. She was greatly inspired by the guerillas there. She too wanted to become one.
The Party suggested that she remain outside for some time and learn computer skills, which she followed. She worked for some time in the party outside and finally became a full time guerilla in July 2004. Since then she was working as a SZC staff member and worked very hard as a computer operator.
Com. Swetha was very interested in song, dance, sports and literature. Though she came from an urban middle class family she became one with the adivasis. She was enthusiastic to learn new things and increase her knowledge. She always tried to share her knowledge with everyone. She worked with dedication on all the tasks assigned to her by the Party. She never used to waste any time and was always immersed in her work in a disciplined manner.
A camp was set up near Pujariguda of Malkangiri division for some party tasks in February 2004. On the 20th while she was working on the computer the enemy launched a big scale attack on the headquarters in the afternoon hours. The Head Quarter was near the computer tent. As soon as the attack started she took the computer and retreated along with some comrades. But after going to some distance she remembered that there were some important CDs in the HQ tent. She said that those CDs should not fall into enemy hands and immediately went dashingly into the HQ tent. She recovered the CDs but while coming back she was hit by enemy bullets and died a heroic death. The way she chose to sacrifice her life to safeguard party secrets is a great example and will serve as a guide to all party ranks.

"In order for women to be strong,
there must be one more condition-
they must form organizations.
Without an organization, their strength is scattered
and dissipated. Each person is thinking only of herself.
This is what is meant by [the saying]
"If hearts are not united, strength cannot be combined."
When there is an organization, hearts will be united,
strength will be combined, and, then,
with hearts and strength united,
we can accomplish great things."
--Mao Tse-tung

Comrade Gangarajavva (Padma)

Comrade Padma was born in a poor, dalit family in the village Arepalli of Dharmapuri mandal of Karim nagar district. Since she was a child she used to work as a daily wage labourer. Though she resisted she was married off at the age of eighteen. After some days she left her husband and came back to her mothers' house, as it was a forced marriage. With an attractive face and melodious voice she used to sing revolutionary songs and be in regular contact of the party. Comrade Ravi who was martyred in the Maddimalla encounter was her uncle. She used to tell the squad, which visited her village, that she too wanted to follow in her uncle's footsteps.

She was a disciplined party worker and worked among the people of her village on women and peasant problems according to party guidance. She conducted people's courts and led the women in the struggle against Gudumba. (Local brew) She became a full time squad member in 2004 July.

On February 22nd ,2005 when the squad was inside sugarcane farm in Korutla the police attacked them. Comrade Padma fought valiantly and injured two policemen with her firing and laid down her precious life while defending her comrades against the enemy attack.

Comrade Vasantha (Nirmala)

Com. Vasantha was born in a middle class family in the Eesala Thakkalapalli village in the Malyala mandal of Karim nagar district. Her father was already with the revolutionary movement and so he named his daughter after the legendary revolutionary Panchadi Nirmala as Nirmala. She grew up true to her name. She grew up observing the guerillas and singing and dancing with them. She was good at academic studies and studied till intermediate. She used to write poems on various social issues. She read all eight volumes Mao's writings –not a small feat for such a young girl from a village.

Just when she decided to join the party her family's contact with the party got disconnected. Her father made lot of effort to contact the party for about 2,3 years and finally got hold of it. He said that his daughter is now grown up to join the party and bid farewell to her. Thus Nirmala became a full time member in 2004 September and took the name Vasantha. Since she grew up observing the party from her childhood she used to be greatly disciplined and had good political understanding on various issues. She used to show interest in imparting medical care to people. One day the enemy encircled the squad when it was near Gopalpur of Manthani mandal and she died in the firing.

Comrade Somari

Comrade Pottam Rami, known in the Party as 'Somari' and 'Saraswati' was born in Pumbad village of Gangalur range in Bijapur Tehsil of Dantewada district. She was the eldest among five siblings. Pumbad is one of those villages, which contributed many soldiers to fight for the cause of the people. Pumbad's history will be written in red letters in current history of the revolutionary movement. Many comrades from this village joined PLGA and are commanders at present. Comrade Somari who was born and brought up in this village adopted discipline naturally. After working in KAMS she became a candidate member of the party. She joined the Gangalur guerrilla squad in 2001. She earned people's confidence while going around the villages with the squad. By seeing her determination and discipline Party confirmed her membership. In 2003 she was transferred to Platoon-4. Later in 2004 she became a member of the newly formed company. She participated in Modukupalli, Salapalli ambushes and Geedam raid. Somari was an exemplary guerrilla in observing the discipline. Implementing the orders of the leadership as a disciplined soldier, mingling with everybody, criticizing the comrades for their mistakes, helping the comrades in rectifying their mistakes etc. are the characteristics that we should learn from Comrade Somari.

Another charming characteristic of Comrade Somari was her active participation in military drill and exercises in which she always stood first. She used to think that, she should never lag behind men comrades. She used to do all types of exercises without any hesitation. If she could not do properly any item, the next day she would come to the ground before the roll call and practice the item till she achieved perfection. She used to feel it as a great loss if on any day she could not go to the ground. She always had a smiling face. She used to talk with everybody freely without any hesitation. Because of her military capabilities she was allotted to be in the assault group during the raid on Daula police camp in Narayanpur tehsil of Bastar district. She was very happy to be chosen for an important team. She advanced in the raid along with Com Karuna with great enthusiasm and determination. But she was martyred at an early age in that battle on 19th May 2005.

Comrades Sunitha Madavi, Geetha Thulavi

On July 17th 2005 police attacked the Tipragadh organizational squad. The PLGA guerillas resisted and retreated successfully. Three young girls who had come to meet the squad thought that the police would not do anything to them as they were unarmed villagers and so they stood there. But the police raped the three innocent girls. Later they killed Sunitha Madavi and Geetha Thulavi in close range and the third girl Sushil was put in jail with injuries to her mind and body.
Com. Sunitha was born in a poor Madavi family in Charwai village. She studied till 5th standard she joined the children's mass organization in her childhood and then joined the village militia after she grew up. Com. Geetha also belonged to Charwai village. She was born in a poor peasant family and studied till 7th standard. She worked in the children's organization and later joined the DAKMS, the peasant –laborer organization. From the beginning days of the movement Charwai served as a bastion for the revolutionaries. It stood steadfast in the storms of repression. Even during repression the people became closer to the party rather than going away from it. It was this revolutionary village, which inspired youngsters like Sunitha and Geeta to join revolutionary activities. The police brutally raped and killed them, as they were unable to kill the revolutionary spirit of the villagers. But the villagers vowed to take revenge for their death and carry forward the revolution.

Comrade Sathyavathi
Com. Sathyavathi (23) was born in a poor adivasi family in Visakha district. After attaining puberty she was also married off like many other young women of her age. Even before her marriage her husband had told her that he was working in the Adivasi peasant – laborer organization. He also told her that he would be going off as a full timer after preparing himself for the task in future. Sathyavathi was not frightened by his decision. She did not back off from this marriage. His lofty aim won her respect and she married him with her will.
Later the couple met the squad, which came to their village in 2004. They expressed their desire to join as full timers. Party recruited them as full timers and kept them in a den in a town for technical work. Though she was born in an adivasi village she did not hesitate to live in a town for the needs of the party. After working there for some days she was again assigned to a forest squad. The Party observed her cultural interest and transferred her to the JNM squad. Within a short period she gave many programmes in the villages. The squad planned to give training to youth in a village. As part of that work a training camp was being held. The police got information of the camp and they attacked it on 23rd October 2005. Sathyavathi was on sentry duty along with Com. Prabhakar. They both resisted the enemy in order to safeguard the camp. But the police launched launchers on the sentry post on a big scale and both comrades fell down with injuries. The police caught them with injuries and tortured and killed them in cold blood.

Comrade Ramadevi

Comrade Ramadevi (Jayakka) was born in a poor Banjara family in Pegadapalli village of Mahamutharam mandal of Karim nagar district. Since hers was a poor family since childhood she herded cattle and worked as a bonded laborer and helped her family to survive. After she grew up into a young lady she fell in love with a young man who went singing from village to village and earned his livelihood. She said there are no difference of rich and poor, caste and creed, dalit and other castes in love and married the person of her choice although her parents opposed the marriage. Theirs was a nomadic life. She also learnt to sing and give chorus and performed along with her husband. Whatever meager sum they earned was always insufficient. After she became a mother of three children it became difficult to balance both the roles and also found it unsuitable to give chorus in her Lambadi accent. So she consented to her husband's proposal to get a second wife for him. From then onwards domestic clashes increased. Her husband used to drink and beat her up. On the one hand she was facing extreme poverty and it was increasingly becoming difficult to look after her family, on the other hand there was the harassment by her husband. She wanted a way out of this hell.
It was at that time that she came into contact with the squad, which visited the village, and she used to give food and shelter to them. She also worked to set up a women's organization in the village. As her consciousness increased she left her three children with the husband and joined the squad as a full timer. She understood that struggle was the only way to get rid of all kinds of difficulties which women face.
As she was very interested in arts she insisted that she will be in Jana Natya Mandali squad and worked in it for one year. As she had practiced giving herbal medicines when at home she used to treat the small ailments of the squad members with herbal medicine. She used to act very well in street plays as she had ample life experience. She learnt to read and write with determination. In January 2000 the district committee transferred her to Gundala LGS but since there were no contacts with that squad she remained for some time with the Manuguru squad. During that period when the squad was conducting a people's court near Janampet, police came with information and started firing rapidly on Jayakka who was in sentry duty at that time. She died in that firing.
Jayakka who was considered to be an innocent woman had become a secret guerilla by arming herself and entrenched herself in the minds of people as their beloved comrade. She lived a worthy life.

Comrade Singidi Jyothi (Vasantha)

Comrade Jyothi (17) was born in Bachanpalli village of Bhimgal mandal of Nizamabad district to Singidi Rajaiah and Lakshmi. She was their eldest daughter. She studied till 5th standard.
As she grew up she also increased her knowledge about the society. She understood the poverty of her family and tried to help out by rolling beedis from a young age. Meanwhile her mother became a mental patient and so she had to take up the whole responsibility of the family.
She always used to think why her father was not able to look after the family well in spite of working so hard and why the beedi seths are able to lead such luxurious lives in spite of doing nothing. These questions naturally led Jyothi to the class struggle going on in that area.
With the encouragement of her father she entered the revolutionary movement very enthusiastically on January 25th 2005. She changed her name to Vasantha. Within a short period the enemy took up a multi pronged attack on the movement and in Manala we lost ten comrades in a covert massacre by the police. Many comrades who joined the movement before her left the movement in their dozens after these combings and the Manala massacre. But Vasantha never thought of turning back. She continued in the squad withstanding all kinds of difficulties and enemy attacks.
She worked in Kamareddy squad and in the Sirpur and Chennur areas. She worked in the Ellareddy squad till July and then worked in Kamareddy and Sircilla areas till her martyrdom. According to the divisional committee's decision while she was participating in the resistance programmes the enemy attacked their squad camping area on November 19th in Jogapur forest. She resisted the enemy heroically and retreated safely. While she was coming back to meet the squad there was another encounter in Manigad hills on November 22nd at 5 p.m. and she died in that encounter by spilling her warm blood.
Surrenders, martyrdoms, mother becoming mad, her sister and brother becoming orphans since her father migrated to Bombay to escape police harassment – none of these could shake her undaunted revolutionary spirit and determination. She upheld the martyrdoms. She hated those who licked the boots of the enemies. She always saw her family as one among the people. Always with a smile on her face she used to mingle with even new persons by talking in a friendly manner. She always expressed her views frankly without any hesitation.
If she had committed any mistakes due to lack of knowledge about work methods she was always ready to learn from criticisms from her fellow comrades and the leadership comrades and strived hard to get rid of those shortcomings. At the same time she used to criticize any wrongs in the practice of her fellow comrades and leadership comrades. She tried to learn new things continuously. If anybody fell ill she used to serve him or her like a mother. She could be friendly even with people who opposed her in certain things.
Vasantha could not bear patriarchy at all. It is really a big loss to the Nizamabad movement to have lost Jyothi who had so many exemplary revolutionary qualities. It is only by overthrowing this exploitative society by imbibing qualities such as determination, sacrifice, frankness, straight forward behavior, motherly love, friendliness from Com. Jyothi that we can give a fitting homage to her.

Comrade Mamatha (Alisa)
Comrade Mamatha was born in Posaram village of Illendu mandal of Khammam district. She was the second child of her poor parents. Her parents had been running a brick kiln in Illendu after leaving their village in search of livelihood. But it did not run well and they ran into financial difficulties. So the family returned to the village and Mamatha worked as a bonded laborer along with her brother for rich peasants. They used to hate the domination of New Democracy, the revisionist party that had a hold there. But since they had no other way they had to bow their heads and work without uttering a word.
During the period of Talks with the government in July 2004, Posaram village was awakened due to the people's struggles against New Democracy, which shattered its base. People were ready to fight against that party's policies. Mamatha's brother led this fight. Mamatha also participated in it. The people about their corruption questioned the New Democracy party and their atrocities were exposed. And this was how Mamatha entered the path of struggles. With the encouragement of her brother she stood in the forefront bravely to fight against the revisionist goons and their anti people policies. Later both brother and sister wanted to join the squads and did so in September.
Ever since she joined the squad Mamatha concentrated on learning revolutionary politics and on military training. Though the talks ended within a few days after she entered the squads she went forward with determination. She used to enthuse everybody by her laughter and bubbly talkative nature. She mingled well with the people and made sure that she in turn taught them whatever she learned.
She was sent to the protection squad in 2005 March. Once she went outside for treatment and went to her village for contact with the squad. The New Democracy people tried to be very amicable with her but they had already planned to give information to the police. She saw through their deception and she in turn deceived them and went away from the village in the dead of night and reached another village.
Since both brother and sister were in the party the police and New Democracy party harassed their family in many ways and tried to get both of them to surrender. Her parents narrated all this to her and cried before her. But Mamatha was not ready to leave the path of struggle. Her brother was a bit shaken with this. But she told him also that party would solve the problem of their family too and that it cannot become a reason to quit the party. Since the party also assured that it would solve their family's problems she very enthusiastically prepared herself to resist the enemy.
While on their way to attack the enemy they were caught in police firing on Lingagudem hill in 2005 November and Mamatha was martyred in the firing. Com. Mamatha's enthusiasm, determination and dedication are an inspiration to revolutionaries always.

Comrade Isrubai

Nearly 25 years back Comrade Isrubai lost her left leg in the infamous police firing in Indravelli on April 20, 1981. This incident was likened to Jallianwalah Bagh massacre.
She was ailing since some days and died in December 2005. She was 65. She belonged to the village Pitta Bongaram of Indravelli mandal of Adilabad district.
When thousands of Adivasis were converging at Indravalli for a public meeting to discuss their problems and find a solution the police opened fire on the innocent Adivasis to disrupt the meeting and killed them. Isrubai could not bear the killings of the adivasis in such a brutal manner. She was a brave woman who killed one of the policemen there. A total of 13 adivasis died in this incident and many more were injured. Comrade Isrubai was one of them. The CPI (Maoist) Party Adilabad district Committee as well as many Adivasi organizations' leaders paid homage to her.
Comrade Koram Ramadevi (Rajitha)

Comrade Rajitha was martyred in a fake encounter at Bonthagutta in the Somalagadda forest area in January 2006. She was born in a poor family in Mukunur village of Karim nagar district. She was the eldest child of her parents. She studied up to sixth standard but could not continue after that due to poverty. Rajitha had immense confidence and respect for the party since childhood. She used to sing revolutionary songs since she was a child and talk to women about party politics and methods.
Comrade Rajitha was married at the age of 15 to Comrade Gauranna who was a revolutionary mass organization leader. Both of them wanted to come into the party. But meanwhile Gauranna died due to illness and Rajitha also fell ill and faced difficulties and so her joining the squad was postponed.
She finally got recruited into the squad in December 2004. As a Local Guerilla Squad member she worked as a teacher and doctor in the squad and undertook any task given to her. She was in the forefront in all works and worked with determination. She used to mix well with the comrades and wished everyone with a smile on her face. She competed with other comrades in hard work and worked day and night with patience and steeled determination.
When some people who were recruited along with her surrendered to the enemy she used to feel she should take up the work of 10 more people for the sake of revolution. She helped her fellow comrades who could not go to school to learn quickly. She helped everyone. Though Rajitha is no more amongst us let us learn from her patience, determination, immense confidence and skill. Let us carry forward her revolutionary spirit.

Comrade Nagi reddy Eswaramma
Gorky had immortalized a working class woman in his novel 'Mother'. On the back cover of the book are given the photographs of the original persons who inspired the characters of the mother and son (Nilovna and Pavel). If ever a novel were to be written on such mothers in the AP movement, Comrade Eswaramma would be one of the first choices to be the inspiration for such a character. In the novel Nilovna learns about the movement through her son while our own 'mother' Eeswaramma inspired her children to join the movement. Not stopping at that she herself became an activist, squad member and a PR for the Party. Only a "People's War" can inspire even children and old to participate in revolutionary activities. Let us learn about the life journey of this unique revolutionary.
Before the revolutionaries entered her village Eeswaramma was one of those typical village women working hard to meet ends, without much property but 4 mouths to feed (a son and three daughters), a non cooperative husband, a frail body with not a pound of flesh… nothing extraordinary. Such women can be seen in all poor, backward villages of AP or for that matter in any village of India. But she made a decision in her life, which proved to be a turning point and changed her life into an extraordinary life. She decided to join hands with the revolutionaries (erstwhile CPI (ML)(People's War) when they promised to end all exploitation and oppression in this society. She was deeply inspired by the lofty aims of the Party. Once she believed in revolution she did not confine it to herself. She led her whole family into it. Such is the depth of her belief. When Party organizers used to visit her house as single organizers she used to feed them and stood in sentry the whole night till they left in spite of back breaking work in the fields by the day. They were always given farewell with words of advice about safety measures to be taken while roaming the villages. Now she decided that she would not just love her children as her own but would love all revolutionaries as her own. Organizers and activists never went without shelter or food as long as she was there in the village. She used to give information on class enemies and the police movements. Thus she studied the weak and strong points of the enemy.
Gradually all her children chose to become full timers of the Party. She was very attached to her children but she steeled her resolve and bid farewell to them one by one. Now squads were roaming about the area in the place of single organizers. Not only her house continued to be a shelter but now she also frequented the squads. She used to go to meet the squads and sometimes she stayed with them for a few days. Some times it was with the squads in which her children were present; sometimes it was some other squad. She also donned pants and shirt and demanded that she be assigned sentry duty and other duties in the squad. Youngsters in the squads used to find it extremely inspiring to see her work along with them. And she in turn looked after them as her own children.

The police raided her home many times but she always fought back militantly with the help of other villagers especially women. The local police were terrified of this frail woman. She used to inspire courage in other women whose children have also gone into the squads. She exchanged her experience of fighting the enemy when they raided her house with them and inspired them to do so too.

One of her daughters had left the Party with her husband after a few years of Party life but she never supported her decision and always sided with the movement along with her other children. Comrade Lakshmi whom his son married in the Party had been killed in a fake encounter in January 2005. She loved her daughter in law and was very sad with her untimely death but she vowed to carry forward her aim.
Gradually it became increasingly difficult for her to stay in the village with increased repression especially after the talks and she had to shift from the village. In that course she was caught and tortured along with two other comrades and brutally murdered. 'Chandrababu Naidu's police killed 2 year old child Monika and the YSR Government did not hesitate to take the life of an old mother of 4 children.
One is reminded of Tao Cheng's family in Chinese revolution if we look at the way she involved herself and her children for the cause of revolution. She has given the ultimate sacrifice for the success of the protracted people's war. Her saga continues to inspire generations of revolutionaries. Let us bow our heads in humble homage to our own 'mother' and 'Tao Cheng' of Indian Revolution.

Com. Santhi (Malleswari)
Comrade Santhi was born twenty years back in Syamagadda village of Gudem mandal of Visakha district. Since her father died she had to take up family responsibilities at a young age. She worked as a wage laborer along with her mother.
Comrade Santhi came into Korukonda squad contact when she was still a child. Gradually she joined the militia. She opposed forceful marriage at home and joined the Korukonda squad in October 2004. She used to participate in all the works of the squad very actively. In spite of ill health she used to participate in all works. She used to carry heavy luggage. She mingled up well with the people.
She was never shy and spoke with confidence in meetings. Since she studied up to 5th standard she could read and she used read party literature with lot of attention and interest. She mobilized people into the anti arrack struggle conducted in their area. She participated in people's courts where wrong doers who harassed women were punished. She worked with good initiative in mobilizing people in various issues. She escaped during an encounter in Gaddibanda in January 2005, spent three days alone in bushes and finally met the squad again. She never lost her spirit. This active comrade was killed brutally by the police at Gunukuralla on April 17th 2005.

Comrade Anitha (Korra Salo)

Comrade Anitha was born in a poor family in Bonampally village of Gudem mandal of Visakha district 22 years back. Both her parents died and so she used to work as a daily wage labourer along with her two sisters and a brother and earned her livelihood.

Com. Anitha joined the children's organization when she was still a child. After she grew up she joined the woman militia. Later she joined the squad in 2001. At first she worked in the JNM squad. Later she worked in the Galikonda area for some time. Then she worked in the Galikonda special squad for some days. When Gurthedu squad was reconstituted she was sent as a member of that squad. Her effort was main in converting that area into 'our' area. While she was there she also used to accompany the women organizer of that area. She used to mingle very actively with the women and enquired about their problems. The party observed her interest in this field and so she was transferred to Chitrakonda squad and given responsibility of the woman work there.

During that period the squad consisting of Anitha and five other members was camping near the village Gunukuralla on April 17th 2005. Sixty policemen surrounded them and opened fire. While retreating Anitha saw that the squad commander Com. Ramana was firing by taking position there. She thought she cannot leave him to fight alone there and so she came back and started firing to give cover fire to the commander by taking position. She was martyred in that heroic battle with the enemy. In this encounter the commander Ramana, Comrades Nirmala and Santhi were also martyred.

Comrade Somidi (Parvathi)

Comrade Parvathi was born in a poor adivasi family in Chennapur village of Charla mandal of Khammam district. So she had to work hard since her childhood to help out her family.
Comrade Parvathi was influenced by the party politics and joined the mass organization. She mobilized women against patriarchal oppression and adivasi oppressive customs and worked enthusiastically in the organization. Whenever the party conducted political classes or meetings she used to be present without fail. Due to increased enemy repression she joined the squads. She fulfilled all the tasks entrusted to her with great determination. She learnt to read and write within a short period.
In the joint operations by the Chattisgarh and Andhra police in the border areas undertaken with the aim of crushing the movement, Com. Somidi was martyred in an encounter on their squad on April 2nd . Though she was a new recruit she fought valiantly and laid down her life while fighting the enemy.

Comrade Vijaya

Comrade Vijaya was born in Rampur village of Usur mandal of Khammam district in a poor adivasi family. She used to work hard since childhood. She opposed her forceful marriage by the village elders and joined the squad in 2005.
Comrade Vijaya got used to the squad life within a short period and learnt to read and write with determination. She was always in the forefront in doing the tasks given to her. She mingled well with one and all and learnt new things with great attentiveness.
In an encounter on April 2nd near Mukunur village Comrade Vijaya was martyred. Though the enemy outnumbered them by many times she fought with them bravely and laid down her life while facing the enemy courageously.
Comrade Radha
Comrade Radha was born in a poor family in Peddapalli of Chityal mandal of Warangal district. She grew up in an atmosphere of revolutionary politics. After her elder sister Radha was martyred in an encounter in 1998 near Kothur in Mulugu mandal of Warangal district her determination increased and she used to work in the village secretly under the guidance of the squad. She hated the anarchic acts of the ex- naxalites in the village and opposed them.
She joined the squad as a full timer in 2002 May and worked in the Narsampet, Chityal LGSs. In the Chityal squad she worked as a LOS committee member. In 2004 she married Com.Shyam. Along with him she worked in the JNM squad till his martyrdom.
Radha fought relentlessly against patriarchal tendencies in the squad. She opined strongly those special women's meetings on women issues and problems of patriarchy should be held. In the special meeting conducted in 2005 she put forward her opinions in a straightforward manner.
Though she was ill she used to be always active. As a performing artist she used to enthuse her fellow comrades. She went out for treatment and while she was resting in the squad after coming back their squad was attacked and she died in that attack. It is a big loss for the district cultural movement. It is very sad that we have lost such a comrade who was developing herself in so many ways. Let us imbibe her qualities and take determined steps to reach her goal of a communist society.

Comrade Madhavi (Saidamma)
Comrade Madhavi was born in the village Avulonibaavi of the Uppununthala mandal of Mahboob nagar district in an ordinary Yadav family. When she was a child her father had left them and married another woman. So it was her mother who brought her up by working as a daily wage laborer. She even managed to send Madhavi to school till 7th standard.
In her teens Saidamma fell in love with a young relative. He became a full time activist of the party. After some time she also decided to become a full timer for the party. She joined as a full timer in September 2005. She became a member of the first platoon. As she fell ill, it became increasingly difficult for her to continue in this work.
Even while the party was thinking of shifting her to some other work, she died in the encounter at Sangidi Gundala in June 2006. At first the main reason for her joining was because her husband was a full time activist. But she very quickly learnt the party politics and dedicated her life to the people. There is a lot we have to learn from her.

Comrades Gangamma, Lingamma, Kotamma & Sivudu
The three Chenchu daughters of the soil – Comrades Gangamma (Suguna), Lingamma (Pushpa) and Kotamma (Padma) were born and brought up in Appapur of Lingal mandal of Mahboob nagar district. Since there was a Government Ashram School in the village they studied there in the primary section. As the whole village is in contact with the party they were influenced by the politics since a young age and came into contact with the squad. They started questioning the exploitation and oppression in the village. They opposed the traditional marriages in the village and decided to join the squad.
Actually the party was also keen to recruit people from the Chenchus in that core area. They were recruited and were being trained for the squad life. Within four days they had an encounter with the police near Eerlapenta. But the girls showed exemplary courage and withstood. Within five days again there was an encounter at Sangidi Gundala on June 27, 2006 and the cruel greyhounds police killed these three adivasi young women along with an adivasi boy named Sivudu. He belonged to the Appayapalli village and was herding cattle since childhood. He was also interested to join the squads and so he also joined recently.
Chenchus were one of the most backward tribes of India and they had been kept in such backwardness by the government even after almost 60 yrs of so-called 'independence'. They had joined the movement as they had realized there wouldn't be any improvement in their lives unless this exploitative society is overthrown and an egalitarian society is established. Their martyrdom once again exposes how callous this government can be that it does not hesitate to kill such poor, young boys and girls in the name of crushing the movement.

Comrade Sushila Vadde
Her husband and the village bad gentry in Messi village in Prathappur area of North Bastar division in July 2006 killed Comrade Sushila and they buried her corpse. She used to oppose the evil ways of the village elders' in front of the people and she developed herself into a true leader of the masses by being in the forefront in people's resistance struggles. This was the main reason for killing her. It was a cruel manifestation of patriarchy too.
Sushila chose to marry Satru of Messi village at the young age of 15 when she had visited that village for song and dance programme. It is a norm among the adivasis to go to other villages to sing and dance and choose their partners. After they got married both of them worked in the mass organizations and used to meet the squad when it visited the village. But she went ahead than him in her work in the village KAMS and gradually went on to become the village party committee member. She was always too ready to take up the tasks given by the party. Her husband became jealous of her but she tried to make him understand and opposed his patriarchy.
When the village bad gentry tried to woo the people away from the party saying that they will have to face repression she reported it to the party. One of them was Sushila's brother in law. She brought him in front of the people and exposed him. An ordinary woman exposing them in front of the people enraged them. The village priest and some village elders spread rumours about her. But she did not care. She increased her activities. She volunteered to be in an ambush set up as part of TCOC (tactical counter offensive) campaign. Once when police tried to whisk away the mass leaders of Messi village women under the leadership of Sushila resisted the police and got them released. Com. Sajonthi, a martyr from the cultural field was her sister in law. Inspired by her martyrdom she led the cultural troupe at the RPC level. All this had angered the village bad gentry. They began influence Sathru in many ways. The priest said that there was illness in the family because she was roaming about like that. Her brother in law also tried to turn him against her by implanting doubts in his mind about her behavior. That she did not have children was an added factor. He even told him to get rid of her and get another wife. Already he was jealous that she was the established leader of four, five neighbouring villages and was ahead of him. Influenced by them he began putting restrictions on her movements and harassed her mentally and physically. But she told him that she would never leave the party. She reported to the GPC (village party committee) when all this became unbearable and the Party also tried to explain to him. But the harassment continued. Finally she got vexed and told her friend that she wanted to become a full timer. Both of them decided to do so after the martyrs' week and dispersed to go for the propaganda campaign of the week. After training with the CNM team she rested at home in the night and three CNM children also stayed with her. Her husband came home drunk and immediately began abusing her and hit her on the head with a club. The blood started oozing out of the wound, the children cried and tried to stop him but he went on clubbing her and she died on the spot.
The Dandakaranya level KAMS conference condemned her murder and made a resolution that her murderers should be punished.

The people were enraged after they came to know about her murder. A people's court was held with hundreds of people in Messi village. The bad gentry tried to escape responsibility at first but at last they had to bow down before people's fury and accept their guilt. Her husband, two of the village bad gentry and two ex mass organization leaders who were their accomplices were beaten by people as punishment. The property of the two village gentry was seized and distributed among the people. The husband was thrown out of the village. This incident inspired women and they felt that the revolutionary movement always guards women's interests. This was people's justice. And they all vowed to carry forward her aims.

Comrade Velpula Bhagya (Jaya, Swarna)

Comrade Bhagya was born in a poor worker family in Chittapur village of Nennela mandal of Adilabad district. Her parents doted her on. Her parents forcefully married her off even while she was studying in 5th standard. Her father was a worker in Srirampur RK 5 mines in Singareni. Her family migrated to Srirampur Krishna colony from Chittapur. From her childhood Bhagya was always opposed to any kind of oppression. She used to oppose the untouchability practiced against dalits. She was vexed with the harassment she faced from her husband and the forceful married life and finally chose to become a revolutionary. She learnt revolutionary politics through Singareni Belt committee organization. She was filled with class hatred when she saw the atrocities committed on the poorest sections in the society. She was recruited in Singareni organization in September 1998 and was sent as a squad member to Chennur squad.
Till May 2000 she integrated with the people of Chennur area and was with them in all struggles. She was in the firing in Kondampet in October 1999. In the firing near Lovva in December 1999 she resisted the enemy valiantly. She used to sing very well.
In December she went to Bheemarm LGS as a squad member. Her songs put an indelible mark in the hearts of people. As the person in charge of women's organizations she went to the villages, enquired about the women's problems and taught revolutionary politics to them. As the LGS doctor she patiently served the cadres and the people. She married a comrade of her choice. She was later transferred to the Indaram LGS. She participated in the struggles there.
Bhagya's martyrdom is a big loss for the Singareni women's movement too. She was the first woman martyr in the squads of Singareni and will remain an inspiration forever.

Comrade Savithri (Kumari)

Comrade Savithri was born in the village Damerathogu of Gundala mandal of Khammam district. She was very much interested in songs and dance from childhood. Taking into consideration her interest the party suggested that she take training with JNM and she accepted this decision happily. She went to Hydrabad and trained with Jana Natya Mandali (JNM). She participated actively in many cultural activities and toured the whole of Andhra Pradesh giving cultural programmes with JNM.

After repression increased she became underground according to the party's decision and joined the Manugur squad. In a life full of hardships she used to enthuse her fellow squad members by using her art. She learnt to read and write within a short period. She developed herself through hard work.

Comrade Savithri opposed traditional marriages in adivasi society and authority of elders in the villages. She was conscious that women have to fight for equality with men.

She was part of an ambush team set up for the enemy. But they were caught in a counter attack and Comrade Savithri died in that attack.

Comrade Poyami Moti (Basanthi)

Comrade Moti was born in a poor Poyami family of village Jangla of Bhiranghad area. She was the second child in the family. She became a member of the children's organization at a young age. She chose the revolutionary path, as she believed there is no liberation of women without revolution. She opposed the exploitation and oppression of village elders and joined the squads in October 2005.

Even during Salwa Judum black days she used to work bravely while facing great difficulties by escaping from the goondas and the police. Later she became the member of Wajed LGS under North Telangana Special Zone abiding by the party decision. On 26th November 2006 the PLGA attacked the greyhounds near Charla and Moti was martyred along with another comrade in that action.

Comrade Moti proved that there are no borders and limitations for communists to work and went from Bastar to AP and gave her life for the great cause. This brave soldier will live forever in the annals of the revolutionary history of India.

Comrade Radha

Comrade Radha was born in a poor family in Peddapalli of Chityal mandal of Warangal district. She grew up in an atmosphere of revolutionary politics. After her elder sister Radha was martyred in an encounter in 1998 near Kothur in Mulugu mandal of Warangal district her determination increased and she used to work in the village secretly under the guidance of the squad. She hated the anarchic acts of the ex- naxalites in the village and opposed them.
She joined the squad as a full timer in 2002 May and worked in the Narsampet, Chityal LGSs. In the Chityal squad she worked as a LOS committee member. In 2004 she married Com.Shyam. Along with him she worked in the JNM squad till his martyrdom.
Radha fought relentlessly against patriarchal tendencies in the squad. She opined strongly that special women's meetings on women issues and problems of patriarchy should be held. In the special meeting conducted in 2005 she put forward her opinions in a straightforward manner.
Though she was ill she used to be always active. As a performing artist she used to enthuse her fellow comrades. She went out for treatment and while she was resting in the squad after coming back their squad was attacked and she died in that attack. It is a big loss for the district cultural movement. It is very sad that we have lost such a comrade who was developing herself in so many ways. Let us imbibe her qualities and take determined steps to reach her goal of a communist society.

Chinari Martyrs

The bloodthirsty government of Chief Minister of Chattisgarh Raman Singh had murdered four revolutionaries in the Chinari village of Maad division. More than 700 forces belonging to CRPF, CAF, district police and STF with information obtained from an informer had surrounded and attacked a platoon of militia on 8th January 2007 at 5.30 a.m. and fired indiscriminately. The platoon comrades fought back valiantly and in this exchange Commander Comrade Sukhlal Gawde, Section Deputy Commander Comrade Kachru Yadav and Platoon women members Comrades Dasri Salam and Ranay Gawde were martyred. Comrade Somari was arrested with injuries.
The people of neighboring villages demanded that the corpses be given to them but the police refused. They lathi charged the people and even fired in the air. Thus the police once again exposed their undemocratic and anti people character. Thousands of villagers expressed anguish that they could not get the corpses of their beloved comrades who belonged to their villages.
Exactly eight days later the PLGA Company attacked and killed seven policemen and seized their weapons near Jharaghati in revenge against this Chinari encounter. It is noteworthy that the main accused in the Chinari encounter Hawaldar Sahu whose cruelty has become infamous in the whole area was also killed in this attack.

Comrade Bhogami Radhe
Comrade Radhe belonged to the village Dorum under Mirtul PS of Bhiramghad area. She was an active member of Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sanghatan (KAMS). She participated in all the meetings, rallies and other activities of KAMS. Even during the Jan Jagran -2 repressive campaign she stood steadfast. She never bowed before the police and never resigned to the organization in that repression.
When Salwa Judum started, her land, house and everything was destroyed. The goondas and the police burnt everything belonging to her. Then she went and began living with her relatives in village Oorepal. The Salwa Judum goons, Special Police Officers and Police caught her by deception and gang raped her. Then they killed her with a bullet.

May be they thought that they could stop women from joining revolutionary movement by killing her. But hundreds of women are joining the People's War and proving them wrong. They are participating in many valiant attacks like the Ranibodili raid and annihilating the armed forces, which had raped and killed dozens of women comrades like Comrade Radha in revenge.
Comrade Dasri Salami

Comrade Dasri was born in Chote Farasgaon in a middle class family. She studied till 6th standard. She was influenced by revolutionary culture and joined the movement. She was the only child of her parents. Later she joined the Jan Militia Platoon and vowed to take revenge on the rapist armed forces that are destroying their lives. She died in the Chianri encounter while valiantly fighting with these forces.

Comrade Ranay Gawde

Comrade Ranay was born in Kondahar village of Benur area. She became a member of KAMS while fighting against the oppressive patriarchic customs of the village on women. Later on observing her interest in military activities the local party chose her for the Jan Militia platoon. She also laid down her life while fighting the enemy in the Chinari encounter.

Women comrades killed as part of Salwa Judum

As the base of the exploiters began to crumble with the advancement of the revolutionary movement in Dandakaranya the village elders, feudal forces with the support and direct participation of state, police, para military, Naga police and Salwa Judum goondas unleashed a reign of terror in DK.
Since June 2005 the ruling class parties of Congress and BJP have joined hands and started a multi pronged attack in the name of Jan Jagran Abhiyan (Salwa Judum). This started in Kutru area and spread to Bhiramghad, Nelsnar, Gangalur, Midtur, Barsur, Indravathi, Vaynar and Daula areas. In military campaigns like Operation Green Hunt unprecedented violence has been unleashed on the people of Bastar and women have been its worst victims.
As part of operation Green Hunt that was launched from August end to September 3rd people were fired upon indiscriminately apart from looting their property and burning their house. Many women were raped. Such incidents are taking place in West Bastar (in Bijapur police district). In Dorum village Boggum Sombari was feeding her hungry daughter as she does every day early in the morning. She and her husband Kotral were attacked by the SJ goons and were hacked to death with swords and axes. When the blood spilled on the faces of their terrified children they laughed. Such is their cruelty. When mass organization member Korsa Santho was pounding rice the Naga police and SJ goons surrounded her house and killed her after raping her. Her chest was split open and her limbs were chopped off. Her private parts were injured with swords. They put her corpse in a bush and went away.
On October 5th 120 CRPF police and SJ goons attacked the Mukavelli village. Vendinje Malli and Vedinje Nangi escaped with fright and took shelter in a hut near their fields. Nangi was pregnant. She had her one and half year old boy in her lap and she was cooking rice. They fired indiscriminately on her and killed her. The boy was terrified and he went towards her sister. Nangi's body was fully ridden with bullets and the foetus came out. Both the mother and the foetus died instantly. They fired upon her sister Malli and she also died on the spot.
On October 7th Naga police and SJ goons attacked Pedda Korma village and caught hold of Modiyam Sukki and Kursam Lakki the KAMS members who were on sentry duty along with village militia members. They resisted for almost one hour when they tried to rape them. But they were tortured cruelly and raped. Their breasts were poked with knives, hacked with axes and the corpses were left in a blood soaked condition to terrify people. Their corpses could be found only after two days of search. They were given a fitting martyrs homage by the villagers who vowed to carry forward their aims.
On October 7th as part of operation Green Hunt – II in the Etpadu village of Mirtur area Madkam Channi, Naga police and Chattisgarh police killed a fully pregnant woman in the firing while she was pounding rice.
An old mother was fired upon when she was serving food for her daughter on October 30 in Karrimarka village of National Park area. All four members of the family died in this indiscriminate firing.

On February 9th , 2007 night the brutal forces of the Salwa Judum – comprising the local SPOs, Naga Battalion and CRPF – surreptitiously crossed the Indravathi river and lay in wait for the tribals who would come to harvest their crops. Some adivasi women came out from the forests and began harvesting their crops. Those Salwa goons pounced on them and managed to grab five young women; the rest escaped. Three were brutally gang-raped, mercilessly killed and their bodies were thrown into the river Indravathi. Two more were also gang-raped and dragged to the police station. These women belonged to the villages Netravalli, Takleer and Utleer in the Bhiramgadh region of Dantewada district. The crops that were harvested were also burnt. Not only that, the Salwa goons sought to use the dead bodies as bait to trap those who would come to collect them. They laid in ambush but were spotted by the militia. Finally the people could retrieve the bodies only on February 15th in a highly putrefied and bloated state.

List of women martyrs after the emergence of CPI Maoist

List of the Women Martyrs after the emergence of
1. Sarita, Manevara, Etapally Gadchiroli, 02-11-2004, Sqd. member
2. Portheti Penti, Batnur, Visakha dt, 27-11-2004, Pl member
3. Lakshmi, J. Pullalacheruvu, Prakasam dt. AP, 08-01-2005, State EC member, Women's Organization
4. Bajamma (Nagamani) (19), Chintala, Erragondapalem, Prakasam, 14-01-2005, PR
5. Shanti (22), Bakkalingayapalli, MBNR, 15-01-2005, Sqd. member
6. Santhoshi, Childbirth, 10-02-2005, KAMS member, militia member
7. Sweta (30), Poojarigoda encounter, Malkangiri, 20-02-2005, Computer Operator
8. Padma (Gangarajavva), Venkatapuram encounter, Korutla mandal, 23-02-2005, PM, Sqd. member
9. Vasantha (Nirmala), Gopalpur encounter, Manthani mandal, 27-02-2005, Sqd. member
10. Vasanta, Ramgiri Khila, Karim nagar, 28-02-2005, PM, KMKS (VRCS)
11. Sneha, Raped and killed, Manala covert operation, 07-03-2005, Sqd. member
12. Swaroopa, Edugurallapalli, Munuguru, Khammam, NT, 07-03-2005, LOS Commander
13. Shobha, Manala covert operation, Nizamabad NT, 07-03-2005, LOS Commander
14. Sunita (Padma), Manala covert operation, Nizamabad NT, 07-03-2005, LOS Commander
15. Pushpa (Venkatamma), Acchampet, Mahaboob nagar, AP, 02-04-2005, ACM
16. Santi (Malleswari), Gunukuralla encounter, East Div., 17-04-2005, Sqd. member
17. Nirmala, 20, Gunukuralla encounter, East Div, 17-04-2005, Sq member
18. Anita (Korram Salo) 25, Gunukuralla encounter, East Div, 17-04-2005, Sqd. member
19. Vasantha, Marrivemula, Pullala cheruvu, 20-04-2005, Sqd. member
20. Sunita, Marrivemula, Pullala cheruvu, 20-04-2005, Sqd. member
21. Pochamma, Missing case by Black gangs, medak, 06-04-2005, Sympathizer
22. Karuna, Daula Raid, Dandakaranya, 19-05-2005, Company Section Commander
23. Somvari, Daula raid, 19-05-2005, Company member
24. Geeta Tulavi, Raped and killed, Gadchiroli, 17-07-2005, DAKMS
25. Sunita Madavi, Raped and killed, Gadchiroli, 17-07-2005, Militia member
26. Manga (Premalatha), Fake encounter, Tumbavi Thanda, Nalgonda, 25-07-2005, Sqd. member
27. Shyamala (Manjula) (18), Fake encounter, Tumbavi Thanda, Nalgonda, 25-07-2005, Sqd. member
28. Sanyasamma, Vishakha, 23-10-2005, PR
29. Sathyavathi, AOB, 23-10-2005, JNM sqd. member
30. Rajeswari, Nallabelli forest area, Koyyur mandal, AOB, 27-10-2005, Sqd.member
31. Mamata (Battu Alisa), Warangal, 21-11- 2005, Sqd. member
32. Vasantha (Singidi Jyoti) , Manigad Hills, Nzb, 22 -11-2005, Sqd. member
33. Ammubai, Peddamalini– Jogapur forests, Adilabad, 22-11-2005, Sqd. member
34. Rajita, , 00-11-2005, Sqd. member
35. Vijaya (Sruthi), Marrivemula, Guntur, AP, 10-12-2005, Commander
36. Madhavi, Missing case by police, Guntur, 10-12-2005, Sq member, PR
37. Latha, Sirigiripadu, Guntur, 26-12- 2005, Sqd. member, PR
38. Isrubai, Adilabad, 06-12-2005, Sympathizer
39. Yenki, Gangalur raid Dandakaranya, 29-01-2006, Platoon Section Dy. Commander
40. Koram Ramadevi, Warangal, Bonthagutta in the Somalagadda forest area, 06-01-2006, Sqd. member
41. Savitri (Nagi reddy Eswaramma , (44), Malakonda penta, 05-02-2006, PR
42. Somidi (Soni), Mukunur Encounter, Khammam, 02-04-2006, Sqd. member
43. Vijaya, Mukunur Encounter, Khammam, 02-04-2006, Sqd. member
44. Radha , Mukunur encounter, Khammam, 02-04-2006, Sqd. member
45. Rani , Immadigudem forest, Katapuram, Tadvai, Karim nagar west, 05-04-2006, Sqd. member
46. Kumari, Immadigudem forest, Katapuram, Tadvai, Karim nagar west, 05-04-2006, Sqd. member
47. Renuka (Sake Laxmi Devi), Seshachalam Hills, Karatamadugu, Sundupalli Kadapa, AP, 28-04-2006, Sqd. commander
48. Sunita (Uppara Chandrakala), Seshachalam jungle, Karatamadugu, Sundupalli, Kadapa, 28-04-2006, PR
49. Swarna (Boya Varalamma), Seshachalam jungle, Karatamadugu, Sundupalli, Kadapa, 28-04-2006, PR
50. Pravina (Ponanki Nagaveni), Seshachalam jungle, Karatamadugu, Sundupalli, Kadapa, 28-04-2006, PR
51. Bhagya (Boya Ratnamma), Seshachalam jungle, Karatamadugu, Sundupalli, Kadapa, 28-04-2006, PR
52. Kumari (Saroja), Seshachalam jungle, Karatamadugu, Sundupalli, Kadapa, 28-04-2006, PR
53. Uma, Peddarutla, Prakasam, 30-04-2006, PR
54. Jhansi (Basupaka Devi) (19), Pidakala Penta encounter, Mahboob nagar, 30-04-2006, PM
55. Uma 21, NFD, 00-04-2006, PR
56. Uma (Mirabi) (19), Bogolu encounter, Ardhaveedu Mandal, Prakasam, 15-05-2006, PR
57. Jaya (Chandrakala) 22, Maguturu (Prakasam), 19-05-2006, PR
58. One woman comrade, Near Tekuguda Block, Malkangiri, 30-05-2006, Sqd. member
59. One woman comrade, Near Tekuguda Block, Malkangiri, 30-05-2006, Sqd. member
60. Rajita (Boya Suvarna), Somidevupalli, Racharla mandal, Prakasam AP, 17-06-2006, Dy. Commander, Nallamala
61. Swaroopa (Kalla Ilamma), Edugurallapalli, Manuguru, Khammam, NT, 18-06-2006, LOS Commander
62. Latha (Kasani Salamma) 24, Guvvalagutta fake encounter, Nalgonda, AP, 20-06-2006,Commander
63. Tummala Padma (Swaroopa), Sangadigundala, Mahaboob nagar, 27-06-2006, LOS Dy. Commander
64. Indira (Manjula), Sangadigundala, Mahaboob nagar, 27-06-2006, ACM
65. Madhavi (Saidamma) 18, Sangadigundala, Mahboob nagar, 27-06-2006, PR
66. Suguna (Gangamma)18, Sangadigundala, Mahboob nagar, 27-06-2006, FT
67. Padma (Kotamma)16, Sangadigundala, Mahboob nagar, 27-06-2006, FT
68. Pushpa (Lingamma) 17, Sangadigundala, Mahboob nagar, 27-06-2006, FT
69. Anju, Zumra Pahad raid, Jharkhand, 00-06-2006, Platoon Party Committee member
70. Maadvir Gangi (Kumari) 25, Tekuguda encounter, Malkangiri, AOB, 30-06-2006, ACM
71. Bimla, Tekuguda encounter, Malkangiri, 30-06-2006, PR
72. Susheela, Mahboob nagar, 06-06-2006, PR
73. Padma, Mahboob nagar, 06-06-2006, PR
74. Rajitha (Susheela), Daraboyinapenta, Nallamala, AP, 23-07-2006, ACM
75. Vadde Sushila, Killed by bad gentry, DK, 06-07-2006, GPC member
76. Madhavi, Darboyina penta, Nallamala, 23-07-2006, Section Commander
77. Mamata, Darboyina penta, Nallamala, 23-07-2006, Sqd. member
78. Sita, Darboyina penta, Nallamala, 23-07-2006, PR
79. Parvati, do, 23-07-2006, JNM sqd. member
80. Uma, Gannepalli, Arthaveedu, Prakasam, 5-09-2006, PR
81. Geetha (Sunarikani Pramila), Medaram encounter NT, 15-09- 2006, Sqd. member
82. Padma, Medaram encounter NT, 15-09- 2006, Sqd. member
83. Nirmala, Medaram encounter NT, 15-09- 2006, Sq. member
84. Padma, Adilabad, NT, 14 -10-2006, DCM
85. Ramana (Prasanti), Badwel encounter, AP, 10-11-2006, DCM
86. Sandhya (Golla Rajyalakshmi), Badwel encounter,AP, 10-11-2006, Sqd..member
87. Parvati (Nagamani), Badwel encounter,AP, 10-11-2006, Sqd.member
88. Sujata (Lalita), Badwel encounter,AP, 10-11-2006, Sqd.member
89. Sulochana, KNR-Khammam-wgl, 00-11-2006, Sqd. member
90. Vasanta (Markam Mote Khammam-wgl, 06-11-2006, Sqd. member
91. Poyami Moti @ Basanti, Charla, 26-11-2006, Sqd. member
92. Chada Vijayalakshmi (Karuna), Panasalova forest, Kotta Veedhi, East Division, AOB, 27-12-2006, DCM
93. Swarna, Near Kapalavagu, Madded, 31-01-2007,
94. Bhavani, While going to AOB from AP, fake encounter, 01-03-2007, ACM
95. Aruna, Near Kapalavagu, Madded , 01-03-2007,
96. Vanita, Near Charbhatti, North Gadchiroli, June 2007, Sqd. member
97. Lalita, NT, 2007,
98. Manasa 23, Nalgonda dt, , PR
99. Velpula Bhagya, Sqd. member
100. Radha, Warangal, , JNM sqd. member1.
101 Savithri (Kumari), Khammam, Sqd. member
102 Kiran Korba, Puregada, Chattisgarh, fake encounter, 14-05-2006, ACM
103 One woman Comrade, Orissa, caught and died in hospital, ,
104 Ramadevi, Karim nagar, , Sqd. member
105 Mamata, Khammam, , Sqd. member
106& Mother and daughter, Sitamarhi, Bihar, killed by indiscriminate
107 firing on their home, 2005, People

Women killed as part of Salva Judum

1. Korsa Santo (20), Pulgatta, 02-09-2005, CRPF & SJ goons gang raped her, chopped off her breasts, pierced private parts with knives and later threw the body into bushes
2. Bhogam Somari (36), Dorum, 02-09-/2005, SJ goons hacked her to death with axes in front of her husband
3. Vedinje Nangi, Mukavelli, 05-10-2005, Naga police fired bullets into the womb when she was 9 months pregnant; both the mother and the fetus were killed.
4. Vedinje Malli(20), Mukavelli, 05-10-2005, Co-wife of Nangi. Was killed by Naga police with bullets along with Vedinje Nangi
5. Modiyam Sukki (25)
6. Kursam Lakke (23), Pedda Korma, 07-10-2005, While doing sentry duty to safeguard their village during the raids of Naga police and SJ goons. They were gang raped and breasts were cut off.
7. Modium Budri (30), Pedda Korma, 16-/12-05, Killed by Police & SJ goons.
8. Madkam Sanni (35), Etepad, 2-9-2005, Killed by Naga police in firing.
9. Buggar, Ehkal, 23-10-2005, SJ
10. Hemla Dokri (50)
11. Hemla Somari (19), Karremarka, 10-11-2005, both mother and daughter was murdered by SJ goons.
12. Samo, Indravati Area, 14-11-2005, SJ
13. Madiyam Sukli, South Bastar, 12-04-2006, Raped and killed
14 Tati Mangli (20), Paralnar, 11-07-2006, Killed in firing by Joint patrolling team of CRPF & SPOs.
15. Hemla Pande (27), Puladi, 13-07-2006, While this 9 month pregnant woman was working in the field, the CRPF & SPOs fired bullets into her womb and the foetus.
16. Punem Gutto (45), Puladi, 13-07-2006, while working in the field she was killed by CRPF who floated the story of encounter.
17. Madavi Mondo (25), Gornam, 28-08-2006, This pregnant woman was killed in a fake encounter by CRPF police.
18. Madavi Lakhmi (25), Gornam, 28-8-2006, This woman was killed in a fake encounter
19. One unknown woman, Nethikakiler, 06-11-2006, This woman along with her daughter was caught and both were gang raped; mother was killed and daughter was left half dead
20. Bhogami Radhe (30), Dorum, 30-11-2006, Left her village due to the fear of SJ and was living in Urepal. Police gang raped her and killed her in the name of encounter.
21. Oyam Bujji (19), Bellamnendra, 11-08-2006, CRPF & SJ goons killed her cruelly, her tongue was cut off.
22. Beko Munny (20), Rengeyagudem, 09-06-2006, She was killed in the name of encounter after having been raped in Devarapalli village
23. Veko Phagani (19), Parkeli, 25-03-2006, Police killed her in fake encounter in Parkeli village
24. Madavi Bhime (20), Indwada, 25-03-2006, She was caught in Parkeli village, tortured and killed in fake encounter
25. Punem Budhi, Toynar (Bhairamgadh), 25-03-2006, Could not get the details
26. Gantala Sridevi (19), Lingagiri, 15-12-2006, Could not get the details
One woman, Indravati Area, 09-02-2007, Gangraped and killed &amp;amp; body thrown into Indravati river
28. One woman, Indravati Area, 09-02-2007, Gangraped and killed & body thrown into Indravati river
29. One woman, Indravati Area, 09-02-2007, Gangraped and killed & body thrown into Indravati river
30. Silok Veko
31. Aayte Aatram (28), Taakilod, 11-02-2007, Two married women were caught by patrolling police on 9/2/07 when they went searching for greens vegetables in the forests and brutally assaulted and raped for two days. Later they fired bullets and announced that two women naxalites were killed.
32. Saibo.

"..... In these struggles, whether in China or in the world as a whole, the men assuredly have a great deal of force, but what about the women? Do the women have strength or not? Some people say that women have no strength. Others say that women do have a bit of strength, but very little. Even among female compatriots themselves, there are those who express the view that their strength is not at all great. Such ways of speaking and thinking are wrong. In every struggle, if we say that the strength of men is very great, so is the strength of women. Without the participation of women, nothing in this world can be accomplished. If women do not participate in our fight against Japan, we will not succeed; if women do not participate in the production campaign, it will not succeed either. Whatever the matter in hand, without women, nothing can succeed."

-Mao Zedong

"All men must die, but death can vary in its significance, the ancient Chinese writer Szuma Chien said, "Though death befalls men alike, it may be weightier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather." To die for the people is weightier than Mount Tai, but to work for the fascists and die for the exploiters and oppressors is lighter than a feather."
-Mao Zedong

Violation Of Tribal Right Cause For Naxalism

2007-07-24T07:43:00.001+06:00

Violation Of Tribal Right Cause For Naxalism

By Team Mangalorean

MANGALORE, July 22, 2007: Is violation of tribal rights responsible for the proliferation of the naxalite movement in the Kudremukh National Park (KNP) area?

This is the question that is now being debated in several circles. While conservationists say a firm "No", tribal leaders and some NGOs backing them are of a different opinion. But both of them agree that the tribal people are in the thick of a social problem, for which solution cannot be found through violence.

The KNP, which is spread over 65,000 hectares in four districts, is home to around 1,200 tribal families who have been living inside the national park before 1972 when the Wildlife (Protection) Act was passed by Parliament. Most of them have title deeds and some of them also own revenue land. However, there are a few people who have encroached on forest land after 1972.

President of the Dakshina Kannada Parisaraskta Okkuta, Ranjan Rao Yerdoor, claims that officials of the Forest Department are harassing the tribal people. Mr. Yerdoor points out that now, some youth have joined hands with "undesirable" elements.

He says that the eviction of tribal people from the national park should necessarily have a "human face", and should aim at inspiring a natural self-eviction process among the tribal people.

Nagarika Seva Trust, an NGO working in the field of tribal welfare, is also of the opinion that the naxalite movement in the KNP is a result of the social problem faced by tribal people.

The president of the trust, Somanatha Nayak, says that the government scheme to start 10 rehabilitation camps for tribal people and the Rs. 60-crore rehabilitation package for them are not solutions to the problems plaguing tribal people.

He says that evicting tribal people and accommodating them in urban areas will only aggravate their problems. Instead, the Government should encourage them to live inside the forest as they know how to protect their surroundings, he says.

On the other hand, the conservationists argue that the Joint Forest Planning and Management programme (JFPM) is one of the best methods of keeping undesirable elements out of national parks and reserved forests. But they lament that over the years, the JFPM programme has lost its appeal. They recall that a coalition of activists and scholars was responsible for ensuring that the concept of people's participation was incorporated into the project. Subsequently, the JFPM was also incorporated into the Eastern Plains Forestry project covering 17 districts in the State and executed with a loan from Japan. However, all the funding has gone into running various programmes except those on tribal welfare, they say.

Sometime ago, a seminar was organised by the trust and Jana-Aranya Vedike on "National parks and tribal rights," which was addressed by several intellectuals, thinkers, and sociologists. The speakers observed that while tribal people were made refugees, permission was granted to a leading group to construct a hotel within the Nagarhole National Park. They also observed that 10,000 hectares of land was leased out to the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd. within the KNP to carry out mining.

March of the Red army

2007-07-23T07:38:00.001+06:00

Earlier this year, top leaders of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) gathered in a secured enclave along the Jharkhand-Orissa border and drew up a list of what they planned to do over the next few months. Six months down the line, party members seem to be doing exactly that, in a manner that is chilling and is as good an indicator as any about how the Naxal cadre operates.

That occasion was the 9th Congress of Maoists. The message that went out was clear. While they continued with their existing agenda of armed struggle, mega projects–including steel and bauxite projects in Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh–and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) planned in other regions had to be ''resisted'' since they were leading to ''massive displacement and marginalisation'' of the Adivasis and farmers. The result of the call: a major mobilisation exercise to increase the numbers Naxalites and establish a presence in areas where they had till now been inactive; sourcing of arms and a 48-hour economic blockade last month that paralysed life in many parts of Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal.

The latest intelligence inputs suggest that left extremists have managed footholds around cities and industrial hubs in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi. Parts of Uttar Pradesh–particularly Sonebhadra and Mirzapur–and Uttarakhand have also reported the presence of Naxalites. And their influence in the south no longer ends at the borders of Andhra Pradesh; Karanataka and Tamil Nadu too are now waking up to the threat.

The red footprint: 185 districts in 16 states across the country.

''They are now present wherever an industrial or development project is coming up. After all, their strength lies in exploiting the sentiments of people in areas that are underdeveloped, so they want to resist all kinds of development,'' a senior police officer involved in tracking the Maoists said.

It is not as if the Centre is not aware of the new development. A meeting held in New Delhi in April saw senior officials from these states being ''sensitised'' to the threat. ''We asked them to be watchful and asked them to be prepared in view of the pattern seen in Naxal-affected states in the past,'' said Vinay Kumar, Additional Secretary (Naxal Management) in the Union Home Ministry.

Officials are also aware of the Naxal's new strategy of targeting communication, transportation, railway and other essential services. But as the 48-hour economic blockade showed, the security forces could find it hard to counter these new tactics. After all, it is almost impossible to guard every inch of power or communication lines.

Where they are not inflicting major damage, they are busy consolidating. Chhattisgarh has taken the brunt of recent attacks. The state Government feels this is a sign of success and an indication that the Naxalites are feeling the pressure. The Centre maintains that the sharp rise in incidents in the state is indeed the result of this. In Orissa, where Naxalites have had a presence for many years now, the state Government wants to raise the number of ''Naxal-affected districts'' from the nine identified in 2003 to 14. The new areas where Naxal activities are now prevalent include Deogarh, Sambalpur, Kandhamal, Jajpur and Dhenkanal, essentially regions that are either witnessing development or fall within the so-called Red Corridor that is supposed to run from ''Pashupati to Tirupati'', referring to the swathe that cuts through forests from the Nepal border to Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu.

Orissa Director General of Police A Patnaik, however, maintains that the situation is under control. ''The number of incidents have gone up this year but the instances of violence have not,'' he says, that the figures were low compared to those obtaining in neighbouring states, particularly Chhattisgarh.

In fact, the warning bells had begun sounding well before the 9th Congress. Figures put out by the Union Home Ministry tell the story.
Consider this.
The total number of security forces personnel killed in Naxalite violence in the past two years was more than those killed in Jammu and Kashmir or even the Northeast during the same period.
The number of civilians killed in Naxalite violence is far more than in insurgency-hit Jammu and Kashmir. The civilian figure in the Northeast is marginally up till March 31, 2007.
Yet, the total number of Naxalites killed by the security forces is far less than the number of terrorists or militants killed in the Northeast and Jammu & Kashmir.

The Centre's response: a multi-layered mechanism. So one has an empowered group of ministers (EGOM) headed by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil; a standing committee of chief ministers of Naxal-affected states, again headed by Patil; a Coordination Centre headed by the Union Home Secretary and comprising chief secretaries and DGPs of 13 affected states; a Task Force headed by the Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Union Home Ministry; and an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) headed by Additional Secretary (Naxal Management) in the Union Home Ministry.

In real terms, the Centre has the Security Related Expenditure scheme, under which it reimburses expenses incurred by states in strengthening and modernising their police force, including improving the equipment. Over Rs 100 crore have been spent on this so far but there is concern over improper utilisation, particularly in states like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. The Centre has also been helping in raising India Reserve Battalions.

On the development front, there is the Backward Districts Initiative under which over Rs 1,700 crore has been spent and the Backward Regions Grant Fund programme.

The Centre maintains that it is up to the states to tackle the situation on the ground. ''Law and order is after all a state subject. We are providing all the assistance we can,'' a senior official says.

But as a top official of the ministry pointed out recently, ''It's a long haul.''
Indian Express

State sponsored terrorism in guise of encounter killings :Former mimister

2007-07-23T07:32:00.001+06:00

DH News Service, Tumkur:
Encounter killings is not the panacea for the naxal problem. It is nothing but terrorism perpetuated by the government, said former minister H Vishwanath.

Encounter killings is not the panacea for the naxal problem. It is nothing but terrorism perpetuated by the government, said former minister H Vishwanath.He was speaking at the inauguration of 'Hachchevu Nenapina Deepa', organised by the Dalit Social and Cultural Research Centre in remembrance of Professor K Ramadas, here on Sunday.

He strongly condemned the stance taken by the present State government, with regard to the naxal problem. "The government has been continually telling that it is ready for talks with the naxals.

However, instead of these verbal assurances the government should engage themselves in constructive programmes at the regions afflicted by naxalism. Open dialogues should be initiated between the naxals, the people of the region and the representatives of the government. The present government however, has not taken any such positive steps toward resolving the problem," said Vishwanath.

What prompts ordinary people to become naxals and take up arms against the government? Serious thinking needs to be directed towards such hard hitting realities. Instead of this, the government is busy adding Kadidal Shamanna, a farmers' leader from the Malnad region in the list of naxal sympathisers, critiqued Vishwanath.

The State government in the pretext of containing the naxal problem is unleashing terror on innocent lot. Menasinahadya encounter incident is bleak testimony to it. Ramadas was an upright individual, who stood by what he believed till the end of his days. He was a great friend of the progressive movements of the people, he said. Professor Ramadas had been a great votary of inter-caste marriages.

Thus, in remembrance of him the Dalit Social and Cultural Research Centre had organised the inter- caste marriage of Kavitha and Nagaraj on Sunday, Pandit Rajeev Taranath and Cheluru Venkatesh and others also participated.

http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Jul232007/district2007072214492.asp

AP: Naxal leader killed

2007-07-23T07:29:00.001+06:00

Special Correspondent

ONGOLE: Following a gun battle between the police and Maoists at Rachakonda vagu in Pullalacheruvu mandal of Prakasam district on Sunday evening, an important leader, Kiran, was killed.

Nallamala Forest Divisional Committee (NFDC) secretary Sagar and two other naxals who were injured, escaped during the encounter.

Police have intensified combing in the Nallamala forest to prevent Maoists from resorting to tactical counter offensive campaign (TCOC) ahead of the 'martyrs week' they are observing from July 28.

Exchange of fire

A special police party encountered a team of about 10 naxals at Rachakonda vagu and exchanged fire for half an hour. After the cessation of fire, police found the body of a naxalite and recovered a .303 rifle.

Two women naxalites surrendered to the police giving away their tapanchas. Police identified the slain naxal as Kiran, deputy commander of special guerilla squad operating in Guntur district, who carried a reward of Rs. 50,000 on his head.

TheHindu

Women Farmers Lead Indefinite fast against Reliance Mahamumbai SEZ

2007-07-23T07:20:00.001+06:00

The indefinite fast undertaken by 17 farmers and activists from 24 villages in Pen Tehsil of Raigad District in Maharashtra entered the second day today. The fast is in protest against the continuing land acquisition by the Reliance group for their 10,000-hectare-plus Mumbai SEZ.

The protest fast has been undertaken to demand withdrawal of Notification section 6 pertaining to land acquisition for SEZ projects which has not happened in spite of Maharashtra Chief Minister's public statements to this effect.

Although the Chief Minister had made a statement on the floor of the House that no 'forced acquisition' would take place in the state for SEZ projects, the notification permitting the land acquisition has not been withdrawn.

Women farmers and activists are on the forefront of the struggle and more than 50% of those sitting on the fast are women at the Tehsil headquarters in Pen.

Local Officials who met the farmers today spoke to activists Anant Patil and Ulka Mahajan who have demanded suspension of the corrupt Talati instrumental in fake sale deals for the SEZ. Activists also informed the official that top level Reliance officials in cohort with local agents have been involved in fake land acquisition.

Supports and solidarity groups are flooding the struggle site since morning from Mumbai, Pune and other areas. Datta Iswalkar From Giringoan Kamgar Sanghatana, Gjanan Khatu from People's Political front, Prabhakar Narkar and Ramakant Patil from Janta Dal also visited the site and sat on dharna with the farmers almost the whole day today in support of the demands made by the farmers.

Demands

· Stop forced acquisition and withdraw the section 6 notification immediately as assured on the state legislature floor by the Chief Minister.

· Declare the fraudulent land deals done by local agents on behalf of Reliance group illegal.

· Public declaration by Collector listing land deals pertaining to SEZ

· Exclude 22 villages, of Pen, Raigad, and Maharashtra from the Mahamumbai SEZ.

· Due to the polluted acidic water seeping in the farms by IPCL of Reliance Industries, Patalganga, the harvest has been totally destroyed. We demand just investigation in the pollution issue, and the farmers must be compensated for their loss for the paddy crop.

Anant Patil , Surekha Dalvi

(24 Gaon Sangharsh Samiti)
Contact: Surekha Dalavi : 9821140104 Mumbainapm@gmail.com ,

Mukta Srivastava
NAPM

http://bhumkal.blogspot.com/

UP: Anti-naxal training centre proposed

2007-07-23T07:16:00.003+06:00

Varanasi, July 21: A senior police official has recommended setting up of an anti-naxal training centre in Mirzapur district so that the policemen could be trained to cope with naxalite insurgency, police sources said.

According to the sources, the zonal Inspector General of Police (IGP), Varanasi range, Kashmir Singh, has forwarded a proposal to the state government for setting up the anti-naxal training centre at Badgawan.

Policemen deployed to tackle the naxal menace would be given special training to deal with the insurgents at the proposed training centre, the sources added.

http://www.saharasamay.com/samayhtml/articles.aspx?newsid=80717

Rift grounds anti-Naxal UAVs in Chhattisgarh

2007-07-23T07:16:00.001+06:00

Rift grounds anti-Naxal UAVs in ChhattisgarhBy Indian Express Saturday July 21,A Pilot project to use aerial surveillance in anti-Naxal operations seems tohave ended in failure with both the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) deployedin Chhattisgarh recalled to their bases by the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Themachines, deployed in August 2006 at the Raipur airfield, had been"forcefully grounded" after failing to collect adequate information aboutNaxal movements in the state.While the official explanation for the withdrawal is bad weather conditionsthat made the machines ineffective, sources said the IAF decided to rollback the UAVs following a rift with state authorities.The IAF is livid that after initial success in detecting Naxal movements andpositions, aerial evidence dried out suddenly indicating an intelligenceleak on flight details of the spy drones.

The inability of state authoritiesto follow up on evidence gathered by UAVs has also caused some frustration."We were detecting Naxal training camps, meeting places and movements in theinitial period. Later the UAVs became ineffective as the Naxalites seemed toknow the areas being kept under surveillance, " a senior official said.

However, the official position remains that the machines have been calledback for maintenance work."There is no rift between the IAF and the police as we both are part of theGovernment. Chhattisgarh is seeing overcast conditions these days, whichmake aerial surveillance difficult. Thus we have shifted the UAVs to utilisethis break for maintenance of those machines, which is quite normal," saidMahesh Upasani, Air Force spokesperson, Wing Commander.

Sources said the machines are unlikely to be re-deployed to Raipur evenafter the weather improves in September. They, however, add that the sameUAVs have been carrying out surveillance work along the western border underall weather conditions throughout the year.

source- cgnet.in

BREAKING NEWS NOBODY BREAKS: IT’S STATE TERROR ON PEOPLE

2007-07-20T22:01:00.002+06:00

Why does the media refuse to report this from Chhattisgarh?

NANDINI SUNDAR

It is predictable but shocking that "security analysts" would respond to the July 9 encounter between police and Maoists in the Elampalli-Regadgatta forests with calls for more force, more troops and more deaths all around. But any question of security requires one to ask: whose security, at what cost, and by what means.

We can no longer blithely assume that the security of the State automatically translates into the security of its people. It certainly does not seem that way to 15-year-old Jaya (all names changed) who had to leave her village midway through her 10th class board exams this year because of the Salva Judum. Having heard that the Salva Judum and police were burning houses and raping women three km away in the neighbouring village, there was only time to climb into a tractor with the rest of her family and flee. Jaya now lives in a bare hut somewhere in Andhra Pradesh, two km away from the nearest water source. She wants to study further, but how can she? There are no Hindi schools where she is, and she has to work if she wants to eat.

That more forces will be posted to Dantewada is hardly likely to make Shanti, the young mother of a two-year-old, feel more secure — not after the Salva Judum and police invaded her village, raped her, cut off her hair and dressed her in a uniform to make her look like a captured Naxalite. Shanti was ill which is why she was in the village — everyone else had run away.

We are repeatedly told that the Salva Judum is a peace movement, but even a brief visit this summer resulted in dozens of accounts of villagers killed by the Salva Judum, none of whom had anything to do with Naxal violence. The actual numbers are likely to be over a thousand. On the bus to Dantewada, a co-passenger who had been in the police briefly, told me that he left the job because his life had been miserable. "In three months last summer we shot 60-70 people on patrol in Bijapur," he said. "Were all of them Naxalites?" I asked. "None of them were Naxalites," he replied. "Sometimes an SPO would point out someone and tell us to shoot, sometimes we shot simply because the villager was running away and refused to stop when we called out." "Did you record these deaths somewhere?" I asked. He looked shocked. "Our jobs would be in trouble if we did. We left the bodies in the jungles. We recorded it as an encounter only if someone was actually wearing a uniform or carrying a weapon." Perhaps this is what explains an internal Chhattisgarh police report, which lists 325 encounters in 2006, 250 Naxalites killed but only 69 bodies recovered. According to the Home Minister of Chhattisgarh, between 2005-2007, only 119 Naxalites were killed.

What is particularly remarkable is the degree to which the media has cooperated with the government in blanking out the scale of State terror in Chhattisgarh. What the newspapers report creates an impression of endless one-sided violence. The hundreds of murders of civilians perpetrated by the security forces and Salva Judum vigilantes do not figure at all. Some of this might be explained by the threats issued by Salva Judum activists and the paramilitaries to independent observers and journalists, including physical attacks on local journalists (most recently, Salva Judum activists at Errabor camp attacked the ig, Bastar, and a Sahara Samay reporter after the July 9 incident). Or it may be due to the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005, under which anyone can be arrested for pointing out violations by the state. A large part, however, is due to who defines crime. Villagers cowering in forests do not lodge firs against the police, leave alone issue press releases. The one-sided coverage creates outrage against the Maoists but not a parallel revulsion towards State violence. Media "codes" operate in other ways too: when 60,000 people rallied under the aegis of the Adivasi Mahasabha in Dantewada, walking 200 km and several days in November 2006, and some 40,000 did it again in June 2007, each time demanding an end to Salva Judum and dialogue with the Naxalites, it did not make national news.

The Maoists have said they will engage in dialogue and ceasefire. The government says it is willing to talk if the Maoists give up violence. The government's claim to a monopoly on legitimate violence would be far more convincing if the government did not itself support certain kinds of private violence, arming renegade militants (like the Tigers and Cobras in Andhra Pradesh) to kill human rights activists or granting license to kill in the name of Salva Judum. No doubt, one day, there will be peace and perhaps even "security", but it is not clear to me who among the indigenous inhabitants will be left to enjoy it.

Thehalaka

Naxals aim Dakshina Kannada district

2007-07-20T22:01:00.001+06:00

MANGALORE/CHIKMAGALUR: After Shimoga, Chikmagalur and Udupi districts, Naxals' latest foray is into Dakshina Kannada. This is the first time that Uppinangady district witnessed Naxal activity.

On Wednesday night, Chandrashekar Gore, a farmer who owns a plantation at Muddige Mane of Hatyadka village in Belthangady taluk, was visited by Naxalites.

Around 11.30 pm, Gore heard noises near his house. He turned on the light outside to investigate the source.
To his surprise, Gore found three strangers including a woman, two of them armed, standing outside his doorstep, said police sources. Gore did not open the door. The woman asked for food but was told there was nothing in the house.

A verbal altercation ensued for 10-15 minutes. The Naxalites even demanded money or gold, which Gore refused again.
The Naxals gave up at this point and decided to leave. But before they left, they scribbled "Support Naxalism. Give money to Vittal Hegde (Naxal sympathiser)," on his walls.

Police said Gore saw the woman up close and the police department showed him photos of Naxalites to identify the woman. He zeroed in on one.

When the panchayat president, Jagannatha Gowda, and other leaders got to hear of the incident on Thursday morning, they informed the police.

A combing operation was undertaken and is presently being monitored by Puttur sub-division assistant superintendent of police, Harsha. Superintendent of police, Sateesh Kumar also made a spot visit in the morning.

Two anti-Naxal forces platoons and one section of anti-Naxal squad are a combing the area. One section of the District Crime Investigation Bureau (DCIB) is also probing the matter.

Poor response to bandh

A bandh called by the Naxals in and around the Kudremukh National Park area, Sringeri-Bajagoli and Kalasa-Bajagoli area, was unsuccessful. Government offices, schools and shops remained open in Nemmar, Melnemmar, Thyavna, Herur, Herurmakki. However, in places like Kerekatte in Sringeri taluk where the Naxal movement is intense, petty shop owners downed their shutters.

Private bus from Karkala to Nemmaru and Bukadibylu suspended their services for the day. Trucks carrying ore from mines to Mangalore were also missing from the road.
The Times of India

CPM leader accused of molesting student

2007-07-20T22:00:00.003+06:00

HOWRAH: With a senior CPM leader already in the dock over the Tapasi Mallick rape-murder case in Singur, another incident has come to the forefront in which CPM's Munshirhat local committee secretary in Howrah's Jagatballavpur, Basudeb Khotel, has been accused of molesting a five-year-old girl, his student, for over a month.

The incident has occurred just two days after two alleged CPM activists raped a woman and her two daughters in Diamond Harbour.

What's even more shocking, the child repeatedly told her mother and grandmother of her ordeal during the past two weeks but they kept on ignoring her, apparently out of fear of Khotel's political clout.

Her father finally lodged a police complaint on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the child - who was so traumatised that she could barely speak — gave her statement before a magistrate under Section 164 of CrPC. She was then sent for a medical test. Khotel initially denied the charges but then "apologised" to the family and the headmaster of the school before he went missing.

The victim, a Class I student, says Khotel - who was her teacher at Ballabhbati Primary School in Jagatballavpur - started physically abusing her about a month ago. During tiffin breaks he would take her to one of the empty classrooms and molest her. He also used to make her stay back after school hours and abuse her. The school is a few metres from the girl's house.

About two weeks ago, the girl told her grandmother about it, but she did not pay much attention. Then, on July 11, she came home during tiffin break and told her mother that she was being molested by her class teacher. But her mother took her back to school. That same evening she broke down on returning home and told her mother that she won't go to school again.

It was only then that the girl's mother told her husband, a railway employee. But instead of going to the police station, he went to the school and met Khotel. The teacher denied the charges. But a little later, Khotel reportedly went to the headmaster Sukumar Dhyang and confessed.

"After the girl's parents went back, he told us everything. I informed the school committee president. In the evening, we went to the girl's parents with him where Khotel apologised to them," said Dhyang.

CPM Howrah district secretary Sridip Bhattacharya said the zonal party committee will probe the matter.
Times of India

THE VOICE OF SANGRUR, PUNJAB

2007-07-20T22:00:00.001+06:00

By Natasha Ahuja

"Freedom was my inheritance but I cannot give it to my children. I built a home; I searched for peace and now have nothing to call my own."

Sixty years ago a village in Pakistan was wrenched from its roots and forced to shift to a place of unknown relations and an uncertain future. Why they paid for the partition of their state, they did not know but united they charted a path through the high and the low and created what we call the Bimber village today. The emigrant people were allotted land in the Sangrur district (Punjab) where they started a new way of life, in a new country and a new dream for their future; a future which was not to be. With thirty years of struggle and hard work, an area overrun by sand hillocks was converted to give one of the highest wheat and paddy yields in the state but only to be the victim of history's unrelenting cycle bringing the village back to a despairing dead end.

Located in the Bhawanigarh block, the people of Bimber and its neighbouring but equally affected village Majhi sit under the cruel sun and battle the lashing rains in their last attempts to save what they call home. And their enemy is none other than their own government again which aspires to construct the Nabha thermal plant in the heart of their adopted motherland which had sheltered them sixty years ago.

Villagers recall that fateful day when officials from the state Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) informed the farmers that their land was being acquired for the thermal plant .Thirteen hundred acres was a small sacrifice for the development of the nation and nothing was more important than that. More would be required later but not presently. After all they were getting a hefty price for a piece of land; much more than the expected. And later industries using the ash from the plant would be set up in the surrounding area and give them jobs. All they ask them is to sit quiet while they plunder their homes and pollute their land; while they ravish the very bosom which had held them in their hour of need.

An ominous silence now surrounds those fields as the farmers suddenly unsure of their future, sit huddled on the road, not allowing any official to enter their fields. Afraid that this may be their last time together till what the partition had threatened would be finally carried out by their trusted and elected representatives , the 200 families of Bimber and 800 families of Majhi run hither and thither searching for help and looking for support to save them from the clutches of "developmental terrorism". Worse are the landless labourers dependent on these lands who would not even get compensation. More than 80% in Majhi and 50% in Bimber wake up everyday praying for mercy and begging for a miracle as they would be all left jobless and homeless with no compensation if the plant was to be set up. 22nd May, 2007Punjab government), chairman (PSEB) and 38 companies including Tata and Reliance to bid for the contract but no farmer representation was deemed necessary while making a blue print. spelled disaster for these people when a meeting was called by the government with chief secretary (

The villages are fighting back but to no avail. No one beyond the borders of their district is even aware of their plight while they sit on guard everyday prying off an advancing enemy with its talons deep inside their heart. Why a prime land is being wasted for such a ghastly purpose they cannot understand; why in times of global warming they choose to build a Thermal Power Station that to at place with hardly any geographical advantages, their simple minds cannot decipher; Why their small pieces of lands are being targeted rather than the 2000 acres or more of their former chief minister Badal for the "supreme sacrifice", they do not wish to understand. But they do know one thing: their mother land is in danger and needs them and till the debts of the land run through their veins they will stand and fight. No amount of coercion or coaxing can convince them to part with their homes. They were left helpless once but history will have to change its course this time and bend in front of their love for their land, their homes and their new families.

Fate of tribals unchanged since independence: Mahasweta Devi

2007-07-20T13:26:00.001+06:00

She has been a staunch leftist for 60 years, yet writer Mahasweta Devi minces no words when it comes to criticising the communist government of West Bengal, be it over land acquisition in Nandigram or trading of the dancing girls of Purulia.

'The fate of one-sixth of India is the same as it was at the time of independence. The state and central administrations have failed to deliver,' the Jnanpith award winner said talking about her life-long passion for tribal India.

She was in the capital to deliver the 2007 Durgabai Deshmukh Memorial Lecture on 'Fundamental Human Rights for the Nautch Girls of Purulia'.

'Tribal land is being appropriated without compensation. Nandigram and Singur are the worst examples of the state's apathy for the poor,' Mahasweta Devi, 82, told IANS in an interview. She was referring to land acquisition for industrialisation in these two pockets of West Bengal.

Mahasweta Devi, despite her advanced age, is busy either writing or travelling to far-flung places to intervene on behalf of tribals. She is self-effacing and shuns publicity. Thus it did not come as a surprise when she declined an honour at the recently held World Hindi Conference in New York saying there were more deserving Hindi authors.

The author of celebrated works like 'Hajar Churashir Maa' and 'Aranyer Adhikar' has taken up the cause of the Purulia dancing girls, saying trading them was an illogical outcome of the tradition of tribal folklore.

Comparing these girls to the Devdasis or temple dancers of South India, Mahasweta Devi said, 'In the heart of West Bengal, a Left Front-ruled state for 30 years, this cruel practice of purchasing a young girl, making her sing and dance to please her male clientele, taking all her money and treating her like a pariah goes on and on.'

She said their buyers make them dance at public functions to augment their income but do not provide basic amenities to their children born out of wedlock, ostracise them and dump their bodies as garbage, 'depriving them even a dignified funeral'.

She wants the state government to grant these women the right to property, health, education, equality and dignity in life and death.

She said she is not a feminist but strongly believes that half of humanity - namely, women - is suffering because of their physicality. 'Unless we give dignity to that, nothing will change,' she said.

Mahasweta Devi, who has organised tribals in Bengal and Bihar, wants the rest of the country to follow suit. She is a popular columnist in Bengali daily newspapers, often forcing the establishment to take note and act.

'The state government has deliberately failed to do even the minimum for the people of the state. No roads, no electricity, no doctors. Universal primary education is a part of the package of failures,' she said.

Recently Kolkata Police notified her as a Maoist but had to withdraw after strong protests from artists and writers all over the country.

She wishes to see a hospital built in the Palamu district of Jharkhand, which she believes is the most backward district of the country. She has concentrated on this area and much of her creative writing is also based on its people.

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