Salwa Judum forced into a huddle, Naxals consolidate

Maoist rebels have their presence in 12 out of the state’s 18 districts and Naxalite cadres are active in Bastar region in the south, bordering Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, and Sarguja region in the north, neighbouring Jharkhand. Intelligence inputs indicate that there are about 8,000 to 10,000 active Naxal cadres in these districts, besides a large number of sympathisers.

Official estimates indicate that around 1,000-odd people, including more than 350 security personnel, have lost their lives in Bastar alone — the hotbed of Naxal activities, since 2005, when a group of locals launched the Salwa Judum movement from a village here.

Salwa Judum had the open support of the BJP Government and a section of the opposition Congress, led by tribal leader Mahendra Karma. The controversial campaign spread from one village to other and the Maoist rebels retaliated by unleashing violence, targeting security forces and killing locals for participating in rallies and public meetings.

One of the biggest attacks was in Rani Bodli in South Bastar on March 16 last year, when the Maoist military wing, Peoples Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA), killed 55 security personnel, including 39 local youths hired as Special Police Officers.

Since then the Salwa Judum seems on the verge of petering out — nearly 800 villages still lie abandoned, with residents too scared to return back — while the Maoists are going from strength to strength. For the first time during the peak summer season last year, they targeted vital infrastructure in a change of strategy, blowing up high-tension power transmission lines and plunging the entire tribal region into darkness for about 12 days.

Following the spurt in the Naxalite violence, the state Government had formulated the controversial “Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005” and banned CPI (Maoist) and its five frontal organisations.

Human rights organisations have termed this law as draconian, arguing that it has become a potential instrument to throttle right to free speech and legitimate dissent.