“In 1910, our people fought against the British. We have gathered here to carry forward that struggle,” said a local tribal, Ram Sevak.

“In 1910, our people fought against the British. We have gathered here to carry forward that struggle,” said a local tribal, Ram Sevak.

Original interview was published here some days back

From an undisclosed location in Chattisgarh, February 19 (CNN/IBN): The Nayagarh attack in Orissa has shown that the Naxals can take on the might of the Indian State. Now, deep in the Naxal strongholds in the forests of Chattisgarh, Comrade Sonu, who is the Number 2 leader in the Communist Party of India (Maoist) Politburo has told CNN-IBN’s Hemendra Sharma that they will never accept democracy.
Ninety-eight years ago, on February 10, the tribals of Chhattisgarh had risen against the British rule. However, the Naxals have usurped history and use what they call Bhoomkal Divas to inspire their cadres and local supporters against the Indian state. “In 1910, our people fought against the British. We have gathered here to carry forward that struggle,” said a local tribal, Ram Sevak.
Unlike their ideological cousins in Nepal and Bihar, there is no way the Maoists of Chhattisgarh will exchange the bullet for the ballot. Speaking exclusively to CNN-IBN, Comrade Sonu gave a resounding NO to democracy. On being asked if there is any demand within the party to become a part of democracy, as was the case with the CPI (ML) of Bihar, Sonu said there wasn’t. “This is not democracy. Parliamentary form of governance, we do not accept as democracy,” he stated. “We are with the people. We will die for the people, we will work for the people… we are the servants of the people!” he said. Now that the Maoists have taken over the forest area, every year they reiterate their resolve to seek liberation from the oppressor, which according to them is the state.

Nandigram violence: A warning sign

As fragile peace returns to Nandigram there is a disturbing signal from the trouble torn area for states like Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand that are hotbeds of Naxalism.

NDTV explains that in Nandigram lie the cues to the very real threat that Maoist groups could pose to India's internal security.

The red genie is not just out of the bottle. It is dancing, taking inspiration from Nandigram where the ultimate Maoist dream of armed resistance against the state is being played out.

Andhra Pradesh has seen a period of relative quiet in Maoist activity over the last couple of years but it may only be a matter of time.

''I am calling out to all these people, the Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims, everyone, come, armed struggle is now the only way out,'' said Gadar, Revolutionary.

That's exactly what a recent issue of 'Biplabi jug', the quarterly mouthpiece of the CPI (Maoists) says:

''It is no longer just about land acquisition or a fight between two political parties. It is a battle against the state.''

Nandigram is some indication of how real the fears of the Maoist extremist revolutionaries threatening the country could be.

They managed to galvanise villagers into an armed struggle against the state reinforcing the Maoist dictum that ''power flows through the barrel of a gun'' and power has to be seized through guerrilla warfare.

''Their ultimate aim is to seize power. They have guerrilla platoons that need to be equipped and trained,'' said S Subramaniam, Security Expert.

Over the last few years, from a small group with a presence in a few districts, Maoists have metamorphosed into a pan-India outfit with influence in over 150 districts of the country that means over 25 per cent of the country is under their influence.

This was helped in a big way by the merger in mid-2004, of the People's War with the Maoist Communist Centre so instead of fighting over turf, the two groups now pool their organisational and military expertise.

12,000-armed guerrillas

The unified outfit reportedly has about 12,000-armed guerrillas. Efforts were also on to merge other groups like Janashakti.

''We are trying to merge as fast as possible. It is a tactical move, necessary to fulfill revolutionary motive. For that we must have a single, unified revolutionary party,'' said Amar, Janashakti leader.

Intelligence sources point out that in August 2001, the idea crystallised, of a Compact Revolutionary Zone or a continuous red corridor that would run through six states and extends from Nepal through Bihar in the North to Dandakaranya region, the forest areas of Central India and Andhra Pradesh.

The corridor was to facilitate movement of arms and cadre.

The police say the Maoist groups have links with fraternal groups all over south Asia and they also admit to links with Northeastern ultra groups and even with Kashmiri militants.

''We have links with the NSCN and the ULFA. We also share military and organisational experience with Kashmiri groups. We openly extend support,'' said Ganganna, Guntur committee secretary, CPI (Maoist).

Even when in Andhra Pradesh, the ban on the People's War was allowed to lapse on July 22, 2004 and peace talks were initiated, the Maoists refused to part, even temporarily, with their arms and in fact openly admitted they are intensifying their political propaganda and recruiting cadre.

''The strengthening of political parties, the political propaganda of the revolutionary parties should not be seen as negative but some people in the government, specially the police, see this as a threat to the present system,'' said Varavara Rao, Naxal.

If Maoist ideology of war against the state through armed struggle seemed like something impossible in today's India, Nandigram should serve as a wakeup call. Wisdom would lie in not ignoring the early warning signals.