The upsurge in Maoist violence in India is not a thunderbolt from the blue — it has been building up for decades and had to explode at some point. What is shocking, however, is the intensity of the attack on the Central Reserve Police Force battalion at Dantewada in the state of Chattisgarh. It is reported that more than 1,000 rebels took part in the ambush, slaughtering 76 Central Reserve members like lambs at an abattoir.
Were there no warning bells? Did the government miss the red dust and banners kicked up high in the air by the horde of the red brigade, whose war cry is the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat in New Delhi through an armed struggle? Or were they totally engrossed in the melodrama of the Shoaib Malek/Sania Mirza/Aisha Siddiqi affair, which broke a few days before the ambush?
Be that as it may, there was plenty of evidence that the Maoists would assert themselves and make their presence felt not in areas they control, but elsewhere. In the changing geo-political power struggle and socio-economic upheaval in the sub-continent, the Maoists are the highly inflammable powder keg that if ignited could engulf large areas of India. With the matches to strike the fire in the hands of external and internal players, India cannot afford to ignore the Maoists, or even to fight fire with fire, but should instead think of ways to douse the fire without burning down its own house.
The first warning bell should have gone off years ago when the Maoists in Nepal overthrew the monarchy and established a people's republic in that country. It would be logical to expect the Indian Maoists to attempt to replicate their success. To do that they needed to lie low until they had received the required training and arms. Given the porous nature of India's borders with neighbouring countries, smuggling is not difficult, especially when there are comrades-in-arms who hold power and authority, and cohorts to deliver the consignments. This illegal activity must have been going on unhindered for some time, as there is no record of any substantial seizure of disruptive paraphernalia destined for the Maoists in India.
Hand of China
Secondly, one shouldn't forget that the Indian Maoists derive their ideology from Mao Zedong. Notwithstanding the denials of China about extending its moral and monetary support to the Indian followers of its beloved former leader, it has to be acknowledged that there is no love lost between India and China. This is more so because of India's support for the Dalai Lama and the Tibetans, and the dispute over the sovereignty of the border states of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. These are some of the reasons why many Sino-Indian experts believe China poses a much greater threat to India than Pakistan does.
Thirdly, one should not dismiss the fallout of India's increasingly proactive role, much to the chagrin of Pakistan, in Afghanistan. Islamabad has expressed its displeasure to US President Barack Obama about the hold the Indians have on Afghan policy makers and the alleged discovery of Indian-made weapons in the restive province of Balochistan.
Within India, the embers of Maoism are fanned on one side by the disenfranchised outcasts from among the lowest of the low within the rigid caste system, and on the other by the rich and educated Utopian ideologists who passionately believe in the Marxist concept of equality of the masses and supremacy of the state.
In the echelons of power, the voices of the poor go unheard. In the media, they are also ignored. As such, for the establishment and the fourth estate, the wretched of India are the living dead. For the Maoists, the millions of such zombies are their living hope of breaking the shackles of bondage, servitude and poverty imposed upon them by the ruling class and the bourgeoisie.
Considering the confluence of the external and internal forces in the fuelling of the Maoist movement, India has a tough task at hand. It is going to be a long, drawn-out battle.
