Magadh moves on from Maoist strife after decades of bloodshed

Time of India

3 hours ago

Gaya: Barring isolated incidents such as the burning of road construction machinery and minor extortion demands, the Magadh region, once a stronghold of Maoist insurgents, has witnessed no major violence in recent years.
The last significant attack occurred in 2021 on the Gaya-Aurangabad border when nearly a dozen CRPF commandos were killed in Maoist-triggered IED explosions. Four Maoists were also killed in the police's retaliatory operation.
For nearly two decades, from the 1980s to the early 2000s, Maoists dominated much of the Magadh division. Govt officials in rural postings and contractors working on infrastructure projects were forced to pay hefty protection money.
Almost all block-level officials abandoned their headquarters, living instead in Gaya city or sub-divisional towns such as Sherghati. That situation has now changed dramatically.
The region's history is marked by some of the worst massacres in Bihar's insurgency years. In Dalel Chak Baghora (Aurangabad district), 55 men, women and children from a landowning caste were killed. In Bara (Gaya district) and Senari (Jehanabad district), 35 male adults were slain in each incident.
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In retaliation, the Ranvir Sena, a private militia of the Bhumihar community, massacred 55 people, mostly Dalits, in Laxmanpur Bathe (Arwal district) and 35 OBCs and Dalits in Miapur village (Aurangabad district).
The Maoists also staged the high-profile Jehanabad jail break, freeing about 400 inmates, including veteran leader Ajai Kanu, and killing nearly a dozen prisoners suspected of being Ranvir Sena supporters.
In another attack, they stormed Tekari police station in broad daylight, killing five policemen.
Today, most of these areas are peaceful. Arun Kumar Prasad, a retired professor of philosophy, attributes the decline of Maoism to "a mix of administrative, ideological, social and economic factors". He said retaliation by the Ranvir Sena had a significant effect. "Maoists, operating on the principle of minimum risk, retreated when challenged through counter-violence," Prasad added.
However, Masoom Aziz Kazmi, a retired IPS officer and former Aurangabad SP during the height of insurgency, said, "The Ranvir Sena was a factor, but not the main one. Improved police mobility due to better roads and an offensive policing strategy paid dividends."
Observers also point to a change in political approach. "While the Lalu-Rabri govt appeared to treat Maoists with kid gloves, the Nitish govt adopted a more business-like and at times ruthlessapproach," said one.
Anup Kedia, former head of the Central Bihar Chamber of Commerce, said the poor had grown disillusioned with the Maoist leadership. Whatever the reasons, the decline in Maoist activities in Magadh is now unmistakable.
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