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The Print
18 hours ago
- Politics
- The Print
Sudhakar was last of 3 top Maoist leaders who took part in failed 2004 peace talks with Andhra govt
The two other leaders with Sudhakar were Akkiraju Hargopal, alias Ramakrishna alias RK, then state secretary of the CPI (Marxist-Leninist) People's War, also known as People's War Group (PWG), and Gajarla Ravi alias Ganesh, the North Telangana special zonal committee member. The three went on to lead the peace talks with the Andhra Pradesh government. On 11 October, 2004, Sudhakar had emerged with two other leaders of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), and two cadres of CPI (Marxist-Leninist)-Janashakti from the Nallamala forest, and addressed a public meeting at Guttikonda Bilam in then undivided Andhra Pradesh. New Delhi: The killing of 66-year-old Maoist leader Tentu Laxmi Narsimha Chalam, alias Goutham or Sudhakar, by security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur Thursday closes the chapter of the only—and unsuccessful—peace talks between the government and Maoists over 20 years ago. The CPI (Maoist) was formed with the merger of PWG with the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI) in September 2004. After a few rounds of productive negotiations, the talks were called off by the Maoists in January 2005 on the grounds of continued operations by Andhra Pradesh's Greyhounds force against the group. The talks had been initiated after years of crackdown by the then N. Chandrababu Naidu-led government in Andhra Pradesh. Congress leader Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had promised the peace talks with Maoists if elected to power in the 2004 assembly elections. When he won, his government announced a ceasefire with the rebels in June 2004, initially for three months, and it was extended by another three months. Starting 12 October, 2004, the Maoist leaders were accommodated at Manjeera guesthouse in Hyderabad, and the first phase of talks went on from 15 to 18 October at Dr Marri Channa Reddy Human Resource Development Institute. The trio of Ramakrishna, Sudhakar and Ganesh, representing the Maoists, was in attendance. The CPI (ML)-Janashakti, another Andhra-based armed rebel group of Maoists, was represented by leaders Amar and Riyaz. During the 4-day talks, the state government and Maoist leaders held discussions on issues such as laying down of arms by the rebels, continuance of ceasefire as long as talks continued, distribution of surplus lands, release of political prisoners, withdrawal of cases against people involved in the revolutionary movement, ending of cash rewards on the heads of revolutionaries, action against private armed gangs, etc. However, there was no consensus on laying down of arms by the Maoists, and the talks were finally called off in January 2005 as the Maoists alleged continuation of crackdown by the state. Ramakrishna went on to become a member of both the central committee and politburo of the CPI (Maoist). He was reported to have died a natural death in the South Bastar region in October 2021, after escaping an October 2016 encounter with a joint team of the Andhra Pradesh Police's Greyhounds and Odisha Police in Malkangiri. Ganesh was killed in the same encounter. CPI (ML)-Janashakti cadre Riyaz was said to have been killed in an encounter by the Karimnagar district police, while Amar dissociated himself with the outfit after his arrest and was released on bail. On Thursday, Sudhakar, a member of the central committee of the CPI (Maoist), was identified as one of the casualties following exchange of fire in a search operation by a team of the Chhattisgarh District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force and troops from the CRPF's Commando Battalion for Resolute Action in Bijapur district. 'Reliable Intelligence inputs indicated the presence of Central Committee Member Gautam alias Sudhakar, along with Telangana State Committee Member Bandi Prakash, Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee Member Pappa Rao, and several other armed Maoist cadres in the area,' Bastar range IG Sundarraj Pattilingam said in a statement. 'In the ensuing exchange of fire, security forces recovered the body of a senior Maoist cadre along with an AK-47 rifle. The neutralised Maoist cadre has been identified as Central Committee Member Gautam alias Sudhakar,' it added. Also Read: Citing precedent, Bastar IG says CPI (Maoist) unlikely to get new gen secy after Basavaraju Ayurveda course dropout, Maoist ideologue Born into a rural family in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh before his father migrated to Eluru district, Sudhakar completed high school studies from his local block. He moved to Eluru town for intermediate education at Sir C.R. Reddy College. However, according to his records with the Andhra Pradesh Police, he did not pursue his ayurvedic medicine course entirely at a Vijayawada college and left it midway. He joined the People's War Group in 1995. Between 2001 and 2003, he worked extensively for the outfit as secretary of the Andhra-Odisha Border special zonal committee. In the same capacity, he attended the peace talks with the Andhra Pradesh government. He was inducted into the central committee of the CPI (Maoist) and was instrumental in running a Maoist ideological training school in 2007. Confirming his death in the Bijapur encounter, IG Sundarraj stated that Sudhakar had played a key role in luring tribal youths into the Maoist fold. 'Gautam was a senior Maoist leader responsible for various violent incidents that resulted in the deaths of numerous innocent tribal civilians and the martyrdom of security personnel. Moreover, as the in-charge of the Maoist ideological training school (RePOS), Gautam was involved in misleading and radicalising the youth with violent and anti-national ideologies,' he stated. Sudhakar was married to another senior Maoist cadre named Kakarala Guru Smruthi alias Umakka, who works as a state zonal committee member and allegedly runs Mobile Political School (MOPOS) of the Maoists. (Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui) Also Read: Abujhmarh op shut Basavaraju chapter of Maoist insurgency. How homegrown DRG gave forces edge
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
After decades of bloodshed, is India winning its war against Maoists?
Could India's decades-long jungle insurgency finally be approaching its end? Last week, the country's most-wanted Maoist, Nambala Keshava Rao - popularly known as Basavaraju - was killed along with 26 others in a major security operation in the central state of Chhattisgarh. Home Minister Amit Shah called it "the most decisive strike" against the insurgency in three decades. One police officer also died in the encounter. Basavaraju's death marks more than a tactical victory - it signals a breach in the Maoists' last line of defence in Bastar, the forested heartland where the group carved out its fiercest stronghold since the 1980s. Maoists, also known as "Naxalites" after the 1967 uprising in Naxalbari village in West Bengal, have regrouped over the decades to carve out a "red corridor" across central and eastern India - stretching from Jharkhand in the east to Maharashtra in the west and spanning more than a third of the country's districts. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh had described the insurgency as India's "greatest internal security threat". The armed struggle for Communist rule has claimed nearly 12,000 lives since 2000, according to the South Asian Terrorism Portal. The rebels say they fight for the rights of indigenous tribes and the rural poor, citing decades of state neglect and land dispossession. The Maoist movement - officially known as Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) - took formal shape in 2004 with the merger of key Marxist-Leninist groups into the CPI (Maoist). This party traces its ideological roots to a 1946 peasant uprising in the southern state of Telangana. Now, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government pledging to end Maoism by March 2026, the battle-hardened rebellion stands at a crossroads: could this truly be the end - or just another pause in its long, bloody arc? "There will be a lull. But Marxist-Leninist movements have transcended such challenges when the top leadership of the Naxalites were killed in the 70s and yet we are talking about Naxalism," said N Venugopal, a journalist, social scientist and long-time observer of the movement, who is both a critic and sympathiser of the Maoists. One of the senior-most officials in India's home ministry who oversaw anti-Maoist operations, MA Ganapathy, holds a different view. "At its core, the Maoist movement was an ideological struggle - but that ideology has lost traction, especially among the younger generation. Educated youth aren't interested anymore," says Mr Ganapathy. "With Basavaraju neutralised, morale is low. They're on their last leg." The federal home ministry's latest report notes a 48% drop in violent incidents in Maoist-related violence - from 1,136 in 2013 to 594 in 2023 - and a 65% decline in related deaths, from 397 to 138. However, it acknowledges a slight rise in security force casualties in 2023 compared to 2022, attributed to intensified operations in core Maoist areas. The report says Chhattisgarh remained the worst-affected state in 2023, accounting for 63% of all Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) incidents and 66% of the related deaths. Jharkhand followed, with 27% of the violence and 23% of the deaths. The remaining incidents were reported from Maharashtra, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. The collapse of Maoism in Chhattisgarh, a stronghold of the insurgency, offers key clues to the movement's broader decline. A decade ago, the state's police were seen as weak, according to Mr Ganapathy. "Today, precise state-led strikes, backed by central paramilitary forces, have changed the game. While paramilitary held the ground, state forces gathered intelligence and launched targeted operations. It was clear role delineation and coordination," he said. Mr Ganapathy adds that access to mobile phones, social media, roads and connectivity have made people more aware and less inclined to support an armed underground movement. "People have become aspirational, mobile phones and social media have become widespread and people are exposed to the outside world. Maoists also cannot operate in hiding in remote jungles while being out of sync with new social realities. "Without mass support, no insurgency can survive," he says. A former Maoist sympathiser, who did not want to be named, pointed to a deeper flaw behind the movement's collapse: a political disconnect. "They delivered real change - social justice in Telangana, uniting tribespeople in Chhattisgarh - but failed to forge it into a cohesive political force," he said. At the heart of the failure, he argued, was a dated revolutionary vision: building isolated "liberated zones" beyond the state's reach and "a theory to strike the state through a protracted people's war". "These pockets work only until the state pushes back. Then the zones collapse, and thousands die. It's time to ask - can a revolution really be led from cut-off forestlands in today's India?" The CPI (Maoist)'s 2007 political document clings to a Mao-era strategy: of creating a "liberated zone" and "encircling the cities from the countryside." But the sympathiser was blunt: "That doesn't work anymore." The party still retains some popular support in a few isolated pockets, primarily in the tribal regions of eastern Maharashtra, southern Chhattisgarh and parts of Odisha and Jharkhand - but without a strong military base. Ongoing operations by state forces have significantly weakened the Maoist military infrastructure in their strongholds in southern Chhattisgarh. Cadres and leaders are now being killed regularly, reflecting the rebels' growing inability to defend themselves. Mr Venugopal believes the strategy needs rethinking - not abandonment. The underground struggle has its place, he said, but "the real challenge is blending it with electoral politics". In contrast, Mr Ganapathy sees little hope for the Maoists to mount a meaningful fightback in the near future and argues that the time has come for a different approach - dialogue. "It would be wise for them to go for talks now and perhaps unconditionally or even lay down the conditions and let the government consider them. This is the time to approach the government instead of unnecessarily sacrificing their own cadres, without a purpose," he said. Maoists enjoy support in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana from mainstream political parties. In Telangana, both the ruling Congress and the main opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) have backed calls for a ceasefire, along with 10 smaller Left parties - an effort widely seen as aimed at protecting the group's remaining leaders and cadres. The Maoist movement, rooted in past struggles against caste oppression, still carries social legitimacy in parts of these states. Civil society activists have also joined the push for a truce. "We, along with other civil rights groups, demanded a two-step process - an immediate ceasefire followed by peace talks," said Ranjit Sur, general secretary of the Kolkata-based group Association for Protection of Democratic Rights. Maoist-affected states remain resilient strongholds in part because they are rich in minerals - making them sites of intense resource battles. Mr Venugopal believes this is key to the CPI (Maoist's) enduring presence. Chhattisgarh, for instance, is India's sole producer of tin concentrates and moulding sand, and a leading source of coal, dolomite, bauxite and high-grade iron ore, according to the ministry of mines. It accounts for 36% of the country's tin, 20% iron ore, 18% coal, 11% dolomite and 4% of diamond and marble reserves. Yet, despite strong interest, mining companies - both global and national - have long struggled to access these resources. "Multinational companies couldn't enter because the Maoist movement, built on the slogan 'Jal, Jangal, Jameen (Water, Forest, Land),' asserted that forests belong to tribespeople - not corporations," Mr Venugopal said. But with the Maoists now weakened, at least four Chhattisgarh mines are set to go to "preferred bidders" after successful auctions in May, according to an official notification. Mr Venugopal believes that the resistance won't die with the death of Maoist leaders. "Leaders may fall, but the anger remains. Wherever injustice exists, there will be movements. We may not call them Maoism anymore - but they'll be there."
Hans India
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
No place for extremists and violent movements in society
Left Wing Extremism (LWE) received a major blow on Wednesday when security forces gunned down Nambala Keshav Rao, general secretary of Communist Party of India (Maoist), in Ambujmar forest area, once an impregnable fortress of the banned outfit in Chhattisgarh. Along with him, 26 other Maoists were killed in the fierce encounter with police. That the Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself tweeted about the encounter shows Keshav Rao's importance in the outlawed outfit. Known as Basavaraju and an engineering graduate from Regional Engineering College, Warangal (now NIT), the 71-year-old joined the banned outfit nearly four decades ago and rose to the top through ranks. A hardliner to the core, the Srikakulam native had been the key military strategist for CPI (Maoist) and the brain behind its major attacks, including the claymore mine assault on Nara Chandrababu Naidu in Tirupati in 2003. Quite ironically, Telugu people headed the extremist outfit from the beginning. Kondapalli Seetharamaiah, a noted communist leader from Krishna district, founded the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) - People's War in April 1980. Popular as the People's War Group (PWG), the outfit believed in armed struggles to achieve social and economic equality in society. It formed area-wise armed teams called dalams and fought against landlords in rural areas, especially in north Telangana, north Andhra and some parts of Rayalaseema. Seetharamaiah was at the helm of PWG till his ouster in 1991. Muppala Laxman Rao (Ganapathy), who replaced him, aggressively expanded PWG's activities beyond the Telugu-speaking region. He played a key role in the merger of the PWG and Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) to form the CPI (Maoist) in 2004. Belonging to a tiny village near Peddapalli town, he is said to have fled India after handing over the reins to Keshava Rao in 2018. It is to be seen who will lead the Maoist outfit following Basavaraju's death. Frankly speaking, there is no place for violent movements in Indian society as the country is now aiming at a higher economic growth. This is evident in the way some areas have flourished after the exit of the Maoist movement. For example, north Telangana, which reeled under the violent activities of Naxalites for several decades, flourished after the banned outfit shifted its main base to Chhattisgarh. At some point of time, it ran a parallel government in some parts of north Telangana before being wiped out after peace talks held by the YS Rajasekhara Reddy government in 2004. They operated a parallel government in several parts of Chhattisgarh as well. But the influence of Maoists has been on the wane in recent years. In January 2024, the Modi government launched Operation Kagar with 10,000 commandos with an aim to end Left Wing Extremism by March 2026. Post the launch of this biggest crackdown on the banned outfit, around 350 Maoists, including Keshava Rao, have been killed. That way, Operation Kagar dealt a big blow to the banned outfit whose activities led to the killing of 8,895 people in the last 20 years. In this age of widespread road networks and mobile communication systems, it is not easy for such armed movements to survive. Moreover, people are disenchanted with their ideology. Therefore, it's time all the ultras belonging to CPI (Maoist) surrender and join the mainstream and be rehabilitated.
The Hindu
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Basavaraju was trained by LTTE in jungle warfare, military tactics and IED use
The killing of Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju, general secretary of the banned CPI (Maoist), in Chhattisgarh on Wednesday (May 21, 2025) is the biggest strike that the security forces, a combination of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the District Reserve Guard (DRG), can claim in recent times. The news was a bolt from the blue for many who sympathised with the movement. Basavaraju had been elusive since he joined the movement after completing his from the Regional Engineering College (now NIT), Warangal, in 1980. Earlier, he had multiple close shaves in exchanges of fire with the security forces. At least two times, there were references that he had been killed in encounters. Basavaraju figured in the National Investigation Agency's most wanted list with a reward of around ₹1.5 crore. He became the general secretary of the party after Muppala Lakshmana Rao, alias Ganapathi, paved the way for him on November 10, 2018. Before that, he was the chief of the party's Central Military Commission, the main fighting force of the Maoists. Known for his daredevil attitude, security analysts say he was an expert in guerrilla warfare and was trained by the LTTE leaders in jungle warfare, military tactics, and use of improvised explosive devices. He had launched a project to teach Maoists the making of shoulder-fired rocket launchers, though they were rudimentary and technically failed. Basavaraju led many operations, including the attack on the CRPF camp in Dantewada in which 76 personnel were killed in 2010, the Jeeram Ghati attack in which 27 people, including former Minister Mahendra Karma, were killed, and the killing of Kidari Sarveswara Rao, TDP MLA, and former MLA Siveri Soma near Araku valley in the now Alluri Sitharama Raju district of Andhra Pradesh in 2018. After he took over as chief of the CMC and then as general secretary, the Maoists increased their offensive in Chhattisgarh. Former Maoists say the six-foot-tall Basavraju had an imposing personality with a deep voice. He would carry a 9mm pistol, an AK-47, and communication devices. Basavraju was a man of action, they say. He had never been arrested except for one instance in 1979, when he was held for a clash between the Radical Students Union and RSS members at REC, Warangal, causing the death of a student. He was later released on conditional bail. According to H.J. Dora, former Director-General of Police of Andhra Pradesh, Basavaraju was once caught by the police in Visakhapatnam in the early 1980s, when he was disguised as an Ayyappa Deeksha devotee. However, he managed to escape. Early life Basavraju was born on July 10, 1955, in Jiyannapet in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. He was drawn towards the Marxist-Leninist ideology since his engineering days. He joined the CPI(ML) People's War, led by Kondapalli Seetharamaiah, in 1980. He was also an active member of the RSU, which is now banned. His active participation with the Naxalite movement started in Visakhapatnam. Foray into Visakhapatnam His active participation with the Naxalite movement started in Visakhapatnam. Basavaraju, along with Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad, who was killed in July 2010, established the Rythu Coolie Sangham. He had focused on the tribal areas of now ASR district. From 1980 to 1987, he worked in various capacities in Visakhapatnam and East Godavari district under the East Division. After the expulsion of Kondapalli from the party, he was drafted into the Central Committee of the CPI (ML) PWG, which later became CPI (Maoist) with the merger of PWG and MCC (Maoist Communist Centre), in 2004. He had played a key role in the merger and was the main strategist behind the idea of making the 'Red Corridor' and 'Janatana Sarkar' (People's Government) in Chhattisgarh. In 2001, he became a member of Politburo and the chief of the Central Military Commission (CMC). Meanwhile, his family members at Jiyannapet were not sure whether the body of Basavraj would be brought to his native village.
The Hindu
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Top Maoist leader Basavaraju hailing from A.P. killed in exchange of fire in Chhattisgarh
Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju, general secretary of the banned CPI (Maoist) was killed in an encounter with the security forces in the Abujhmad area of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday. At least 27 other Maoists were also killed in the exchange of fire. This is the biggest strike that the security forces, a combination of CRPF and DRG, can claim in recent times. Getting the Maoist top boss was a bolt from the blue for many who sympathised with the movement. Basavaraju had been elusive since he joined the movement after completing his from Regional Engineering College (now NIT), Warangal, in 1980. He was never caught by the police, though he had multiple close shaves in exchanges of fire with the security forces. At least two times, there were references that he had been killed in encounters. Basavaraju figured in the NIA's most wanted list with a reward of around ₹1.5 crore. He had become the general secretary of the party, after Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathi paved the way for him on November 10, 2018. Before that, he was the chief of the party's Central Military Commission, the main fighting force of the Maoists. Known for his dare-devilry, security analysts say that he was an expert in guerrilla warfare and was trained by the leaders of LTTE in jungle warfare, military tactics and use of improvised explosive devices. He had launched a project to teach Maoists the making of shoulder-fired rocket launchers, though they were rudimentary and had technically failed. Basavaraju had led many operations, including the attack on the CRPF camp in Dantewada in which 76 CRPF personnel were killed in 2010, the Jeeram Ghati attack in which 27 people, including former minister Mahendra Karma, and the killing of Kidari Sarveswara Rao, TDP MLA and former MLA Siveri Soma near Araku valley in the now Alluri Sitharama Raju district of Andhra Pradesh in 2018. After he had taken over as chief of CMC and then as general secretary, the Maoists had increased their offensive in Chhattisgarh. Former Maoists who have now surrendered say six-foot-tall Basavaraju had an imposing personality with a deep voice. He would carry a 9MM pistol, an AK 47 and communication devices. Basavaraju was a man of action, they say. He was never arrested except in 1979 when he was held for a clash between RSU and RSS students at REC, Warangal, causing the death of a student. He was later released on conditional bail. According to former DGP of Andhra Pradesh, H.J. Dora, who hails from a village close to Basavaraju's village, Nambala was once caught by the police in Visakhapatnam in the early 1980s. Disguised in the attire of Ayyappa Deeksha devotees, he was moving around when he was nabbed. But he managed to escape. Basavaraju was born on July 10, 1955, in Jiyannapet in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. he studied in Kotabommali Government High School and Government Junior College at Tekkali. He then went to REC, Warangal. He was drawn towards the Marxist-Leninist ideology since his engineering days. He joined the CPI (ML)- People's War Group, led by Kondapalli Seetharamaiah, in 1980. He was also an active member of RSU (Radical Students Union), which is now banned. Foray into Visakhapatnam His active participation with the Naxalite movement started in Visakhapatnam. Basavaraju, along with Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad, who was killed in July 2010, established the Rythu Coolie Sangham. He had focused on the tribal areas of now ASR district. From 1980 to 1987, he worked in various capacities in Visakhapatnam and East Godavari district under the East Division. After the expulsion of Kondapalli from the party, he was drafted into the Central Committee of the CPI (ML) PWG, which later became CPI (Maoist) with the merger of PWG and MCC (Maoist Communist Centre), in 2004. He had played a key role in the merger and was the main strategist behind the idea of making the 'Red Corridor' and 'Janatana Sarkar' (People's Government) in Chhattisgarh. In 2001, he became a member of Politburo and the chief of the Central Military Commission (CMC). Meanwhile, his family members at Jiyannapet were not sure whether the body of Basavraj would be brought to his native village.
