India Is Facing A Communist Rebellion

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Laura Secorun Palet, OZY: The World's Most dangerous Communists

If I say “Naxalite,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For most Westerners, the answer is likely akin to an incoherent Google search query: “No results found.” Unless you live in India. For former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, it’s India’s “biggest internal security challenge.” For policemen in the country’s southwest, it’s synonymous with terror. And for some forgotten tribal villagers, it’s their only hope for a better future.

But what, or who, are these Naxalites? They are the country’s Maoist insurgency. The so-called Naxalite rebellion began about 50 years ago across central and eastern India — a belt comprising almost a third of the country, which has been dubbed the Red Corridor. It was imported from Nepal, and the government seemed to have squashed the rebellion in the ’90s, but violence has surged since two Maoist guerrilla groups merged in 2004 to create the Communist Party of India.

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WNU editor: This is one of those stories that always gets under-reported in the West. But not in this blog .... I have been covering this conflict for years .... India's Maoist Insurgency Is Spreading (October 8, 2009).