South Asia Terrorism Portal
Maoists: Badly Battered 'Division' Deepak Kumar Nayak Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
On May 14, 2018, a Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre was killed in an encounter with Police at Sudukumpa Reserve Forest in the Kandhamal District of Odisha State. The slain Maoist, who is yet to be identified, was reportedly active in the ‘Kandhamal-Kalahandi-Boudh-Nayagarh (KKBN) division’ of the CPI-Maoist in the State. Police recovered 11 rifles, ammunition, and Maoist literature from the encounter site.
On May 13, 2018, four CPI-Maoist cadres, including two women, were killed during an exchange of fire with the Police at Golanki village under Kandhamal Sadar Police Station limits. One of the four slain Maoists was identified as Sankar Majhi (37), reportedly the leader of the ‘KKBN division’. He carried a reward of INR 500,000 on his head. Identities of the three other slain Maoists are yet to be ascertained. Police recovered eight weapons, including an AK-47 and an INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) assault rifle, from the spot.
On February 16, 2018, CPI-Maoist cadres killed a civil contractor, identified as Shiba Shankar Dash aka Tunu Dash, at a site near Paji Bahali under Bijepur Police limits in Kalahandi District. The brother of the deceased, Ramashankar Das, stated, “The armed miscreants came and asked Shivashankar for payment. He told them to get money from his clerk. They fired six rounds at him.”
According to partial data collated by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), the ‘KKBN division’ has accounted for at least six Maoist-linked fatalities (one civilian and five Maoists) in the current year, thus far (data till May 20, 2018). During the corresponding period in 2017, the ‘division’ had recorded one fatality (civilian). Maoist-linked fatalities in the area stood at six [three civilians, one Security Force (SF) trooper, and two Maoists] through 2017.
Since 2008, the ‘KKBN division’ has recorded 98 fatalities (38 civilians, 21 SF personnel, and 39 Maoists, data till May 20, 2018). The first fatality in the ‘division’ was recorded on February 15, 2008. 14 Police personnel and a civilian were killed, and four policemen wounded, when around 500 heavily armed CPI-Maoist cadres carried out a coordinated attack targeting a Police Training School (PTS), the District armoury, and District Police Station near Daspalla in the Nayagarh District. During this period (February 15, 2008, and May 20, 2018), Odisha accounted for a total of 712 fatalities (310 civilians, 189 SF personnel, and 213 Maoists). Thus, the ‘KKBN division’ alone accounted for 13.76 per cent of total-Maoist linked fatalities recorded in Odisha.
Fatalities in 'KKBN division' and Odisha: 2008*-2018
Year
'KKBN division'
Odisha
Civilians
SFs
LWEs
Total
2008
7
14
23
44
22
76
30
128
2009
3
0
1
4
36
32
13
81
2010
6
62
21
25
108
2011
9
16
75
2012
27
19
60
2013
54
2014
31
41
2015
2
5
20
11
35
2016
42
72
2017
18
2018*
12
38
39
98
310
189
213
712
Source: SATP, * Data since February 15, 2008; **Data till May 20, 2018
At least seven major incidents (each resulting in three or more fatalities), were recorded in the ‘KKBN division’ since 2008. These include:
May 13, 2018: Four CPI-Maoist cadres were killed during an exchange of fire with Police in Kandhamal District.
April 30, 2016: At least three women Maoist cadres were killed by SFs in an encounter in the Sahajkhaol Reserve Forest area of Kalahandi District.
January 5, 2012: Three constables of the Odisha Police were killed and as many injured when CPI-Maoist cadres triggered a landmine blast at Badarpanga village in the Kotagarh area of Kandhamal District.
November 27, 2010: Five persons, including two women and a three-year-old child, were killed when CPI-Maoist cadres blew up an ambulance by triggering a landmine blast near Dukulpadu in the Brahmanigaon area of Kandhamal District.
February 15, 2008: 14 Police personnel and a civilian were killed and four policemen were wounded when around 500 heavily armed CPI-Maoist cadres carried out a coordinated attack targeting a Police Training School (PTS), the District armoury, and District Police Station near Daspalla in the Nayagarh District.
February 17, 2008: At least 20 CPI-Maoist cadres, including women, were killed during a combing operation by SFs in the border area of Nayagarh District.
August 23, 2008: Five persons, including Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Laxmanananda, and his four disciples, including a woman, were killed in an attack by suspected CPI-Maoist cadres on an ashram (hermitage) at Jalespata in the Kandhamal District.
In 2007, Ginugu Narasimha Reddy aka Jampanna, a member of the ‘Central Military Commission’ of the CPI-Maoist, formed the ‘KKBN division’ with an intention to strengthen the movement in Odisha. He surrendered before the Hyderabad Police in Telangana on December 22, 2017.
Though the overall security situation in the State has improved, the ‘KBKN division’ remains a challenge. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, on December 11, 2017, stated that the Maoist situation in at least eight Districts (Malkangiri, Koraput, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Rayagada, Bolangir, Bargarh and Angul) of the State continued to "remain challenging", even as there has been a substantial improvements in the other Districts.
Kandhamal is among 30 Districts, across seven States, identified by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as "worst-affected" by Maoist violence. Moreover, Kalahandi, Nayagarh, and Boudh Districts in the 'KKBN division' are on the list of 90 'affected Districts'. Boudh is among the eight new Districts, across five States, which have been added recently to the list of Districts covered under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme, as a pre-emptive step to check any attempts by Maoists to enhance their area of influence. Director General of Police (DGP), R.P. Sharma, on April 16, 2018, stated,
All the four Districts falling under the ‘KKBN division’ – spread over a geographical area over 22,562 square kilometers – offer crucial strategic advantages to the rebels. The forest cover of the ‘division’ is 11,604 square kilometres, i.e., about 51.43 per cent of the total area. The Division is situated to the south of the State, and is surrounded mostly by currently Maoist-affected/ erstwhile Maoist-affected Districts of the State. To the south the ‘KKBN division’ shares border with Gajapati, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Rayagada; to the north, with Angul, Bolangir and Subarnapur; to the east it shares with Cuttack, Ganjam and Khordha; and to the west Nuapada and Raipur of Chhattisgarh. On September 12, 2017, after reviewing Maoist activities in the ‘KKBN division’, DGP R.P. Sharma noted, “The ultras are taking geographical advantage of Kandhamal District to expand their activities. The district is densely forested and surrounded by hills.”
Moreover, these four Districts are afflicted by relatively low standards on all human development indicators. There is widespread absence of and worsening access to healthcare, education, drinking water, sanitation and food, creating an alarming humanitarian situation. These conditions create opportunities for the Maoists. According to the “District Development and Diversity Index Report for India and Major States,” a joint survey conducted by the US-India Policy Institute (USIPI) and the Centre for Research and Debates in Development Policy (CRDDP), New Delhi, which included 599 Districts across India within its purview, all the four Districts of the ‘KKBN division’ were ranked towards the bottom: Boudh (574), Kandhamal (551), Kalahandi (548), and Nayagarh (373). The report, released on January 29, 2015, took composite development — measured in terms of economic development and indices of health, education and material well-being — into consideration. More recently, a report released by the Government of India listed Kandhamal and Kalahandi among 115 ‘backward districts’ of India. The 115 Districts were identified on the basis of select indicators of backwardness and prevalence of Left Wing Extremism. The indicators of backwardness included Poverty Rank, Health Rank, and Education Rank.
The Maoists are facing losses, both in the State (most recently, in the twin encounters on May 13-14, 2018) and across the country. At least 40 Maoists were killed in the Gadchiroli District of Maharashtra in twin encounters on April 22-23, 2018; and at least eight Maoists were eliminated in the Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh on April 27, 2018. In all, LWE groupings are struggling to retain hold in progressively shrinking areas. The ‘KKBN division’ is critical to their survival and to the continuance of their movement in Odisha, and it is imperative that SF pressures are sustained, even as the abysmal developmental deficit in the area is addressed.
Decisive Turn S. Binodkumar Singh Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
In a historic development, on May 17, 2018, two major national Left political parties – the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) and the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre (CPN-Maoist Center) – at a joint meeting held at Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s residence in Baluwatar, Kathmandu announced their merger and the formation of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP). The NCP announced a nine-member Central Secretariat including two Co-chairs K.P. Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal; General Secretary Bishnu Poudel; Spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha; three senior leaders, Madhav Kumar Nepal, Jhala Nath Khanal and Bam Dev Gautam; and two members Ishwor Pokhrel and Ram Bahadur Thapa. The NCP will also have a 45-member Standing Committee and a 441-member Central Committee. The Standing Committee comprises 26 CPN-UML and 19 CPN-Maoist Centre members, while the Central Committee comprises 241 CPN-UML and 200 CPN-Maoist members.
Earlier, in a dramatic turn of events on October 3, 2017, the CPN-UML, CPN-Maoist Center and Naya Shakti Party-Nepal (NSP-N) had formed an electoral alliance, the Left Alliance, to contest the Provincial and Parliamentary elections held in two phases on November 26, 2017, and December 7, 2017. The three parties had also formed the Party Unification Coordination Committee (PUCC) to make preparations for their unification and had also agreed to form an inter-party panel to draft the statute of the proposed unified party. However, on October 13, 2017, NSP-N, led by former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, quit the alliance over disputes regarding seat sharing in elections.
Meanwhile, on February 19, 2018, CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre signed a seven-point agreement on the modalities of unification. The next day, on February 20, 2018, CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Center formed two task forces: one for the organization of the unified party, led by CPN-Maoist Centre leader Ram Bahadur Thapa; and another for the interim political report and interim statute, led by CPN-UML senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, to expedite unification in accordance with the seven-point agreement signed between the two parties. Each of the task forces included 10 members, with five representatives from each party. Ishwore Pokharel, Bishnu Paudel, Gokarna Bista, Bedu Ram Bhusal and Raghuveer Mahaseth from CPN-UML; and Ram Bahadur Thapa, Giri Raj Mani Pokharel, Barsha Man Pun, Matrika Yadav and Janardan Sharma from CPN-Maoist Center, were included in the task force for the organization of the unified party. Similarly, Madhav Kumar Nepal, Bhim Rawal, Subash Chandra Nembang, Pradeep Gyawali and Raghuji Panta of CPN-UML; and Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Dev Gurung, Shakti Basnet, Pampha Bhusal and Devendra Paudel of CPN-Maoist Center, were in the task force for the interim political report and interim statute.
The task forces were mandated to submit their reports to CPN-UML Chairman and Prime Minister K.P. Oli and CPN-Maoist Center Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal by March 9, 2018. As the two task forces failed to submit their reports, their deadline was extended until March 19, 2018. Finally, on April 3, 2018, the two task forces, during a meeting of PUCC held at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar, Kathmandu, submitted a report incorporating suggestions to merge the two parties by April 21, 2018. During the meeting, Oli expressing his commitment to party unification, declaring, “I don’t care about what others say. We will finalize the party unification.”
Compromises on both sides made quick unification possible. During the candidate-selection process for the Provincial and Parliamentary elections, the CPN-UML and the CPN-Maoist Center had settled on a 60:40 formula, with CPN-UML nominating 60 per cent of members in all contested seats and CPN-Maoist Center nominating its candidates for the rest. But, the elections produced a rather curious result. 70 per cent were of the successful candidates were from CPN-UML and only 30 per cent from CPN-Maoist Center. The skew created some disagreements over power sharing, particularly the unified party's guiding principle, the internal organizational structure, and post-party unification arrangements for top leaders.
While the CPN-UML offered a 40 per cent stake to the CPN-Maoist Center in the unified party, CPN-Maoist Center was demanding equal status, including the proportion of Central Committee members. CPN-Maoist Center Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, while addressing his party's student leaders at Kathmandu on March 26, 2018, asserted, "The unification will only happen if there is equal or 50/50 share of the two parties in party committee. If not, there won't be unification. Our party wants a dignified status in the new party." Further, on April 27, 2018, Dahal also asked CPN-UML Chairman Oli to choose between premiership and party leadership.
A surprisingly flexible approach subsequently adopted by the heads of both sides made swift unification possible. It was a kind of give and take among the party chiefs and a commitment to move ahead in accordance with the people's expectations. Oli softened his position and agreed to offer an almost equal number of positions to the Maoists, and the newly formed party decided to adopt dual leadership. According to the agreement worked out among top leaders, both Oli and Dahal will head the party as Co-Chairs. Oli had also agreed in principal to rotate Government leadership. Oli will lead the Government for three years and Dahal for the remaining two years. Party insiders disclosed that CPN-UML Chairman Oli's decision to provide 45 per cent of seats in the 441-member Central Committee of the new party convinced CPN-Maoist Center Chairman Dahal to merge the parties.
Separately, on the new party's guiding principle, the CPN-Maoist Center had been demanding “People's Democracy for the 21st Century”, while CPN-UML sought to continue with its existing “People's Multi-Party Democracy” (PMPD) propounded by its charismatic leader Madan Bhandari. Eventually, for the sake of uniting the parties, Oli agreed to “People's Democracy” as the guiding principle, with a commitment to working towards socialism.
Surprisingly, Nepali Congress (NC), the main opposition party in Parliament, did not respond on this occasion. Earlier, responding to the CPN-UML move to forge the Left Alliance for the Provincial and Parliamentary elections, NC President and the then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba observed, on October 31, 2017, "The communist alliance is trying to undermine democracy. Democracy has given people all sorts of rights. But under communism people's right to protest against injustice is usurped. There is not even right to cry in communism when there is injustice." Similarly, NC senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel, while addressing an election rally at the Rainas Municipality in Lamjung District on November 20, 2017, stated, “Communists exercising in multi party system are trying to forge consensus to push the country toward anarchism, to stop the nation from being ruled by autocratic rules, the democratic forces should emerge victorious to safeguard democracy in the nation (sic).”
Significantly, on May 17, 2018, addressing a Press Conference organized at City Hall to make a formal announcement of party unification, NCP Chairman Dahal, stated, “The unification between CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre is like forming water by combining hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen and oxygen cannot be separated once they turn into water.” Dahal termed the unification between the two communist forces as a ‘great step’. Similarly, Prime Minister Oli presiding over the first meeting of the NCP lawmakers at the Parliament Building in New Baneshwar, Kathmandu, on May 19, 2018, observed, "We want to project Nepal in 10 years from now as a heaven on earth crafted through the joint efforts of humans and nature. There would be a situation in which foreign tourists coming to Nepal would return home praising it."
This historic unification has created a single political party in the country with a strong hold in Parliament and over Provincial Governments in six of the country’s seven Provinces. The newly formed NCP now has 174 members in the 275-member House of Representative (HoR), 42 members in the 59-member National Assembly (NA), and a majority in six of the seven Provincial Assemblies.
This move has created the nation's first majority Government in 19 years. The coming together of the CPN-Maoist Centre, with its "ultra left" past, and the CPN-UML's historically moderate stance, is a remarkable political development in a country where the communists had split dozens of times since their movement was launched 70 years ago. The unification of two communist parties as a very strong nationalist bloc will have decisive impact on the future of democracy and political stability in Nepal.
Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia May 14-20, 2018
Security Force Personnel
Terrorists/Insurgents
INDIA
Assam
Jammu and Kashmir
INDIA (Left-Wing Extremism)
Chhattisgarh
INDIA (Total)
PAKISTAN
Balochistan
FATA
KP
Punjab
PAKISTAN (Total)
Taliban is trying to capture strategic areas in 12 Provinces, states MoD Afghanistan: Afghanistan Ministry of Defense (MoD) has admitted that in addition to Farah Province the Taliban is trying to capture strategic areas in 12 Provinces. To thwart this plan, the Commando Troops are involved in 68 operations across Afghanistan. Tolo News, May 19, 2018.
Reconciliation with the Taliban should be handled from the position of strength, states First Vice President of Afghanistan Abdul Rashid Dostum: The First Vice President of Afghanistan and the leader of Jombish Milli Abdul Rashid Dostum stated that "reconciliation with the Taliban should be handled from the position of strength, and not from the position of appeasement and weakness". "The presence of large numbers of U.S. troops on the ground and air strikes will not help to achieve the goals, unless the U.S. engages with our local population who are willing and effective to fight terrorism on the ground", he added. Khaama Press May 16, 2018.
Bangladesh urges Myanmar to hand over 'specific list' of ARSA members in Bangladesh territory: Bangladeshi officials at a meeting of the Joint Working Group on Rohingya repatriation in Dhaka city on May 17 urged Myanmar to hand over a 'specific list' of members of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), if any, staying in Bangladesh territory. At the meeting, the Myanmar side raised the issue of ARSA and Bangladesh officials asserted that there was no existence of members of the group in Bangladesh territory, said a Bangladesh official attending the meeting. New Age, May 19, 2018.
Pro-Khalistan groups hired local criminals to revive militancy in Punjab, says IB report: The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has submitted a report to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) which states that pro-Khalistan groups are hiring local criminals to conduct terrorist activities and revive militancy in Punjab. The Police officers, District Magistrates (DMs), senior IAS and IPS officers shall be alerted about the 'covert' activities, suggests the report. The IB report also suggested the State government to make a list and keep an eye on the local criminals. The Tribune, May 15, 2018.
'Conditional' ceasefire announced in J&K: Responding to the request of ceasefire during the month of Ramadan in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the Union Minister of Home Affairs (UMHA) Rajnath Singh on May 16 announced a 'conditional' ceasefire directing the Security Forces (SFs) not to perform operations during the holy month of Ramadan. However, as the condition implies, the SFs reserved the right to retaliate any attack from the militants or if it is essential for the protection of the people, said Rajnath Singh. In last three decades, this is the second time a conditional ceasefire has been announced. Earlier it was announced by then-Indian Prime Minister (PM) Atal Bihari Vajpayee on November 21, 2000. Dailyexcelsior, May 17, 2018.
36 percent decrease in north east insurgency, states UMHA report: Insurgency-related incidents in the Northeast dropped by 36 per cent in 2017, the lowest in 20 years. The annual report of the home ministry (2017-18) said such incidents decreased to 308 in 2017 compared to 484 in 2016 while Mizoram and Tripura reported no such incident in 2017. Assam, Meghalaya and Nagaland reported over 50 per cent decline in incidents but it increased by 22 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh despite the state having no local insurgent group. The Telegraph, May 16, 2018.
Government against any outcome of talks between GoI & NSCN-IM which affect integrity of Manipur, states Manipur CM N Biren Singh: Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh has declared that his government stands firm in opposing any outcome of the peace talks between National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) and Government of India (GoI) which would affect the integrity of Manipur. Several civil society organisations had asked the Manipur government to declare its stance regarding interlocutor R.N. Ravi's statements on the creation of a Naga territorial council as part of the peace deal. The Telegraph, May 19, 2018.
CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Center merges to become Nepal Communist Party: Two major national left political forces - Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) and the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre (CPN-Maoist Center) - merged to become the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) on May 17, almost 69 years after the communist movement gained momentum in the country with the establishment of a party by the same name. The NCP announced a nine-member Central Secretariat. The NCP will have a 45-member Standing Committee and 441 Central Committee members.
A day after the unification, leaders from both sides have agreed to form panels at the provincial and local levels and complete the unification process from top to bottom. Kathmandu Post;My Republica, May 18, 2018.
Federal Ministry Interior transferred 90 terrorism related cases to military courts, says report: Federal Ministry Interior has approved transfer of 90 terrorism cases, including the Nishtar Park and Abbas Town bomb blasts cases, to military courts for trial. The Federal Government had approved a total of 90 cases for trial by military courts established under the Pakistan Army Act, 1952. Suspects to be tried in these cases by the military courts are said to be associated with banned militant outfits, including Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Tehreek-e-Taliban Swat (TTS).Dawn, May 12, 2018.
Punjab Government restores security of Mumbai attack mastermind JuD chief Hafiz Saeed: Punjab Government has restored the security of Mumbai attack mastermind and the chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), the frontal organisation of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hafiz Saeed citing threats to his life, almost a month after it was withdrawn on the order of the Supreme Court. "The policemen have been deployed again for the security of Hafiz Saeed on the order of (chief minister) Shahbaz Sharif's Punjab Government," an unnamed senior official of the Provincial Government said. Times of India, May 11, 2018.
Sri Lanka is the only country that has eradicated terrorism, says Army Commander Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake: Army Commander Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake during an interview with The Hindu news paper said that Sri Lanka is the only country that has eradicated terrorism. "We are a victorious army. Once the combat is over, it is the responsibility of the army itself to understand its role and task. The last nine years were very critical to understand what happened 30 years ago," he said. Dawn, May 17, 2018.
The South Asia Intelligence Review (SAIR) is a weekly service that brings you regular data, assessments and news briefs on terrorism, insurgencies and sub-conventional warfare, on counter-terrorism responses and policies, as well as on related economic, political, and social issues, in the South Asian region.
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