Amid violence, Maoists at war within
They may have stepped up attacks across different parts of India, but the debate still rages within the larger body of Indian Maoists: is the violence the way forward?
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for tough anti-Maoist operations
Even as the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) answers with a firm 'yes', not everyone adhering to the ideology is in agreement. Now, a rebel ideologue who has been associated with the Maoist movement in Jharkhand for 30 long years admits there are acute differences.
While the young cadres endorse armed action, the Maoist leadership is contemplating "whether entering the political mainstream and working in social sectors in the villages will help draw more people" into the CPI-Maoist fold, the leader said on condition of complete anonymity.
This is particularly so because the Indian government has threatened a crackdown on the Maoists, and the police and army have already stepped up anti-Maoist operations.
The leader, originally from West Bengal who spoke near Ghatshila in East Singhbhum district, is attached to the Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist (CPI-ML), which gave up violence for electoral politics in the early 1980s.
Text: IANS
Images: AP
Image: This November 10, 2009 photo shows special police officers walking at a Salwa Judum, or purification hunt camp in Dantewada.
