South Asia Terrorism Portal
Telangana: Fading Hopes Deepak Kumar Nayak Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On February 23, 2021, Police arrested an ‘area committee member (ACM)’ of the of Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), along with a ‘courier’, from Cherla in Khammam District. Munni aka Tellam Munni, the Indravati ‘ACM’ had joined the CPI-Maoist in 2011 and worked as a ‘militia member’ till 2014. She was promoted as an ‘ACM’ in 2018. Fifty gelatin sticks and 50 electric detonators were recovered from their possession.
On February 22, 2021, Police arrested seven CPI-Maoist ‘militia members’, allegedly involved in 18 cases, and recovered explosive materials from their possession, during a combing operation in the Pamunuru Forest area in Mulugu District. The ‘militia members’ were arrested while they were planting explosives with an intention to kill Police personnel in the area.
On February 15, 2021, two CPI-Maoist cadres, identified as Guddi Madvi (28), ‘deputy chief commander’ of the Katekalyan ‘area committee’ and his accomplice ‘commander’ Pele Madvi (26), were arrested from Peniguda village in Bhadradri Kothagudem District. Guddi was involved in a landmine explosion on April 9, 2019, in which five persons, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Bastar region, Bhima Mandavi (40) and his four security guards, were killed in a forested patch near Nakulnar Village in Kuwakonda Tehsil (revenue unit) in the Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh. Both Guddi and Pele were involved in several offences, such as planting Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), damaging property, etc. While Madvi had a reward of INR 850,000 on his head, the bounty on Pele was INR 500,000.
According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) at least 14 Naxalites (Left Wing Extremists, LWEs) have been arrested in the State in 2021, thus far (data till March 14). During the corresponding period of 2020, not a single Naxalite was arrested. A total of 20 Naxalites were arrested through 2020, in addition to 98 such arrests in 2019. The number of arrests was 54 in 2018, 68 in 2017, and 23 in 2016, 44 in 2015 and 10 in 2014 (since June 2. Telangana was formed on June 2, 2014).
Further, at least 30 LWEs have been killed in the State during this period (June 2, 2014 and March 14, 2021). At least 10 LWEs were killed in 2020, two in 2019, one in 2018, 12 in 2017, two in 2016, two in 2015, and one in 2014. No fatality in this category has been recorded, thus far, in 2021 (data till March 14).
The mounting pressure has resulted in the surrender of 134 LWEs since June 2, 2014 (data till March 14, 2021). At least five Naxalites have already surrendered in 2021. During the corresponding period of 2020, at least two Naxalites had surrendered. The total number of such surrenders through 2020 stood at 50, in addition to nine in 2019. The number of surrenders was 10 in 2018, 23 in 2017, 13 in 2016, 13 in 2015 and 11 in 2014.
LWEs, on the other hand, have failed to inflict any fatality on Security Force personnel.
However, 10 civilians have been killed by LWEs since June 2, 2014 (data till March 14, 2021). Two civilians each were killed in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020.
Out of a total of 31 Districts in Telangana, fatalities were recorded in three in 2020 – Bhadradri Kothagudem (seven: one civilian and six LWEs), Mulugu (three: one civilian and one LWE), and Komaram Bheem Asifabad (two). In 2019, fatalities were reported from just one District – Bhadradri Kothagudem (two, both LWEs). Since June 2, 2014, out of total 40 fatalities recorded in the State, 24 were reported from Bhadradri Kothagudem District (four civilians and 20 LWEs), followed by five in Khammam District (four civilians and one LWE), three in Mulugu District (one civilian and two LWEs),
three in Warangal District (all LWEs), two in Komaram Bheem Asifabad District (both LWEs), one each in Adilabad District (civilian), Hyderabad District (LWE) and Nalgonda District (LWE).
On September 21, 2020, Union Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy informed Parliament that eight Districts (Adilabad, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Khammam, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial, Peddapalle, Warangal Rural) of Telangana are among the 90 Districts in 11 States that are listed as Left-Wing Extremism-affected and are covered under Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA). Moreover, of these eight Districts, Bhadradri Kothagudem, is among the ‘30 worst Maoist-affected’ Districts, across seven States in the country, according to UMHA.
Meanwhile, according to a July 18, 2020, report, to win support and instigate locals, the CPI-Maoist Telangana 'State committee secretary and spokesperson', Haribhushan aka Jagan, issued a statement, accusing the Telangana Police of attempting to wipe out the party by targeting innocent adivasis and arresting sympathisers. Jagan alleged,
Further, demanding that the ‘harassment’ of adivasis and Maoist party sympathisers be stopped, Jagan threatened the leaders of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), stating that they would be punished in the people’s court (Kangaroo courts organised by the Maoists). It is noted that the Maoists still possess the capacity to elicit tremors of sympathy among certain sections of the population.
Further, an August 8, 2020 report, revealed that the Maoists have been barred by their top leadership from carrying out violent activities in Telangana, lest they attract the attention of the SFs. Following the diktat, the Maoists have restricted themselves to reviving links with old contacts and recruiting rural youth in areas where they retain influence.
Meanwhile, to counter the Maoists in the State, the Police released wall posters across the border areas, with information about the Maoist leaders who have been actively leading 12 ‘committees’ in the State.
The 12 ‘committees’ and their leadership reportedly include: Pedapalli ‘area committee’, headed by Kankanala Raji Reddy; Eturnagaram Mahadevpur ‘area committee’, headed by Reena aka Saame; Venkatapuram-Vajedu ‘area committee’, headed by Ungi; Yellandu-Narsampet ‘area committee’, headed by Mangu; Mancherial-Kumaram Bheem ‘area committee’, headed by Mailarapu Aadellu aka Bhaskar; Mangi ‘area committee’, headed by Lingamma; Indravelli ‘area committee’, headed by Vargesh; Chennur-Sirpur ‘area committee’, headed by Narasimha Rao; Cherla Sabari ‘area committee’, headed by Sammakka aka Sarada; Manuguru ‘area committee’, headed by Sudheer aka Ravva Ramla aka Rasool aka Ramaal; Bhadradri Kothagudem-East Godavari Divisional Committee, headed by Sambhaiah aka Gopanna; and Telangana ‘action committee’, headed by Bade Chokkarao aka Damodar.
These ‘area committees’ have been activated and entrusted with the task of recruiting more youth and tribals into the Maoist cadre, which is facing an acute shortage. It is to be noted that the current ‘chief’ of CPI-Maoist, Nambala Keshava Rao aka Basavaraj, had brought in a few organisational and operational changes, reconstituted the ‘Telangana State Committee’ and a dozen ‘area committees’, and entrusted them with the task of reconsolidating their position in rural areas.
The State Director General of Police (DGP), M. Mahender Reddy, appealing to the people to extend non-cooperation to the extremists, thus stated, “We are going to thwart their attempt to regain a foothold in Telangana by all means.” Moreover, the State Police are also trying to inform the people about the allegedly lavish lives the top extremist leaders lead, pushing the areas into backwardness.
Moreover, on August 8, 2020, DGP Reddy disclosed that a special team of 500 Policemen, including units from the specialist force to take on the Maoists, the Greyhounds, had been deployed to flush out the extremists, who had intensified their activities in the tribal habitations of Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial, Peddapalli, Jayashankar-Bhupalpally, Mahabubabad, Mulugu and Bhadradri Kothagudem.
Additionally, according to a December 24, 2020, report, DGP Reddy conferred with local officials on strategies adopted to wean away tribal youth from the Maoist influence and inaugurated a Police training centre at Mulugu, as well as Battle Obstacle Assault Course tracks at Jakaram village in Mulugu District and Hemachandrapuram near Bhadradri Kothagudem, and a firing range and parade ground at Hemachandrapuram. Also, in a further effort to make Bhadradri Kothagudem a Maoist-free District, the DGP asked the District Police to prepare youth for a Police recruitment drive, which the Government announced (date not specified), with priority being given to local youth in their respective Districts.
Meanwhile, a March 1, 2021, report, revealed that the Telangana Police, in an attempt to gain an upper hand over the Maoists, are adopting the time-tested war tactic of cutting essential supplies to the rebels. Ever since the COVID-19-induced lockdown was lifted, weekly shandies (weekly markets) are being organised in Chhattisgarh villages - Kistaram, Dharmapet and Gollapalli - located along the Telangana border, and the Maoists regularly replenish their grocery and food grain stocks from these shandies. The Police have been keeping a close eye on the movement of goods before they reach Chhattisgarh, as most of the supplies for these shandies go from Telangana. Cherla Police Circle Inspector B. Ashok, thus noted,
Since the creation of Telangana, there were apprehensions that the Maoists would find conditions in the new State favourable to engineer a comeback. However, the Maoists have failed to establish a significant sway in the State, thus far.
Telangana Police has done exceptionally well in countering Maoist threat, despite facing a shortage of personnel in the Force. According to Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) data (as on January 1, 2020), the sanctioned strength for the States’ Police is 78,369 but only 48,877 personnel were in position, yielding a vacancy of 29,492, i.e., 37.63 per cent. Furthermore, Telangana had 130.88 Police personnel per 100,000 population in position (as against a sanctioned ratio of sanctioned is 209.85), significantly below the inadequate national average of 155.78 (sanctioned 195.39). More worryingly, the Police/Area Ratio (number of policemen per 100 square kilometres) was just 43.59, as against the national average of 63.63. Both the State and national averages on the Police/Area ratio were well below the sanctioned strength, at 69.90 and 79.80, respectively.
These critical security gaps in capacities and deployment in the State need urgent attention to ensure enduring peace in the State.
Mizoram: Tense Peace Giriraj Bhattacharjee Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
In a letter dated March 12, 2021, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA), asked Mizoram to take appropriate action, as per law, and maintain strict vigil at the borders to prevent a possible influx of people from Myanmar into India. The instructions also pertained to three other north-eastern States –Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh – that, together with Mizoram, share the 1,643-kilometre-long Indian international boundary with Myanmar.
The February 1, 2021, coup d'état by Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) followed by civilian protests and violence as a result of a crackdown have led to an influx of Myanmerse nationals into Mizoram.
Significantly, according to a March 6 report, the UMHA instructions come after the Deputy Commissioner of Falam District (Chin Province) of Myanmar, in a letter, officially requested her counterpart in the Champhai District of Mizoram for the return of eight Myanmerse Policemen who have fled to India. The letter noted,
Meanwhile, on March 8, Mizoram Chief Minister (CM) Zoramthanga observed,
Although official numbers regarding the influx are not publicly available, on March 8, 2021, Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga put the number between 20 and 30. However, news reports based on State Police assessments put the number at 100 Myanmarese, mostly Policeman and their family members, having taken refuge in five Districts. Six Districts of the State – Champhai, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saiha, Serchhip and Saitual – lie along the Indo- Myanmar boundary.
The plight of the kindred tribes in Myanmar (Chin, Hakha and Mara tribes) evoked compassion and anger in the State, and on February 3, 2021, the Mizo Zirlai Pawl, the apex student body in Mizoram, staged a sit-in protest in Aizawl, the capital city of Mizoram, to seek restoration of democracy in Myanmar.
Meanwhile, for the fifth consecutive year, Mizoram recorded no insurgency linked fatality in 2020. The last insurgency-linked fatality was reported on March 28, 2015, when three Policemen were killed in an ambush by militants of the Democratic faction of the Hmar People’s Convention (HPC-D) near Zokhawthiang in Aizawl District.
In fact, not a single violent incident of any type has been recorded since March 28, 2015. However, militants from neighbouring states use the State as a transit and safe haven, to evade Security Forces.
On March 12, 2021, Police arrested a leader of the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT-Parimal Debbarma) faction, Parimal Debbarma, in Aizawl District.
On March 11, 2021, the Assam Rifles arrested Manipur-based Kuki National Army-India (KNA-I) ‘commander-in-chief’, Nehjang Haokip, in Aizawl District.
The prevailing and sustained peace, moreover, faces a challenge due to the rivalry between Mizo and non-Mizo communities, including Chakmas and Brus.
In Mizoram, Chakmas inhabited villages are located in Lawngtlai and Lunglei Districts. The Chakmas are the inhabitants of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh who, according to Mizo civil society groups, illegally infiltrate across the international border. Mizoram has 318 kilometres of an international border with Bangladesh of which only 155.07 kilometres is covered with barbed wire fencing.
On February, 21, 2020, Mizoram Home Minister Lalchamliana informed the State Assembly that Special Task Force committees had been formed at the District and Sub-divisional levels for detection, detention and deportation of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh in the three border districts of Lunglei, Lawngtlai and Mamit.
Earlier, on March 12, 2020, the then State's Local Administration Department (LAD) Secretary, Rodney Ralte, stated that an exercise was being carried out since early February 2020, under the joint initiative of the Mizoram Home Department and LAD to detect foreigners. The Secretary also added that there are about 19 unauthorised villages inhabited by Chakma and Bru tribes across Mizoram, 13 in Lunglei District, three in Champhai, two in Mamit and one in Serchhip District. Ratel added,
This is not the only time that such exercise has been initiated. In March 2019, the State Legislature passed the Mizoram Maintenance of Household Registers Bill, 2019, that sought to identify foreigners residing in the State, so as to prevent “usurpation” of benefits of developmental schemes by those who are not entitled. The Bill is pending with President Ram Nath Kovind for his assent.
The Brus are the inhabitants of Mizoram’s Mamit, Kolasib and Lunglei Districts. The majority of Brus are from Mamit District, which borders Tripura. In Tripura, Brus – also known as Reangs – are the second largest tribe. Tribal rivalry exists in Mizoram due to the Mizo groups’ contention that Brus “are not indigenous to Mizoram.” Mistrust between the two tribal groups is the leading cause of delay in resolving the issue linked to the repatriation of more than 30,000 Brus from Tripura to Mizoram. These people were displaced from the Mizoram to Tripura in 1997 due to the ethnic violence that was sparked by the killing of a forest official in Mizoram by Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF) militants on October 21, 1997. An agreement signed between the Union Government and the Mizoram Bru Refugees Displaced Forum on July 3, 2018, for the repatriation of the Bru tribals to Mizoram has not been implemented thus far.
On March 9, 2021, the Mizo Students’ Union (MSU) gheraoed the Office of the State Higher and Technical Education Department Directorate, to prevent the department Director, a ‘non-local’, Nazuk Kumar, a 2016 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who hails from Chandigarh, from attending office. MSU demanded the incumbent be replaced by a Mizo IAS officer. MSU president J. Lalmuanzuala declared, “We want a Mizo officer who understands the local ethos and interests of the students.” However, the protesters dispersed in the evening after they were given verbal assurance by the Government that Kumar would not attend office till her replacement too charge. The State Medical and Technical Entrance Examination (SMATEE) is conducted by the department.
The preference of a Mizo official over non-Mizos is linked to a similar protest in 2015. The MZP had staged a massive protest in 2015 after 38 Chakma students were given seats for medical and technical education under Category-I of SMATEE. In MZP’s view, these seats are exclusively for Mizos. A legal battle based on claims and counter claims followed, which was settled when the Gauhati High Court quashed the Mizoram (Selection of Candidates for Higher Technical Courses) Rules, 2016, putting the “Zo-ethnic people” (Mizos) who are known as indigenous under Category-I and “non-Zo ethnic people” under Category-II.
The underlying ethnic tension between the Mizos and non-Mizos have led to occasional violent outbursts.
On January 14, 2020, an irate mob numbering about 800 staged a protest rally and vandalized more than 50 dwellings at Nghalimlui in the Lawngtlai District. The protest rally was reportedly against the murder of a Mizo youth, allegedly perpetrated by three Bru tribals. The incident was linked to an individual identified as A. Lalrawnliana, whose body was recovered from a Bru dominated area near Nghalimlui village in Lawngtlai District. He had been missing since January 4, 2020.
Predictably, the Union Home Ministry had mediated a solution by settling the displaced Brus in Tripura. On January 16, 2020, an agreement was signed by representatives of the Brus, Tripura, Mizoram and the Union Government, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, to resettle the Brus in Tripura.
Another issue is the interstate border dispute with Assam and Tripura. Both Mizoram and Tripura have reasserted their respective claims over Phuldungsei village in the Jampui Hill Range in the North Tripura District [Tripura] – Mamit District [Mizoram] area. On the Assam-Mizoram border, three points – Lailapur in Cachar District in Assam and Vairengte in the Kolasib District of Mizoram; Muolmawi (Baruatilla) in Karimganj District of Assam and Thinghlun village in the Mamit District in Mizoram; and Kachurtal (Zophai area) village in the Hailakandi District of Assam and Bairabi village in Kolasib District of Mizoram.
Further, the unfenced international borders with both Myanmar and Bangladesh remain a continuing concern. On September 28, 2020, the Border Security Force (BSF), in a special operation, recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition on the outskirts of Phuldungsei village in Mamit District along the Indo-Bangladesh border. The cache included 28 AK-series rifles along with 7,894 rounds of ammunition and 28 magazines.
Separately, an investigation by the Frontier Despatch, a Mizo investigative weekly, claimed that, between 2009 and 2019, the State Police and Excise and Narcotics Department (END) had registered a total of 33,592 drug and liquor abuse cases (Mizoram is a dry State with total prohibition). The END data for financial year 2020-21 (data till February 28) indicates that 436 persons were arrested in 336 cases under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) Act, 1985.
Mizoram has remained relatively peaceful since the negotiated end to a 20-year insurgency in 1986, but the peace is sometimes challenged by inter-ethnic tension between dominant Mizos and the minor tribes. The amicable and just resolution of these differences is essential if enduring peace is to be established in the State. Constant vigil along the international boundary with Myanmar and Bangladesh is another imperative, as is a resolution of inter-state boundary disputes.
Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia March 8-14, 2021
Civilians
Security Force Personnel
NS
Total
AFGHANISTAN
INDIA
Jammu and Kashmir
INDIA (Left-Wing Extremism)
Chhattisgarh
Jharkhand
INDIA (Total)
PAKISTAN
Balochistan
Islamabad
KP
Punjab
PAKISTAN (Total)
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