Irregular Warfare: The Maoist Challenge to India's Internal Security

Abstract

India has a tradition of peasant uprisings. The Telengana insurrection (1946-1951) in Andhra Pradesh was the first major uprising of peasants in independent India. It was very broad-based and has been unparalleled since India's War of Independence in 1857. The peasants launched their struggle on economic issues against forced labor, illegal exactions, and unauthorized evictions, but it soon developed into an uprising against the feudal rule of the Hyderabad monarchy, the Nizam. The movement was directed by Communists from the very beginning and they mobilized large segments of the population. The peasants were able to establish their control over about 3,000 villages and their influence extended over several others. Armed struggle continued even after the Indian troops had liberated Hyderabad. About 4,000 lives were lost in the prolonged struggle until support was formally withdrawn by the Communist Party. It was an important landmark in the history of peasant struggles in the subcontinent. The Communist movement in India split during 1964 in the aftermath of the Chinese-Indian border conflict (1962) instigated by China. The movement split into the Communist Party of India (Right) owing allegiance to the Soviet Union, and the Communist Party of India (Left) owing allegiance to the People's Republic of China. In due course, the parties came to be known as the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) respectively. The CPM was split further when the extremists in their ranks formed, on 22 April 1969, the CPI (Marxist-Leninist) based on the Thoughts of Mao Zedong; this wing gradually evolved into what is today known as the CPI (Maoist), and it is this group that is posing a formidable threat to the Indian State. The Naxalite movement started in 1967 in a small village called Naxalbari situated at the tri-junction of India, Nepal, and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). It was a peasant uprising spearheaded by the Santhal tribals.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2012
Accession Number
ADA591980

Entities

People

  • Prakash Singh

Organizations

  • Joint Special Operations University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

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  • Air Force
  • Civil Rights
  • Employment
  • Families (Human)
  • Geography
  • Governments
  • International Relations
  • Military Science
  • National Governments
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Public Policy
  • Students
  • Terrorists
  • United States Government
  • Warfare

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  • Asian Economic Studies
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.