India: Update to Responses to Information Requests IND17796.E of 15 July 1994 and IND23384.E of 23 April 1996 on the Naxalites and their associated organization, the Radical Party, especially in Andhra Pradesh in 1997, including whether they are still active, whether they use forced recruitment and on the current treatment by the authorities of their members and suspected members
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 November 1997 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | IND28098.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, India: Update to Responses to Information Requests IND17796.E of 15 July 1994 and IND23384.E of 23 April 1996 on the Naxalites and their associated organization, the Radical Party, especially in Andhra Pradesh in 1997, including whether they are still active, whether they use forced recruitment and on the current treatment by the authorities of their members and suspected members, 1 November 1997, IND28098.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac8610.html [accessed 30 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The Naxalites are Maoists who "are waging a guerrilla war with the aim of seizing property from wealthy landowners and redistributing it among landless peasants" (UPI 2 Dec. 1995). They operate in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar (Reuters 10 Jan. 1997). The People's War Group (PWG), considered the most violent of the Naxalite groups, controls large forest areas straddling Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa (ibid.). The PWG was banned in Andhra Pradesh in 1992, granted a temporary reprieve with the lifting of the ban in June 1995, but the ban was re-imposed in the state in July 1996 (ibid.; India Abroad 9 May 1997; PTI News Agency 19 Mar. 1997).
According to India Abroad, following the re-imposition of the ban in Andhra Pradesh, the PWG attacked police and local political leaders between September and November 1996 (9 May 1997). Reuters corroborates the attacks against the police, stating that Naxalites had attacked the police three times since the July 1996 ban of the PWG: in November 1996 thirteen policemen and one civilian were killed in a raid, on 7 October 1996 seven policemen were killed in Warangal district when the PWG set off a landmine, and on 10 January 1997 another 16 policemen and two civilians were killed in a PWG attack on the police station in Karakagudem village, Khammam district (10 Jan. 1997). News India also reports the Naxalite killing of 36 policemen in Andhra Pradesh in attacks between October 1996 and January 1997 (14 Feb. 1997).
The following is a chronology of Naxalite and/or PWG violence in the state of Andhra Pradesh in 1997.
In March 1997 Naxalites detonated a landmine near the car of Congress (I) leader Mr. Bajireddy Govardhan, mandal president of Sirikonda, who survived the attack with minor injuries (The Hindu 2 July 1997).
On 10 March 1997 the PWG burned the house of Minister for Tribal Welfare, Mr. G. Nagesh, at Jatarla village in Adilabad district (ibid. 5 July 1997).
On 18 March 1997 Home Minister A. Madhav Reddy acknowledged in the Andhra Pradesh State Assembly that Naxalite violence in his state in 1996 had increased significantly from the previous year (PTI News Agency 19 Mar. 1997). He stated that Naxalites had killed 165 people and committed 1,022 other offences in 1996 compared to 86 murders and 605 other offences in 1995 (ibid.). Furthermore, Reddy stated that as of 10 March 1997, 25 people were victims of Naxalite violence, and that Naxalites had committed 115 other offences (ibid.). According to police claims cited in News India of 14 February 1997, Naxalites killed 202 civilians and 45 police in 1996, while Reuters of 10 January 1997 cites police statistics of 156 dead, including 42 police, and 800 violent incidents in 1996.
On 21 March 1997 police killed seven PWG members and a few days later, on 24-25 March 1997, Indian security forces shot and killed another four PWG militants in a village in Medak district, Andhra Pradesh, after storming their hideout (AFP 25 Mar. 1997).
In April 1997 the PWG killed two Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders in Bachannapeta village, Warangal district, the district treasurer and the president of Zafferghad Mandal Parishad (The Hindu 5 July 1997).
On 16 June 1997 the PWG killed Polneni Ravinder Rao, president of the Jammikunta mandal unit of the BJP in Karimnagar district, apparently in response to a statement made by the BJP general secretary ((The Hindu 17 June 1997; ibid. 5 July 1997). The PWG has allegedly killed 30 BJP activists in "recent years" (ibid.).
On 30 June 1997 the PWG ransacked the home of Balkonda Congress MLA Mr. K.R. Suresh Reddy in Choutupally village for the third time (The Hindu 2 July 1997). Naxalites also shot and killed his father, Govind Reddy, sometime in 1996 (ibid.).
According to The Hindu, the PWG had attacked the Sirnepalli (Sirnapally) Railway Station in Nizamabad district three times (2 July 1997; ibid. 5 July 1997). When the railways suspended repairs, the PWG destroyed a section of the track and blocked Nizamabad district tracks on 1 July 1997, resulting in a temporary suspension of railway service in early July in the Secunderabad-Nizamabad section (ibid.; ibid. 2 July 1997).
Also on 1 July 1997 Congress (I) MP Mr. M. Baga Reddy escaped a PWG attack at Kamareddy on his jeep, although five Congress workers were killed and ten others seriously injured when their jeep was blown up (The Hindu 2 July 1997; ibid. 5 July 1997).
In mid-1997, according to The Hindu of 5 July 1997, Home Minister Mr. A. Madhava Reddy suggested declaring certain mandals in north Telangana districts to be "disturbed areas" due to increasing PWG violence.
More recently, on 20 October 1997 PWG members bombed a cinema, a guest house and a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) office at Kotturu in Srikakulam district in the south of Andhra Pradesh (PTI News Agency 21 Oct. 1997).
With regard to the treatment of Naxalites or suspected members, according to The Hindu of 20 October 1997 in Andhra Pradesh and certain areas of Madhya Pradesh,
alleged sympathisers of the naxalite movement have been targeted for attack by the police. Since the naxalite movement is based on calls for radical land reform, this has meant that in many areas, the most vulnerable sectionsincluding Dalits and tribalshave been the victims of human rights violations.
In Madhya Pradesh, according to reports, Adivasi supporters of naxalites who have formed youth organisations and launched campaigns against liquor manufacture, have been harassed by the police and arrested on false charges at the behest of the manufacturers and sellers. However, it cannot be denied that the naxalites in certain areas, particularly in Andhra Pradesh, have killed innocent people and joined hands with anti-social elements to eliminate certain individuals for money.
According to The Hindu attachment of 8 May 1997, the special director general of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) revealed that the Andhra Pradesh police "were being trained in anti-terrorist operations on the CRPF campus at Kurudampalayam" as the Andhra Pradesh government was "preparing its police personnel to combat effectively the growing Naxalite menace in that State." News India of 14 February 1997 refers to the early February 1997 visit of an Andhra Pradesh state government delegation to Israel to "explore the possibility" of acquiring weapons and "state of the art equipment" to battle the Naxalites. Following the killings of 36 policemen by the Naxalites between October 1996 and January 1997, the Andhra Pradesh state government intensified their fight against the Maoists, requesting 5,000 paramilitary troops and $10 million for "weapons and modernization of its intelligence gathering network" (News India 14 Feb. 1997). For more information on police training and weapons purchases, please consult both these attachments.
The Telegraph of 24 April 1997 reports the police killing of six Naxalites of the CPI-ML (Party Unity) near Gopipur village, Bihar. Although police clashed with militants in three locations and have alleged they killed the men in an encounter, villagers claim the six were shot by police after surrendering (ibid.). The 19 May 1997 attachment from The Hindu refers to two separate encounters between police and members of the banned (Naxalite) Party Unity in Dagpur village, Jehanabad district, and Indo village in Pana district, Bihar, which resulted in the combined deaths of eight militants. This attachment also mentions the mob killing of four (Naxalite) members of the Shanti Pal faction of the CPI (M) following a controversy over a marriage (ibid.).
Information on the Radical Party and on whether or not the Naxalites use forced recruitment could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Agence France Press (AFP) 25 March 1997. "Four Maoist Guerrillas Killed in India." (NEXIS)
The Hindu [Madras]. 20 October 1997. Kuldip Nayar. "The Hindu-Editorial: From One Crisis to Another... " (NEXIS)
_____. 5 July 1997. R.J. Rajendra Prasad. "India PWG Targeting Unarmed Leaders." (NEXIS)
_____. 2 July 1997. "Naxalite Mine Blast Claims Five Lives in Karmareddy." [Internet] [Accessed 2 July 1997]
_____. 17 June 1997. "Naxals Kill BJP Leader, Assault 3 Others." [Internet] [no access date]
_____. 19 May 1997. "Six Naxalites, Policeman Killed in Bihar." [Internet] [no access date]
_____. 8 May 1997. "India Anti-Terrorist Training for Andhra Pradesh Police." (NEXIS)
India Abroad [Toronto]. 9 May 1997. Aziz Haniffa. "Pakistan Escapes Terrorist label Again." (The Ethnic NewsWatch/NEXIS)
News India []. 14 February 1997. "Andhra Pradesh Seeks Israeli Help." (The Ethnic NewsWatch/NEXIS)
PTI News Agency [New Delhi, in English]. 21 October 1997. "Naxalites Attack Cinema, Party Office in Andhra Pradesh." (BBC Summary 22 Oct. 1997/NEXIS)
_____ 19 March 1997. "'Naxalite Violence' Said to be Continuing Unabated in Andhra Pradesh." (BBC Summary 20 Mar. 1997/NEXIS)
Reuters. 10 January 1997. BC Cycle. Syed Amin Jafri. "Maoist Guerrilla Attack Kills 16 Indian Police." (NEXIS)
The Telegraph [Delhi]. 24 April 1997. Faizan Ahmad. "6 Naxals Killed in Bihar 'Encounter'." [Internet] [no access date]
United Press International (UPI). 2 December 1995. BC Cycle. "Maoists Killed Indian MP: Police." (NEXIS)
Attachments
The Hindu [Madras]. 20 October 1997. Kuldip Nayar. "The Hindu-Editorial: From One Crisis to Another... " (NEXIS)
_____. 5 July 1997. R.J. Rajendra Prasad. "India PWG Targeting Unarmed Leaders." (NEXIS)
_____. 2 July 1997. "Naxalite Mine Blast Claims Five Lives in Karmareddy." [Internet] [Accessed 2 July 1997]
_____. 19 May 1997. "Six Naxalites, Policeman Killed in Bihar." [Internet] [no access date]
_____. 8 May 1997. "India Anti-Terrorist Training for Andhra Pradesh Police." (NEXIS)
News India []. 14 February 1997. "Andhra Pradesh Seeks Israeli Help." (The Ethnic NewsWatch/NEXIS)
PTI News Agency [New Delhi, in English]. 19 March 1997. "'Naxalite Violence' Said to be Continuing Unabated in Andhra Pradesh." (BBC Summary 20 Mar. 1997/NEXIS)
The Telegraph [Delhi]. 24 April 1997. Faizan Ahmad. "6 Naxals Killed in Bihar 'Encounter'." [Internet] [no access date]
Additional Sources Consulted
Amnesty International Report 1997. 1997.
Asian Survey [Berkeley, Calif.]. Monthly. January-August 1997.
Human Rights Watch World Report. Yearly. 1995, 1996.
Resource Centre. "India" country file. January 1997-present.
