[It is rather interesting to note that while projecting he Maoist threat the number of districts affected/controlled by the insurgents is quoted as around 160 or 200 (out total 604). But whenever economic packages are talked of, the number drastically comes down to 30+.
As far as the so-called "Red Corridor" from South India extending to Nepal is concerned, there are no districts adjoining, or even close to, Nepal that have reported insurgency. And the districts affected are in two distinct clusters: one - Orissa, AP, south Bastar / Chhattisgarh, Gadchiroli-Chandrapur / Vidarbha / Mahrashtra; two - Jangal Mahal / West Bengal (south-central western fringe) and Jharkhand. A listing of the "33 affected districts", and their locations on the map, would have made the picture much clearer. (The building of roads would of course be a stupendous task given the topography/terrain and the raging insurgency.) The comments of the Chinese delegate to the conclave of the Communist Parties in Delhi must also disabuse one of any notion that Maoist insurgency in India has any support from the People's republic of China.] I/II. http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/business/Centre-clears-Rs-7-300-cr-roads-for-Naxal-belt/Article1-478515.aspx Centre clears Rs 7,300-cr roads for Naxal belt ***Samiran Saha <http://www.hindustantimes.com/Search/Samiran-Saha.aspx>, Hindustan Times* Email Author<[email protected]?subject=centre%20clears%20rs%207,300-cr%20roads%20for%20Naxal%20belt> New Delhi, November 20, 2009 First Published: 20:32 IST(20/11/2009) Last Updated: 20:34 IST(20/11/2009) The government is building a "concrete road network" right through India's Naxalite corridor that criss-crosses eight states. Under the scheme, national highways totalling 1,202 km and state roads of 4,363 km will be constructed in a phased manner in the coming three years in 33 affected districts. The government has sanctioned Rs 7,300 crore for the project. The government has also sought to make these roads attack-resistant, and asked agencies specialising in road construction to come up with suitable construction material. Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand will get "Naxal-proof" roads under the project. Naxals have often blown up roads and rail tracks to deter and prevent security agencies from venturing into their areas of operation. It is expected that these areas will now have concrete or cemented roads that can withstand explosives. Chief Ministers of some of the Naxal-affected states, who met Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath recently, had asked for the Centre's assistance in this venture. "Roads will be developed by the Public Works Departments of these states. Tenders for stretches that are to be developed in the naxal-infested areas will be invited soon," secretary, roads transport, Brahm Dutt said. The states have been asked to arrange adequate security for these projects, Dutt added. "The states have been asked to categorise these roads depending on threat perception. The ones that are most susceptible to attacks would be laid in concrete, and the ones where the threat is not of a very degree could be done in concrete and tar," a senior official with the ministry told Hindustan Times, requesting anonymity. "Left Wing Extremists", special cell, has been created in the Road Transport and Highways Ministry to coordinate with the states to identify vulnerable roads. II. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091122/jsp/frontpage/story_11771390.jsp Maoists terrorists: China comrade CITHARA PAUL *New Delhi, Nov. 21: *A senior Chinese communist party official has equated Maoists with terrorists, going far beyond the sterile labels usually used by Beijing. “Maoism is nothing but terrorism. The Maoists should never expect any financial, political or military support from China,’’ Ai Ping of the Communist Party of China (CPC) told *The Telegraph *today. “We in China never use the term Maoism in our political parlance. Marxism is our source and Mao just adapted it to the Chinese situation. Mao himself has never approved of the term ‘Maoism’,’’ said Ai, who is the director-general of the CPC’s Bureau 1 that advises Beijing on its South and East Asia policies. He was speaking on the sidelines of the “International Meeting of the Communist and Workers Party” in New Delhi. Reminded that the CPC had described the Naxalbari uprising as a peal of spring thunder that had crashed over India, Ping said: “That was 40 or more years ago.” CPC mouthpiece *People’s Daily* had said in 1967 that the Naxalites had “done the absolutely correct thing” by adopting Mao’s revolutionary line. An editorial in the newspaper had said “a single spark can start a prairie fire” and that “a great storm of revolutionary armed struggle will eventually sweep across the length and breadth of India’’. But, as Ai said, “China has changed a lot’’ since those days. “Our focus has changed from class struggle to economic development. We strongly believe that the market plays an important role in redistribution (of wealth),” he said. Is the CPC aware of the confrontation between the mainstream Marxist parties in India and the Maoists? “We have been told that 70 comrades have been killed by the Maoists so far. It is not the right thing to do,’’ Ai said. But what about the Maoist claim that they are fighting in the cause of the most deprived? “They might be, but they are behaving just like terrorists,” Ai said. China has rarely used such blunt words to describe the Maoists. In Nepal, when the Maoists were a guerrilla force, Beijing had confined itself to labelling the then rebels “anti-state forces misusing Mao’s name”. Asked about the allegation that Beijing was supplying arms to the Maoists, he said it was nothing but a “gross misunderstanding”. *Message to Marxists* Ai had a piece of advice for the mainstream Indian Left, too: “The US has a huge market and a very strong financial sector which we cannot afford to neglect. We must learn to deal with the US. The US does have hegemonic tendencies, but we don’t need to keep calling it imperialist always.” Ai said it was wrong to underestimate the importance of the market. “We must take reforms and opening-up as the driving force to promote all-round economic, political, cultural and social development. It is imperative to push forward economic and political reform to motivate the entire population for greater enthusiasm, initiative and creativity to realise social equity and justice and fill the country with vitality,’’ he said. But he insisted it was wrong to say that China had deviated from the socialist path. “We are not pursuing capitalism. The CPC has always upheld Marxism as our fundamental guiding ideology. But we have adapted the basic tenets of Marxism to Chinese realities of the times to build a new road to socialism.” On the border spat over Arunachal Pradesh, Ai said top-level leaders of both countries should try to solve the issue at the earliest. Differentiating between India and China, he said modern India was a product of colonial rule while modern China came into existence through a revolution. “The new China does not accept unequal treaties signed by previous rulers. So both countries should start afresh. We must re-negotiate,” he said. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
