Maoist rebels set off a land mine under a truck on Tuesday in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, killing 55 people and wounding at least 20 who belonged to a government-backed anti-Maoist group, police said.
The attack came on the eve of a visit to the country by President Bush and was one of the worst single acts of violence by Maoists in the past three decades. Fearing militants will time attacks to coincide with the visit, India has dramatically increased security in some parts of the country in recent days, particularly the volatile Himalayan region of Kashmir.
“Maoists set off a land mine in Darmagura area in Dantewada district, killing 55 people,” senior police officer S.K Paswan told Reuters, adding those killed were tribal members returning from an anti-Maoist meeting organized by the state.
Officials said hundreds of police reinforcements had been sent to the area to search for those behind the attacks.
Darmagura, 300 miles south of the state capital Raipur, is a stronghold of Maoists who claim to be fighting for the rights of peasants and landless laborers.
Indian Maoists, who operate in at least nine of the country’s 29 states, have stepped up attacks in the past year, killing dozens of people, including police. India’s home ministry said there are about 9,300 Maoist guerillas operating in the country.
India’s Home Ministry said last week Maoist violence has been rising, with 892 people killed in 2005, compared to 653 in 2004.
In 2000, 35 Sikh villagers were massacred in Kashmir by unidentified assailants on the eve of a visit by then-President Clinton.
Danger to India?
Last year the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party government in Chhattisgarh set up and started funding local anti-Maoist groups in impoverished and underdeveloped areas and provided arms to some members to fight the guerillas.
Security analysts say New Delhi ignores the seriousness of the Maoist threat in the country at its peril.
“This is a great error of judgment and the country will pay for this for decades,” said Ajai Sahni, executive director of the New Delhi-based Institute of Conflict Management.
He said Maoists were already operating in 165 of the country’s 602 administrative districts and expanding their influence.
Sahni criticized the federal government’s dual policy of fighting the Maoists through the local police while developing impoverished districts where the guerillas derive their support, especially among poor tribals and lower castes.
“Development is not the answer for terrorism. You cannot outdevelop a terrorist movement,” Sahni said, calling for a modern, well-equipped police force to tackle the rebels.
The Maoists, who often target those they consider government informers as well as landlords and local officials deemed to be corrupt, temporarily seized parts of a town in eastern Bihar state in November.
