Maoist conflicts claimed 5,344 lives in India since 2004

Kasargod, Nov 25: The total death toll of the armed conflicts of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), since its formation in 2004 has touched 5,344, according to a Swedish database. Of this, 3,687 happened during the conflicts between CPI (Maoist) and the state forces. The rest, 1,657 civilians, were killed by the one-sided attack launched by CPI (Maoists), the database showed.

CPI (Maoist) was formed in September 2004 with the merger of People's War Group (PWG) and Maoist Communist Centre (MCC), two rebel groups that were acting independently till then. The group is sometimes referred to as `Naxalites', locally. Before the merger, PWG-involved conflicts resulted in 1,579 deaths and MCC caused another 282 deaths from 1989 to 2004.

"In terms of organization, the group is run by a central committee, but it also operates through a number of political fronts, such as labour, women's and youth organizations. The armed wing of the CPI (Maoist) is called the PLGA (Peoples Liberation Guerrilla Army). From 2004 to 2008, it had some 6,500 - 9500 men as personnel. They mainly carried small arms," reads the profile of CPI (Maoist) kept by the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) at the department of peace and conflict research at Uppsala University in Sweden.

Maoist tactics include triggering explosions and ambushing Indian security forces, said the database."The war strategy of the insurgents was at the outset directed at undermining government authority , rather than attacking military targets. They thus chose to specifically target the administrative structure of the state, such as government buildings, telephone exchanges, railway stations and police posts. The Naxalites boycott of state-elections has been violently enforced through widespread pre-poll violence and intimidation of candidates," it said.

Uppsala University's academics also highlights the bigger network, the Maoists are trying to develop. "It is clear that the CPI (Maoist) has had close links to the CPN-M (Communist Party of Nepal - Maoist) in Nepal, as well as being a member of the regional communist organisation CCOMPOSA (Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organizations of South Asia). While CCOMPOSA has mainly bestowed moral support to the CPI (Maoist) it has been reported that the CPN-M has conducted joint operations and training together with Indian communists," it said.