The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is a Marxist–Leninist–Maoist banned communist political party and militant organization in India which aims to overthrow the "semi-colonial and semi-feudal Indian state" through protracted people's war. It was founded on 21 September 2004, through the merger of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People's War and the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI). The CPI (Maoist) are also known as the Naxalites, in reference to the Naxalbari insurrection conducted by radical Maoists in West Bengal since 1967. The party has been designated as a terrorist organisation in India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act since 2009.
Dantewada District, also known as Dantewara District or Dakshin Bastar District, is a district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Dantewada is the district headquarters. The district is part of Bastar Division. Until 1998, Dantewada District was a tehsil of the larger Bastar District.
Indravati National Park is a national park located in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh state in India. The park derives its name from the Indravati River, which flows from east to west and forms the northern boundary of the reserve with the Indian state of Maharashtra.
Salwa Judum was a militia that was mobilised and deployed as part of counterinsurgency operations in Chhattisgarh, India, aimed at countering Naxalite violence in the region. The militia, consisting of local tribal youth, received support and training from the Chhattisgarh state government. It was outlawed and banned by a Supreme Court court order but continues to exist in the form of armed auxiliary forces, District Reserve Groups, and other vigilante groups.
The Chitrakote Falls is a natural waterfall on the Indravati River, located approximately 38 kilometres (24 mi) to the west of Jagdalpur, in Bastar district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh.
Operation Green Hunt is the name used by the Indian media to describe the "all-out offensive by paramilitary forces and the states forces" against the Naxalites. The operation is believed to have begun in November 2009 along five states in the "Red Corridor."
The April 2010 Dantewada Maoist attack was an 6 April 2010 ambush by Naxalite-Maoist insurgents from the Communist Party of India (Maoist) near Chintalnar village in Dantewada district, Chhattisgarh, India, leading to the killing of 76 CRPF policemen and 8 Maoists — the deadliest attack by the Maoists on Indian security forces.
The proposed Dalli Rajhara–Jagdalpur rail line, on paper for almost three decades, once completed, would connect Dalli Rajhara to Jagdalpur, both towns being in Chhattisgarh state in India. It would also connect Raipur, the capital city of Chhattisgarh, to Jagdalpur by rail via Durg. Jagdalpur, which is about 300 km from Raipur, is currently meaningfully connected to it only by road. There is though a roundabout rail route to reach Raipur from Jagdalpur via Koraput and Rayagada in Orissa; it is much longer and takes much longer time to be of any utility. In view of this, almost all the transport, in relation to both people and goods, between Raipur and Jagdalpur, happens only by road.
Soni Sori is an Adivasi school teacher turned political leader of Aam Aadmi Party in Sameli village of Dantewada in south Bastar, Chhattisgarh, India. She was arrested by the Delhi Police's Crime Branch for Chhattisgarh Police in 2011 on charges of acting as a conduit for Maoists. During her imprisonment, she was tortured and sexually assaulted by Chhattisgarh state police. By April 2013, the Indian Courts had acquitted her in six of the eight cases filed against her due to lack of evidence. After release from prison, Sori began campaigning for the rights of those caught up in the conflict between Maoist insurgents and the government, in particular criticising police violence against tribespeople in the region.
Oxfam Novib/PEN Award for Freedom of Expression is a literary award made in collaboration with PEN International Writers in Prison Committee, the PEN Emergency Fund, and Oxfam Novib. The award is to recognize writers who have been persecuted for their work and continue working despite the consequences. Honorees receive €2,500.
On 25 May 2013, Naxalite insurgents of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) attacked a convoy of Indian National Congress leaders in the Jhiram Ghati, Darbha Valley in the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, India. The attack caused at least 27 deaths, including that of former state minister Mahendra Karma and Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel. Vidya Charan Shukla, a senior Congress leader, succumbed to his injuries on 11 June 2013.
Sai Reddy was an Indian journalist for the Hindi-language newspaper Deshandhu. He was murdered by the Maoists near a market in Basaguda, Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh. Both the Maoists and police were suspicious of Reddy's allegiance to the other side. Maoists believed he was assisting police to dislodge the Communist Party of India. The police arrested him for having close ties with the communists. Some journalists believed that Reddy was killed by other farmers. He was known for playing an active role in the people's movement in Basaguda over the last few decades.
Nandini Sundar is an Indian professor of sociology at the Delhi School of Economics whose research interests include political sociology, law, and inequality. She is a recipient of the Infosys Prize for Social Sciences in 2010. She was also awarded the Ester Boserup Prize for Development Research in 2016 and the Malcolm Adiseshiah Award for Distinguished Contributions to Development Studies in 2017.
The Jagdalpur Legal Aid Group, also known as JagLAG, is a non-profit that provides free legal services to adivasis in south Chhattisgarh’s five Naxal-affected districts.
Bela Bhatia is an independent writer and researcher, human-rights lawyer and activist practicing in the District courts of Bastar division, south Chhattisgarh, India.
Scroll.in, simply referred to as Scroll, is an Indian digital news publication owned by the Scroll Media Incorporation. It publishes content in both Hindi and English languages. Founded in 2014, the website and its journalists have won several national and international awards including four Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards and the CPJ International Press Freedom Awards.
Vivekanand Sinha, is the Inspector General of Police of the Durg range of Chhattisgarh. He has previously served as the Inspector General of Police of Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. He has been an IPS since 1996. He was appointed as the head of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) for the investigation of Jhiram Valley Attack by government of Chhattisgarh on 2 January 2019. The Jhiram Valley Attack was a naxal attack which killed top Congress leaders of Chhattisgarh in 2013 during a political rally in Darbha. The new SIT has been formed by the newly elected Congress government of Chhattisgarh to probe into it He has also served as the DIG of Special Protection Group which looks after the security of the Prime Minister of India. During his tenure as IG in Bilaspur, Sinha walked on coal barefoot to convince the locals that there is no magic in walking on coal. This was done to strengthen the human rights of women who were being harassed or boycotted after being labelled as witches.
Madvi Hidma is the youngest member of the Central Committee of Communist Party of India (Maoist). Hidma is allegedly responsible for various attacks on the security forces in Chhattisgarh, and the 2013 Naxal attack in Darbha valley. A bounty has been placed for his capture.
The New Peace Process is an initiative of a conglomerate of tribal and non-government support groups and individuals, with the aim of bringing a negotiated settlement to the 50-year-old Maoist insurgency in Central India. Bastar Dialogues are a series of activities that started in mid 2018 by the New Peace Process to initiate a dialogue between the Naxalites and state security forces to restore peace in Central India.
