Operation Green Hunt

Last updated

Operation Green Hunt
Part of Naxalite-Maoist insurgency
DateSeptember 2009 [1] – present
(Duration: 14 years)
Location
India's Red Corridor
StatusOngoing
Belligerents

Flag of India.svg Government of India

South Asian Communist Banner.svg Communist Party of India (Maoist)

Commanders and leaders

Flag of India.svg Droupadi Murmu
(President)
Flag of India.svg Narendra Modi
(Prime Minister)
Flag of India.svg Amit Shah
(Minister of Home Affairs)
Flag of India.svg Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
(Ministry of External Affairs)
CRPF Flag.svg Dr.Sujoy Lal Thaosen
(Director General)
Flag of Chief of Defence Staff (India).svg Anil Chauhan
(Chief of Defence Staff)
Flag COAS.svg Manoj Pande
(Chief of the Army Staff)
Naval Ensign of India.svg R. Hari Kumar
(Chief of the Naval Staff)
Air Force Ensign of India (1950-2023).svg Vivek Ram Chaudhari
(Chief of the Air Staff)
Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Rajnath Singh
(Minister of Defence)
Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Giridhar Aramane
(Defence Secretary)

Contents

Former
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Ganapathy
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Anand   †
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Kosa   †
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Ankit Pandey
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Kishenji   †
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Charu Majumdar  (POW)
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Kanu Sanyal  (POW)
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Jangal Santhal  (POW)
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Sabyasachi Panda  (POW)
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Prashant Bose  (POW)
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Ashutosh Tudu  (POW)
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Yalavarthi Naveen Babu   †
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Narmada Akka   †
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Arun Kumar Bhattacharjee (POW)
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Deo Kumar Singh   †
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Milind Teltumbde   †
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Jagdish Mahto   †
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Subrata Dutta  †
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Mahendar Singh   †
South Asian Communist Banner.svg Anil Baruah   †
Strength
 • Paramilitary personnel: 100,000[ citation needed ] + 10,000 [2] + 10,000 [3]
 • Indian Reserve Battalions: Naga Battalions' 2,000 personnel [4]
 • State Armed Police Forces' personnel: 200,000 [5]
 • Greyhounds [ citation needed ]
 • Special Operation Group [6]
 • Indian Air Force: MI-17 and MI-17V5 helicopters [7] (and drones) [8] 		 • People's Liberation Guerrilla Army: 8,000 – 9,000 (September 2013) [5]
 • People's Militia (armed with bows, arrows, and machetes): 38,000 [9]
Casualties and losses
1,435 Killed 2,266 killed
9,714 surrendered
10,181 arrested [10]
2,319 civilians killed [11]

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. [1] The operation is believed to have begun in November 2009 along five states in the "Red Corridor."[ citation needed ]

The term was coined by the Chhattisgarh police officials to describe one successful drive against the Communist Party of India (Maoist) in the state. It was erroneously used by the media to describe the wider anti-Naxalite operations; the government of India does not use the term "Operation Green Hunt" to describe its anti-Naxalite offensive. [12]

Planning and implementation

A fleet of Mi-17 V5 has been deployed against the Maoists by the Indian Air Force. IAF Mi 17 V5 at Aero India 2013.JPG
A fleet of Mi-17 V5 has been deployed against the Maoists by the Indian Air Force.

In October 2009, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) announced that it was in the final stages of planning the offensive and had received approval from the Union-led government. The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) would take the lead in the operations against Maoist insurgents. [13] But in September 2009, the media had already reported a "massive three day joint operation" by the CoBRA and Chhattisgarh police against the Maoists in Dantewada. [1]

In November 2009, the first phase of the operation began in Gadchiroli district. As many as 18 companies of the central paramilitary forces were moved into the area in anticipation of the operation. [14]

In April 2010, Mark Sofer had a conversation with Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and M. K. Narayanan on the subject of the "Maoist extremism" and West Bengal's internal security, and offered assistance by Israel in the state's battle against the Maoists. [15]

In 2009, the government of India had decided to move 80,000 central paramilitary personnel to wage offensive against the Maoists, strengthened by a fleet of 10 armed helicopters from the Indian Air Force. [16] On 3 January 2013, the government of India said it would deploy 10,000 more central paramilitary personnel in Bastar, Odisha and some parts of Jharkhand. [2] By May 2013, about 84,000 troops from the CRPF had been stationed in the Red corridor. [17]

Apart from the paramilitary personnel, the SAPF personnel deployed in operations against the Maoists are estimated to number around 200,000. [5] In his analysis in March 2014, Gautam Navlakha has claimed that 286,200 CRPF personnel along with 100,000 personnel from other central paramilitary forces and the SAPF are now engaged in the offensive against the CPI (Maoist) in 10 states of India. [18] On 8 June 2014, the Minister of Home Affairs officially approved the deployment of another 10,000 troops from the paramilitary forces to fight against the Maoists in Chhattisgarh. [3]

In May 2013, the Ministry of Home Affairs ordered an additional 10,000 aramilitary personal to move "towards a fight to finish war against Maoists in Red Zone." [19]

The Indian Army has also been stationed in the Red corridor; however, the Army claims that it is present there to train the paramilitary personnel to fight against the Maoists and denies its direct role in the offensive operations. [20] The Chief of the Army Staff and the 7 army commanders in mid-2011 had assessed that, if required, about 60,000-65,000 troops from the Indian Army would need to be induced in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and West Bengal to battle the Naxalites. [21] On 30 May 2013, the Indian Air Force's Air Chief Marshal declared that apart from the currently operating MI-17 helicopters, the Indian Air Force is inducing a fleet of MI-17V5 helicopters to "provide full support to anti-Naxal operations." [7]

In August 2014, the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that it is "sending" 2,000 personnel from the Naga Battalions of the Nagaland's Indian Reserve Battalions (IRB) in Chhattisgarh's Bastar to attack the Maoists, which according to The Economic Times, would make Bastar "the most–militarised zone in India." The Naga Battalion personnel are being send to fight the Maoists for a second time, with having battled the Maoists once before in West Bengal. [4]

The Indian armed forces' personnel use satellite phones and they also have access to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). [5] Security forces have been using UAVs in anti-Maoist operations for quite some time in Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. [22] Presently, the UAVs are being provided by the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) and Indian Air Force, but they have not been able to yield desired results for the armed forces. Hence, to further advance the offensive, the Defence Research and Development Organisation has taken an initiative to specially develop UAVs with "lower frequency radars" for the armed forces to "track down" the Maoists. [23] The NTRO has specially imported 12 drones from Israel for aerial surveillance of Naxalites' activities in the forest region on Andhra Pradesh–Orissa–Chhattisgarh border. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Communist Party of India (Maoist)</span> Maoist political party and militant group in India

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 (People's War Group) and the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI). The party has been designated as a terrorist organisation in India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act since 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahendra Karma</span> Indian politician

Mahendra Karma was an Indian political leader belonging to Indian National Congress from Chhattisgarh. He was the leader of the opposition in the Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha from 2004 to 2008. In 2005, he played a top role in organising the Salwa Judum movement against Naxalites, a Maoist group in Chhattisgarh. He was a Minister of Industry and Commerce in the Ajit Jogi cabinet since the state formation in 2000 to 2004. He was assassinated by Naxalites on 25 May 2013 in the 2013 Naxal attack in Darbha valley while returning from a Parivartan Rally meeting organised by his party in Sukma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salwa Judum</span> Former anti-insurgency militia in India

Salwa Judum was a militia that was mobilised and deployed as part of counterinsurgency operations in Chhattisgarh, India, aimed at countering Naxalite activities 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.

Nand Kumar Patel was an Indian National Congress politician from the province of Chhattisgarh. He was elected to the Kharsia Assembly Constituency five times in a row.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naxalite–Maoist insurgency</span> Armed conflict in India between the state and Maoists

The Naxalite–Maoist insurgency is an ongoing conflict between Maoist groups known as Naxalites or Naxals and the Indian government. The influence zone of the Naxalites is called the red corridor, which has been steadily declining in terms of geographical coverage and number of violent incidents, and in 2021 it was confined to the 25 "most affected" locations, accounting for 85% of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) violence, and 70 "total affected" districts across 10 states in two coal-rich, remote, forested hilly clusters in and around the Dandakaranya-Chhattisgarh-Odisha region and the tri-junction area of Jharkhand-Bihar and-West Bengal. The Naxalites have frequently targeted police and government workers in what they say is a fight for improved land rights and more jobs for neglected agricultural labourers and the poor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commando Battalion for Resolute Action</span> Indian specialized police unit of CRPF

COBRA is a special operation unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) of India proficient in guerrilla tactics and jungle warfare. Originally established to counter the Naxalite movement, CoBRA is deployed to address insurgent groups engaging in asymmetrical warfare. Numbering ten battalions as of 2011, CoBRA is considered to be one of the most experienced and successful law enforcement units in the country.

This is a timeline of the 1967–present Naxalite–Maoist insurgency in eastern India.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greyhounds (police)</span> Tactical police units in India

Greyhounds is a police special forces unit of the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Police departments in India. Greyhounds specialises in counter-insurgency operations against Naxalite and Maoist terrorists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chhattisgarh Police</span> State Police force in India

The Chhattisgarh Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Chhattisgarh in India. The agency is administered by the Department of Home Affairs of the Government of Chhattisgarh. The force has specialized units to fight the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency in some districts of the state.

The State Armed Police Forces of India are the police units established for dealing with serious law and order situations requiring a higher level of armed expertise than normal. The State Armed Police Forces exist in addition to the ordinary police services of the various states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vinod Chaubey</span> Indian police officer

Vinod Kumar Choubey, KC was an Indian Police Service officer of 1998 batch who was killed in action in an encounter with naxalites in the Rajnandgaon ambush in July 2009. Choubey was posthumously awarded with peacetime gallantry award "Kirti Chakra" by Hon. President of India Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil in March 2011.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abujmarh</span>

Abujmarh is a hilly forest area, spread over 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi) in Chhattisgarh, covering Narayanpur district, Bijapur district and Dantewada district. It is home to indigenous tribes of India, including Gond, Muria, Abuj Maria, and Halbaas. It was only in 2009 that the Government of Chhattisgarh lifted the restriction on the entry of common people in the area imposed in the early 1980s. Geographically isolated and largely inaccessible, the area continues to show no physical presence of the civil administration, and is also known as "liberated-zone" as it is an alleged hub of Naxalite-Maoist insurgency, the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and its military wing, People's Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA), who run a parallel government in the area.

Kadari Satyanarayan Reddy, commonly known by his nom de guerre, Kosa, was a Central Committee member of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), a banned Maoist insurgent communist party in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly election</span> Elections in India

The 2018 Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly election was held to elect members to the Legislative Assembly of the Indian State of Chhattisgarh. The election was held in two phases for a total of 90 seats; the first for 18 seats in South Chhattisgarh was held on 12 November 2018, and the second for the remaining 72 were held on 20 November.

The Sukma attack was an ambush carried out by the Communist Party of India (Maoist) against Indian paramilitary forces on 24 April 2017, during the Naxalite-Maoist insurgency. It was the largest ambush since a similar attack in 2010, in the neighbouring district of Dantewada.

On 13 March 2018, at least nine Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed and six others were injured when Maoists blew up a mine-protected vehicle with an IED in Sukma district, Chhattisgarh, India.

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 2021 Sukma-Bijapur attack was an ambush carried out by the Naxalite-Maoist insurgents from the Communist Party of India (Maoist) against Indian security forces on 3 April 2021 at Sukma-Bijapur border near Jonaguda village which falls under Jagargunda police station area in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, leading to the killing of 22 security personnel and 9 Naxalites. The death toll was the worst for Indian security forces fighting the Naxalites since 2017.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sethi, Aman (6 February 2013). "Green Hunt: the anatomy of an operation". The Hindu. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Incidents and Statements involving CPI-Maoist: 2013". New Delhi: SATP. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  3. 1 2 Dahat, Pavan (12 June 2014). "Chhattisgarh gears for 'result-oriented' approach against Maoists". The Hindu. Raipur. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  4. 1 2 Sharma, Aman (19 August 2014). "Government to send 2,000 para-military men of Naga unit to fight Maoists in Bastar". The Economic Times. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Krishna Das, R.; Makkar, Sahil; Basak, Probal; Satapathy, Dillip (27 September 2013). "Reds in retreat". Business Standard . Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  6. ↑ "Operation Greenhunt starts in Orissa". The Indian Express . 1 April 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  7. 1 2 "Air Force to lend support for anti-Naxal operations". The Hindu. The Hindu Group. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  8. 1 2 Swami, Praveen (13 March 2014). "CRPF, State police ignored pinpoint warning on ambush". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 March 2014. India's super-secret National Technical Reconnaissance organisation, or NTRO, operates a fleet of 12 Israeli-made Searcher tactical drones for surveillance of the vast forest tracts on the Andhra Pradesh-Orissa-Chhattisgarh border, home to the largest Maoist formations in the country. The expensive investment in remotely piloted reconnaissance assets has not, however, led to success in detecting hundreds-strong Maoist units.
  9. ↑ Kumar, Kamal (August 2013). "Analysis: India's Maoist challenge". Al Jazeera . Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  10. ↑ "Datasheet-terrorist-attack-surrender".
  11. ↑ "Datasheet-terrorist-attack-surrender".
  12. ↑ "There is no 'Operation Green Hunt': Chidambaram". The Times of India . 7 April 2010. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
  13. ↑ "'Centre's Anti-Naxal Plan to be Implemented Soon'", Outlook , Mumbai: M/s Outlook Publishing (India) Private Limited, 9 October 2009, archived from the original on 18 July 2011, retrieved 11 March 2010
  14. ↑ Ali, Mazhar (2 November 2009). "First phase of Operation Green Hunt begins". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  15. ↑ "Israel to help West Bengal tackle Maoists". Rediff. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  16. ↑ "10 IAF choppers for rebel combat". The Telegraph. New Delhi: ABP Group. 29 December 2009. Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  17. ↑ "CRPF will launch fresh operations against Naxals in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand". Indo-Asian News Service. New Delhi: The New Indian Express. 30 May 2013. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  18. ↑ Navlakha, Gautam (30 March 2014). "Ambush amplifies a struggle". Sanhati. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  19. ↑ Mohan, Vishwa (8 May 2013). "Government to deploy 10,000 more personnel in four states to fight Maoists". The Times of India . New Delhi. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  20. ↑ Thottam, Jyoti (27 June 2011). "Indian Army Raises the Stakes in Its War Against the Maoists". Time . Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  21. ↑ "South Asia Intelligence Review: Weekly Assessments & Briefings". Institute for Conflict Management. SATP. 25 July 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  22. ↑ "Bihar Police using UAV Drones to track Maoists Movements". Indo-Asian News Service. Bihar Prabha. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  23. ↑ Bhatnagar, Gaurav Vivek (7 February 2014). "DRDO's UAVs to track down Naxals". The Hindu. Retrieved 17 February 2014.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.