The Prairie Fire Spreads in India

Thanks to Maoist Revolution and Comrade Suresh for sending these out.

Indian Maoist influence is spreading – experts posted at

Tue Feb 10, 2009

NEW DELHI, Feb 10th 2009 – Well-armed Maoists are rapidly expanding their insurgency in India, catching the government off-guard with their appeal to the poor and destitute, officials and experts say.

The rebels have 22,000 combatants, and have spread to more than 180 of the country’s 630 districts from just 56 in 2001, according to the government and a new report this week by the Institute for Conflict Management (IFCM), a New Delhi ‘think-tank’.

“The security threats are changing and it’s bigger than ever before as more and more areas are coming under their command. It is not a happy sight at all,” B.K. Ponwar, head of the Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College in India, told Reuters.

“We must address the barrel of the gun of the Maoists, or in two years the issue will get out of hand.”

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the Maoist rise as one of the gravest threats to India’s internal security, and the insurgency is shaping up as an issue ahead of a general election due by May.

Matrika Yadav leaves the UCPM (Maoist)

This article was originally published on eKantipur.com. Many thanks to Ben for pointing this out.

Maoist leaders are hungry for power: Matrika Yadav
Kantipur Reporter

KATHMANDU, Feb 13 – CPN (Maoist) leader Matrika Yadav, who recently ‘reconstituted’ a new party CPN (Maoist) breaking away from his former party, on Friday accused his former party of becoming ‘hungry for power’ as they are still holding on to their posts even as the Nepal Army (NA) disobeyed the direction of the defence minister.

Speaking at a programme organised by Muslim community in the capital today, the rebel leader of the Unified CPN (Maoist) that was recently renamed as the Unified CPN (Maoist) claimed that his revolted from the party as Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who repeatedly gives public discourses of ‘making miracles’, has been entrapped amongst the corrupt people and failed to embrace the spirit of the aspirations of the people’s war.