Stir losing steam, Reds seek refuge in women power

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Bhubaneswar: With the Naxal movement in Odisha and other places losing steam with the arrest of top leaders and area commanders, there are attempts to induct fresh blood into the movement. Experts have claimed women are now the most sought after choice for the Reds.
“From sociological point of view, Reds are concentrating on recruiting women. The surrender cases amply demonstrate that – most of the Maoists who now lay down arms are women,” said Bijaynee, a scholar doing her PhD on the life of Naxals who have returned to the mainstream. She has interviewed over 100 Naxalites in Odisha and other states to reach a conclusion.
Bijaynee said the women are initially lured into the party on the issue of ‘jal, jameen and jungle’ (water, land and forest). They are not even aware of the ideology behind the movement. However, most of these women become very well-versed in using weapons like AK-47 and regularly take part in combat operations.
The researcher has also claimed that post-surrender, the lives of most of the women are tough with the mainstream refusing to accept them because of their tainted past.
Bipin Bihari Mishra who is a retired Director General of Police (DGP) of Odisha said the Reds’ movement is losing momentum in the state. “The steps taken by the special combat forces and intelligence agencies have definitely dented the aspirations of the Naxals. The tough strictures implemented by the Union government have led to the movement losing steam. Hence, except for a few pockets in Malkangiri and Korpaut districts, the Reds have ceased to exist,” stated Mishra.
The security experts meanwhile asserted that the use of local special teams especially formed to deal with the Reds has helped reducing their threat.
Mishra, who is also a former bureaucrat in the Home Ministry, said that in 2003, there was no special team to combat the Reds in Odisha.
“No government in Odisha till 2003 thought of forming special teams or processes to combat the Naxals. When I was in the Home Ministry, I visited Andhra Pradesh and was quite impressed with the way the ‘Greyhound’ (a special force to combat only Naxals) worked. The Home Ministry then recommended having specialised units also in Odisha to combat the Naxals,” pointed out Mishra.
Mishra told this correspondent that during the mid- 2000, the Odisha government came up with the Special Operations Group – SOG (for combat operations) and Special Intelligence Wing–SIG (for intelligence regarding the Red rebels) and the results were overwhelming.