Indian Naxalites warn deployment of Army would lead to 'civil war' in central India

The banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), who are often referred to as Naxalites in reference to the violent Naxalbari insurrection conducted by radical Maoists in West Bengal in 1967, has accused the Union government of India of preparing to use the Army to wage war on its own people.

In a press release, dated January 22, 2011, Maoist spokesperson Guda Usendi opposed to the establishment of an Army training centre in India's Chhattisgarh state's troubled Narayanpur district, and described the move as a first step towards the eventual deployment of the Indian Army in anti-Maoist operations, reports the Hindu.

"The deployment of the Army would result in the imposition of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Chhattisgarh and lead to a civil war in central India," he said in the press release.

According to the Hindu, in fall 2010, the Indian Army established a sub-area command in Chhattisgarh and unveiled plans to set up a jungle warfare training college, a school for special forces and para-commandos, and a massive (between 600 and 900 sq km) training area in Narayanpur. Narayanpur is one of Chhattisgarh's most sensitive districts and borders the 4000 sq km Abujmard area, a dense un-surveyed forest claimed by the guerrilla forces of the CPI (Maoist).

By acquiring land to establish a training facility on the edge of Maoist-controlled Abujmard, the Army had triggered speculation of a full-scale deployment in the future, the newspaper reports.

The Army has categorically stated that it shall not participate in anti-Maoist operations at present, and that all its facilities in the State are for training purposes only, but the Maoists appear unconvinced.

However, in a press conference on January 14 this year, Chief of Army Staff, General V.K. Singh said that the Army was "neither operating in the area nor seeking protection under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act."

The close proximity of the training facility and rebel bases has lead to fears that a Maoist attack on soldiers could draw the Army into the protracted insurgency, the report further states.

Last year, the Maoists killed over 100 troopers of the State and central paramilitary forces in Chhattisgarh alone, including 27 soldiers of the Central Reserve Police Force in Narayanpur district, not far from the proposed Army training centre.