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Behind the attack on Chandrababu Naidu
By: Shailesh ReddyProgramme: Special Correspondent Telecast: Saturday, 9:30 pm Repeat Telecast: Thursday, 4:30 pmAdapted for zeenews.com by: Jigme Palden Pazo
By: Shailesh Reddy
Programme: Special Correspondent
Telecast: Saturday, 9:30 pm
Repeat Telecast: Thursday, 4:30 pm
Adapted for zeenews.com by: Jigme Palden Pazo
The recent attack on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu sent shockwaves across a country that has witnessed countless incidents of a similar nature. It was no less than a miracle that Naidu managed to escape with his life, without even any serious injury. It took a shocking incident of this nature for the nation to turn on the spotlight on the party behind the attack, the Naxalites of the CPI-ML People’s War.
As the country’s media went into a frenzy over the details of the incident, highlighting the possible reasons and planning of the attack, one of the first facts to emerge was the meticulous planning that had gone into the failed bid on the life of the Chief Minister. As the first newspaper headlines drew the nation’s attention to the crime, there was no conflict of opinion regarding the identity of the guilty party, the People’s Guerilla Army of the People’s War. No strangers to controversy and crime, the group has over the years earned a dubious reputation for strategic ambush and landmine attacks, which made it immediately obvious after the attack as to who the masterminds behind it were.
Special Correspondent Shailesh Reddy made several trips into the forests of North Telangana in Andhra Pradesh, known to be the territory of the Naxalites in quest for an understanding of the movement. On these trips he was able to hold dialogue with several key leaders of the Naxalite movement, to gain a deeper insight into the root causes that led to its birth and growth.
What was beyond comprehension for the Andhra Pradesh police force and intelligence, was the location that had been chosen for the deadly attack. The Chief Minister had been travelling by road on the Ghat Road to Tirumala from Tirupati when the claymore mine exploded.
Far from being newcomers to violence, the Naxalite movement is currently in its 35th year of existence. The death toll over that period of time has steadily increased to number in thousands, whether of police personnel or the Naxalites themselves. Among the most brutal incidents linked to the group has been the assassination of Panchayat Raj Minister A Madhava Reddy in 2000. High level police officials have also been the targets of their lethal attacks, claiming the lives of KS Vyas, Pardesi Naidu and Umesh Chandra, to mention a few. Simultaneously an equal number of senior leaders of the movement have also lost their lives in the on-going conflict. Among the more recent casualties were the killing of Naxalite leaders Nalla Adi Reddy, Santosh Reddy and Shyam in December 1999, in a supposed encounter. These killings were instrumental in boosting the morale of the police force, in the long-winded conflict between the authorities and the rebels. However, with the attack on Chandrababu Naidu, the scales have once again been tipped in favour of the Naxalites.
The three decade conflict between the Naxalites and the authorities spans a host of issues, prominent among them being land reforms, opposition of multi national corporations and the very nature of democracy in its present form in the state. For the Naxalites, their prime method of making their presence felt is through the power that comes from the barrel of the gun. And so the conflict rages on with no end in sight.
Programme: Special Correspondent
Telecast: Saturday, 9:30 pm
Repeat Telecast: Thursday, 4:30 pm
Adapted for zeenews.com by: Jigme Palden Pazo
The recent attack on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu sent shockwaves across a country that has witnessed countless incidents of a similar nature. It was no less than a miracle that Naidu managed to escape with his life, without even any serious injury. It took a shocking incident of this nature for the nation to turn on the spotlight on the party behind the attack, the Naxalites of the CPI-ML People’s War.
As the country’s media went into a frenzy over the details of the incident, highlighting the possible reasons and planning of the attack, one of the first facts to emerge was the meticulous planning that had gone into the failed bid on the life of the Chief Minister. As the first newspaper headlines drew the nation’s attention to the crime, there was no conflict of opinion regarding the identity of the guilty party, the People’s Guerilla Army of the People’s War. No strangers to controversy and crime, the group has over the years earned a dubious reputation for strategic ambush and landmine attacks, which made it immediately obvious after the attack as to who the masterminds behind it were.
Special Correspondent Shailesh Reddy made several trips into the forests of North Telangana in Andhra Pradesh, known to be the territory of the Naxalites in quest for an understanding of the movement. On these trips he was able to hold dialogue with several key leaders of the Naxalite movement, to gain a deeper insight into the root causes that led to its birth and growth.
What was beyond comprehension for the Andhra Pradesh police force and intelligence, was the location that had been chosen for the deadly attack. The Chief Minister had been travelling by road on the Ghat Road to Tirumala from Tirupati when the claymore mine exploded.
Far from being newcomers to violence, the Naxalite movement is currently in its 35th year of existence. The death toll over that period of time has steadily increased to number in thousands, whether of police personnel or the Naxalites themselves. Among the most brutal incidents linked to the group has been the assassination of Panchayat Raj Minister A Madhava Reddy in 2000. High level police officials have also been the targets of their lethal attacks, claiming the lives of KS Vyas, Pardesi Naidu and Umesh Chandra, to mention a few. Simultaneously an equal number of senior leaders of the movement have also lost their lives in the on-going conflict. Among the more recent casualties were the killing of Naxalite leaders Nalla Adi Reddy, Santosh Reddy and Shyam in December 1999, in a supposed encounter. These killings were instrumental in boosting the morale of the police force, in the long-winded conflict between the authorities and the rebels. However, with the attack on Chandrababu Naidu, the scales have once again been tipped in favour of the Naxalites.
The three decade conflict between the Naxalites and the authorities spans a host of issues, prominent among them being land reforms, opposition of multi national corporations and the very nature of democracy in its present form in the state. For the Naxalites, their prime method of making their presence felt is through the power that comes from the barrel of the gun. And so the conflict rages on with no end in sight.