Maoists call for nationwide shutdown on December 22 in protest against security forces’ operations in Bihar-Jharkhand

The outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) has appealed for a nationwide shutdown against the ongoing counter-insurgency drive of the security forces against the extremists in the state of Bihar and Jharkhand, informed the ultras in a press note released on Tuesday, December 12

The extremists in the press note have appealed to the masses to observe a nationwide shutdown against the alleged oppression of the security forces in the Bihar-Jharkhand region. “December 22 ko Bharat Band ko Safal Banayenge” (Will make the shutdown on December 22 successful), reads the header of the press note released by the Dakshin Sub-Zonal Bureau of the proscribed CPI Maoist.

The press release further read that we will run the resilience week (Pratirodh Saptah) from December 16th to 22nd  in the Dakshin Sub-Zonal region and make it successful as instructed by the Central Committee.
Calling the incumbent union regime a Brahmanical Hindutva fascist one, the extremists in the release have further claimed that the BJP government has been running a ferocious campaign against the Maoist movement, especially in Jharkhand, where the security forces have continuously targeted the Mao’s men in the last 22 months.

In view of the ongoing campaign of the forces, the CC of the CPI Maoist appeal to observe resilience week that will conclude with the nation-wide shutdown on December 22, read the Maoist press note further.
Furthermore, the extremists have also alleged that a huge stock of coal is in Ramgarh, Dhanbad, Bokaro, and Hazaribagh while a stock pile of uranium has been found in Jamshedpur. A significant store of mica is in Kodarma while stocks of bauxite are there in Gumla, Latehar, and Lohardaga.

Additionally, minerals like nickel, cobalt, potash, and others are also found in large quantities in the state; hence, big corporate houses like Jindal, Adani, Ambani, Tata, Birla and Airtel have turned Jharkhand into their bases. The central government along with the Hemant government have collaborated and helped these corporate, claiming the extremists further.

Current state of insurgency

It is pertinent to mention here that the security forces have been running consistent offensive campaigns against the armed wing of the CPI Maoist Peoples Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA) in Maoist-infested regions of Bharat in the recent few years.

The development occurred after the central government gave a nod to launch an aggressive counter-insurgency drive against the extremists in Naxal-hit states like Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and parts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, along with speeding up the development projects pertaining to basic necessities such as roads, education, water and electricity.

The consistent efforts of the security forces in the Maoist-affected regions have yielded fruitful results in states like Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha, where the forces have met with significant success in uprooting the insurgency. While the ultras have also been forced to be confined in a much smaller region in their erstwhile strongholds, such as Dandkaranya (Bastar) of Chhattisgarh, Gadchiroli of Maharashtra, and Swabhiman Anchal of Odisha,.

However, despite the success tasted by the security forces on the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) front, the ultras still have some significant territories under their hold from where incidents of killing civilians and political workers have been reported in significant numbers in recent years.