Operation Green Hunt
Naxalite - by Asian Dub Foundation(2003)
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Special Report on Indian Maoists broadcast in Dateline show on SBS TV - Australia
The Video Report below gives a glimpse into the life of a Maoist Guerrilla in the Dandakaranya region of India.
India's Red Tide
Special Report on Indian Maoists broadcast on Dateline show on SBS TV in Australia
Maoist guerrillas have been at war with the Indian government for over 40 years… challenging the capitalism which they fear will take over their land and its mineral resources, and instead proposing a communist way of life.
It’s been a bloody conflict, with thousands of people killed and the Naxalites, as they’re also known, pushed into a nomadic existence deep in the jungle.
Dateline gets a rare glimpse into the lives of a group of people seen as terrorists on one side and human rights activists on the other.
WATCH - Victoria Strobl narrates this insight into the divide between India’s rich and poor.
FACTFILE - Read more about the Maoists and the history of their violent fight for land rights in India.
REPLAY - Watch a previous Dateline story from 2008 on the Maoist rebels in India.
For more visit - http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/about/id/601216/n/India-s-Red-Tide
India's Red Tide
Special Report on Indian Maoists broadcast on Dateline show on SBS TV in Australia
Maoist guerrillas have been at war with the Indian government for over 40 years… challenging the capitalism which they fear will take over their land and its mineral resources, and instead proposing a communist way of life.
It’s been a bloody conflict, with thousands of people killed and the Naxalites, as they’re also known, pushed into a nomadic existence deep in the jungle.
Dateline gets a rare glimpse into the lives of a group of people seen as terrorists on one side and human rights activists on the other.
WATCH - Victoria Strobl narrates this insight into the divide between India’s rich and poor.
FACTFILE - Read more about the Maoists and the history of their violent fight for land rights in India.
REPLAY - Watch a previous Dateline story from 2008 on the Maoist rebels in India.
For more visit - http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/about/id/601216/n/India-s-Red-Tide
US crime figures: Why the drop?
For 20 years, crime in the US has been falling and new figures from the FBI show a sharp drop in the last two years, despite the recession. Why?
Through Democrat and Republican administrations and through booms and busts, crime has been falling since 1991.
Murder and robbery rates nearly halved from 1991-98, a phenomenon that has saved thousands of lives and spared many more potential victims of crime.
The pace of the reduction slowed in the late 90s but new FBI figures show the sharp drop in crime that began around 2008 continued last year, despite high unemployment.
No-one agrees on the reasons for this.
Here are 10 possible theories.
1. The Obama effect could explain the increased pace of the reduction of the last few years, says one of the country's top criminologists, Alfred Blumstein. "The prior expectation was that the recession would have the opposite effect. The question then is what distinctive event occurred in '09?" The election of a black president could have inspired some young black men, who are disproportionately involved in arrests for robbery and homicide, says the professor. It's very speculative, he adds, and probably only one factor of many, as one of the cities with a huge drop in crime is Phoenix, in Arizona, which does not have a large black population. "In the field of criminology, you don't get consistent indicators as you would in physics. There are so many factors that could have contributed." A separate study on school test scores supports the view that some black teenagers were motivated to try harder by the new presidency.
2. The fall in violent crime that began in the early 90s can be partly explained by the fall in demand for crack, says Prof Blumstein, co-author of The Crime Drop in America. Word got round about the dangers of crack use and - aided by aggressive policing - the gun violence associated with its supply decreased. The converse had happened in 1985, when the incarceration of dealers led to a spiral of violence, as younger and more reckless suppliers took their place.
3. Smarter policing helped the border city of Laredo in Texas to reduce car theft by 40% last year. Police spokesman Joe Baeza says they introduced a scheme whereby motorists could register their car number plates into a police database and this empowered patrol cars to stop these cars if they were spotted late at night, to verify the owners. Mr Baeza adds that they also targeted car theft networks, educated the community about prevention and promoted anti-theft devices.
4. Number crunching has also helped in Laredo, where overall crime fell 16% last year, says Mr Baeza. "CompStat is a crime mapping project that pinpoints crime peaks in different parts of the city. The police chief then sends a team of officers to reinforce hotspots for burglaries or thefts or robberies, and they hold steady the flow of criminality." The CompStat methods began in New York City and featured heavily in gritty television drama The Wire, set in Baltimore.
5. There is a controversial theory put forward by economist Steven Levitt that the increased availability of legal abortion after the Supreme Court ruling in 1973 on Roe v Wade meant that fewer children were born to young, poor, single mothers. This, says the theory, stopped unwanted babies in the 1970s and 80s from becoming adolescent criminals in the decades that followed. But some of his peers have questioned whether the evidence really supports the theory.
6. A sociologist at Tufts University, John Conklin, says a significant factor behind the fall in crime in the 1990s was the fact that more criminals were behind bars and therefore unable to offend. In his book Why Crime Rates Fell, he says sentencing was lenient in the 60s and 70s, when crime rose, and then more prisons were built and more offenders were imprisoned. But others question why crime has continued to fall recently when budget constraints have kept the prison population relatively flat.
7. An economist at Amherst College in Massachusetts links the fall in violent crime to a decline in children's exposure to lead in petrol. Jessica Wolpaw Reyes says: "Even low to moderate levels of exposure can lead to behavioural problems, reduced IQ, hyperactivity and juvenile delinquency. You can link the decline in lead between 1975 and 1985 to a decline in violent crime 20 years later." About 90% of American children in the 1970s had blood levels that would today cause concern, she says. Her research also found a link at state level between the timing of laws banning lead and subsequent crime statistics.
8. The baby boomers grew up. With birth rates peaking between 1957 and 1961, the proportion of men in the US in their late teens and early 20s was highest the late 70s and early 80s. As time went on, the proportion of people at "criminal age" decreased.
9. A study released last month suggested video games were keeping young people off the streets and therefore away from crime. Researchers in Texas working with the Centre for European Economic Research said this "incapacitation effect" more than offset any direct impact the content of the games may have had in encouraging violent behaviour.
10. Some people have suggested to Professor Blumstein there is another technological deterrent and that is the proliferation of camera phones, which makes some criminals think twice before risking possible incrimination on film. The impact of other kinds of cameras is unclear. In the UK, the influence of CCTV on crime is disputed.
Source : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13799616?print=true
Source : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13799616?print=true
The Crime of Lead Exposure
The steep drop in crime in America is one of the most noteworthy sociological trends of the last twenty years. What astonishing is that, although the murder rate has fallen by more than 50 percent in many cities, we still don’t know why. Part of the mystery, of course, is that the causes are plural: there are many reasons why our cities are getting so much safer. In a recent essay, the political scientist James Q. Wilson outlines several possible explanations for the falling crime rates, from better policing to a shrinking market for crack cocaine. He also references one of the hypotheses that I’m most interested in, which is that reductions in exposure to lead gas and paint have reduced levels of aggression and improved impulse control in young men:
For decades, doctors have known that children with lots of lead in their blood are much more likely to be aggressive, violent and delinquent. In 1974, the Environmental Protection Agency required oil companies to stop putting lead in gasoline. At the same time, lead in paint was banned for any new home (though old buildings still have lead paint, which children can absorb).Tests have shown that the amount of lead in Americans’ blood fell by four-fifths between 1975 and 1991. A 2007 study by the economist Jessica Wolpaw Reyes contended that the reduction in gasoline lead produced more than half of the decline in violent crime during the 1990s in the U.S. and might bring about greater declines in the future. Another economist, Rick Nevin, has made the same argument for other nations.
In recent years, neuroscientists have made important progress in identifying the precise mechanisms by which lead exposure reduces impulse control. Here, for instance, is a recent PLOS study from the Cincinnati Lead Study, in which the blood lead level of babies born in poor areas of Cincinnati were repeatedly measured between 1979 and 1984. Twenty years later, the researchers tracked down these subjects and put them in MRI machines, allowing them to measure the brain volume of participants. The researchers found that exposure to lead as a child was linked with a significant loss of brain volume in adulthood, particularly in men. Furthermore, there was a “dose-response” effect, in which the greatest brain volume loss was seen in participants with the greatest lead exposure. What’s especially tragic is that the loss of volume was concentrated in the prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain closely associated with executive function and impulse control. Here are the scientists:
Childhood lead exposure is associated with region-specific reductions in adult gray matter volume. Affected regions include the portions of the prefrontal cortex and ACC responsible for executive functions, mood regulation, and decision-making. These neuroanatomical findings were more pronounced for males, suggesting that lead-related atrophic changes have a disparate impact across sexes. This analysis suggests that adverse cognitive and behavioral outcomes may be related to lead’s effect on brain development producing persistent alterations in structure.
The degradation of the prefrontal cortex by lead exposure also helps explain the relationship between blood lead levels and IQ scores. According to one 2003 estimate, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, blood lead levels below the supposedly “safe” limit of 10 micrograms per deciliter still produced a reduction in IQ of around 7 points. (Approximately 1 in 50 American children has lead levels above that threshold.) That’s a big cognitive loss for millions of kids.
The reason the prefrontal cortex is such an essential component of intelligence returns us to its most important function, which is controlling the spotlight of attention and regulating the short list of thoughts in working memory. (These are the thoughts we’re actually thinking about.) Although we typically assume that attention and working memory are intellectual skills – they’re essential for academic success and school smarts – it has become increasingly clear that they also help us regulate our emotions. Look, for instance, at Walter Mischel’s classic marshmallow task, which I wrote about in The New Yorker a few years ago. The experiment involved offering four year old children a choice between eating one marshmallow right away or, if they could wait fifteen minutes, the chance to eat two marshmallows. While every kid wanted that second sweet treat, the vast majority failed to resist the temptation right in front of them. However, about 20 percent of preschoolers were able to successfully delay gratification, restraining their impulses and exerting self-control. (A follow-up study demonstrated that these kids had fewer temper problems, more friends and much higher SAT scores as high-school seniors.) So what allowed these four year olds to resist the allure of the marshmallow? The secret was attention. Here’s an excerpt from the article:
Mischel’s conclusion, based on hundreds of hours of observation, was that the crucial skill was the “strategic allocation of attention.” Instead of getting obsessed with the marshmallow—the “hot stimulus”—the patient children distracted themselves by covering their eyes, pretending to play hide-and-seek underneath the desk, or singing songs from “Sesame Street.” Their desire wasn’t defeated—it was merely forgotten. “If you’re thinking about the marshmallow and how delicious it is, then you’re going to eat it,” Mischel says. “The key is to avoid thinking about it in the first place.”
Furthermore, the scientists are now doing brain scans on the original marshmallow subjects – the four year olds are now in their forties – as they try to better understand the substrate of self-control. In essence, they want to decipher the cortical persistent differences between high-delayers and low-delayers. Most of the relevant regions they’ve identified so far are in the frontal cortex, and include areas such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the anterior prefrontal cortex, the anterior cingulate, and the right and left inferior frontal gyri. (Needless to say, these are also many of the brain regions undermined by lead exposure.) In general, high-delayers show higher levels of activation in these areas when performing tasks requiring the allocation of attention, which is why they also perform at a higher level.
What Mischel’s data demonstrates is that attention isn’t just about information. Instead, it’s also what allows us to blunt the urges of our errant emotions, allowing us to look past the desire to stuff that yummy marshmallow into our mouth. While we can’t always control what we feel – many of our urges are ancient drives, embedded deep in the brain – we can control the amount of attention we pay to our feelings. When faced with a tempting treat, we can look away.
This returns us to aggression. Let’s say you’re being teased by a bully at school. You can feel your anger rising; the hot emotion is vibrating in your veins. It would feel so good to punch that bully in the face, to vent your frustration with a fight. However, you also know that such violence will get you suspended from school, which is why throwing a punch is not a good idea. If you can’t strategically allocate your attention – and this is a skill that requires a solid prefrontal cortex – then you’re not going to be able to resist your anger. You’re going to get in a fight and get suspended. However, if you can properly look past this negative emotion – perhaps by counting to ten, or just walking away, or finding something else to think about – then your anger will subside. The hot feeling has been cooled off.
The tragedy of lead exposure is that it undermines one of the most essential mental skills we can give our kids, which is the ability to control what they’re thinking about. While the unconscious will always be full of impulses we can’t prevent, and the world will always be full of dangerous temptations, we don’t have to give in. We can choose to direct the spotlight of attention elsewhere, so that instead of thinking about the marshmallow we’re thinking about Sesame Street, or instead of thinking about our anger we’re counting to ten. And so there is no fight. We walk away.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Stuxnet - Anatomy of a Computer Virus
An infographic dissecting the nature and ramifications of Stuxnet, the first weapon made entirely out of code. This was produced for Australian TV program HungryBeast on Australia's ABC1.
Stuxnet: Anatomy of a Computer Virus from Patrick Clair on Vimeo.
Link to Video : http://vimeo.com/25118844
Direction and Motion Graphics: Patrick Clair patrickclair.com
Written by: Scott Mitchell
Production Company: Zapruder's Other Films.
Stuxnet: Anatomy of a Computer Virus from Patrick Clair on Vimeo.
Link to Video : http://vimeo.com/25118844
Direction and Motion Graphics: Patrick Clair patrickclair.com
Written by: Scott Mitchell
Production Company: Zapruder's Other Films.
Jangalnama - Travels in a Maoist Guerrilla Zone - A review
Jangalnama- Travels in a Maoist Guerrilla Zone by Satnam, translated by Vishav Bharti- a review.
‘In the light of a candle, drinking maté (a local drink) and eating a piece of bread and cheese, the man’s shrunken features stuck a mysterious, tragic note. In simple but expressive language, he told us about his three months in prison, his starving wife, and his children left in the care of a kindly neighbor, his fruitless pilgrimage in search of work and his comrades, who had mysteriously disappeared and were said to somewhere at the bottom of the sea’. These copper mines – ‘ spiced with the lives of poor unsung heroes of this battle, who die miserable deaths, when all they want is to earn is their daily bread’
- Che Guevara, describing the life of a working class couple in the copper mines of Chuquicamata. (The Motorcycle Diaries)
At the age of 23, Che undertook a journey on a motorcycle across South America and wrote a journal based on it. The journal was published in a book form titled The Motorcycle Diaries a decade or so back. Satnam’s Jangalnama could well be a sequel to that book, written in the context of the Red India, as the Maoist controlled belt has come to be known.
There are differences, of course. Che was young, fresh out of medical college. He rode a motorcycle and was essentially on an adventure tour during the course of which he got to see the underbelly of South America and about which he wrote so eloquently. This journey was part of his education in becoming a revolutionary soon after.
Satnam, on the other hand, is an unknown writer- there is very little about him in the book except a few self descriptions. We know that at the time of his travel in 2001 he is a forty something, bespectacled Punjabi journalist who took a 2 month tour of the ‘red’ tribal belt in Eastern India in the company of the guerrillas. Che was at an age when young men and women of a certain generation tended to turn communists, Satnam, on the other hand, was at an age when the same young men and women become cynical. Satnam’s undying idealism,however, makes his account outstanding. The very fact that a person would travel all the way from Punjab to the tribal districts of Eastern India, that too, in a Maoist controlled territory is quite remarkable.
Satnam, on the other hand, is an unknown writer- there is very little about him in the book except a few self descriptions. We know that at the time of his travel in 2001 he is a forty something, bespectacled Punjabi journalist who took a 2 month tour of the ‘red’ tribal belt in Eastern India in the company of the guerrillas. Che was at an age when young men and women of a certain generation tended to turn communists, Satnam, on the other hand, was at an age when the same young men and women become cynical. Satnam’s undying idealism,however, makes his account outstanding. The very fact that a person would travel all the way from Punjab to the tribal districts of Eastern India, that too, in a Maoist controlled territory is quite remarkable.
Satnam describes how the guerrilla live and operate. He travels with different squads across the Bastar, visiting tribal villages and observing how the guerrillas and the tribals live.
Some of his observations are so straightforward that they would be trite, were they not accompanied by the flights of imagination that makes the same observation so special. Take for example, on the tribals’ use of river water.
One of the things that stuck me as I travelled through the jungle was that the tribals neither abuse their rivers, nor do they worship them. They don’t pollute their rivers because they get their drinking water from them.They use natural toilet paper, that is leaves, or water. They don’t know what sin is, so they don’t need to wash it away in a ritualistic ordeal. They are free of thievery and fraudulence that afflict civilized societies.
A commonplace observation thus takes on a different meaning when put in a broader context and becomes a critique of much that we otherwise take for granted. Similarly, he writes on the use of plastic.
Plastic is a rarity in the jungle, there are no heaps of garbage in the jungle. the guerrillas use it for carrying water for their morning ablutions, or to protect their books and stuff from rain. ‘Garbage’ is the sign of civilized society. An abundance and luxury, followed by muck and filth.
What reminded me of Che’s book, was this description of how how Satnam discovers a heap of ‘something re- coloured’ over which the water flowed clearly.
I didn’t know whether it was magnet or iron ore but iron ore is found throughout Bastar. It is this very iron ore of Bastar on which the Japanese factories and its famous automobile industry thrive. One is infuriated by the role that these iron mines have played in the lives of the tribals. Every day, two goods trains full of iron extracted from the mines of Bailadilla head for the port of Vizag where it is loaded on to ships for Japan. The tribals, legitimate owners of this invaluable resource, have no idea about the many uses of iron and how it has been the base for modern civilization… the hellholes of exploitation and abuse are Japan’s contributions to the industrial development of the country.
There are observations too on how the guerrillas work with the tribals- how they have made medical care their highest priority, after the resistance against plunder and governmental repression. Pisiculture and even simple things that one takes for granted- like the use of vegetables and fruits that are rich in nutritional or medicinal properties, are unknown to the tribal people and educating them on their uses is a challenge for the Maoists.
The campaign for education- literacy as well as political education, too are described as a lived experience and not drab statistics. One of the most hilarious parts of the book is the one where the guerrillas organize a meeting to protest against the US invasion of Afghanistan and speaker after speaker fails in delivering a speech. Most of the speakers- all young women and men encouraged to speak in public- end up either giggling away or saying ‘Lal salaam’ and quickly exiting the stage. One of the speakers manages to speak longer:
“Adna got up from his place and jauntily walked up to the stage. looking around, he scratched his head and wondered whether anything remained to be said. He put his hands on his waist, looked into Raju’s eyes, and the words came to his lips. Looking into everyone’s heads, he stared into the darkness:‘America is the world’s number one enemy. Tomorrow all of you will come here with bows and arrows, axes and sickles.We will fight America.’ He uttered these three sentences in a single breath, spat on the ground and swung back as he had come.’
There are snippets, too, of the writer’s conversations with some of the guerrillas- young Gond men and women whose personal stories point to the fact that behind the tribal upsurge there are also as many stories of personal rebellions as there are guerrillas.
The book, a translation from Punjabi to English, makes for an effortless reading. It is written in a simple style, like a journal, and keeps the reader engaged with insightful observations that the writer makes about the life of the Maoist guerrillas and the tribals among whom they work. The descriptions are not exotic or scintillating as they might have been in the pen of a more youthful or excitable writer- indeed as they in Arundhati Roy’s somewhat flamboyant short travelogue, but have the quiet dignity of aging silver. In terms of time, Satnam’s 2001 rendezvous with the Maoists is older than that of Roy’s as well as Sudeep Chakravarti’s Red Sun, Travels in Naxalite Country (2008).
This is not to say that the book is without its flaws- it is marked by repetition, particularly that of a political rhetoric that might reassure the converted but is a bit of a nuisance for others. It is clear that the writer is sympathetic to the Maoist guerrillas as he makes it a point to reiterate it every few pages. Other than that, it is an insightful book on what the Indian Prime Minister considers to be “India’s gravest internal threat”. Reading the book, one realizes that it might be the other way round- and that it is Indian government which is the gravest threat for the tribals of eastern India.
Source :
http://readerswords.wordpress.com/2011/02/18/jangalnama-travels-in-a-maoist-guerrilla-zone-a-review/
Anonymous denies hacking Indian Government Websites
Hackers claiming to be from the infamous hackers group Anonymous recently hacked Indian government website to express solidarity with the anti-graft movement in the country. It's hard to understand how hacking the government websites will help the cause.
Now, after having seen a spate of attacks on Indian websites, and promises for more, India seems to be a big target on the hit-list of hackers of global noteriety. Though none of the hacks have so far proved to be too damaging, concerns on level of Internet security in the country have grown sharply.
The 'Anonymous' hackers group also hacked the Indian Army website but quickly retracted after a lot of outraged Indians flooded the Facebook and Twitter pages of Operation India with angry questions on the motive of the step. Soon after the event, the Facebook and Twitter pages for Anonymous India were removed – a move that took everyone by surprise. It is also not clear whether the move was taken by the hackers group or the social networking sites were too involved into it.
Things became more confusing after a message posted on PasteBin said that it was not Anonymous that hacked the government sites but someone else misusing its name.
Here's excerpt of the message:
“It has come to our notice that some of the Indian hackers and there groups are taking the undue advantage of the situation and the name and platform of Anonymous”
“You targeted organizations and other Indian Government properties to settle your own issues and you used the name Anonymous for personal benefits. By doing all this activities, you have not only hampered the image of Anonymous but you all are responsible for the damage caused to #OpIndia.”
http://www.thinkdigit.com/Internet/Anonymous-clears-its-name-in-Indian-Army_6966.html
CPI Maoist Politburo member Jagdish Yadav alias Jagdish Master arrested
The Bihar Police have arrested CPI (Maoist) politburo member Jagdish Yadav alias Jagdish Master, one of top five Naxal leaders and in-charge of entire armed operation and mass mobilisation in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Assam and Chhattisgarh.
According to the police, he was the one who had facilitated the merger of Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) and People’s War Group (PWG) into the present outfit. Yadav, 71, is resident of Kasma, Aurangabad and at least Rs 14 lakh reward had been announced on his head in different states, said officers. Yadav, never arrested ever since he joined Naxal movement in 1968, published and edited ultra’s firebrand magazine, Chingari.
This is the second big catch of top Naxal leaders in less than two months in Bihar. In April-end, three central committee members were arrested from Barsoi, Katihar.
Yadav, who also used many aliases like Akhileshji, Prabhatji and Rupeshji, was arrested at Guraru, Gaya. He was arrested when he visited a Ayurveda practitioner friend Lalji Yadav. Though the police made the arrest two days ago, it confirmed the arrest only after verifying Yadav’s photographs with Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand police. Yadav’s friend was also arrested.
Bihar Director General of Police Neelmani told The Indian Express: “This is by far the biggest Naxal catch as Jagdish Master was one of top eight politburo members of the outlawed group. Yadav, a politburo member since 2004, has been behind several major Naxal attacks across the country.” After arrest of Kobad Ghandy, Yadav played big role in strategy formulation of the CPI (Maoists), said the DGP.
Neelmani said Yadav, who had been central committee member from 1996 to 2004, had cases in Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Magadh Range Deputy Inspector General of Police Umesh Kumar added though the accused claimed he had been living at the house of his Ayurveda practitioner friend for the past one week, the police had information of his stay at Gurau for one and a half month. “We cracked down only after being sure of Yadav’s identity,” said the DIG.
Indian Express : http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Wanted-in-6-states--top-Maoist-nabbed/803400/
According to the police, he was the one who had facilitated the merger of Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) and People’s War Group (PWG) into the present outfit. Yadav, 71, is resident of Kasma, Aurangabad and at least Rs 14 lakh reward had been announced on his head in different states, said officers. Yadav, never arrested ever since he joined Naxal movement in 1968, published and edited ultra’s firebrand magazine, Chingari.
This is the second big catch of top Naxal leaders in less than two months in Bihar. In April-end, three central committee members were arrested from Barsoi, Katihar.
Yadav, who also used many aliases like Akhileshji, Prabhatji and Rupeshji, was arrested at Guraru, Gaya. He was arrested when he visited a Ayurveda practitioner friend Lalji Yadav. Though the police made the arrest two days ago, it confirmed the arrest only after verifying Yadav’s photographs with Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand police. Yadav’s friend was also arrested.
Bihar Director General of Police Neelmani told The Indian Express: “This is by far the biggest Naxal catch as Jagdish Master was one of top eight politburo members of the outlawed group. Yadav, a politburo member since 2004, has been behind several major Naxal attacks across the country.” After arrest of Kobad Ghandy, Yadav played big role in strategy formulation of the CPI (Maoists), said the DGP.
Neelmani said Yadav, who had been central committee member from 1996 to 2004, had cases in Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Magadh Range Deputy Inspector General of Police Umesh Kumar added though the accused claimed he had been living at the house of his Ayurveda practitioner friend for the past one week, the police had information of his stay at Gurau for one and a half month. “We cracked down only after being sure of Yadav’s identity,” said the DIG.
Indian Express : http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Wanted-in-6-states--top-Maoist-nabbed/803400/
Friday, June 10, 2011
List of Social Workers and Political Activists arrested killed online
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. - Charles Darwin
The above quote made by Charles Darwin in the context of the evolution of biological species can be applied to the political animal too. The maoists/naxalites which are one among the many political species that originate in the sub-continent have over the past few years made some efforts to adapt to changes that are taking place in India.
One major change that has taken place in India over the last decade, is the growth in telecom infrastructure which in turn has increased the spread and decreased the cost of acquiring Internet connectivity. Internet penetration in India is estimated to be at 8.5% of the population as of 2010, this translates into approximately 100 million people who currently have access to the Internet. Only a small percentage of this 100 million are regular users , which is still significant.
One major change that has taken place in India over the last decade, is the growth in telecom infrastructure which in turn has increased the spread and decreased the cost of acquiring Internet connectivity. Internet penetration in India is estimated to be at 8.5% of the population as of 2010, this translates into approximately 100 million people who currently have access to the Internet. Only a small percentage of this 100 million are regular users , which is still significant.
Publishing and disseminating information through the Internet can be considered as one of the important initiatives that they have taken in recent times.One can also speculate that they are using the internet for their internal communication and research also.
The benefits of using the Internet for communication however has come at a heavy price.The murders and arrests of social workers and political activists who have been tracked electronically either through the Internet / Mobile or by the use of other surveillance technology.
In fact more than two years ago, the CPI (Maoist) had constituted a two member ‘ Investigation Commission ' with two central committee members - Kobad Ghandy and Patel Sudhakar Reddy, to zero in on the reasons for the arrests and killings of top Maoist leaders. But before they could complete the investigation - Kobad Ghandy was arrested in May 2009 and Patel Sudhakar Reddy was killed in a fake encounter in Sep 2009.
As this article which appeared in the Hindu last month reveals :
This has led to speculation that either there is mole in the higher ranks of the CPI(Maoist) who is passing on this information or it could be the result of increased surveillance which the CPI(Maoist) is unable to detect or bypass.
Over the last few years, many such cases have been reported in the media.
Given below is a brief list I have compiled of such cases which have been reported in the Media. PUCL and other civil liberties organisations should investigate if these individuals were tracked online and initiate suitable actions to protect the democratic rights of Indian Citizens.
The list below is indicative and not comprehensive as there are some other reports that I couldn't find.
List of Social Workers and Political Activists arrested killed through the Internet
Arrested : April 2011
Three CPI(Maoist) CC member Varanasi Subramanium, Vijay Kumar and Jhantu Mukherjee
As mentioned before Varanasi Subrmanium got two chances in July 2010 and August 2010 but was still tracked down and arrested in April 2011.
One can speculate that it was Varanasi who was the weak link and led the IB to the other two CC members. As per media reports Varanasi Subramanium is believed to have been managing International Relations after the arrest of Kobad Gandhy.
Arrested : October 2010
Cecelia Guriya, Alleged Courier and girlfriend of Maoist leader Kundan Pahan.
As per the news report which appeared in the Telegraph
Arrested : August 2010
CPI (Maoist) leader Rajesh Kumar Sinha alias Udaiji
This article which appeared in the Times of India shortly after his arrest reveals that : -
Killed : July 2010
CPI(Maoist) Politburo member Azad and Journalist Hemachandra Pandey killed in fake encounter
Azad's interactions with the media had increased manifold over the past few years.Until some years ago there would be an interview probably once every 2-3 years and about 5-10 press releases annually. But with the intensification of People's war over the last few years, the amount of press material attributed to Azad saw a huge leap. This would have meant greater interactions with the media and taking much greater risks.
As per this news article published in India Today weeks after both of them were killed in fake encounters:
Moreover they were interacting with a highly exposed Swami Agnivesh who also must have ultimately unknowingly played a role in their deaths.
The benefits of using the Internet for communication however has come at a heavy price.The murders and arrests of social workers and political activists who have been tracked electronically either through the Internet / Mobile or by the use of other surveillance technology.
In fact more than two years ago, the CPI (Maoist) had constituted a two member ‘ Investigation Commission ' with two central committee members - Kobad Ghandy and Patel Sudhakar Reddy, to zero in on the reasons for the arrests and killings of top Maoist leaders. But before they could complete the investigation - Kobad Ghandy was arrested in May 2009 and Patel Sudhakar Reddy was killed in a fake encounter in Sep 2009.
As this article which appeared in the Hindu last month reveals :
Maoist party ordered top leaders not to attend February meeting
In a curious development, the Maoist party is said to have ordered six of its central committee members to stay away from a top-level meeting that was convened on the borders of Orissa and Jharkhand in February.
The central committee meeting, called to take stock of the revolutionary movement in the country, was attended by the other 18 members. Among the six leaders ordered not to attend were Akkiraju Haragopal alias Ramakrishna, Varanasi Subrahmanyam, Pulendu Sekhar Mukherji, Misir Besra, Malla Raji Reddy and another unidentified person, intelligence agencies say.
The Maoist leadership suspected that these six were under intense surveillance from intelligence agencies, and that their attending the meeting could jeopardise the security of the other central committee members.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2038216.eceThe arrest of CC member Varanasi Subramanium on April 29th, 2011 is another shocker because it proves that senior Maoist leaders are unable to shake off their pursuers. Before he was arrested on April 29th 2011 , he had two close scares in Delhi during his interactions with Swami Agnivesh (Peace talks mediator) in the months of July 2010 and August 2010. This means it took the IB only 10 months to get back on his trail and arrest him ?
This has led to speculation that either there is mole in the higher ranks of the CPI(Maoist) who is passing on this information or it could be the result of increased surveillance which the CPI(Maoist) is unable to detect or bypass.
Over the last few years, many such cases have been reported in the media.
The list below is indicative and not comprehensive as there are some other reports that I couldn't find.
List of Social Workers and Political Activists arrested killed through the Internet
Arrested : April 2011
Three CPI(Maoist) CC member Varanasi Subramanium, Vijay Kumar and Jhantu Mukherjee
As mentioned before Varanasi Subrmanium got two chances in July 2010 and August 2010 but was still tracked down and arrested in April 2011.
One can speculate that it was Varanasi who was the weak link and led the IB to the other two CC members. As per media reports Varanasi Subramanium is believed to have been managing International Relations after the arrest of Kobad Gandhy.
Arrested : October 2010
Cecelia Guriya, Alleged Courier and girlfriend of Maoist leader Kundan Pahan.
As per the news report which appeared in the Telegraph
Pahan girlfriend held
Cecelia, who is also known as Rupa and Monica Dang, was arrested with a letter from CPI(Maoist) politburo member Amitabh Bagchi.
She trained at Saranda and then worked with Maoist sub-zonal commander Prasadji in Rania. When Pahan met and fell in love with her, she was sent to work in Bundu-Tamar in January. He then sent her for computer training at an institute in Khunti to make her a member of the Maoists’ technical cell,”
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101028/jsp/frontpage/story_13109801.jsp
Arrested : August 2010
CPI (Maoist) leader Rajesh Kumar Sinha alias Udaiji
This article which appeared in the Times of India shortly after his arrest reveals that : -
Captured Maoist sings, says he has girlfriend in UK
Udaiji's interrogators are now quizzing him on whether or not he secured funds from the UK for the Maoist movement. "We are also scanning his email accounts, blogs and chat history as well as bank accounts to cross-check his confessions," another police officer said.
He gave police the slip several times even though he extensively moved in the three states, said a cop who was tracking him for the last two years.( Tracking him online or offline? )
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-08-07/ranchi/28282815_1_jharkhand-cops-maoist-movement-rebel-leader
Killed : July 2010
CPI(Maoist) Politburo member Azad and Journalist Hemachandra Pandey killed in fake encounter
Azad's interactions with the media had increased manifold over the past few years.Until some years ago there would be an interview probably once every 2-3 years and about 5-10 press releases annually. But with the intensification of People's war over the last few years, the amount of press material attributed to Azad saw a huge leap. This would have meant greater interactions with the media and taking much greater risks.
As per this news article published in India Today weeks after both of them were killed in fake encounters:
AP Cops raid dead Journalists house
A five-member team of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Andhra Pradesh police raided Pandey's rented house in A-96 Shastri Nagar,Delhi where Hemachandra Pandey and his wife Babita had been staying since February 7.
The police have seized about 1,000 books, a computer, a laptop, a scanner, a fax machine and four letters addressed to top leaders of the Maoists.
http://naxalrevolution.blogspot.com/2010/11/ap-cops-raid-dead-journalists-flat.htmlOne can speculate that the police got to Azad through Hemachandra Pandey who could have been the compromised link. It is also unlikely that Azad himself accessed the Internet directly and mostly relied on some courier for his information needs who could have also have been the weak link.
Moreover they were interacting with a highly exposed Swami Agnivesh who also must have ultimately unknowingly played a role in their deaths.
Arrested June : 2010
Nanda Kumar , CPI Maoist Karnataka State Secretary was arrested first and then a week later Chandrasekhar Gorebale, another member of the CPI Maoist Karnataka State Committee was arrested.
One of them used to issue press releases on behalf of the CPI(Maoist) Karnataka State Committee.. I am not sure who but as per media reports I think it was Chandrasekhar Gorebale who used to use the alias of Gangadhar. He had been issuing press releases and managing media relations for the Karnataka SC since many years.It was only a week ago that the Karnataka police arrested the Karnataka secretary of the Maoist party, Nanda Kumar in a raid in Shimoga district. This is the second successive blow to the Maoist movement in Karnataka in the recent times.http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/02/stories/2010060259930100.htm
http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/14/stories/2010061459190100.htm
You can find an archive of press releases issued by him at http://ajadhindkannada.wordpress.com.
Arrested : September 2009
CPI(Maoist) Politburo member Kobad Gandhy
Kobad Gandhy was arrested in Delhi in September 2009. He is alive in jail today because he did not fulfill the criteria that the AP SIB/SIT have for bumping off Maoists in fake encounters. As per news reports that were published after his arrest. Two contradicting claims were made.
An article which appeared in the Hindustan Times claimed :
E-trail led to Kobad capture
One of the factors that led to Maoist Politburo member Kobad Ghandy’s arrest was his carelessness in concealing his tracks while using the Internet, police sources reveal. Police sources said it was the seizure of a laptop the Maoist left behind during a police raid in Jharkhand that set them on Ghandy’s trail.
Ghandy had authored a document soon after the Lok Sabha elections called ‘Post-election situation: Our tasks’ that was found on this laptop.Thereafter, cyber crime detectives tracked various IP addresses through which the document was circulated, which in turn led to people whose questioning led them to Ghandy.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/E-trail-led-to-Kobad-capture/Article1-457733.aspx
The CPI(Maoist) confirmed this soon and blamed a courier of having betrayed Kobad. It was however not revealed how the police got to the courier. The article appeared in Zee News
'Weak element' betrayed Kobad Gandhy, claim Maoists
"The arrest of Gandhy is being touted as a big success of intelligence officials while it was actually a result of the betrayal by a weak element in the party who was acting as his courier," CPI (Maoist) spokesperson Azad said.
The "courier" led the Andhra Pradesh Police and intelligence wing in Delhi to the rendezvous spot of Gandhy in Bhikaji Cama Place, he claimed in a statement. However, the party did not identify the "betrayer".
The Maoists are of the view that the arrest of Gandhy, who played a "crucial role" in bringing out party publications in English, was a "great loss" to the party
http://zeenews.india.com/news567132.htmlHowever another contradictory article which appeared in Zee News at the same time claimed
Pen drive new tool for Maoists to hoodwink police?
The laptop of Ghandy, which was seized from him by Delhi Police's Special Cell after his arrest on September 21, did not have a hard drive and investigators were left high and dry as it did not reveal much about the plans of the outlawed CPI (Maoist).
"Ghandy's laptop did not have a hard drive. Maoists are using laptops without hard drives. Hard drives are loaded in pen drives. Once the laptop is used, they take out the pen drive," a senior police official said.
http://zeenews.india.com/news569147.htmlIf Kobad Gandhy's actual laptop did not have a hard drive then whose laptop was it that was seized in Jharkhand and how did it lead to the arrest of Kobad Gandhy ?
Killed : May 2009
Tech Savy Patel Sudhakar Reddy, MI and CC member killed in fake encounter
An article that appeared after his death the Hindu
Huge setback to Maoist movement
Reddy, known as Vikas, was taken into the CC as a representative of Maharashtra in 2007. Known to be tech-savvy, Sudhakar Reddy set up the MI unit and was also instrumental in getting international exposure to the Maoist movement using internet extensively.
The naxalite leader was arrested in April 1992 in Bangalore where he had set up an extensive gun running network. Police who seized nearly 250 double barrel guns from his den were surprised to find that he was using a fax machine, a new tool in those days.When the erstwhile People’s War (PW) announced a unilateral ceasefire through a group of newsmen in 2002, it was Patel Sudhakar Reddy who showed documentaries to visiting newsmen on spread of naxalite movement on his brand new laptop, deep inside the Nallamala forests.Reddy, officials admit, was an extremely intelligent man.
After his prolonged interrogation spells with intelligence officers, he wrote to his party from jail underlining the need to set up an intelligence unit in the party on the lines of police.The MI unit members, under his guidance, not only used open source intelligence to build a database of their targets, but also helped Maoist party to devise strategies in response to the counter strategies of police.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/25/stories/2009052554140400.htmIf Patel Sudhar Reddy is intercepted and killed in a fake encounter, it should ring alarm bells in any activist's mind, he was the most tech savy among them all.
Killed : April 2008
Maoist leaders Gajerala Saraiah and Aruna killed in fake encounter
An article which appeared in the Hindu claims :
Slain naxal couple lived in village near Belgaum
Maoist and most-wanted naxalite Gajerala Saraiah (44) alias Azad alias Bhaskar and his wife and member of the Maoist party, B. Aruna alias Rama, who were reportedly killed in an encounter near Rampur forest area in Eturunagaram mandal limits in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh on April 2, had spent nine to 10 months in a sleepy village near Belgaum, Karnataka.
When contacted, the owner of the house, Ashok Hadimani, said he was not aware about the true identities of his tenants and was surprised to know that they were naxalites. He said “Vinay” had presented himself as a computer worker and engaged in desktop publishing and hailed from Chintyal village in Andhra Pradesh.
http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/11/stories/2008041153650700.htm target="_blank"
Arrested : June 2007
Alleged CPI Maoist operative Arun Ferreira
Studying Networks- Naxalites eyeing Dabbawallahs
The pen drive seized from alleged Naxalite Arun Ferreira contained information about the operational details of the city’s dabbawalas, top officials of the anti-Naxalite unit of Maharashtra Police told DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_ultra-left-eyeing-the-dabbawalas_1101786
Killed : June 2007
CPI Maoist Karnataka State Secretary Sende Rajmouli killed in fake encounter
As per a news article that had appeared in the now defunct newindpress.com website
Rajamouli’s body handed over to kin
Monday June 25 2007 12:23 IST
ANANTAPUR: Dharmavaram police handed over the body of Sande Rajamouli, one of the topmost Naxalite leader, to his relatives.
DSP Sivaiah spoke to them and handed over the body to them. Mouli’s relatives alleged that he was killed in a fake encounter and demanded an inquiry.
It is learnt that the CDs seized from near the body of the slain Naxalite contained important information. The information included the letter written by Mouli’s wife Rajita to Maoist politburo member Lakshman and e-mail IDs and websites of Maoist leaders in the world.
They also had information about various militant outfits in Nepal, their addresses, e-mail IDs.
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEA20070625020200&Page=A&Title=Southern+News+-+Andhra+Pradesh&Topic=0One can speculate that a courier who provided this CD was the one who led the police to Rajmouli. The courier probably practiced insecure internet browsing and was most likely traced during one of his online sessions.
What is common among all those listed above ?
1. Most of the social workers and political activists who have been killed / arrested above seem to possess laptops, usb's and other electronic devices, which indicates that they could have been active on the Internet.
2. Most of them are directly or indirectly involved in publication, managing media communication or international relations.
3. Only in the case of Kobad Gandhy, both the CPI(Maoist) and IB have confirmed that he was traced through through his tracks left behind by his courier on the Interent. There is little or no information available about the others as to how they were all intercepted, arrested and killed .
Recommendations
1. If you don't understand the Internets , stay away from the Internets.
2. Outsource Publication/ Media relations to an external body present in a neutral country. Existing international linkages like the ILPS could be used. Being officially present in another country has numerous advantages, gives very high visibility, plenty of sympathetic PIO's NRI's, is more secure and far easier to communicate and co-ordinate with media. Ideally Azad or Kobad should have been present in an external country in a role similar to that taken up by Prof Jose Maria Sison who is based in the Netherlands.
3.International communists have various advantages in these areas which social workers in India lack. Who knows what could be done ?
4. If the search engine data is any indication it is high time they set up their own platform online rather than depend on third parties whose intentions are not always clear.
5. All information given in this post has been collated from media reports available online.
Last but not the least please read our Disclaimer.
2. Most of them are directly or indirectly involved in publication, managing media communication or international relations.
3. Only in the case of Kobad Gandhy, both the CPI(Maoist) and IB have confirmed that he was traced through through his tracks left behind by his courier on the Interent. There is little or no information available about the others as to how they were all intercepted, arrested and killed .
Recommendations
1. If you don't understand the Internets , stay away from the Internets.
2. Outsource Publication/ Media relations to an external body present in a neutral country. Existing international linkages like the ILPS could be used. Being officially present in another country has numerous advantages, gives very high visibility, plenty of sympathetic PIO's NRI's, is more secure and far easier to communicate and co-ordinate with media. Ideally Azad or Kobad should have been present in an external country in a role similar to that taken up by Prof Jose Maria Sison who is based in the Netherlands.
3.International communists have various advantages in these areas which social workers in India lack. Who knows what could be done ?
4. If the search engine data is any indication it is high time they set up their own platform online rather than depend on third parties whose intentions are not always clear.
5. All information given in this post has been collated from media reports available online.
Last but not the least please read our Disclaimer.
Blog Hibernation and other updates
Today I made some more updates to Saketh Rajan Internet Memorial
I added a Kannada article and posted Gauri Lankesh's article on Saketh Rajan. Also added photos of the protest after the funeral of Saketh Rajan.
New Mp3's were added to audio section - A total of 29 songs are now available for download - Revolutionary Songs and Mp3's from India .
The Humour Category on Naxalite Maoist India was updated with images found on the Internet - Cartoons Naxalite Maoist
The sidebar of the blog was re-organised and a link to revleft forum was added.
Personal Updates :
I had restarted this blog after a gap of more than a year on June 9th, 2010. Yesterday was it's 5th Anniversary and updates will be discontinued for some time now because of various reasons.. Should the need or occasion arise, regular posting will be restarted.
Not that many of you would be interested in knowing what I am currently doing, but for those who know me, have met me and been in touch with me, I finally completed my Masters's Course the same one which I was studying with a CRPF IB official. I am now enrolled in a part time M.Phil course and there is also a full time job to balance.
It should take me the next 2-3 years to complete it. In light of new knowledge that is being acquired, I hope to make suitable course corrections and take decisions reflecting new understandings.
I added a Kannada article and posted Gauri Lankesh's article on Saketh Rajan. Also added photos of the protest after the funeral of Saketh Rajan.
New Mp3's were added to audio section - A total of 29 songs are now available for download - Revolutionary Songs and Mp3's from India .
The Humour Category on Naxalite Maoist India was updated with images found on the Internet - Cartoons Naxalite Maoist
The sidebar of the blog was re-organised and a link to revleft forum was added.
Personal Updates :
I had restarted this blog after a gap of more than a year on June 9th, 2010. Yesterday was it's 5th Anniversary and updates will be discontinued for some time now because of various reasons.. Should the need or occasion arise, regular posting will be restarted.
Not that many of you would be interested in knowing what I am currently doing, but for those who know me, have met me and been in touch with me, I finally completed my Masters's Course the same one which I was studying with a CRPF IB official. I am now enrolled in a part time M.Phil course and there is also a full time job to balance.
It should take me the next 2-3 years to complete it. In light of new knowledge that is being acquired, I hope to make suitable course corrections and take decisions reflecting new understandings.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)