Indian state cracks down on leftists

The People's War Group are linked to the Naxalites

By Sampath Kumar BBC reporter in Madras

Police in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu are determined to stamp out a group of ultra-leftist rebels.

They have spent their sixth day scouring the Uthangarai forest area of Dharmapuri district, 300 kilometres (200 miles) from Madras, for escaped members of a Naxalite group.

Naxalites believe in violence as the means of achieving equality and social justice.

The movement started in West Bengal and is active in the neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh, Madya Pradesh and Bihar.

Gunbattles

Police have already caught 27 members of the group including four women.

The authorities say Naxalite activity should be stopped

The leader of the gang was also shot dead after a gunbattle.

Far-left groups were active in these areas in the early 1980s, indulging in violent acts, killing people they regarded as feudal lords and rich money-lenders in the poor areas of the district.

Naxalite leaders like Charu Mazumdar from West Bengal visited there to inspire young men into the movement.

But they were soon crushed by the police and many of them were killed.

Tamil inspiration

Some members of the group who surrendered were rehabilitated by the police.

Later, radicalism took a different form in Tamil Nadu as Tamil nationalism drew inspiration from V Prabhakaran, the leader of the Sri Lankan militant group, the Tamil Tigers.

One Naxalite group in the state is the Tamil Liberation Army, which indulged in killings and acts of sabotage including the bombing of public places and railway tracks.

The leader of the group was stoned to death by villagers while attempting to rob a bank. Soon after, the group split into two factions and mostly became involved in extortion.

When film-star Rajkumar was abducted a couple of years ago by the bandit Veerappan, the emissaries who went to negotiate his freedom said he was in the company of Tamil nationalists.

War Group links

Last year Maaran - the leader of the Tamil nationalist group accused of masterminding the abduction - was arrested.

Documents and literature establishing the group's links with the People's War Group (now renamed People's War) were said to have been recovered.

The group's strength is estimated to be around 300.

Police are keen to crush it at this stage before the movement becomes as problematic as the People's War Group.