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India, US planned to attack China through Nepal: PrachandaEconomic Times - 3 hours ago 6 Aug 2009, 1307 hrs IST, PTI KATHMANDU: Maoist chief Prachanda has made a sensational charge that India and the US had planned to launch anti-China ... Freed US scribes return home with Clinton Chandigarh Tribune 2 more killed by Maoists in LalgarhHindu - - 13 hours ago ... about 20 km from Lalgarh, was a Communist Party of India (Marxist) supporter. A group of around 70 Maoists, including women, barged into Mr. Adhikary's ... Two killed by suspected Maoists in West Bengal Thaindian.com Bhutan to step up vigil at its border with IndiaTimes of India - 6 hours ago "We've also received information that Maoist groups like MLM, BTF and RYOB are receiving trainings from ULFA and Bodo militants in batches," Namgyal was ... Trinamool brands Yechury as 'India's no 1 Maoist'Indian Express - Jul 31, 2009 "Sitaram Yechury is the man who supports the Maoists and keep going to Nepal. He should be considered as the number one Maoist in India," TC chief whip in ... Trinamool activists shot at in West Bengal Gaea Times Gyanendra to head for India againTimes of India - Aug 4, 2009 The only monarchist party in parliament, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal, is braving Maoist attacks to carry on with a dogged campaign asking for a ... Last Nepal king plans further India visit Thaindian.com Indian arms for Nepal againCalcutta Telegraph - - Jul 22, 2009 India and Nepal have a special Arms Assistance Treaty that the Maoists oppose. India frowns on Nepal's efforts to procure arms from third countries. India promises to resume arms supplies to Nepal Times of India Military, monsoons and MaoistsDAWN.com - - 8 hours ago Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that the Maoists pose the most serious threat to India's security. In order not to be ignored, he said this a few ... Maoists threaten 'decisive fight' to install party-led govtSamayLive - - Aug 5, 2009 Though they did not name any power, but the indication is clear as the Maoists were accusing India of being behind the dissolution of the government led by ... Prachanda slams India, Lanka for anti-terror ops Press Trust of India New Nepal PM to visit India on Aug 18 Economic Times No decision on arms purchase from India: Nepal Prime MinisterHindu - - Jul 28, 2009 "There has been no decision from the government's side to purchase weapons from India," Mr. Nepal said. The Maoists on Sunday obstructed the proceedings. ... No decision on arms deal with India: PM Nepal Press Trust of India Maoists plan to take 'guerrilla war' to new areasTimes of India - - Aug 2, 2009 Addressing their sympathisers and trying to motivate cadres, the politburo also pointed to various movements outside India. It referred to Iraq and ... Plan for September strike on Maoists Calcutta Telegraph Cracks in India Maoist insurgency spreads Pakistan Daily Maoists ready with counter-strategies Daily News & Analysis |
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Maoists surge, State dithers
It's abysmal lack of development and injustice which have provided the Maoists a fertile ground to spread. But the State seems clueless
Rakhi Chakrabarty Delhi
The operation of the joint forces at Lalgarh in West Bengal to flush out the Maoists was hailed by the media. It was the first well-coordinated joint operation by central and state forces.
The success of this operation will determine if this will be tried out in other states reeling under Maoist violence. Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Orissa account for 80 per cent of the violence caused by the Maoists. There are plans to launch joint operations in all states affected by the Maoist problem in October. A big hurdle is the paucity of security forces.
Political leaders and senior police officers in the know admit that the joint operation in Lalgarh happened at the "instigation" of Union home minister, P Chidambaram. "The HM called up Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and proposed a joint action in Lalgarh. The Bengal CM immediately gave his nod, even before he consulted his cabinet colleagues or his party," a senior MHA official told Hardnews.
There has been a paradigm shift of sorts in the MHA ever since Chidambaram took over. Earlier, at the conference of DGPs and IGPs, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had mentioned Left-wing extremism as the biggest threat facing the country. But, the MHA never accorded it the priority it deserved. The entire focus was on 'Islamic fundamentalists' and terrorism perpetrated by them even though the Maoists have spread their influence in 13 states. In 2007, 361 police stations in these states were afflicted by Maoist violence. Besides, there are other states where the Maoists are gaining a toehold.
Repeated Maoist attacks, large-scale killings of security forces and armoury loots didn't change the Centre's emphasis. The Naxal management division at MHA was slack. And, the Maoists seized on the government's lax attitude and turned it to their advantage - they expanded the Red corridor, their area of influence.
Chidambaram has changed priorities in internal security. "The HM lays great stress on Left-wing extremism. He has rejigged the Naxal division and keeps them on their toes," said the MHA official.
But, did the Lalgarh operation achieve the objective it had set out for? Not yet, admit those in charge of the joint operation - state police force and the central paramilitary including CRPF and BSF - in Bengal. The forces did not face the retaliation they had expected by the Maoists. However, they had to negotiate a terrain which had been mined by the Maoists. During the joint operation at Lalgarh, there were IED and landmine blasts at several places.
Since November last year, Lalgarh was cut off from the rest of the state. After a landmine blast targeting Bhattacharjee's convoy at Salboni in West Midnapore on November 2, 2008, police conducted nasty raids in adjoining villages, beat up, arrested and harassed locals including tribal women. Bhattacharjee later apologised for the harassment by the police.
But, it didn't help. The police harassment and arrest of seven tribal youths including three teenagers for their alleged involvement in the blast triggered off widespread protests led by the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCPA). For the next eight months, Lalgarh was practically cut off from the rest of the state. It was kept out of bounds from any form of state administration. The police were not allowed to enter.
The state government let the problem fester. Also, with the Lok Sabha elections around, the government chose the path of inaction. When PCPA members held a large rally in Kolkata and blocked the roads for four hours, the administration did not act.
In June this year, the joint operation was launched with two primary aims: one, to bring back governance to Lalgarh, which had virtually become a "liberated zone"; two, to flush out Maoists who had consolidated their base in Lalgarh.
For the Maoists, it's a protracted battle. They always plan long-term. They are not in a hurry. Their strength does not lie in numbers. True to the ethos of guerrilla warfare, the virulence of their attacks with its surprise element makes them a lethal force.
At the 2007 party congress, the CPI (Maoists) had decided to form a full-fledged mobile army in addition to its guerrilla squad. It was proposed that the cadres for this army would be drawn from the existing action squads in various states and given a higher level of training in sophisticated arms. The Maoists decided to go for expansion through mass mobilisation to upgrade their military activities.
Maoists feed on crisis or grievances of the people to strengthen themselves. They harvest the grievances first through front organisations. Eventually, the Maoists infiltrate the area to foment mass discontent and proceed towards militant mobilisation and recruitment.
The tried and tested Maoist strategy was manifest in Lalgarh, too. During the eight-month blockade in Lalgarh, the Maoists recruited men and women, primarily for their auxiliary force, said sources.
According to a senior Congress leader in West Midnapore, the joint operation actually helped the Maoists. "Both the Centre and state governments are bereft of a proper understanding of how Maoists strategise. So, they almost played into the hands of the Maoists by launching this joint operation," he said.
Locals in the Maoist-affected West Midnapore and the adjoining Bankura district liken the joint operation to a hula party (beaters in hunting parlance). When elephants rampage through fields and villages, hula party members beat drums and wave burning torches to drive the tuskers from one village or forest to the next. "The joint forces have worked like the hula party and driven the Maoists out of Lalgarh into neighbouring districts and Jharkhand," said locals of Jhargram.
Also, cordon-and-search operations by the joint forces in villages are proving to be counter-productive. Men, especially, the young, have fled their homes in fear of the police. Their relatives are refusing to give them shelter for the same reason. "So, they are seeking refuge in the jungles where the Maoists are offering them food, a place where the police can't touch them, and gradually wooing these hapless villagers to their fold," said local sources.
Maoists are aware of their strength and vulnerability. Given their current capability, they know they cannot hold a "liberated zone" and fight the State forces. But, confrontations between the State, its police and the people (as in Lalgarh) create situations which Maoists use to identify their potential recruits for their military and front organisations. This helps in political mobilisation and spread their influence. Like Mao said, "The guerrilla must move amongst the people as a fish swims in the sea."
That's why the security forces did not face any strong retaliation from the Maoists when they finally entered Lalgarh. The attacks followed later through killings of at least seven CPM men, attributed to the Maoists by the state government. Senior officers fear that more lethal attacks will follow once the central forces leave.
Since there is a vacuum in governance in these poverty-stricken areas replete with daily injustice, the Maoists are moving in and spreading their roots. Police action backed by strong intelligence inputs is the first step. The joint security action in Lalgarh was not backed by actionable intelligence. MHA suspects that intelligence available to the police may have been biased as several informers could have belonged to CPM in West Bengal. In Chhattisgarh, operations against Maoists failed due to lack of coordination and intelligence between the state and the Centre, said a former director-general of the CRPF.
Speaking to Hardnews, a home ministry official admitted, "Each state has its own policy to fight Left-wing extremism. Then, there is the problem of jurisdiction and coordination between adjoining states through which the red corridor runs." Maoists strike in one state and cross over to the next and hide. Joint operation of all Maoist-affected states is still not a reality. "It's high time a national policy is formulated before it spins out of control. It can't be left to states alone to handle it," stress police officers.
Military action no solution to Maoist challenge: Binayak Sen
By Azera Rahman, New Delhi, July 25 : Medical doctor and civil rights activist Binayak Sen, who was arrested over two years back under unproven charges of links with Maoists in Chhattisgarh and freed on bail two months ago, Saturday spoke strongly against 'military confrontation to solve social problems'.
Sen was in the capital to attend his first public meeting with civil society activists after the Supreme Court granted him bail.
'The main reason why I am here today is to start a peace initiative in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and other Maoist-hit states, mainly with the civil society and give out the message that there should be delegitimisation of military confrontation to solve any social problem,' Sen told IANS on the sidelines of the meeting at the Indian Social Institute.
'Primarily we want the civil society and others to participate in this initiative and we will have a meeting in this regard Aug 4. There is no direct initiative to involve the government now although some of the members of our group, the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), are talking about inviting parliamentarians too,' added the 59-year-old activist.
Dressed in a blue kurta and carrying an olive green jhola, Sen was accompanied by his wife Ilina who has been his constant supporter through all civil liberty movements.
An activist who has contributed immensely in the field of public health and other social issues, Sen has been quite vociferous against 'human rights violations' by the state-sponsored militia, the Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh.
The hospital that he started for the benefit of the downtrodden in that state is still functioning, but 'has no doctors'.
The Chhattisgarh government booked Sen, the vice president of PUCL, under the stringent anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, for his alleged links with Maoists. He was arrested May 14, 2007 and accused of acting as a courier for an alleged Maoist leader lodged in jail.
After a campaign by the civil society and international bodies to free Sen from the 'illegal detention', he was granted bail May 25 this year.
He is quick to add: '178 people are still behind bars in Chhattisgarh under the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005. This was one of the charges I was arrested under. And there are others who are arrested under similar charges in other states.
'Therefore, although I am happy that I am out on bail after two years, this is not a complete win. My struggle against violence will continue.'
It was not before two months that Sen had his first public meet here.
'I was undergoing treatment because of my heart problem, therefore I could not meet anyone before,' said a clean-shaven Sen -- in contrast to his bearded look in photographs in the media during his imprisonment.
Asked what change has he seen in the world outside after spending two years in prison, Sen said: 'We are definitely much closer to deployment of military process now than earlier.'
Even as other members of the PUCL said that the military action to tackle the Maoists 'will be on soon', Sen said that if true than the amount of harm done will be unimaginable.
'We want to discourage any kind of military means or violent means to tackling any problem because a lot of ordinary people will be affected. There will be extensive displacement, the economy will be pulled down and it will all be a waste of time and effort.
'The effect will be far worse than the violations by the Salwa Judum,' he said.
On a lighter note, Sen said that after his two-year stay in the prison, he is also getting a 'celebrity status' that he has never had before -- one he wants to get rid of as soon as he can.
'After I came out of the prison gate, I was met with journalists wall-to-wall and cameras clicking me endlessly. It was a sight I had never seen before! I have lost my anonymity. In six to eight months I hope to get it back,' he smiled.
--- IANS
http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-80387.html
The centre is giving the final touches to the blueprint of a massive operation, to be launched against the Maoists in a few weeks.The option to use attack helicopters is being kept "open" but paramilitary troopers trained in jungle warfare and air force choppers for logistics support will be deployed. Sources say the operation would be the "most wide-spread" action against insurgents ever undertaken in the country.DNA reported on monday last.
US President Barack Obama's approval rating has slumped to 50 percent, the lowest since his inauguration, according to a poll released
Thursday on the eve of his 200th day in office.
Quinnipiac University said the president's job approval rating dipped to 50-versus-42 percent, a reflection of growing unease over Obama's handling of the economy, which sank into a devastating recession last year prompting his administration to unleash a deficit-stretching stimulus package, and health care which faces a critical overhaul in Congress.
The figure is a substantial drop from the 57-33 percent approval rating he had on July 2, and far less than the glowing numbers he enjoyed in the honeymoon first 100 days of his tenure.
The poll of 2,409 registered voters nationwide conducted July 27 to August 3 found they disapproved 49-45 percent of the way Obama was handling the economy, and disapproved 52-39 percent on his handling of health care, but approved 52-38 percent of his foreign policy.
But while Republicans disapproved of the Democratic president's job performance by an expectedly large margin of 77-16 percent, the poll found that Americans disapproved 59-29 percent of how Republicans in Congress were doing their job and that they trusted Obama over Republicans 47-36 percent to fix the economy and 46-37 percent to deal with health care.
"The president is right on the magic 50-percent threshold in public approval because of bad grades on the economy and even worse grades on health care," said Peter Brown, assistant director of Quinnipiac's Polling Institute.
"The good news... is that American voters still see him as better able to handle the economy and health care than Republicans in Congress," Brown said. "The bad news is his margins are shrinking."
On July 21 a USA Today/Gallup poll found Obama's approval rating was 55 percent six months into his presidency, one point lower than that of his predecessor George W. Bush at the same point in his tenure.
The Quinnipiac poll said 93 percent of respondents described the US economy as "not so good" or "poor," with just 28 percent saying it is improving, and 29 percent saying it is getting worse. Forty-one percent saw no change.
The survey also found that "by a 49-33 percent margin, voters think his policies will help the economy, but they believe, 36-33 percent, that Obama's policies will hurt their personal financial situation," Brown said.
Obama has pledged to overhaul the US health care system. He and most Democratic lawmakers want to introduce a public coverage option, while many Republican members of Congress and some conservative Democrats are against the idea.
On Tuesday a Harris Interactive online survey showed a majority of Americans are in favor, 52-30 percent, of having a government-run, health care option as proposed by Obama.
Taslima Nasreen, the controversial Bangladeshi writer, arrived in the national capital on Thursday for her visa extension, which is
ending on August 17.
According to official sources, she arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport from a European country and was immediately whisked off to an undisclosed location by security agencies.
According to sources, the papers for extending visa had been moved and the nod for the extension was likely to be given by the government soon.
The 46-year-old Bangladeshi writer has been requesting for permanent residentship in the country, but the government has not taken any decision on the issue.
On March 18, 2008, she had left India for Sweden after she was kept in an undisclosed location in New Delhi, effectively under house arrest, for more than seven months.
In February, she returned to India but was asked to leave immediately after visa was granted to her till August 17.
She has been a target of Islamic fundamentalists in India and in other parts of the world for her controversial writings, including books ''Lajja'' and ''Dvikhandita''.
She works to build support for secular humanism, freedom of thought, equality for women, and human rights by publishing, lecturing, and campaigning.
The controversial author in the recent past had also received full support from the writers community in India. They have said that she should be granted freedom of speech and security.
There were no victors in the Singur land acquisition stand-off, Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen has said, urging political parties to
"I think the debate has not been resolved. It it not a victory for anyone. It is an opportunity to regroup and find a way out so that this poor state benefits," Sen said while delivering the third Penguin Annual Lecture on "Justice and India" here Wednesday evening.
Sen said that in hindsight, it appeared that Tata Motors should have purchased outright the Singur land for their Nano factory. "It would have been less expensive for them than their losses due to Singur."
The economist said land acquisition by the government should be the last resort in such projects and not the first.
"We need industries in Bengal. We lost a great opportunity... It is very easy to agitate people on such issues," he said, in an oblique reference to the Trinamool Congress-led opposition in West Bengal.
"And if the opposition comes to power, it has to address the issue of poverty. They have to say how income can be generated," he added.
Maoist chief Prachanda has made a sensational charge that India and the US had planned to launch anti-China campaign, even a possible
attack on the Communist giant, using Nepalese territory.
"I had to quit the post of Prime Minister as my party was opposed to allow our territory to be used against China," Prachanda was quoted as saying by the Rajdhani daily.
"The US-India plan had to face challenge from our party and that triggered the conspiracy against my government," Prachanda, who quit following a rift with his coalition partners over the controversial decision to sack the army chief, said at a training programme of the Maoists here.
Prachanda had earlier blamed India for toppling his eight-month old government in May this year. The Maoist chief said he was quoting a senior Indian professor while making these statements but did not name the Indian scholar.
He alleged that reactionary and conspiratorial elements have been deceiving the Nepalese people by acting as agents of the foreign powers.
"But we will never bow down before any power for the establishment of peace and writing the constitution," he said.
Conspiracy is being hatched to sabotage against the writing of the constitution, he pointed out.
Prachanda's allegations came ahead of a month long protest programme by his party starting tomorrow with the aimed at maintaining "civilian supremacy" and forming a government of national consensus under Maoists' leadership.
Meanwhile Times of India reports:
Villagers lock up cops
MIDNAPORE: Villagers locked up an OC and three constables on Tuesday for refusing to accept a complaint from the father of a 20-year-old woman,
Jhargram SDPO Arnab Biswas rushed to Kalmapukuria village to rescue his colleagues and the villagers released the four only after officers gave a written undertaking that police would not let the culprits go scot-free. Sonali's husband Pravas Mahapatra and all the family members have fled.
Sources said the four-month pregnant Sonali had been missing since July 8. Her father claimed she had been killed for dowry. "We will start an inquiry and punish the accused if the complaints are proved true," said Biswas.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Villagers-lock-up-cops/articleshow/4858171.cms
DNA reported:
Centre plans biggest anti-Maoist operation ever
New Delhi: The centre is giving the final touches to the blueprint of a massive operation, to be launched against the Maoists in a few weeks.The option to use attack helicopters is being kept "open" but paramilitary troopers trained in jungle warfare and air force choppers for logistics support will be deployed. Sources say the operation would be the "most wide-spread" action against insurgents ever undertaken in the country.
The home ministry expects the operation to last years, but is keen to wrap it up before the UPA government ends its current term. The sources said attack helicopters would be used in the most desperate of situations and ideally the government does not want to deploy them. They said only once in independent India had the helicopters been used against insurgents, in Nagaland in the 1950s.
The ministry is in regular consultation with paramilitary, army and air force officers, the sources said. The Maoists are present in almost 200 districts and control sizeable chunks in Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar. The red rebels have also made incursions into West Bengal, where their movement had been kept under check by the ruling Left Front for about three decades. The central operation will not be state-wide in scope, but involve picking out strategic Maoist points withinstates to weaken the rebels and contain their movement.
Twenty paramilitary battalions, comprising over 20,000 troops, are to be trained in jungle warfare. A select team, drawn from the BSF and the CRPF, would be sent to the army's Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at Warangte, Mizoram, for training. The Warangte-trained personnel would be leading the operations in key Maoist enclaves such as the Orissa-Andhra Pradesh border. Also, a "special tactics wing" is being set up in the National Police Academy, Hyderabad, to provide leadership training to select troopers.
Military sources said the deployment pattern of the air force choppers -- to be used for the transfer of personnel and material -- would be worked out once the home ministry finalised the operational strategy.
The ministry is also speeding up the creation of units of the Cobra (Combat Battalion for Resolute Action; specialist anti-Maoist CRPF units). Two battalions are ready, six would be in place in two or three months and the targeted 10 would be ready by the yearend, the sources said. Simultaneously, the ministry has cleared the appointment of 6,666 special police officers in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh as part of efforts to beef up local police capabilities.
"The military action of Sri Lankan government against the armed group LTTE and Indian government's armed action against Indian Maoists in Lalgarh are deplorable acts," he said while addressing media persons here yesterday.
The Maoists' have also decided to strengthen their ties with all the Marxists, Leninist and Maoist parties of the world.
"It is our policy to support any movement launched by the Maoists anywhere in the world and we oppose suppression of such struggle by the government," Maoist central secretariat member Narayankaji Shrestha 'Prakash' told
Calling the Maoist attack on the police 'unfortunate', Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Monday said that it is time to make the right strategies and take decisive action against the Maoists.
"It is an unfortunate incident for all of us. These incidents only show the cowardly nature of the Maoists. Our fight with the Maoists has been going on. There have been numerous losses as well, but it is not the time for us to lose our determination. It is the time to take decisive action against the Maoists," he said.
The Congress Party has demanded that President's rule be imposed in the state, but Raman Singh reacted saying that it is not time to think on political lines, but making right strategies to deal with the Maoists.
"It is a huge loss. We will forget these sacrifices, if we do not make the right strategies to deal with the Maoists. We should not think on political lines and about resignations. It is time to think peacefully and devise an action plan," Singh added
Ajit Jogi, former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, has called for the intervention of the Central Government and imposition of President's rule.
"We have come to the conclusion that it is now time to request the Central Government, the President, the Prime Minister, and Sonia Gandhi to establish peace and bring law and order in the state. The Central Government should take the reins in its hands. President's rule should be imposed," Jogi said.
Thirty police personnel, including a Superintendent of Police (SP), were killed in ambushes and landmine attacks by Maoists in three separate incidents in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon District.
CPI (Maoist) and especially its splinter groups, which extort the money hardly pump it back for running the movement but instead use it to maintain luxurious life-styles for their masters, the officials said.
The Naxal literature and documents seized by central security agencies and state police forces during their operations have revealed intricate details of "levy" extorted by groups which run in several hundred crores every year.
The 'levy' is not only paid by the contractors working in the areas dominated by the Naxals but also by the industrial houses including some of the nationally reputed ones, the officials said.
Though, CPI (Maoist) still remains the prominent Naxal group in Jharkhand, there are other splinter groups which too have now started imposing 'levy' besides indulging in kidnapping, looting and narcotics trade, which results in around Rs 300 crore as annual income from the state.
If a conservative estimate is taken of the income generated from 'levy' in the seven most Naxal-infested states -- Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Maharashtra -- security agencies feel the collection from these areas, which are commonly referred to as 'red corridor', amount to nearly Rs 1,500 crore.
The Naxals have even come out with a card, recovered by forces, which clearly shows the exact amount of 'levy' to be paid by contractors, petrol pump owners and land owners.
It usually ranges from 10% of the project cost for those making unpaved roads to five per cent for small bridges and others.
Besides the fixed levy, the left-wing extremists groups also demand money from industries functioning in the areas "as and when they need" and even issue receipts for the same.
"There are six left-wing extremists groups operating in the state out of which the People's Liberation Front of India, earlier known as Jharkhand Liberation Tigers, is mostly made up of criminals. The groups operate no longer for ideology but purely for extortion," CRPF DIG (Jharkhand) Alok Raj said.
Interestingly, it is not just the Naxals who approach contractors for money but in some cases even the contractors approach the Naxals with money.
"It has come to our notice that in certain incidents, contractors have themselves approached the Naxals to blow up the roads built by them because they had used inferior material at first place. As the roads are blown away, no quality inspection takes place," Director General of Police (Jharkhand) V D Ram said.
Officials say, in most cases, the amount generated in the form of levy usually goes into a "luxurious lifestyle" of Naxal chiefs.
"The chiefs lead a luxurious life with all modern facilities. Though, they forcibly recruit children in their cadre, their own kids study in good public schools," officials said.
The Naxals also encourage local villagers to undertake opium cultivation, just like insurgents in Northeast states.
Of the total 1.07 lakh kg of ganja or marijuana seized in the country in 2007, heavy quantity of it was from Nagaland (15,489 kg), Madhya Pradesh (14,815 kg), Maharashtra (12,551 kg), Chhattisgarh (7,470 kg) and Andhra Pradesh (7,059 kg).
Maoists plan to take 'guerrilla war' to new areas
Maoists shifting bases from Chhattisgarh to Orissa
"Due to heavy police build up in Chhattisgarh, Maoists who had been hiding in the Bastar region since early 1980s are relocating their bases to Orissa's Malkangiri forest," a police official said on condition of anonymity.
Police officials posted in Dantewada and Bijapur districts of Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bastar region said latest intelligence reports indicated that many Maoist leaders had fled to Malkangiri.
"The rebels' decision to look for a new forested haven seems to be to avoid surprise raids on their bases in the Abujhmad forest by security forces," an official said.
Maoists have set up training centres, a research and development (R&D) unit, and several explosives manufacturing units in Abujhmad forest, spread across about 4,000 sq km in Bastar.
The rebels run a de facto administration in Abujhmad forest, where many tribals reside, and government officials have never dared to enter the area in the past. However, in the last six months security forces backed by reinforcements in a 24-seater helicopter have stormed into the forest several times.
"Since the Maoists are running away to other areas, the police and the government feel it is the right time to carry out more attacks against the rebels," a source in the police headquarters said.
Chhattisgarh has not witnessed any major attack by Maoists in the past three months while the rebels killed 17 policemen in Malkangiri district of Orissa on Wednesday.
No inputs to suggest Naxalite-ISI links: Govt
India built N-sub in Kalpakkam under codename 'PRP'
| More effort needed at micro level - Unified Command advised to meet frequently & think ahead of rebels |
| Maj. Gen. (retd) Gaganjit Singh is a veteran in counter-terrorism operations in Assam, having served as the GOC, Red Horns Division. Maj. Gen. Singh, who retired in 2004 having last served with the Defence Intelligence Agency looking after counter-terrorism, concludes his series exclusively for The Telegraph on the growing concerns over Ulfa and the NDFB's fresh incursions into Bhutan An integral weapon in the fight against militant outfits either in Jammu and Kashmir or in Assam is the Unified Command structure, which plans and executes counter-insurgency operations in these states. The success of the Unified Command in Assam can be gauged by the number of outfits in ceasefire. It was formed for better coordination between the government, the army, paramilitary, police and intelligence agencies for sharing information and planning counter-insurgency operations. Despite the odds it has to surmount, the Unified Command has been working effectively in Assam but there is scope for improvement in its avowed objective of sharing of intelligence at operational as well as actionable levels. Though the functioning of the Unified Command at the macro level is effective, there is a requirement of more coordination at the micro level. At the district level, to be precise. They do have meetings between the deputy commissioner, army, the police and intelligence officials but its frequency needs to be increased — say one meeting every fortnight, to ensure regular and quality flow of intelligence. These meetings can also ensure the participation of gaonburas (village headmen) because most Ulfa and NDFB recruits are from the countryside and most of the planning is still done in villages away from the glare of authorities and security forces. These pieces of information can then be used by the three key players of the command — the chief secretary, the DGP and the Tezpur-based GOC 4 Corps — to come up with an effective plan of action. Secondly, the command has to adopt a proactive approach instead of a reactive one. This means that we should not wait for Ulfa or the NDFB to strike. We need to plan ahead of them by analysing the inputs we have in hand well in advance so that we can upset their designs. These two initiatives, I am sure, will pay handsome dividends, especially when public support is not with the militants. The Unified Command has an advantage this time round because of the appointment of G.K. Pillai as Union home secretary. The senior bureaucrat had been in charge of the Northeast for a long time to understand the ground realities. His advice and understanding will always be beneficial to deal with insurgency in Assam and the Northeast. When he was joint secretary (home), he used to regularly visit the Northeast and attend official meetings and interact with cross-sections of people to know the actual ground realities — a must to make effective analysis to deal with the problem at hand. Finally, all the agencies which are a part of the command must work together with the aim of bringing peace to Assam which will benefit all spheres of life and bring prosperity to the state. This can be achieved. Concluded |
| After military, market marches in | |||
| SANKARSHAN THAKUR | |||
| BACK TO FRONT 10 YEARS OF KARGIL 4 | |||
"Every day the face of Drass changes. Every day it gets more smashed and scarred, and every day it acquires a more menaced countenance. The mud and timber structures of this one lively hamlet burn and crumble one after the other under merciless fire from the hilltops. And more and more soldiers eddy on its blistered heart. They will probably have to alter the way Drass has been described hitherto. It is advertised as the second coldest inhabited place on earth. Cold it is, whipped by icy winds even in mid-June, but it has no inhabitants anymore." — From a report in The Telegraph, June 1999 You can now buy a 32GB pen drive in Drass's one-lane bazaar and, should you so wish, a laptop to attach it to as well. A two-storey, 20-room hotel stands where there used to be nothing but shelled rock, there are any number of eateries vending a varied fare from kachauris to kebabs, and a music shop where Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone have just arrived, cut out life-size in cardboard, peddling Love Aaj Kal — Chor Bazaari is the rage of the Drass market. The armed forces weren't the only sector that got upgraded as mandatory corrections for the lapses of 1998-99 in the Kargil sector; along came a quantum churn in the tertiary sector — construction, labour, transport, supplies and, in no mean measure, war tourism. "It's perhaps a terrible thing to say, but the war of 1999 became a huge boon for the Kargil region," says Mohammed Sadiq, owner of Hotel Siachen, which was home to the media through the course of the 1999 engagement. "Who knew Kargil before that? Only truck drivers and travellers between Leh and Srinagar for whom Kargil was a necessary night halt. Not so now. Kargil is a place in its own right, through the summer my rooms are booked by people who come to see where the battles of 1999 were fought, everybody knows Kargil now, from here to Kanyakumari." Hotel Siachen was a stinky dump that offered flea-infested beds, a half-bucket of tepid bathing water at three hours' notice and no food. But most of us were still grateful it was there because there was no place else to stay in Kargil during the war. But Sadiq has turned all past inefficiencies around, if only to keep up with the competition cropping up all over town. He has put in a central boiler system, carpeted and curtained the rooms, installed cable television and, treat of treats, opened a 24-hour kitchen. "I had to do it, just had to, because there are many other hotels now," he says. "We serve Kashmiri, Indian, Continental, Chinese, Buddhist, everything." Buddhist? Well, that must've been Sadiq's way of saying Ladakhi. Yak meat? Probably no, but if you have more commonplace preferences like stewed salmon and camembert or penne and parmesan, you can always duck into one of the many little high-street superstores that have sprung out of what used to be holes in the wall. "Army ne paisa lagaya, logon ne paisa banaya (The army put in money, the people made good of it)," is how Jaffer's earthy lucidity explained the economic transformation of the war zone. Major domo of Hotel Siachen back then, Jaffer himself has been one of the beneficiaries of post-war investments; he was always a bit of a loveable rascal, purloining money off every meal or drink that he secured us off his "deep contacts", and he's evidently graduated to higher methods. Jaffer wouldn't reveal how he'd made his money over the past decade — defence contracts and illicit booze, if you believed the small-town grapevine — but he has his eyes set on a modest hotel of his own now. "Kuch to karna hai paise se, umar bhi ho rahi hai (I have to do something with the money, I'm getting on too)." Enquiries about another character from the war — cab driver Ishaq Khan who braved many perilous trips closer up to the front with us, this way and that from Kargil in his beat-up Willys Jeep — revealed that he too had progressed upwards. Ishaq, old friends at the Kargil taxi stand said, had become a labour contractor with the army in Batalik and also farmed apricots on the side. But new prosperity has travelled far beyond the unlikely broadway bustle of Kargil. In the Suroo valley, where most of the Drass-Kargil population had sought shelter in the summer of 1999, the establishment of a new defence brigade (in addition to the vast new brigade at Drass itself) and a hydro-power project has led to a rash of pucca construction. In Mushkoh, which lay desolate and depeopled by severe shelling during the war, there's a new mushrooming of satellite dishes on low mud rooftops. As we drove through what used to be a devastated battleground, Neelesh Misra, who was AP reporter back then and a trusty wartime mate, remarked: "Market forces have arrived, what more do you want?" Owing to its remoteness, Mushkoh is still the laggard in the Kargil sector, but even there the evidence of recent bounty lies liberally sprinkled — a magnificent new mosque, a striking outcrop of concrete houses, well-supplied wayside stores, even a metalled road that runs beyond the last field positions the army had created during the war. All it awaits now is an arrow directing tourists to the next tea-stop on their war tour. |
maoism
latest maoism reports
34 Maoist Terrorists Arrested in Chattisgarh in first half of October 2008
In a crackdown against naxals, the CRPF has killed two Left wing extremists besides seizing over 700 kg of explosives and arresting 34 naxals in the first fortnight of this month. The CRPF sources sai..Read More
Communist Maoist Terror: Over 7000 kgs of Explosives Recovered in 2008
The CRPF in its operation across 18 states of the country this year has seized over 7,000 kg of explosives with the highest being reported from naxal infested states, according to the latest statistic..Read More
Maoist Landmine Attack Kills 11 Cops in Jharkhand
Maoists today blew up a police vehicle killing all eleven policemen including a subinspector on board in Jharkhand's East Singhbhum district, a senior police officer said."Subinspector Ravikant S..Read More
Counter Maoist Special Forces to be Asembled to Tackle Naxal Menace
Nearly a year after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had described Left-wing extremism as a "virus", the government has given the green signal to raise a 10,000-strong special anti-Naxal force COBRA.The ..Read More
Security Situation Reviewed for Four States Struck by Communist Maoist Terrorism
The Union Home Secretary, Shri Madhukar Gupta chaired here today a high level meeting to review the Naxal situation in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. Apart from senior officers of..Read More
Communist Maoists Kill 21 Policemen in Orissa Ambush Attack
In the second major strike by Maoists in Orissa in less than three weeks, 21 policemen were feared killed in a landmine explosion and firing by the ultras in Malkangiri district on Wednesday.The van c..Read More
"People's Warriors" Maoists Turn Drug Dealers To Raise Funds
India says cannabis cultivation and trading is a major source of funds for Maoist rebels in some parts of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa states."In their strongholds, the armed rebels col..Read More
Mainstream Media Ignores Maoist Violence In Bihar, Four Killed
At least five persons, including four policemen, were killed and three injured on Sunday evening when cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist attacked the police station at Jajha railway station..Read More
Nepal's Maoists Not Trustworthy: India
India's National Security Advisor, MK Narayanan, has said that India has a very low level of confidence in the Maoists in Nepal."We have put a great deal of faith in Nepal Prime Minister Girija ..Read More
Communist Maoist Terrorists Unleash Violence, Kill 5 In Bihar
The New Year started on a bloody note in Bihar's Munger district where Maoist rebels killed four policemen Tuesday afternoon. The Special Auxiliary Police (SAP) personnel were killed near Rishi K..Read More
India Gets Tough: 35,000 IRBS New Recruits To Take On Maoist Red Terror
With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh outlining a tough approach to tackle left-wing extremism and terrorism during the conference of chief ministers last week, the Centre has agreed to recruit over 35,0..Read More
Nepal's Maoists Protest To Avoid Democracy, Elections
Maoists staged nationwide rallies today to press the Nepal government to enforce the motions regarding declaration of republic and proportional representation system which were adopted by the interim ..Read More
India Steps Up Security Along Maoist Border To Counter Maoist Threat
Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) have stepped up vigilance along the Indo-Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh, following Nepalese Maoist's threat of subversion.Police said the move to strengthen border survei..Read More
Maoist Leader Arrested In South India
Sundaramurthy, an elusive Maoist leader who had managed to dodge the Tamil Nadu police for 15 years, has been nabbed, Additional Director General of Police Nanjil P. Kumaran told reporters Tuesday.On ..Read More
Maoist Group Gunned Down In Karnataka
Five Maoists were Tuesday gunned down by police in a gun battle in the forest region of the Western Ghats in Karnataka, a top police official said. The gun battle took place at Manisinahyaadya village..Read More
Maoists Kill 24 Cops In Terror Attack In Chhattisgarh
Twenty-four Indian policemen who had gone missing after a fierce gunbattle with Maoist insurgents in the jungles of central India were found dead and riddled with bullets on Tuesday, police said.The m..Read More
Top Maoist Leader Arrested; Huge Quantity Of Arms Recovered
Police in Chhattisgarh Tuesday arrested a top Maoist leader and recovered a huge haul of weapons and explosives, including landmines and an AK-47.Aitu, described as a 'big gun' and wanted fo..Read More
Joint Police Command Overruns Maoist Hideout in Eastern India
The joint command, formed to track down Naxalites in the industrial hub, ran over a Maoist camp at Kankadahada forests in Dhenkanal district on Sunday. A fierce exchange of fire that ensued is believ..Read More
Maoists Kidnap 12 Civilians Including 2 Women
Outlawed Maoists kidnapped 12 people, including two women, from the disturbed Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, police said today."The Maoists kidnapped 12 people from Dantewada and Narayanpur districts ..Read More
Major Maoist Attack in Vishakapatnam Port Power Station
In a daring attack, Maoists blasted the main control room of Donkarayi canal hydel power station in Visakhapatnam district late on Tuesday night.According to sources, a group of 50 Maoists raided the ..Read More
500 Kilograms of Explosives Recovered From Maoist Hideout in Bihar
Police recovered a large quantity of explosives from Bihar's Gaya district Thursday morning. Amit Jain, Superintendent of Police, Gaya district said police have recovered 500 kg of explosives fro..Read More
CRPF Guns Down Five Maoists in Jharkhand
In a major encounter, CRPF today gunned down five hardcore naxalites in this district of Jharkhand.
A CRPF spokesman said that at around 1300 hours two companies of the paramilitary force engaged ..Read More
Veteran Soliders Lead India's War Against Maoism in Bihar
Former soldiers have picked up arms again, this time to fight the rising menace of Naxalite violence in Bihar. Raised last year, the Bihar Auxiliary Force recruited 5,000 ex-servicemen in November and..Read More
Top Maoist Leader Arrested in Chattisgarh
A top Maoist terrorist leader from West Bengal was arrested Sunday from a railway station in Chattisgarh even as Maoists killed two tribals in Chhattisgarh's maoist-hit Bijapur district on suspi..Read More
Maoists Gain Access To Ordnance Factory Weapons, Top Level Intelligence
In a shocking article by Rajeev Sinha for 'Daily News & Analysis' it has been revealed that an weapons haul from a Maoist rebel base in inner India included arms from Ordnance Factory - Ward..Read More
Union Government Soft On Maoism: The Telegraph Revelations
Startling revelations were made by a Calcutta based daily 'The Telegraph' regarding the Central Government's "soft posture" with respect to tackling critical internal security challenge..Read More
Maoist Attack In Bihar; Two Policemen Killed
Two Railway Protection Force personnel were killed and three injured in a Maoist attack on a train in Bihar's extremist-infested Jamui district on Sunday.Nearly 40 suspected members of the banned..Read More
500 Maoist Terrorists Launch Attack in Riga, Bihar
A group of 500 armed Maoist rebels on Saturday blew up a road bridge, attacked a police station and a block office and made an abortive attempt to loot a bank, injuring two persons, at Riga in Bihar&#..Read More
Counter Insurgency: Vedic Security Strategy for India?
India, the land of Veda, is today facing a great challenge of increasing internal violence, by various groups of insurgents, though there is no near-term threat of war from any of her neighbors. Naxal..Read More
Maoists Gun Down 55 Policemen in Chattisgarh Blood Bath
In the biggest ever strike by Maoists on security forces in Chhattisgarh, at least 55 police personnel were killed and 11 injured today when more than 300 heavily armed rebels stormed a police station..Read More
Defence Budget: Internal Security Receives Major Financial Support
In a bid to strengthen the country's internal security, an outlay of over Rs 22,600 crore was proposed in the Budget today with special focus on modernisation of police and para-military forces, ..Read More
Six Policemen Killed in Maoist Blast
SIX POLICE personnel, including an Assistant Commandant, were today killed and 12 others were injured when they were trying to defuse a bomb planted by the Naxalites on Geedam-Bijapur road of National..Read More
BSF Offers Counter-Insurgency Training to Commandos
Border Security Force (BSF) in Madhya Pradesh is training 11 commando teams in insurgency related combat techniques.Violence by the Maoists, known locally as Naxalites, in several states across the co..Read More
Seven Policemen Killed in Maoist Attack in Central India
Seven policemen were killed today in landmine blast triggered by Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region, 350 km from Raipur, police said."Among the killed were two officers and five constables,"..Read More
Maoist Arms Production Factory Busted in Central India
An Intelligence Bureau team is being rushed to Madhya Pradesh after police on Thursday unearthed an illegal arms factory here which was allegedly making ammunition for Maoists. Chhattisgarh, Maharash..Read More
Seventy-nine Maoists surrender in Chhattisgarh
Seventy-nine Maoist rebels surrendered in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday evening saying they had lost faith in their comrades' ideology, police said. Among them were 29 who..Read More
Maoists kill four policemen in Chhattisgarh
Four policemen were shot dead when about 250 Maoist rebels made an abortive bid to attack a refugee camp in Chhattisgarh early on Wednesday, police said. The clash took place just outside a camp housi..Read More
Police Gun Down Three Maoists in Andhra Pradesh
Three naxalites of Prathighatana group were killed in an encounter with the police near Regalla forest area in Khammam District of Andhra Pradesh this morning, the police said.Acting on a tip-off that..Read More
India Could Utilize Air Power in Counter-Terror Operations
Perhaps for the first time, the Indian Air Force (IAF) could assist the security forces in anti-terrorist operations at the nation's borders.But the IAF will not use its aircraft and weapons agai..Read More
Union Government Forms Anti-Maoist Special Desk
To check Naxal activities in different parts of the country, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to set up a special Naxal Desk and constitute an Empowered Group of Ministers (e-GoM).The id..Read More
Maoist weapons supplier surrenders in Hyderabad
In a major setback to the Maoists, the kingpin behind the procurement and supply of rocket launchers to the outlawed organization surrendered before the police in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday evening.Sri..Read More
Army seizes hundreds of mines in Kolkata
Security forces seized 543 anti-personnel mines as well as ammunition in Kolkata on Thursday, busting a smuggling racket from a state-run ammunition factory, a defence spokesman said. Three people, in..Read More
Arms remain sticking point in Nepal peace talks
Nepal's Maoist rebels and the government may have edged closer to a deal on the future of the monarchy but the question of disarming the guerrillas remains a sticking point in peace talks, negoti..Read More
CRPF launches monsoon thrust against maoists in Central India
The CRPF has launched a crackdown against Naxalites in insurgency-hit Bastar region of Chhattisgarh to recapture areas "liberated" by the rebels, a low-key but massive operation fine-tuned by former s..Read More
Three Maoists gunned down by police in Andhra Pradesh
Three Maoists rebels were killed in a gun battle with police in Andhra Pradesh's Khammam district Friday. Police said the guerrillas, belonging to Praja Pratighatana, were killed in the forests o..Read More
K.P.S. Gill set to fight Maoists in Chattisgarh
After fighting insurgency in Punjab and Assam, supercop KPS Gill has now zeroed in on Chattisgarh to take on the Naxals. The man who became a household name across the country in the early 1990s is no..Read More
Police guns down five Maoists in Bastar forests
Police in the insurgency hit Bastar region of Chhattisgarh killed at least five Maoist rebels in a lengthy gun battle, officers said on Sunday. Police opened fire on dozens of guerrillas as they met i..Read More
Five maoists gunned down in police encounter
Five maoists, including a top leader, were killed in an encounter with police in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh on Friday.The exchange of fire took place near Oorattam village in the extremist-in..Read More
Aerial monitoring of Maoists movements in India soon
Security agencies are mulling aerial monitoring of the movement of Maoists, who often move from one state to other through deep jungles after launching attacks, in light of increased Maoist violence."..Read More
Huge maoist arms cache busted; over 600 rockets recovered
A huge cache of arms, including 600 rocket launchers, suspected to be owned by the Maoists was recovered by police in Mahabubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh.A special police party combing the Nallama..Read More
Indian Army to help police counter maoist violence
In a bid to combat maoism in some parts of the State, the Uttar Pradesh Government has embarked upon a plan to join hands with Army to provide training in guerrilla warfare to the Provincial Armed Con..Read More
Full text of Prime Minister's Speech on Internal Security
Following is the text of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's speech to chief ministers at a meeting on internal security:I would like to thank Shivraj Patil and all of you present here for this oppor..Read More
Top maoist leader arrested in Uttar Pradesh
The Andhra Pradesh police have arrested top maoist leader K Rajanna and four other top leaders of the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist Janashakti Central.A special police party made the arres..Read More
India to intensify counter-maoist operations, air support to be provided
Taking into consideration the seriousness of the threat posed by Maoism, the Central Government on Wednesday decided to provide air support to the seven worst Maoist-affected states to curb the menace..Read More
Special forces for counter-maoist operations to be setup by 2007
A 14,000 personnel strong special anti-maoist combat force would be ready by next year to tackle the ultra-Leftist insurgents in 13 states, according to highly-placed sources.The force would comprise ..Read More
Maoist groups split in Nepal, violence feared
The Maoist rebellion, that unleashed a decade of terror in Nepal and killed over 13,000 people, is heading towards s resolution, while a new armed revolt is threatening to take its place in the terai ..Read More
Two Indians abducted by Maoists in Nepal
Maoist rebels in Nepal today kidnapped two Indian citizens from Mahendranagar, 800 km from here, police said.Maoist rebels in Nepal today kidnapped two Indian citizens from Mahendranagar, 800 km from ..Read More
Indian Air Force to track down Maoists
For the first time in counter-Maoist operations in India, Indian Air Force (IAF) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) will be used to track down the guerrilla hideouts and to monitor their movements, source..Read More
Nepal's top maoist leaders said to be in India
Top leaders of Nepal's Maoist party are said to be in Siliguri, India - media reports suggested Saturday.Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachanda, chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Party..Read More
Indian naxalites linked to maoists in Nepal
Indian naxal outfits are reported to have ideological and logistic links with Nepalese maoists. There are no reports as yet to suggest links between Indian naxalites and Lashkar-e-Taiba. The Governmen..Read More
25 killed, 100 missing as Maoists strike in Chhattisgarh
At least 25 people were killed and over 100 were missing after armed Maoist guerrillas stormed a government-run shelter early Monday morning in Chhattisgarh in one of the worst extremist attacks in th..Read More
Eight Maoists gunned down in Andhra Pradesh
Hyderabad: Eight Maoist guerrillas including six women were killed in a shootout with police in Andhra Pradesh Tuesday evening, officials said. The firefight took place in the forests of Amarab..Read More
Three Maoists gunned down in Andhra Pradesh
Hyderabad: In yet another blow to the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) in Andhra Pradesh, three terrorists, including a woman, were killed in an alleged gun battle with police early..Read More
Five Maoists arrested in Bihar
Patna: Five suspected Maoist guerrillas, including an area commander, were arrested near this Bihar capital Wednesday, police said. Four Maoists and an area commander, identified as Vinay, were..Read More
19 Maoists killed, 5 arrested in Chhattisgarh
Raipur: Ninteen naxalites were killed and five arrested in two separate encounters in north and south of Chhattisgarh on Thursday, police said.Ten naxalites were killed and five were captured a..Read More
3 Maoists killed by police forces
Hyderabad: Three Maoists were killed in an encounter with police on the border of east Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday, police said.The Naxals and police excha..Read More
Over 350 Maoists killed in year long campaign
Jagdalpur: Salwa Judum the anti-Naxal campaign involving the tribals of Chhattisgarh Salwa Judum, actively supported by the state government and the political class, has completed a year in the..Read More
Six CRPF men killed in Maoist landmine attack in Jharkhand
Ranchi: At least six Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in a landmine blast triggered by Maoist guerrillas in Chaibasa district of Jharkhand on Thursday, police said."The..Read More
Two Maoists shot dead in Orissa by police forces
Bhubaneswar Two Maoists were gunned down and three arrested Tuesday in Orissa's Malkangiri district following a joint operation of police forces from Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. The maoists..Read More
No US help in fight against Maoists: Chhattisgarh
Raipur: Chhattisgarh will not accept any direct or indirect military support in its fight against Maoist rebels, a senior minister said Saturday, denying reports that the state welcomed an offe..Read More
US offers assistance to combat maoist menace
Raipur: The United States on Thursday offered all assistance to naxal-infested Chhattisgarh to deal with the ultras in the state, a top official said here."The US has offered its services on de..Read More
Six Maoists killed in encounter with Police
Mumbai: At least six naxalites are suspected to have been killed in a shootout with police near Kasampalli village in Gadchiroli, some 120 km from district headquarter, police said.Naxalites nu..Read More
CRPF launches offensive against Maoists in Chhattisgarh
Raipur: Paramilitary troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) backed by hundreds of policemen Saturday launched an offensive against Maoist rebels in the revolt-hit Dantewada distric..Read More
Maoists threaten to blow up Bihar assembly
Patna: Maoist guerrillas have reportedly threatened to blow up the Bihar assembly between May 28 and July 29 and kidnap some key politicians to protest against the 'anti-people' polic..Read More
Maoists blast railway station in Andhra Pradesh
Ongole: The Maoists tonight blasted a railway station in Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh, police said. A group of Naxals blasted Somadevapally railway station by using detonators, police s..Read More
Nepal maoists agree talks with new government
Kathmandu: Nepal's Maoist rebels welcomed on Thursday a ceasefire announced by the new, multi-party government and said they would join talks to try and end a decade-old insurgency that ha..Read More
Maoists kill five more in Eastern India
Raipur: At least five people were killed Wednesday in two separate Maoist related incidents in Chhattisgarh. Both the incidents took place in the same district.Three people, two special police..Read More
Maoists kill 13 villagers in Chhattisgarh
Raipur: Thirteen villagers, abducted on April 25, were killed this morning by Naxals in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh.The rebels had kidnapped the villagers of Manikonta district on April ..Read More
Forces gun down 11 Maoists in southern India
Hyderabad: Police in southern India said they had shot dead 11 Maoist rebels, including six women, on Friday after the guerrillas attacked a jungle patrol.The gun battle took place in the fores..Read More
Maoists announce three-month ceasefire in Nepal
Kathmandu: The Maoists in Nepal on Wednesday night announced a three-month unilateral ceasefire.Announcing the truce, Maoist supremo Prachanda, in a statement here reiterated the rebels' d..Read More
CRPF to block gelatine supply to Maoists
New Delhi: Attacks by Maoist guerrillas on security forces may be costing the rebels no more than Rs.500. All that the insurgents need to do is to buy gelatine sticks from mining contractors fo..Read More
Maoists kill six in Bihar for voting in elections
Patna: Maoist terrorists dragged six villagers from their homes and shot and killed them on Tuesday in apparent retaliation for defying a boycott of local elections in eastern India, police sai..Read More
Four Maoists killed in Andhra Pradesh
Hyderabad: Four Naxalites, including a woman district leader, were killed in an encounter with police in Tadvai forest area in Warangal district, Andhra Pradesh Friday. A police patrol party sp..Read More
Indian Army in touch with Nepal developments: General J J Singh
New Delhi: Chief of Army Staff General J J Singh refused to comment on the political situation in Nepal saying that it would not be proper to do so when the prime minister's envoy is stil..Read More
Three Maoists shot dead in Orissa
Sambalpur: At least three Maoist rebels were shot dead by police in Orissa's Deogarh district Tuesday. A police team killed the guerrillas at 1.30 p.m. at Hilong forest, about 45 km from t..Read More
Maoist terror at India, Nepal border
Malangwa (Indo-Nepal border) The Red Brigade of Nepal is striking every now and then and giving the Nepal government sleepless nights. Terror-hit people are fleeing to India. Frequent attacks b..Read More
Maoists kill upto ten policemen in Chhattisgarh, Eastern India
Raipur: Heavily-armed Naxalites on Sunday attacked a police station in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh killing at least ten policemen.Maoist terrorists also looted arms and ammunition from th..Read More
Prime Minister terms Maoism as India's largest internal security problem
New Delhi: Calling it the "single biggest internal security challenge," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday suggested setting up of joint unified commands in areas badly hit by Naxalism and ..Read More
Nepal king Gyanendra under immense pressure to yield
Nepal king Gyanendra is under tremendous pressure from the UN, India, the US and the UK to show flexibility and work with the pro-democracy political parties.The king has already dispatched his son, P..Read More
Maoists blow up railway station in Gaya, Bihar
Gaya: CPI (Maoist) activists blew up portions of railway tracks and a halt station on the Gaya-Dhanbad section of Mughalsarai division on Sunday.The Maoists' action was a bid to enforce th..Read More
Maoist kill six people in Chhattisgarh
Raipur: In continued violence by Maoist guerrillas in Chhatttisgarh, three more people were shot dead on Saturday raising the number of people killed by the group since Friday to six, police s..Read More
India gets tough action plan on maoism
New Delhi: Centre is all set to adopt tough measures to combat the naxal menace through a "concrete and stern" action plan that envisages modernisation of security forces to tackle what they d..Read More
Maoists seige railway station in Bihar
Patna: Railway traffic on the Patna-Gaya route was disrupted last night after Naxals took control of Nadaul railway station in Patna district, on the Patna-Jehanabad border.About 8 to 10 armed..Read More
Security forces gun down five maoists in central India
Hyderabad: Five naxalites were killed in an exchange of fire with police in the forest area near Venkatapuram village in Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh today, police said.The encounter took..Read More
India grapples with rising Maoist violence
New Delhi: Rattled by a wave of Maoist attacks that have left hundreds dead, officials from 13 Indian states will meet on Friday to try to stem a rebellion that is menacing huge swathes of the..Read More
17 Maoists surrender to security forces in Andhra Pradesh
Warangal: Seventeen naxals including five Maoists surrendered before Warangal Range Deputy Inspector-General B L Meena and Warangal District Superintendent of Police M S Ravindra today. Speaki..Read More
India unveils new security policy to tackle Maoists
New Delhi: India has devised a new 14-point policy to combat Maoist rebels. More than 10 Indian provinces are affected by Maoist violence which has killed thousands of people in the last 10 yea..Read More
Six Maoists killed in gunbattle in Chhattisgarh
Raipur: Policemen shot dead six Maoist guerrillas in Chhattisgarh on Sunday, two days after the rebels set off a landmine killing 13 people.Police said that the gunbattle took place in the Dant..Read More
5 maoists, 1 policeman killed in Chhatisgarh
Raipur: Five Naxalites and a Special Police Officer were killed and several villagers injured today in a gunbattle between the Maoists and police in Bijapur district of Chattisgarh.The naxalite..Read More
Maoist terror attack kills 6 civilians in Chhatisgarh
Kanher: Naxals have struck again, with same impunity and vengeance. Six people were killed and at least eight injured when the rebels blew up a jeep in Ghodagaon, in Kanker District of Chhattis..Read More
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The Calculus of Failure
At the same time, there is evidence of some military operations across wide areas of the country. Though information flows are, under the present regime of extreme censorship, at best fitful, reports suggest that military operations of varying intensity have been carried out by the RNA against the Maoists in at least 30 of the country's 75 districts, since the February 1 'Royal coup'. RNA operations appear to have concentrated particularly in the Far West districts of Baitadi, Achham and Dailekh, and in the Eastern Region districts of Sankhuwasabha and Morang. Maoist operations have been registered in at least 14 districts over the same period. Total reported fatalities stood at 117, including 93 'Maoists', 15 security forces personnel and nine civilians (to reiterate, these would probably be partial figures, and several reports suggest fatalities, particularly 'Maoist' fatalities, but do not give any numbers). In at least one case, the RNA is reported to have used helicopter gunships to strafe and bomb 'Maoists' in the Dailekh district.
J&K: A Journey through Violence
While much of the hype surrounding the decision is on expected lines, given the current 'honeymoon', as the media would have it, between Delhi and Islamabad, it has been made amply clear that this confidence building measure (CBM) does not, in any manner, change the stated positions of either country on the status of J&K. Indian Foreign Secretary, Shyam Saran, noted in Islamabad on February 16 that "It is a humanitarian procedure that we have adopted." The bus would bring together sundered families and communities living across the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB).
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Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia February 14-20, 2005
 BANGLADESH
50,000 Islamist militants of 40 groups present in the country, says former Minister: On February 18, 2005, the Dhaka police confiscated some copies of two newly published books, allegedly containing seditious content, written by the Awami League leader and former minister, Professor Abu Sayeed, from his residence. One of the books titled Aghoshito Juddher Blueprint (Blueprint of an Undeclared War) in Bangla explains the rise of communalism and Islamist militants in Bangladesh. The second book, Brutal Crime Documents, in English portrays the alleged brutalities suffered by opposition parties since the 2001 elections. The books reportedly claim that approximately 50,000 militants belonging to more than 40 groups are currently controlling a vast area of Bangladesh, with help from ruling coalition partner, Jamaat-e-Islami, and a section of the Bangladesh National Party. Earlier, at a Press Conference, Sayeed said, over 50 camps are now in operation across the country, where Islamist zealots are getting military training. The Daily Star, February 19, 2005.  INDIA
ULFA seeks formal reply from Union Government on peace talks: The outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has reportedly sought a formal reply to its 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa's letter to the Government of India. This was communicated by the outfit to noted Assamese litterateur, Dr. Mamoni Raisom Goswami. ULFA's first formal communication addressed to the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, was handed over on February 14, 2005, to the National Security Adviser (NSA), M.K. Narayanan, by Dr. Goswami. Rajkhowa, in his two-page letter, reportedly talked about the outfit's long-drawn struggle calling for 'restoration of Assam's sovereignty' and insisted that sovereignty was its primary demand. The NSA, in response, has conveyed that the Government of India was not in a position to exclusively hold dialogue on the issue of sovereignty, though it was open to discussing the grievances of the outfit, including what it termed as the core issue. Assam Tribune, February 15, 2005.  PAKISTAN
Islamists to gain power if President Musharraf is removed, says US intelligence official: Director of the US Defence Intelligence Agency, Vice Admiral Lowell Jacoby, reportedly told the Senate Intelligence Committee at a hearing in Washington on February 16, 2005, that "Extremist Islamic politicians would gain greater influence" in Pakistan if President Pervez Musharraf was assassinated or replaced. "If Musharraf was assassinated or otherwise replaced, Pakistan's new leader would be less pro-US," claimed Jacoby. While observing "We are concerned that extremist Islamic politicians would gain greater influence", he added that a majority of population in Pakistan holds a "favourable" view of Osama bin Laden. Stating that was the same assessment he gave last year, Admiral Jacoby said: "Our assessment remains unchanged from last year." Nation, February 18, 2005. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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By Ranjit Devraj
NEW DELHI - India has delivered on a promise it made recently to its northern neighbor Nepal to help counter a Maoist insurgency there by deporting four nationals of the Himalayan kingdom believed to have links with the uprising.
The four members of the rights group Indo-Nepal People's Solidarity Forum were arrested by Indian police on Thursday as they came out of the Triveni Kala Sangam, a well-known center for art and culture.
Initially, police said the Nepali nationals - Partho Chhetri, Maheshwar Dalal, Moti Prasad and Aditi - were being taken in for questioning and would be released later. But reports said that they were bundled into a van and driven off to the Indo-Nepal border, where they were handed over to Nepalese authorities.
Police confirmed the deportations of the four, who, apart from Moti Prasad, a student, were journalists. "We fear for their lives given the recent disappearance in custody of Krishna Sen," said Gautam Navlakha, who was among a group of Indian activists detained with the Nepalis. He was referring to Sen, editor of Maoist-affiliated publications and a top Maoist leader, who left-leaning publications have said that had died in government custody.
Nepal has been under emergency rule since November and the army has used it to round up suspected Maoists and their sympathizers, including several well-known journalists.
Navlakha and other Indian rights activists connected with the forum, including Anoop Saraya, a doctor at the prestigious All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), were let off after questioning late on Thursday.
Saraya said that members of the forum had just finished discussing plans for a public meeting to create support in India for a resumption of dialogue between the Nepalese government and the Maoist groups when they were picked up by a special cell within Delhi's police force.
The deportations come in the wake of a visit to India by Nepal's King Gyanendra in late June. That visit was aimed at seeking New Delhi's help in stamping out the Himalayan kingdom's battle against Maoist insurgents, who for six years have been battling to overthrow the monarchy and establish a republican state.
Gyanendra subsequently went on a state visit to China, where he lobbied for assurances of support from Nepal's other large neighbor and one of the sources of ideological inspiration for the Maoist uprising. But this could fall short of military support, as in the case of India.
A bland official statement released by Beijing as Gyanendra began his week-long tour said, "As friendly neighbor of Nepal, China supports the efforts of the government and the king of Nepal to maintain domestic stability and we hope that Nepal, through efforts, will be able to maintain peace, development and stability."
In contrast, India has been providing Nepal with arms, helicopter gunships, trucks and mine-proof vehicles - and the latest deportations show that New Delhi is prepared, at least for now, to crack down on Maoist sympathizers holed up in this country.
Gyanendra's visit to New Delhi was preceded by that of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who asked for curbs on the activities of the Nepal Ekta Samaj (Nepal Unity Society) that is believed to have a powerful following among some eight million people of Nepali origin living on the Indian side of the porous Indo-Nepal border.
India is also fighting its own battles with Maoists insurgents in several states, especially in eastern Bihar, central Jharkhand and southern Andhra Pradesh states. "There is a growing nexus between the People's War Group [in Andhra Pradesh] and the Maoists Coordination Committee [in Bihar and Jharkhand]," said Ashok Mehta, a former general in Indian army and commentator on India-Nepal affairs.
Mehta says that unless India invokes a 1950 treaty to provide Nepal direct military assistance, there is every chance of the insurgency spilling over the border and linking up with groups such as the Maosists Coordination Committee and the People's War Group.
But India is wary of interfering in a country where there has been a history of popular animosity against a sometimes overbearing neighbor, which has in the past adopted punitive measures against landlocked Nepal.
Following the hijacking some years ago of an Indian Airlines plane from Kathmandu to Afghanistan by suspected agents of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, New Delhi suspended flights to Nepal and imposed travel restrictions that have seriously hurt the tourism industry of the picturesque Himalayan nation.
India has been careful with its official statements, and although it has been supportive of Gyanendra officially, it has been emphatic that Nepal's polity is built on the "two pillars of constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy," gently suggesting that the current political instability should not be an excuse to abandon the 12-year-old democracy, with which critics say Gyanendra has shown signs of becoming impatient.
(Inter Press Service)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/DG16Df02.html
Gunships Helicopters
The long war in Southeast Asia would see that change dramatically.
1940 / 1945 :
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Great Britain and Russia did use autogiros ( based upon spaniard Cierva designs ) for observation duties but always used in small numbers.
Germany had already flown the Flettner FL 282 Kolibri , the most advanced helicopter model of this period and used it in combat for artillery spotting in Russia and for convoy protection in the Baltic and Mediterranean Sea so early as 1941. In the US, the Coast Guard was dropping practice bombs from a Sikorsky YH-4A in early test as a weapon against submarines and the US Army succesfully complete a medevac (medical evacuation) mission in Burma at the ends of WWII using an YR-4
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1950s : Helicopters were first used extensively during the Korea War but typically in medevac missions and cargo delivery roles. The marines also found, with the helicopter, that vertical deployment avoided the most dangerous part of a landing assault (by surface landing craft), as the French and British forces demonstrated with helicopters during the Suez campaign (in spite of their landing on beaches full of vacationers). US Army start testing Bell 47 OH-13, Sikorsky S-51 H-19 and Piasecki H-21 with machine-gun pods and rockets.
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Early 1960s : French forces used Piasecki H-21 twin rotor helicopters armed with rockets and machine guns in the Algeria campaign. But was the Vietnam War the breakthrough in this evolution. The United States forces saw the necessity for more aerial fire support and more importantly, a way to provide armed escort for cargo choppers. ( Read Operation Shoofly in our Stories Section ).
Urgent demand by the US army for a new gunship helicopter equipped with the newly designed turbo shaft engines (prior models used piston engines), pushed Bell to develop the Iroquois Warrior , a revolutionary concept derived from the Bell 204 Huey. Bell finished a mock-up of the Iroquois Warrior in June 1962. It was a Huey with wings, a slender fuselage and other features.
| Bell 207 Sioux Scout Bell built a private-venture, concept-demonstrator looking for US army support before developing its Iroquois Warrior. This helicopter was a derivative of the succesful Bell 47. |  |
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1964 US Army AAFSS Program : The Advanced Aerial Fire Support System was the first american competition for a gunship and involved three contenders: Bell D-262 ( a variant of the Iroquois Warrior ) , Sikorsky S-66 and Lockheed C-840. Lockheed 's entry was selected from this group and designated the AH-56 Cheyenne | |
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1965 Bell 209 HueyCobra : While the US Army went forward with its sophisticated AAFSS, Bell proceeded with its proposal now as a company-sponsored prototype.
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First flown in September 1965, the Bell 209 was selected in March 1966 as the new AH-1G HueyCobra in competition against gunship derivatives of Kaman SeaSprite , Boeing Vertol Chinook, , Piasecki Pathfinder and Sikorsky S-61. Bell 's Cobra went into combat in September 1967.
An armed Chinook was used in Vietnam. ( "Guns-a-Go-Go" photo )
Vietnam proved to be a major testing ground for the helicopter and a new form of warfare known as air mobility. No longer would armies fight each other along long fronts on the ground. Now they could be lifted deep into enemy territory, striking suddenly and powerfully.
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Mil Mi-8 Hip E / F : Like the Americans, the Soviet Union was developing the helicopter as an attack aircraft as well. The heavy armed variants of the Mil Mi-8 Hip were equipped with a machine gun and wings, which held 6 rockets launchers and 4 anti tank missiles.
But the most famous soviet armed helicopter was the following design by the Mil bureau :
The Mi-24 saw combat action in Afghanistan and in the African wars
End 1960s World Wide :
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From this period on, helicopters became a vital piece military hardware in the inventory of most of the world 's powerful armies.
The French HAP ( seen at right ) is a Gazelle derivative and the German PAH-1 comes from the MBB bo 105.
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Early 1970s : The AH-56 contract was cancelled due financial and technical problems. American companies soon launch new development programs like the Sikorsky S-67 and the Bell 309 King Cobra but both were later cancelled too.
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1972 US Army AAH Program : Competition for the Advanced Attack Helicopter was between the Hughes Model 77 (YAH-64) and the Bell 409 (YAH-63). Other contenders were the Boeing Vertol AAH and the Lockheed CL-1700, a Cheyenne derivative. The Hughes Model 77 was selected and designated the AH-64 Apache
Late 1970s : Almost all helicopter manufactures offered armed variants of their models, for example the Hughes Defender , the Agusta A.109 and the Sikorsky S-76 Eagle
Since 1980s : Other countries started developing new gunships :
South Africa developed the Atlas Aviation CSH-2 Rooivalk. The first Atlas helicopter was the Alpha XH-1, a model originally derived from the Alouette III used by the South African armed forces for several years. France and Germany joined forces to develop the Eurocopter Tiger After Desert Storm, the United States developed new variants of existings models : AH-64D Longbow Apache and the Bell AH-1W+ Super Cobra. |  |
The demise of the Soviet Union, delayed the development of their last designs: the Mil Mi-28 Havoc and the Kamov Ka-50 / Ka-52 Hokum :  | All others programs, like the Kamov V-100, were cancelled  |
The coming years ... : After a 20 years program the US Army cancelled the Sikorsky / Boeing RAH-66 Comanche in 2004 and award Bell a contract to build the ARH-70 based on the civilian Bell 407
Military Helicopter Gunships
This site loves helicopter gunships - everything from Apache Longbows to Mil-24 Hinds. What is a helicopter gunship? As far as we're concerned any chopper with a weapon stuck on it qualifies and will be featured here. New armed helicopters and related photos and videos will be added frequently so please check back often.
view complete list of all featured military helicopters »
| | Helicopter gunships have been around since the early 60s and started to prove themselves in Vietnam in the form of both armed troop transports and as dedicated weapons platforms. military helicopter wallpapers » |
| site updates + AH-1W cobra photo + AH-64a apache photo + MH-60s info + AS 532 cougar info + MH-60r info + ah-64a photo + CH-53e info + wallpapers added + CH-46e video + HH-60G info + MH-53 video + Black Hawk variants + Chinook variants + CH-47E Sea Knight + MH-53j + SEALs photo + SOAR gallery + A565 Panther info + KA-27/29 Helix info + Lynx HMA 8 info | ||||||||||||||||||||||
History Of the Helicopter Gunship
Until the Vietnam conflict, military helicopters were mostly used for evacuating wounded troops. They were used extensively for this purpose doing the Korean War. Other roles included limited troop transport and observation.
The US involvement in Vietnam saw an increase in the use of helicopters as troop transports, often flying missions in which they came under heavy fire. The need for heavily armed helicopters soon became apparent. The Huey UH-1C troop transport was kitted out with machine guns and 2.75in FFAR rockets which were mounted on stub-wings attached to the chopper's fuselage. Other gunship configurations that were considered included modified CH-47 Chinooks (ACH-47s) armed with multiple guns, cannons, rockets and grenade launchers although these proved to be too cumbersome for use in the field.
In 1967 the US Army fielded that AH-1 Cobra, a dedicated gunship. Based around the UH-1 powerplant, the cobra had a much thinner profile, increased armor, speed and firepower. It proved to be highly effective in action against the NVA and Viet Kong.
The Soviets went through a similar evolution in their development of helicopter gunships as their US rivals. Starting with adding rockets and machine guns to MI-8 troop transports, they soon progressed to a dedicated design - the Mil MI-24 Hind. Both of these gunships would be used in many a battle in various third world conflicts, mostly in the infantry support role.
With the gunship concept now battle-proven, more advanced attack helicopters were developed in the late 70s/early 80s. The US fielded the Ah-64A Apache and upgraded AH-1 Cobras whilst the Italians developed the A129 Mangusta. These attack helicopters were designed with a confrontation with the Soviet Union in mind. It was hoped that their advanced avionics and anti-tank missiles would counteract the Warsaw Pact's overwhelming numeric superiority on the battlefield.
When the Soviet Union crumbled at the end of the 80s, the need for gunships may have been in doubt. 1991's Gulf War put any doubts to rest as fleets of Apaches and Cobras decimated Iraq armor in the open desert. Once again the concept had proven itself.
The terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 and the resulting war in Afghanistan took helicopter gunships into battle once again. The Apache, already proven in the anti-armor role now distinguished itself in the infantry support role as Coalition forces would frequently call the gunships in to attack Taleban forces.
The US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 saw the Apache helicopter deployed once again although this time the battles were a little less one-sided as before. When the Apaches went into combat over populated areas with lots of cover for ground troops to lurk in they were less effective than when over the open desert. Coordinated ground fire downed or severely damaged several Apaches causing them to abort missions. Despite these setbacks, when deployed against Republican Guard divisions positioned out in the open, the Apaches once again proved to be a devestating weapons plafform.
Attack helicopter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2006) |
An attack helicopter is a military helicopter specifically designed and built to carry weapons for attacking targets on the ground, such as enemy infantry, armored vehicles and structures. Weapons used on attack helicopters can include autocannons, machine-guns, rockets, and guided missiles such as the Hellfire. Many attack helicopters are also capable of carrying air to air missiles, though mostly for purposes of self-defense. Today's attack helicopter has two main roles: first, to provide direct and accurate close air support for ground troops, and the second, in the anti tank role to destroy enemy armor concentrations. Attack helicopters are also used to supplement lighter helicopters in the armed scout role.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] History
In the mid-1960s the U.S. Army concluded that a purpose-built attack helicopter with more speed and firepower than current armed helicopters was required in the face of increasingly intense ground fire (often using heavy machine guns and anti-tank rockets) from Viet Cong and NVA troops. Based on this realization, and with the growing involvement in Vietnam, the U.S. Army developed the requirements for a dedicated attack helicopter, the Advanced Aerial Fire Support System (AAFSS). The aircraft design selected for this program in 1965, was Lockheed's AH-56 Cheyenne.[1]
As the Army began its acquisition of a dedicated attack helicopter, it sought options to improve performance over the continued use of improvised interim aircraft (such as the UH-1B/C). In late 1965, a panel of high-level officers was selected to evaluate several prototype versions of armed and attack helicotpers to determine which provided the most significant increase in capability to the UH-1B. The three aircraft ranked highest during the evaluation; the Sikorsky S-61, Kaman H-2 Tomahawk, and Bell Huey Cobra, were selected to compete in flight trials conducted by the Army's Aviation Test Activity. Upon completion of the flight evaluations, the Test Activity recommended Bell's Huey Cobra to be an interim armed helicopter until the Cheyenne was fielded. On 13 April 1966, the U.S. Army awarded Bell Helicopter Company a production contract for 110 AH-1G Cobras.[1] The Cobra had a slender fuselage to make the aircraft a smaller target, increased armor protection, and greater speed.
In 1967, the first AH-1Gs were deployed to Vietnam, around the same time that the Cheyenne successfully completed its first flight and initial flight evaluations. And while the Cheyenne program suffered setbacks over the next few years due to technical problems, the Cobra was establishing itself as an effective aerial weapons platform, despite its performance shortcomings compared to the AH-56,[1] and design issues of its own. By 1972, when the Cheyenne program was eventually cancelled to make way for the Advanced Attack Helicopter (AAH)[1], the interim "Snake" had built a solid reputation as an attack helicopter.
After Vietnam, and especially into the 1990s, the missile-armed attack helicopter evolved into a primary anti-tank weapon. Able to quickly move about the battlefield and launch fleeting "pop-up attacks", helicopters presented a major threat even with the presence of organic air defenses. The gunship became a major tool for both the US Army and their Warsaw Pact counterparts in tank warfare, and most attack helicopters became more and more optimized for the antitank mission..[2] The US Marine Corps continued to see the helicopter, as well as its fixed-wing aviation assets, in the close support role, although the Marines did dedicate a close-support helicopter in the form of the AH-1 Cobra and AH-1 Super Cobra. Soviet helicopters retained troop transport capability rather than being attack-only.
While helicopters were effective tank-killers in the Middle East, attack helicopters are being seen more in a multipurpose role. Tactics, such as tank plinking, showed that fixed-wing aircraft could be effective against tanks, but helicopters retained a unique low-altitude, low-speed capability for close air support. Other purpose-built helicopters were developed for special operations missions, including the MH-6 for extremely close support.
The "deep attack" role of independently operating attack helicopters came into question after a failed mission, during the 2003 Gulf War attack on the Karbala Gap.[3] A second mission in the same area, four days later, but coordinated with artillery and fixed-wing aircraft,[4] was far more successful with minimal losses.
[edit] Modern attack helicopter
During the late 1970s the U.S. Army saw the need of more sophistication within the attack helicopter corps, allowing them to operate in all weather conditions.[5] With that the Advanced Attack Helicopter program was started.[6] From this program the Hughes YAH-64 came out as the winner. The Soviet armed forces also saw the need of a more advanced helicopter. Military officials asked Kamov and Mil to submit designs. The Ka-50 officially won the competition, but Mil decided to continue development of the Mi-28 that they had originally submitted.
The 1990s could be seen as the coming-of-age for the U.S. attack helicopter. The AH-64 Apache was used extensively during Operation Desert Storm with great success. Apaches fired the first shots of the war, destroying enemy early warning radar and SAM sites with their Hellfire missiles. They were later used successfully in both of their operational roles, to direct attack against enemy armor and as aerial artillery in support of ground troops. Hellfire missile and cannon attacks by Apache helicopters destroyed many enemy tanks and armored cars.
Today, the attack helicopter has been further refined, and the AH-64D Apache Longbow demonstrates many of the advanced technologies being considered for deployment on future gunships. The Russians are currently deploying the Ka-50, and Mi-28, which are roughly equivalent though these attack aircraft are not linked into a command and control system at a level which is quite comparable to current U.S. equipment. Many students of ground attack helicopter warfare feel that linking into a network is a requirement of today's modern armies, since attack helicopters are being increasingly incorporated as part of a linked support element system by most of the armies of the world.
[edit] Models
Modern examples include:
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Office of the Assistant Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (1973). An Abridged History of the Army Attack Helicopter Program. Department of the Army. http://www.webcitation.org/5JNGWqTeh.
- ^ Mazarella, Mark N. "Adequacy of U.S. Army Attack Helicopter Doctrine to Support the Scope of Attack Helicopter Operations in a Multi-Polar World". Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 1994. Accessed on 12 December 2007.
- ^ Scarborough, Ryan (April 2003), "Apache operation a lesson in defeat; Army choppers hit without air cover.", Washington Times: 1, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5244/is_200304/ai_n20780844
- ^ Ryan O'Rourke (June 4, 2003) (PDF), Iraq War: Defense Program Implications for Congress, Congressional Research Service, p. CRS-36, https://www.maxwell.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/crs/rl31946.pdf, retrieved on 2007-12-12
- ^ ADVANCED ATTACK HELICOPTER OPERATIONS IN ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTS - Official US Army video at Real Military Flix
- ^ Advanced Attack Helicopter (AAH) (1970-1981) - Global Security
[edit] Further reading
- Duke, R.A., Helicopter Operations in Algeria [Trans. French], Dept. of the Army (1959)
- France, Operations Research Group, Report of the Operations Research Mission on H-21 Helicopter (1957)
- Leuliette, Pierre, St. Michael and the Dragon: Memoirs of a Paratrooper, New York:Houghton Mifflin (1964)
- Riley, David, French Helicopter Operations in Algeria Marine Corps Gazette, February 1958, pp. 21-26.
- Shrader, Charles R. The First Helicopter War: Logistics and Mobility in Algeria, 1954-1962 Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers (1999)
- Spenser, Jay P., Whirlybirds: A History of the U.S. Helicopter Pioneers, Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press (1998)
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| Street protest not Parliament duty - MPs cannot claim immunity for agitation outside House | ||
| JAYANTH JACOB | ||
New Delhi, Aug. 5: Next time MPs lead a street protest, they should bear in mind that their "special status" doesn't extend beyond the portals of Parliament. The Rajya Sabha committee on privileges has made it clear that members can't claim the immunity they enjoy during House proceedings while leading or taking part in an agitation because such protests cannot be "construed" as parliamentary duty. The observation is part of the committee's 55th report, which followed an MP's complaint that Delhi police punched and kicked him after a march he led for Dalit Muslim reservation last August. In his petition, Ejaz Ali had requested the House chairman to "take suitable action against the errant policemen so that privileges of member(s) of Parliament are not breached in future". The committee, the highest body that decides issues of privileges in the upper House, said privileges were available to members for discharging their parliamentary duties without any "let or hindrance". But leading or taking part in a "dharna or agitation or a protest march" — a "normal thing" for MPs apart from being their "moral duty to highlight the problems of the common man" — cannot be "construed as performing parliamentary duty". In other words, no immunity the Constitution specifies such as freedom from court proceedings for anything said or votes cast in Parliament, or freedom from arrest or detention during a meeting of the House, or of a committee, and 40 days before and after it. The committee is headed by Rajya Sabha deputy chairman K. Rahman Khan. A parliamentary source said VIPs sometimes put the administration in an awkward situation. The source cited the recent visit of two Union ministers to Bengal's Lalgarh despite prohibitory orders and said such visits make the administration and police overcautious because of the VIP status of the visitors. An MP, however, referred to another observation by the committee to insist that "ground rules" on arresting a member of Parliament had not changed and taking an MP into custody, even if it is for a "personal offence", needs the Speaker's permission. "The report makes it clear that the police should show due deference in dealing with MPs taking part in rallies and protests," the MP said. In its report, the committee said the police must exercise restraint and deal with agitating MPs with dignity and respect. Of course, the member added, MPs should be aware that during street protests, they are "not performing their parliamentary duties" and, therefore, "should not be behaving in a manner as if it is a parliamentary duty". "This is an observation of the committee about a particular case. This can be cited as a precedent in the future. But it doesn't alter the existing privileges of MPs in any manner," said another MP. In his complaint, Ali, a Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar, had alleged that police became "more violent after knowing his identity". He said they "pounced" upon him, punched him several times inside a police station, and "kicked him in his right rib". Ali said he was later taken to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital for treatment. The committee, which included Arun Jaitley, Sitaram Yechury, S.S. Ahluwalia, R.K. Dhawan and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, went through the submission of Delhi police, the medical records at the hospital and also viewed a CD submitted by the police. In its report, it noted that the agitation was "quite aggressive" and that "there was no evidence of lathi-charge by the police on Ejaz Ali". The committee took into account Delhi police's reply that "they were well aware of the member's identity and (that) he was personally escorted to the police station by the inspector, law and order". The committee also noted that in the "medico-legal" case sheet of the hospital, the attending doctor had recorded that there was "no fresh external injury" on Ali's body. |
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