Communist Party of India (Maoist)

[The Feral Underclass]

I would like to hear from the Maoists here what their take on the CPI(Maoist) and the Naxalites is. Is what they're doing the right approach? Is there anything in their strategy you would argue should change? Also, it would be good to understand where they fall on the Maoist spectrum.

[Xirian]

Indeed they are Maoists, and as long as they are not wiped out to a major percent, the Peoples' War keeps on going. I've heard a lot of things about them, but I'm sure that it's not that easy to differentiate the media BS from reality - one would have to be a member to see what they're actually all about. I'm sure that they have different branches even inside of the Party; but most of them definitely seem to be standing on the People's side. There WERE many proven occurrences when they did kill innocents, but I'm sure that can't be avoided during such a big-scale Peoples' War going on. They ARE good Maoists, and I wish them the best of luck in advancing further with their struggle for liberation.

[bluemangroup]

The Maoists are labeled by the mainstream media, rather bluntly, as terrorists. IMHO its a much more complex affair. If history is to be our guide, yet if we were to go by the government's or media's interpretation of events, Mao Zedong's communist movement would've been a terrorist movement. We can go back further, and say that the American (bourgeois) revolutionaries of 1776 were terrorists for resorting to violence.

My point is that its an oversimplification to assert that violence = terrorism by default. In Spain, when miners fired makeshift weapons against police, the media lauded the resisting miners as terrorists a year ago. Its clear, however, that they had their backs up against the wall and were facing a matter of life and death (i.e. whether or not to keep their jobs and provide for their families or not)

That's in a way how I would view the people's war in India, as a legitimate act of resistance which raises many moral questions (i.e. land reform, the caste system, rights for ethnic minorities, etc.) facing present Indian society.

I believe it was William Hinton, author of Fanshen, who asserted that land reform was on the agenda of mankind (to paraphrase him) and in which he specifically signaled out India. Its clear that land reform is a burning question in India as in Nepal, and that the communists have legitimate demands which have thus far been left unfulfilled by the Indian government.

So I would argue one to really think about the situation in India, and not to jump to conclusions. I would caution against arguing that the CPI(M) are terrorists or fighters, instead I would wholly recommend one think outside the box and study up not only on modern Indian affairs but history as well.

That's all I've to say right now. I'm giving my honest opinion.

[Sarajlija E]

Don't know too much about their policies/ideologies but there was a video in which they were caning a man because he had alcohol on his breath. Not sure those are the types of people I want as leaders.

[Comrade Jacob]

They are true revolutionaries and their tactics seem good lately.
e.g "0 Naxalites have been neutralised in 3 months". Their attacks have become more efficient as well.

[goalkeeper]

I heard from a guy I know from India (this is what he tells me, I can't vouch for it's complete accuracy) that Maoists organise within small factories (usually shop so of 10-15 people) and then encourage them to actually go of the countryside to fight. Make of that what you will; such a strategy seems completely wrong, even downright reactionary IMO.

[ind_com]

I heard from a guy I know from India (this is what he tells me, I can't vouch for it's complete accuracy) that Maoists organise within small factories (usually shop so of 10-15 people) and then encourage them to actually go of the countryside to fight. Make of that what you will; such a strategy seems completely wrong, even downright reactionary IMO.

Organizations in the urban areas prepare the proletariat for leading the struggle in both the cities and villages. The urban organizations that build up the struggle in the cities itself are clandestine and hence their activities or plans are not reported much. On the other hand, news of workers leaving the city altogether to join the rural movement spreads fast, which is why your friend knows about that technique.

[ind_com]

I would like to hear from the Maoists here what their take on the CPI(Maoist) and the Naxalites is. Is what they're doing the right approach? Is there anything in their strategy you would argue should change?

What the CPI(Maoist) is doing is mostly right, but some they adopt some wrong tactics from time to time, or sometime fail to update their tactics. The overall strategy of protracted people's war is correct, but the details to develop it in a country like India are not concrete yet. So the CPI(Maoist) is continuously implementing different tactics and substrategies to transform the guerrilla war into mobile war and to gain a solid foothold in the urban centers.


Also, it would be good to understand where they fall on the Maoist spectrum.

Usually the CPI(Maoist) gets to define what Maoism is, so it is easy to work out where they fall on the Maoist spectrum. :D