Hafta 538: India vs Maoists: Is this a turning point?

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam, Raman Kirpal and Shardool Katyayan are joined by senior journalist and CGNet Swara’s co-founder Shubhranshu Choudhary.

We start with a discussion on the killing of 27 suspected Maoists in Chhattisgarh this week and analyse if the Maoist movement in the state has declined. Shubhranshu says, “We don’t agree with the strategy, but it is hugely successful… This war has been won by the Bastariyas (residents of Bastar) themselves who gave information.”

However, he warns that unresolved issues like mining and lack of development could reignite tensions, asking, “What will be our development policy? That will determine whether Maoism will be dead.”

Jayashree raises concerns about the accuracy of government claims, questioning, “Should we be more suspicious when the government says it’s killed dozens of Maoists?” She highlights the lack of judicial scrutiny in encounters, citing, “I think of thousands of encounters that have happened in Bastar in the last 25 years. There’ve only been two judicial inquiries.”

Abhinandan adds, “There’s an overlap of mining interests in media interests – even in ownership,” and Manisha stresses on political representation for a better future for Bastar’s residents. “If militants in the Northeast can join the BJP, why not here? Political representation matters. It gives people real options.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

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Song: Blowing in the wind

Timecodes

00:00:00 – Introductions 

00:06:51 – Headlines 

00:16:59 - Operation Black Forest

01:13:52 – Letters

01:36:04 – Recommendations

Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced by Priyali Dhingra.

Recorded by Hassan Bilal and Anil Kumar. 

Production assistance by Ankit Raj. 

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