RAIPUR: At least eight policemen and a driver were killed in a roadside bomb blast in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, Indian media reported on Monday citing police officials.
The police vehicle was hit by a blast in the Bijapur district of the state, a police statement said.
This is the latest in a series of attacks on security forces in the state. It follows frequent gunbattles between the forces and the Maoist rebels in which several rebels have been killed in recent months.
Chhattisgarh and its neighbouring states in central and eastern India have been facing a decades-long movement by Maoist rebels.
Maoists assert that they are fighting to give poor Indian farmers and landless labourers greater control over their land and a larger share of the minerals currently being exploited by large mining companies.
The Maoist issue
The Maoist issue is often referred to as the Naxalite movement primarily in India’s rural and tribal areas.
Today the movement continues to persist, especially in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha, where Maoist groups still have significant influence.
Origins and ideology
The Maoist movement in India traces its origins to the 1967 Naxalbari uprising in West Bengal, inspired by the revolutionary theories of Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong.
The movement aimed to address issues such as economic inequality, land rights, displacement of tribal communities, and the exploitation of the poor by wealthy landowners and government institutions.
Rooted in Maoist ideology, the movement is led by various armed groups striving to overthrow the Indian government and establish a communist state.
While their primary goals include land reforms, social justice, and the protection of indigenous rights, the broader objective is to dismantle what they perceive as a capitalist system of exploitation and create a classless, communist society.
The conflict
For decades, the Maoists have engaged in a guerrilla war against the Indian government and its security forces. The movement has also been involved in ambushes, bombings, and abductions. The Indian government classifies the Maoists as a terrorist organisation.
