The maoists in India: tribals under siege

In east-central India, nearly one hundred thousand Indian paramilitary forces are at war with thousands of Maoist guerrillas consisting primarily of tribal youth and children.

Caught in the crossfire are millions of poor tribals. Already hundreds have died in the conflict, thousands are in jail, several others have fled from homes, and malnutrition has reached sub-Saharan dimensions. What is the political meaning of these developments from the perspective of the Left? How do we appraise a formidable armed conflict in the context of a supposedly pluralist parliamentary democracy? How credible is a proclaimed resistance, which places large numbers of impoverished people in the crossfire? What options, if any, are now available to save the tribals from mounting catastrophe? This book attempts to address these questions. Since the basic thrust of the book is to articulate the urgent humanitarian cause of saving tribal lives, it is to be viewed as a political work, primarily.