Maoist rebel blast kills 8 troops in India

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**airman**

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37037517/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/#storyContinued

NEW DELHI - Maoist rebels blew up an army truck Saturday killing eight paramilitary soldiers and wounding two others in a densely forested area in central India, a top police official said.

The rebels planted and triggered an explosive device that blew up an armored truck traveling in the densely forested Bijapur district of Chattisgarh state, said Vishwa Ranjan, the state's director general of police.

"The soldiers were on their way home on vacation when the vehicle in which they were traveling was blown up. At least two other people were injured," Ranjan said Saturday.

This is the first major attack by Maoist rebels in the state since they killed 76 paramilitary soldiers in an ambush on April 6.

Bijapur is about 170 miles (285 kilometers) south of Raipur, the state capital.

Inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, the rebels have fought the central government for more than four decades, demanding land and jobs for tenant farmers and the poor. About 2,000 people — including police, militants and civilians — have been killed in the past few years.

Maoist rebels are often called Naxalites after the Naxalbari area in neighboring West Bengal state where the movement first emerged in the late 1960s.

The rebels, who have tapped into the rural poor's growing anger at being left out of the country's economic gains, are now present in 20 of the country's 28 states and have an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 fighters, according to India's home ministry.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called them India's biggest internal security threat.

**dogma**

There have been many problems with the Maoists, and they are likely to worsen as the gap between India and China widens.

**Emperors Faithful**

Geez, 76 killed in April? Why didn't I hear about that one?
Just goes to show how ignorant I am. I really had now idea there was a movement like this in India. Although, it doesn't say too much about Global Media either, reporting the deaths of tourists, but not mentioning the seriousness of a movement like this until now.

**dogma**

Well, in all fairness, if you aren't foreign affairs this isn't really a huge deal.

**Emperors Faithful**

I watch SBS...every now and then. Is it really so bad that I get the 'details' mostly from DakkaDakka?

**generalgrog**

When I first saw the thread title, I thought it said "moist" Boy was I surprised.

GG

**ShumaGorath**

Emperors Faithful wrote:I watch SBS...every now and then. Is it really so bad that I get the 'details' mostly from DakkaDakka?

I found out about that when it happened via the bbc. Thats your network!

**sebster**

dogma wrote:Well, in all fairness, if you aren't foreign affairs this isn't really a huge deal.

India's internal politics have been more or less ignored by the rest of the world for a long time now, and the violence across the North has been completely ignored, to some extent India ignores it as much as the rest of us do. The Mumbai attacks received a lot of attention because of the Taliban connection, but that's about it.

I was in India during the election and somewhere in the realm of 50 election officials, policemen and voters were killed up North by Maoists. Afterwards the Indian government came out and said the resources they committed to potential sites of Muslim attack would have been better focussed on Maoist regions.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Emperors Faithful wrote:I watch SBS...every now and then. Is it really so bad that I get the 'details' mostly from DakkaDakka?

That's pretty serious, yeah.

**Emperors Faithful**

sebster wrote:

Emperors Faithful wrote:I watch SBS...every now and then. Is it really so bad that I get the 'details' mostly from DakkaDakka?

That's pretty serious, yeah.

Hey it could be worse...

**dogma**

sebster wrote:
India's internal politics have been more or less ignored by the rest of the world for a long time now, and the violence across the North has been completely ignored, to some extent India ignores it as much as the rest of us do. The Mumbai attacks received a lot of attention because of the Taliban connection, but that's about it.

Yeah, its pretty wild. I remember being in New Delhi; explaining to Indian natives the nature of their civil problem in the North. It was like they didn't know where Pakistan ended and India began.

sebster wrote:
I was in India during the election and somewhere in the realm of 50 election officials, policemen and voters were killed up North by Maoists. Afterwards the Indian government came out and said the resources they committed to potential sites of Muslim attack would have been better focussed on Maoist regions.

India is generally paranoid when it comes to Muslims issues, as they almost always link back to Pakistan in general, or the Pakistani military in specific.

The Maoists and the Hindutva movement are far greater threats to internal stability, but that doesn't move voters, or play into the historic rivalry.