Villagers flee war zone as India battles Maoists
LALGARH, India, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Babulal Mahato hides in paddy fields each night in an eastern Indian village as security forces carry out search operations for Maoist supporters.
Along with dozens of villagers in West Bengal state, 85-year-old Mahato does the same when the Maoists come to the village.
"I am too old, so I hide," said Mahato, his eyes weary after spending many sleepless nights outside.
"Many villagers have already left their homes and fled, fearing getting caught between the Maoists and police."
In Lalgarh, a cluster of 150 villages, daily rebel ambushes, police raids and civilians caught in the middle may be a sign of things to come as the government prepares an offensive against Maoist insurgents.
Federal and state police in armoured vehicles scour nearby jungles, a signal of the start of India's bid to stem a growing decades-long insurgency.
After a resounding general election win in May, the Congress party-led government, no longer dependent on communist parties in its coalition, has decided to take on an estimated 22,000 Maoist rebels who hold sway over swathes of countryside.
Operation "Green Hunt" reflects growing concerns in India that Maoists were becoming too strong after a decades-long insurgency. India's strong economic growth of the last few years did little to bring millions of poor villagers and tribals out of the poverty that helps act as the backbone of Maoist support.
In recent months, brazen attacks on passenger trains, attacks on mining companies and the beheading of a policeman have sparked national soul searching.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has warned Maoist violence was a drain on resources.
India's politicians and rights activists now debate the planned offensive. Will it stem Maoist influence, or will it just inflame tensions as villagers get caught in the crossfire?
"Local people are at risk of being caught in the middle of the fighting, killed, wounded, abducted, forced to take sides, and then risk retribution," said Meenakshi Ganguly, senior South Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Six months ago, Maoists, who say they fight for poor farmers, took control of Lalgarh, a four-hour drive from east India's biggest city of Kolkata. They drove away government staff, destroyed buildings and forced police to retreat.
It was a takeover seen across hundreds of rural districts across a "red corridor" in central and eastern India.
"It is not a question of patrolling anymore. It is a question of engaging them, arresting them and killing them if fired upon," Kuldiep Singh, a senior police official in West Bengal, said. Continued...
