VZCZCXRO0709
RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW
DE RUEHCG #0399 3430803
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 080803Z DEC 08
FM AMCONSUL CHENNAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2004
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 3425
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS CHENNAI 000399 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PTER PHUM IN
SUBJECT:  India and the Maoist Threat 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Lieutenant General K.M. Seth, a retired 
counter-insurgency expert and the former Governor of Chhattisgarh, 
gave a November 21 lecture entitled "Naxalism:  Threat to Internal 
Security" to the Chennai-based Centre for Security Analysis.  Seth, 
who served as Chhattisgarh's Governor from June 2003 to January 
2007, gave a candid and pessimistic state of India's efforts to 
combat the Maoist threat.  He described a 10,000 square kilometer 
area in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra as a "totally liberated" Maoist 
zone within which the insurgents operate training and logistics 
camps.  Seth also said the Maoists are becoming increasingly 
sophisticated in terms of military tactics, and have links to groups 
outside of India.  End summary. 
 
Enormous Maoist "liberated zone" in the heart of India 
--------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Seth spoke at length of a 10,000 square kilometer heavily 
forested area known as "Abhujmadh," 7,000 of which fall in 
Chhattisgarh and 3,000 in neighboring Maharashtra.  (Note: 
Chhattisgarh police sources have told Consulate General Mumbai that 
the area in question is even larger:  approximately 21,000 square 
kilometers.  End note.)  According to Seth, Abhujmadh has virtually 
no roads.  He said there is "no police or government authority" 
within Abujhmadh and that, as a private citizen, he can "now admit" 
that it is a "totally liberated" Maoist zone.  Maoist groups operate 
training and logistics camps, as well as hold leadership meetings 
there, making Abujhmadh the "nerve center" for Maoist activities in 
India, according to Seth.  He added that the population of Abujhmadh 
consists of around 20,000 tribal families scattered over 237 
villages, all of whom live in extremely primitive circumstances. 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) To emphasize the utter lack of government control of 
Abhujmadh, Seth noted that the area has "never been surveyed" by the 
government of India.  According the Seth, the Indian Space Research 
Organization provided a satellite survey of the region during the 
time he served as Governor.  Seth said the state tried to follow-up 
the satellite survey with an actual on-the-ground survey, but the 
state's survey teams were unable to penetrate further than two to 
three kilometers into Abhujmadh before they were turned back by fear 
of mines and other Maoist defenses. 
 
Maoists show increasing "tactical expertise" 
--------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Seth, a decorated ex-general with experience in 
counter-insurgency operations in the northeast, discussed a 2005 
Maoist attack on that killed 56 police officers at remote 
Chhattisgarh police station.  He explained that the Maoists 
completely encircled the station in the dead of night, used 
high-powered lights to blind the police sentries, and attacked them 
using vehicle mounted machine guns.  Seth described the attack as a 
"sophisticated classical military engagement" that demonstrated 
their increasing "tactical expertise." 
 
Maoists look outside India for inspiration 
--------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Seth said there are no direct links between Indian and 
Nepalese Maoists, but did say India's Maoists draw "inspiration" 
from the accomplishments of their neighbors to the north.  He said 
that in a 2005 conversation a captured Indian Maoist expressed 
amazement to him over what the Nepalese Maoists had accomplished in 
just a decade, especially when compared to the protracted struggle 
in India.  Seth did say that there are "definite and growing" links 
between the Maoists and Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam 
(LTTE), citing the presence of two LTTE representatives at the 
Maoist's 2007 9th Congress. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment:  Seth, freed from the restraints of working for 
the government, was pessimistic about the state of India's efforts 
to quell the Maoist insurgency.  His description of Abujhmadh as a 
"totally liberated zone" in which the Maoists operate freely and 
openly is especially troubling.  Whether the Maoists have actually 
"liberated" Abujhmadh is questionable.  It seems more likely that 
they control this swath largely because the state and federal 
governments have failed to show interest in governing it themselves. 
 But either way, Abujhmadh's 10,000 square kilometers -- an area 
roughly the size of Lebanon -- is an impressive start to the 
Maoists' effort to set up a parallel government within India.  End 
comment. 
 
KAPLAN