| My Indian friends are pretty worried about this. |
Manmohan Singh, the Indian prime minister, on Friday warned that revolutionary Maoist groups posed the single greatest threat to IndiaÂ’s internal stability and democratic culture.The Maoist insurgency, which has ideological and logistical links to guerrillas in Nepal, has affected around a quarter of all administrative districts in the country.
“The challenge of internal security is our biggest national security challenge,” Mr Singh told state chief ministers, who gathered in New Delhi to discuss the Maoist threat. “There can be no political compromise with terror. No inch conceded. No compassion shown.”
The deteriorating situation in the Hindu kingdom of Nepal, where King Gyanendra is struggling to resist a Maoist takeover, has served as a belated wake-up call to New Delhi. State governments in India have been wrong-footed by the daring tactics and sophisticated weaponry of Maoist groups, also known as Naxalites.
“We have to take a comprehensive approach in dealing with Naxalism given the emerging linkages between groups within and outside the country,” Mr Singh said.
India and the US have urged King Gyanendra to abandon his project to restore royal absolutism, warning it is likely to trigger a Maoist takeover in Nepal.
In the wake of the recent hijacking of a train by Maoists in the northern state of Jharkand and the storming of a jail in neighbouring Bihar, Mr Singh has been criticised for failing to prevent the collapse of local government and the emergence of alternative guerilla-run administrations in vast swathes of the country.
Expressing his determination to “wipe out” the Maoist threat to India’s “civilised and democratic way of life”, Mr Singh also blamed “iniquitous socio-political circumstances” in many states for the spread of the Naxalite movement, which was born in 1967 in the Bengali town of Naxalbari.
After a week of violent pro-democracy protests in Nepal, King Gyanendra on Friday promised elections and called on political parties to engage in dialogue.
However, the opposition parties, which boycotted municipal elections in February, say any vote held under King Gyanendra’s rule would be neither free nor fair. They are pushing for a new constitution that would appear likely to leave little or no role for the Himalayan kingdom’s once-revered Hindu monarchy. “The king’s call comes a little too late because the protests have moved beyond that stage,” said Krishna Khanal, a professor of political science at Tribhuwan University.
The seven parties, who formed an alliance with the Maoists last year to push for the restoration of democracy, said they would intensify their protests. “The king’s statement is a conspiracy to defuse the movement rather than respect the wishes of the people,” said Krishna Sitaula, spokesman of the Nepali Congress party.
The week-long general strike and protests saw large numbers of middle-class professionals swell the ranks of the pro-democracy movement. Analysts say the broadening of the movement leaves the royal palace needing to secure a compromise or risk being overthrown. “The situation is dangerous and fluid, but the government remains in control,” said Shrish Shumsher Rana, information minister.
Defying the government, employees in “essential services” at state banks, including the central bank, stopped work on Thursday, bringing banking to a standstill in the districts. Five people have died and 4,000 have been arrested in the protests that began on April 6. More than 1,000 protesters and party activists remain in detention.