WikiLeaks: Maoists not getting support from outside India

LONDON/NEW DELHI - Indian Maoists are “not dependent on support from outside India” and are moving towards a more unified command system, says a leaked US embassy cable put out by WikiLeaks.

The US cable reproduced by The Guardian said: “Indian terrorism analysts — in some respects more so than the GOI (Government of India) — are concerned that Naxal terrorism, which covers a broad region of Eastern, Central, and Southern India, is growing in sophistication and lethality and will be a significant long-term challenge.”

“Unlike terrorists in Kashmir, these Naxalite groups are not dependent on support from outside India; the GOI and independent experts assess that Naxals purchase some weapons from Nepalese Maoists, but (per the GOI) `the relationship is commercial, not ideological’.”

The cable pointed out that the Maoists, such as those in the Communist Party of India-Maoist, “are moving toward a more unified command system than the plethora of small jihadi groups that co-exist alongside LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba) and JeM (Jaish-e-Mohammed).”

It said that while jihadis are expanding their area of operations to conduct attacks, particularly in cities, “Naxals are expanding the area of (rural) territory they effectively control (i.e. collect taxes, adjudicate disputes, etc.)”.