Veerappan

Veerappan
Born	18 January 1952 Gopinatham, Karnataka
Died	18 October 2004 (aged 52)Papparapatti, Tamil Nadu
Resting place	Moolakadu, Tamil Nadu.
Religion	Hindu
Criminal charge	Murder Kidnapping Poaching Smuggling
Spouse(s)	Muthulakshmi
Children	Three

Veerapan (18 January 1952 – 18 October 2004), commonly known as Veerappan or Sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, was an Indian bandit (also called a dacoit in India) who was active for years in scrub and forest lands covering about 6,000 km² in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
For over a decade, Veerappan defied the state governments of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and Indian Border security paramilitary forces, and even maintained a small army, which at one point numbered hundreds. He was wanted for killing approximately 184 people, about half of whom were police officers, including senior police and forest officials. He was also wanted for poaching about 200 elephants and smuggling ivory worth US$2,600,000 and about 10,000 tonnes of sandalwood worth approximately US$22,000,000.
A reward of ₹50 million (US$790,000) was offered for Veerappan's capture, yet he evaded arrest for 20 years until he was killed by police in 2004.


Early years


Veerappan leading his gang of dacoits in Meenyam forest, Kollegal Taluk
Veerappan was born on 19 January 1952, in the village of Gopinatham to a Tamil-speaking Vanniyar family of cattle-grazers. He was known as "Molakai" as a child, and suffered from asthma. Veerappan was inspired by Maleyur Mammattiyan, a notorious bandit from Mecheri, Salem district, who was active during the 1950s and 1960s. Mammattiyan was killed in an inter-gang fight and Veerappan's first murder was of Mammattiyan's killer's brother.


Family

Veerappan married Muthulakshmi and is said to have strangled one of their children soon after birth because she was their third successive girl. His wife reportedly appreciated his "notoriety and mustache" and married him because of that. As of 2004, his two other daughters were studying in Tamil Nadu.


Criminal life

Veerappan started as an assistant to his relative Sevi Gounder, a notorious poacher and sandalwood smuggler. His father and relatives, whose village lay in the forest area, were also known to be poachers and smugglers. Veerappan began his career in crime in 1970 and was first arrested in 1972.
Veerappan initially developed as a sandalwood and ivory smuggler, killing elephants for the latter. He later started killing those who resisted his activities. He committed his first murder at the age of 17 and his victims tended to be police officers, forest officials, and informants.
In 1987, Veerappan kidnapped and murdered a forest officer named Chidambaram from Tamil Nadu. This first brought him to the Indian Government's attention. Among his well-known killings are a senior IFS officer named Pandillapalli Srinivas in November 1991, and an ambush of a police party including a senior IPS officer, Harikrishna, among others, in August 1992.
Veerappan was not averse to killing civilians, and killed a man from his native village for having once travelled in a police jeep. He regularly killed anyone suspected of being a police informer. Because of political instability, Veerappan could easily escape from one state to another.


Palar blast

In Govindapadi, Mettur, Veerappan killed a Bandari suspected of being a police informer, and a 41-member team of police and forestry officials was called in. On 9 April 1993, a landmine was detonated against the two vehicles this team was travelling in. The blast occurred at Palar, near Malai Mahadeswara Hills, Karnataka, and killed 22 members of the team. Known as the Palar blast, this was his single largest mass killing.


Special Task Force

In 1990, the Karnataka and the Tamil Nadu Governments formed a Special Task Force to catch Veerappan. In February 1992, his lieutenant Gurunathan was killed by the Karnataka task force, with SI Shakeel Ahmed single-handedly responsible for the capture. Three months later, Veerappan attacked the Ramapura police station in the Chamarajanagar district, killing several policemen and capturing arms and ammunition. In August 1992, Veerappan laid a trap for SI Shakeel Ahmed, killing him along with five others. The Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Special Task Forces then began intensified combing operations along the two states' border areas and also around Gopinatham village, Veerappan's birthplace.
Through these operations, the combined Special Task Force discovered that Veerappan's gang was down to only five members. Meetings with Gopinatham villagers were held, and the 5-crore bounty was announced.


Indian actor Rajkumar was kidnapped by Veerappan in 2000. He was held for more than 100 days before his release.
In 1993, the task force arrested Veerappan's wife, Muthulakshmi, and charged her with aiding, but she was acquitted of all charges.


Kidnap of Rajkumar

On 30 July 2000, Veerappan kidnapped a famous Kannada actor, Rajkumar, and three others from Dodda Gajanur, a village near the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border where the film star was attending a housewarming ceremony. Public outcry and violence ensued in Bangalore as well as other parts of Karnataka. A bandh, or strike, also occurred on 22 September in Bangalore. Karnataka's Chief Minister and police personnel sought the help of Tamil Nadu Government and visited Chennai seeking help. Negotiations were conducted and R. Gopal, an editor of the Tamil magazine Nakkeeran, was involved in several rounds of talks with Veerappan. Gopal had earlier visited Veerappan for similar negotiations, and visited the forest several times for videotaped discussions. Veerappan demanded justice for Tamil Nadu in the Cauvery Water dispute, as well as making Tamil the second official language of Karnataka and the release of certain Tamil extremists jailed in Tamil Nadu. Rajkumar was held for 109 days and finally released without harm in November 2000. A police official later suggested that 300,000,000 rupees ($6.5m) had been paid for his release.


Kidnap of H. Nagappa

On 25 August 2002, Veerappan abducted H. Nagappa, a former minister of Karnataka, from his village house in Chamarajanagara District. Nagappa was a minister for Agricultural Marketing from 1996 to 1999. The Joint Special task forces of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu worked with the Kerala police to help release Nagappa. An encounter to release him failed, and Nagappa was found dead three months later in a Karnataka forest. The reward offered by the Karnataka state government was then increased to 5,00,00,000 rupees (US$1.25 million).


Ransom demands

For several years during the 1990s, Veerappan kidnapped police officials and other personalities and demanded ransom money. It is believed that ransoms were often unofficially paid. In July 1997, he kidnapped nine forest officials in the Burude forests in Chamarajanagara district. In that case, the hostages were released unharmed a few weeks later even though his ransom demand was not met. It is also believed that Veerappan buried large amounts of money in various parts of the forest, and in 2002 police recovered Rs. 3.3 million from his gang members.


Political support

During his later years, Veerappan got political support from Tamil nationalist organisations like Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), a political party predominantly of the Vanniyar caste to which Veerappan belonged. Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) was a known sympathiser of Veerappan and his aides, and demanded the removal of the death penalty for four of Veerappan's aides as soon the sentence was given to them in 2013. Karunanidhi also extended the 31 October 1997 deadline for Veerappan's surrender and postponed Special Task Force (STF) police action by few days saying, "it is not far too late for Veerappan to surrender". Banned organisations like the Tamil National Retrieval Troops (TNRT) and Tamil Nadu Liberation Army (TNLA, a front in Tamil Nadu for LTTE) helped Veerappan to secure a Robin Hood image and to draft terms of negotiations when he kidnapped prominent people. Kolathur Mani, president of Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam, formerly the Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (PDK) party, supported Veerappan and was booked by police as an accomplice in several of Veerappan's crimes, including the Palar blast case.


Death

On 18 October 2004, Veerappan and two of his associates were killed by the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force headed by K Vijay Kumar. The killing happened near the village of Papparapatti in Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu. Veerappan and his men were lured into an ambulance by an undercover policeman under the pretext of taking them to Dharmapuri for medical treatment.  The Tamil Nadu Special Task Force, which had been observing his movements for several months, surrounded the ambulance, and the gangsters were killed in the ensuing gun battle. The entire operation was named Operation Cocoon and Veerappan's associates Sethukuli Govinda, Chandre Gowda and Sethumani were also killed in the operation. His death was described as the "death of a demon" by The Guardian. The villagers of Gopinatham celebrated with firecrackers on hearing the news. Since Veerappan's death, the village has been promoted as a destination for ecotourism by the Karnataka State Department of Forest and Tourism.
Veerappan was buried at a village named Moolakadu, Tamil Nadu, as his family members were more attached to it and most of his relatives in Gopinatham had left. The police had planned a cremation but decided on a burial after objections from Veerappan's relatives. Thousands of people turned out for the burial, while others were kept away by heavy security.


Timeline

Timeline of Veerappan's activities:

• 1962: Veerappan’s first crime. He is just 10 when he guns down a tusker with the help of his Guru Sevi Gounder at Gopinatham. Nabs three forest officials and kills them.
• 1970: Joined a gang of poachers.
• 27 August 1983 : Killed K.M.Prithvi, (25) forest guard near Mavukal, Ponnampet, Kodagu, Karnataka when the guard tried to prevent elephant poaching by the gang and he was the first forest official killed by Veerappan.
• 1986: Arrested and lodged at Boodipada forest guest house but escaped under mysterious circumstances (reportedly bribed a police officer).
• 26 August 1986 : Killed Siddarama Naik, a forest watcher at Alegowdana Katte, Gundlupet, Karntaka.
• 1987: Kidnapped and hacked Tamil Nadu forest officer Chidambaram. Kidnapped and killed 5 members of a rival gang.
• 1989: Killed three forest personnel after 15 days of abducting them from Begur forest range.
• 9 April 1990: Killed three police SI Dinesh, Jagannath, Ramalingu and police constable Shankara Rao near Hogenakal. The Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments constitute Special Task Force (STF) to catch Veerappan. Shot and beheaded Karnataka deputy conservator of forests, Srinivas, as revenge for Veerappan's sister Mala's suicide (the victim's head was traced three years later).
• 1991: Abducted son of a granite quary owner and demanded ransom of Rs. 10 million; released him for a ransom of Rs. 1.5 million.
• 1992: Attacked a police station in Ramapura, killing five policemen, injuring two and stealing arms and ammunition. STF killed two gang members in retaliation.
• 14 August 1992: Trapped and killed Mysore District SP, T.Harikrishna, SI Shakeel Ahmed and four constables named Benegonda, C.M.Kalappa, Sundara and M.P.Appachu, through a false informant near Meenyam in Karnataka.
• 25 January 1993: Veerappan and his gang had a close encounter and missed by whisker the police team headed by "Rambo" Gopalakrishnan, Police officer from Tamil Nadu; one of his gang members and close associate Antony Raj was gunned down.
• 1993: Border Security force (BSF) was deployed to hunt Veerappan but it felt that language was main barrier to carry out successful operation. Deployment of Border Security Force (of Central Government) was disliked by Tamil Nadu Government.Veerappan killed about 20 combatants of BSF.
• 1993: April : Trapped and blew a Tamil Nadu bus carrying police, forest officials and civilians, using a landmine, which killed 22 civilians and police and this incident is known as Palar blast.
• 24 May 1993: Killed 6 policemen K.M.Uthappa, Prabhakara, Poovaiah, Machaiah, Swamy and Narasappa of STF commander Gopal Hosur's party and injured the police commander near Rangaswamy vaddu, M.M.Hills, Karnataka. Tamil Nadu government deploys Border Security Force (BSF). Joint operations of BSF and STF arrested 9 gang members and killed 6. Three policemen were killed. Veerappan requested amnesty. Victim's relatives opposed any type of government negotiations.
• 1994: Abducted Chidambaranathan, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Coimbatore and two others.
• 1995: In November, kidnapped three forest department officials of Tamil Nadu.
• 1996: Killed a police informer. Killed another 19 police personnel. Wounded police official Tamilselvan and killed a constable as revenge for the suicide of Veerappan's brother Arjunan in police custody.
• 1997: The gang kidnapped wildlife photographers Senani and Krupakar. Veerappan apparently killed 'Baby Veerappan', a gang member, who had visions to succeed Veerappan. Kidnapped and released another photographers Senani and Krupakar. Kidnapped and executed nine Karnataka forest officials from Burude forests.
• 1998: Kidnapped Prof.Krishnasamy, A.S.Mani - editor "Netikan", Payumpuli — reporter and Richard Mohan — photographer. Special Task Force released them after combing operation.
• 2000: Kidnapped Kannada film actor Dr. Rajkumar. Released him after 109 days (ransomed).
• 2002: Kidnapped and allegedly killed former Karnataka minister H. Nagappa. There are other sources, including police of Karnataka who claim that the bullet in the body of the former minister was from a rifle used by the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force (possibly the rifle used was stolen from Tamil Nadu task force or cross fire could have caused his death).
• 2004: Killed by Tamil Nadu Special Task Force members at a checkpost, when the bandit was travelling in an ambulance driven by disguised policeman as driver.

Total killings

More than 119 killings, including civilians, forest officials, police personnel and foreign research student are officially recorded.


Media Usage

Film and television

• Jungle: a Ram Gopal Varma film on slain bandit Veerappan
• There were scores of regional films in Tamil and Kannada with Veerappan as its antagonist like the Tamil movie Captain Prabhakaran and Kannada movie Veerappan, all of which were super hits.
• Makkal TV aired a TV serial based on Veerappan's life called Sandhanakaadu (means sandalwood forest in Tamil). Karate Raja played Veerappan and Goutham directed the serial. The serial shed some light on the other side of Veerapan as well as their own version of how Veerapan was killed by poisoning.
• The Malayalam actor Mamukkoya did the title role in the comedy film Korappan, The Great (2001). This film was just a satire and has no connection with the original person
• The character of Veeraiya (played by Vikram) in the Tamil film Raavanan (2010) (Raavan in Hindi) resembles strongly the life of Veerappan.
• The 2012 dual-language film - Attahasa in Kannada and as Vana Yuddham in Tamil is based on the life of Veerappan whose character is played by Kishore.

Books

• Veerappan: India's Most Wanted Man by Sunaad Raghuram. The film Let's Kill Veerappan is based on a chapter in this book.
• Birds, Beasts and Bandits: 14 days with Veerappan is a book written by Krupakar and Senani, who were kidnapped by Veerappan in 1998.

Naxalite

Areas with Naxalite activity in 2007 (left) and in 2013 (right).

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A Naxal or Naxalite is a member of any of the Communist guerrilla groups in India, mostly associated with the Communist Party of India (Maoist). The term Naxal derives from the name of the village Naxalbari in West Bengal, where the movement had its origin. Naxalites are considered far-left radical communists, supportive of Maoist political sentiment and ideology. Their origin can be traced to the split in 1967 of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), leading to the formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist). Initially the movement had its centre in West Bengal. In later years, it spread into less developed areas of rural southern and eastern India, such as Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh through the activities of underground groups like the Communist Party of India (Maoist).
In 2006 India's intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing estimated that 20,000 armed-cadre Naxalites were operating in addition to 50,000 regular cadres and their growing influence prompted Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to declare them to be the most serious internal threat to India's national security. Naxalites, and other anti-government militants, are often referred to as "ultras".
In February 2009, the Indian Central government announced a new nationwide initiative, to be called the "Integrated Action Plan" (IAP) for broad, co-ordinated operations aimed at dealing with the Naxalite problem in all affected states (namely Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal). Importantly, this plan included funding for grass-roots economic development projects in Naxalite-affected areas, as well as increased special police funding for better containment and reduction of Naxalite influence in these areas.
In 2009, Naxalites were active across approximately 180 districts in ten states of India. In August 2010, after the first full year of implementation of the national IAP program, Karnataka was removed from the list of Naxalite-affected states. In July 2011, the number of Naxalite-affected areas was reduced to 83 districts in nine states (including 20 additional districts). In December 2011, the national government reported that the number of Naxalite-related deaths and injuries nationwide had gone down by nearly 50% from 2010 levels. “Communist terrorist groups (Naxals) are by far the most frequent perpetrators and the main cause of deaths in India. Maoist communist groups claimed responsibility for 192 deaths in 2013, which was nearly half of all deaths from terrorism in India.

History

The term Naxalites comes from Naxalbari, a small village in West Bengal, where a section of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) led by Charu Mazumdar, Kanu Sanyal, and Jangal Santhal initiated a violent uprising in 1967. On 18 May 1967, the Siliguri Kishan Sabha, of which Jangal was the president, declared their support for the movement initiated by Kanu Sanyal and readiness to adopt armed struggle to redistribute land to the landless. The following week, a sharecropper near Naxalbari village was attacked by the landlord's men over a land dispute. On 24 May, when a police team arrived to arrest the peasant leaders, it was ambushed by a group of tribals led by Jangal Santhal, and a police inspector was killed in a hail of arrows. This event encouraged many Santhal tribals and other poor people to join the movement and to start attacking local landlords.
These conflicts go back to the failure of implementing the 5th and 9th Schedules of the Constitution of India. See Outlook India comment by E.N. Rammohan 'Unleash the Good Force' - edition July 16, 2012. In theory these Schedules provide for a limited form of tribal autonomy with regard to exploiting natural resources on their lands, e.g. pharmaceutical and mining, and 'land ceiling laws', limiting the land to be possessed by landlords and distribution of excess land to landless farmers and labourers. The caste system is another important social aspect of these conflicts.
Mao Zedong provided ideological leadership for the Naxalbari movement, advocating that Indian peasants and lower class tribals overthrow the government and upper classes by force. A large number of urban elites were also attracted to the ideology, which spread through Charu Majumdar's writings, particularly the 'Historic Eight Documents' which formed the basis of Naxalite ideology.^[16]
At the time, the leaders of this revolt were members of the CPI (M), which joined a coalition government in West Bengal just a few months back. Leaders like land minster Hare Krishna Konar had been until recently "trumpeting revolutionary rhetoric, suggesting that militant confiscation of land was integral to the party's programme." However, now that they were in power, CPI (M) did not approve of the armed uprising, and all the leaders and a number of Calcutta sympathizers were expelled from the party.
Subsequently, In November 1967, this group, led by Sushital Ray Chowdhury, organized the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries (AICCCR). Violent uprisings were organized in several parts of the country. On April 22, 1969 (Lenin's birthday), the AICCCR gave birth to the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI (ML)).
Practically all Naxalite groups trace their origin to the CPI (ML). A separate offshoot from the beginning was the Maoist Communist Centre, which evolved out of the Dakshin Desh group. The MCC later fused with the People's War Group to form the Communist Party of India (Maoist). A third offshoot was that of the Andhra revolutionary communists, mainly represented by the UCCRI(ML), following the mass line legacy of T. Nagi Reddy, which broke with the AICCCR at an early stage.
During the 1970s, the movement was fragmented into disputing factions. By 1980, it was estimated that around 30 Naxalite groups were active, with a combined membership of 30,000.

Violence in West Bengal

Around 1971 the Naxalites gained a strong presence among the radical sections of the student movement in Calcutta. Students left school to join the Naxalites. Majumdar, to entice more students into his organisation, declared that revolutionary warfare was to take place not only in the rural areas as before, but everywhere and spontaneously. Thus Majumdar declared an "annihilation line", a dictum that Naxalites should assassinate individual "class enemies" (such as landlords, businessmen, university teachers, police officers, politicians of the right and left) and others.
The chief minister, Siddhartha Shankar Ray of the Congress Party, instituted strong counter-measures against the Naxalites. The West Bengal police fought back to stop the Naxalites. The house of Somen Mitra, the Congress MLA of Sealdah, was allegedly turned into a torture chamber where Naxals were incarcerated illegally by police and the Congress cadres. CPI-M cadres were also involved in the "state terror". After suffering losses and facing the public rejection of Majumdar's "annihilation line", the Naxalites alleged human rights violations by the West Bengal police, who responded that the state was effectively fighting a civil war and that democratic pleasantries had no place in a war, especially when the opponent did not fight within the norms of democracy and civility.
Large sections of the Naxal movement began to question Majumdar's leadership. In 1971 the CPI(ML) was split, as the Satyanarayan Singh revolted against Majumdar's leadership. In 1972 Majumdar was arrested by the police and died in Alipore Jail. His death accelerated the fragmentation of the movement.

Operation Steeplechase

In July 1971, Indira Gandhi took advantage of President's rule to mobilise the Indian Army against the Naxalites and launched a colossal combined army and police counter-insurgency operation, termed "Operation Steeplechase," killing hundreds of Naxalites and imprisoning more than 20,000 suspects and cadres, including senior leaders. The paramilitary forces and a brigade of para commandos also participated in Operation Steeplechase. The operation was choreographed in October 1969, and J.F.R. Jacob was enjoined by Govind Narain, the Home Secretary of India, that "there should be no publicity and no records" and Jacob's request to receive the orders in writing was also denied by Sam Manekshaw.

2000–Present

In a 2004 Indian Home Ministry estimate, their numbers were placed at that time at "9,300 hardcore underground cadre… [holding] around 6,500 regular weapons beside a large number of unlicensed country-made arms". In 2006, according to Judith Vidal-Hall, "Figures (in that year) put the strength of the movement at 15,000, and claim the guerrillas control an estimated one fifth of India's forests, as well as being active in 160 of the country's 604 administrative districts." India's Research and Analysis Wing believed in 2006 that 20,000 Naxals were involved in the growing insurgency.
Today, some Naxalite groups have become legal organisations participating in parliamentary elections, such as the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Janashakti.
On April 6, 2010 Naxalites launched the most deadly assault in the history of the Naxalite movement by killing 76 security personnel. The attack was launched by up to 1,000 Naxalites in a well-planned attack, killing an estimated 76 CRPF policemen in two separate ambushes and wounding 50 others, in the remote jungles of Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district in Eastern/Central India. On 17 May, Naxals blew up a bus on Dantewda–Sukhma road in Chhattisgarh, killing 15 policemen and 20 civilians. In the third Major attack by Naxals on 29 June, at least 26 personnel of the CRPF were killed in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh.
Despite the 2010 Chhattisgarh ambushes, the most recent central government campaign to contain and reduce the militant Naxalite presence appears to be having some success. States such as Madhya Pradesh have reported significant reduction in Naxalite activities as a result of their use of IAP funds for rural development within their states. The recent success in containing violence may be due to a combination of more state presence, but also due to the recent introduction of social security schemes, such as NREGA.
In late 2011, Kishenji, the military leader of Communist Party of India (Maoist), was killed in an encounter with the joint operation forces, which was a huge blow to the Naxalite movement in eastern India.
In March 2012 Maoist rebels kidnapped two Italians in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, the first time Westerners were abducted there.
12 CRPF personnel were killed on March 27, 2012 in a landmine blast triggered by suspected Naxalites in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.
On 25 May 2013, Naxalites attacked a rally led by the Indian National Congress in Sukma village in Bastar Chhattisgarh, killing about 29 people. They killed senior party leader Mahendra Karma and Nand Kumar Patel and his son while in the attack another senior party leader Vidya Charan Shukla was severely wounded and later succumbed to death due to his injuries on the 11th June. See: 2013 Maoist attack in Darbha Valley.
on 11 March 2014, Naxalites in Chhattisgarh ambushed a security team, killing 15 personnel, 11 of whom were from the CRPF. A civilian was also killed. Most recently Naxals,on December 1, 2014 Monday killed 14 CRPF personnel and 12 injured in south Chhattisgarh's Sukma district 

Cultural references

Satyajit Ray's 1971 film Seemabaddha was based on the life of an upper class family during the Naxalite Movement.
Erra Cinema is a popular coinage in the south Indian language of Telugu referring to a collection of films many of which featured narratives in which a representation of Naxals and Maoists is attempted.
CHORUS (1974 or 75) a film by the renowned director Mrinal Sen is a paen to the beloved 30000 (supposedly the number of naxalites killed by the government). It was made around the time of the Emergency in India and Mrinal Sen had to adopt a very experimental - almost allegorical - style to beat the censors.
Khwaja Ahmad Abbas made a critically acclaimed film The Naxalites in 1980. It starred Mithun Chakraborty in the lead.
The British musical group Asian Dub Foundation have a song called "Naxalite", which is featured on the soundtrack to the 1999 film Brokedown Palace.
The 2005 Bollywood movie Tango Charlie directed by Mani Shankar featuring Ajay Devgan had instances of the Naxalite movement and armed forces' counter operations.
A 2005 movie called Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, directed by Sudhir Mishra, was set against the backdrop of the Naxalite movement. In August 2008, Kabeer Kaushik's Chamku, starring Bobby Deol and Priyanka Chopra, explored the story of a boy who is brainwashed to take arms against the state.
In the novel English August by Upamanyu Chatterjee, there is reference to Naxal cadres whom the main protagonist, an IAS officer meets while visiting a tribal village in mid-1980s.
In the novel The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, there is a reference to a character joining the Naxalites.
In the novel The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, the Naxals (sic) are mentioned often by the poor and the rich alike.
In the novel A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, the character Omprakash makes and allusion to fighting "like the Naxalites" (195).
In the 2012 novel The Truth by Michael Palin the protagonist Mabbutt is kidnapped by Naxalites whom are protecting his subject, Hamish Melville.
The 2012 science-fiction novel Intrusion by Ken MacLeod features a future version of the Naxalites in the role of a controversial terrorist group.
In the Indian novel Red Jihad: Battle for South Asia by Sami A. Khan, a splinter Naxalite faction (led by Comrade Agyaat) join hands with a Jihadi-cell (under Yasser Basheer) to destabilize a secular, democratic South Asia.
The 2013 novel The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri has one of the main characters involved in the Naxalite rebellion.
In 1974 Ramon Magsaysay Award winner Mahasweta Devi wrote Hajar Churashir Maa (Mother of 1084), giving a ideological and sympathetic support to the Naxalites. It was made to a film in 1998 naming Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa. It starred Jaya Bachchan as the mother of 1084, who was leader killed by the state.
The 2009 Malayalam movie Thalappavu portrays the story of Naxal Varghese, who was shot allegedly dead by the police during the 70s.
In the Kannada movie Veerappa Nayaka, Vishnuvardhan portrays a Gandhian whose son becomes a Naxalite.
The 2007 Kannada movie Maathaad Maathaadu Mallige, again portrays Vishnuvardhan as a Gandhian, who confronts a Naxalite Sudeep and shows him that the ways adopted by Naxals will only lead to violence and will not achieve their objective.
Eka Nakshalwadya Cha Janma, (Marathi: The birth of a Naxal), a novel written by Vilas Balkrishna Manohar, a volunteer with the Lok Biradari Prakalp, is a fictional account of a Madia Gond Juru's unwilling journey of life his metamorphosis from an exploited nameless tribal to a Naxal.
In 2010, a Hindi drama movie Red Alert: The War Within was released that is based on the true story of a poor Andhra cook who gets caught in the gunfire between cops and Naxalites and is forced to work with the latter.
In the 2011 Tamil political thriller film Ko, Naxalites are shown to rob a bank, overthrow the government and disrupt elections. At the end, it is shown that the naxalites were only used for political gains by the corrupt politicians.
Sindhooram, a National Award winning Telugu film released in 1997, portrays a young police officer becoming a naxalite under unavoidable circumstances. Directed by Krishna Vamsi, the movie was critically acclaimed for its direction and the performances of its lead actors.
Swayamsiddha (Oriya: ସୟଂସିଧ୍ଧା) is a 2010 Oriya film directed by Sudhanshu Mohan Sahu. The movie focuses on how and why people take to extremism, but overall it is a balanced movie and has messages for both the extremists and the government. The movie faced controversy as the main co-star of the film Siddhanta Mahapatra is an M.P. and belongs to the ruling party Biju Janata Dal of Odisha portrays himself as Maoist leader in the film, the opposition parties in the state went on strikes and demanded ban on release of the film.
Chakravyuh, a film by Prakash Jha, was released in 2012. It revolves around the theme of Naxalites, but received critical feedback for allegedly showing sympathy for Maoists.
Red Ant Dream, a documentary by Sanjay Kak, is based on the revolutionary Maoist movement in India. This documentary was under production for more than three years and released in 2013.
In his book named Hello Bastar (ISBN 9789380658346) writer Rahul Pandita has provided insights about the advent of Naxalism in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh and day to day life of Naxalites in the dense forests of this district.
The Lives of Others, a novel by Neel Mukherjee, published in 2013 and shortlisted for the 2014 Man Booker Prize, includes a major plot thread on the lives of Naxalites, the social depredations which they attack and police torture of suspects.

National Security Guard

National Security Guard राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा गार्ड
Abbreviation	NSG
NSG Logo
Motto	सर्वत्र सर्वोत्तम सुरक्षा (Sarvatra Sarvottam Surakhsha)(Sanskrit)
	Omnipresent Omnipotent Defense
Agency overview
Formed	1984
Employees	7,500
Volunteers	Yes
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Legal jurisdiction	Republic of India
Governing body	Ministry of Home Affairs (India)
Constituting instrument	National Security Guard Act, 1986
General nature	Law enforcement Civilian agency
Specialist jurisdictions	Counter terrorism, special weapons and tactics, protection of VIPs. Protection of international or domestic VIPs, protection of significant state asseets.
Operational structure
Headquarters	New Delhi
Minister responsible	Rajnath Singh, Ministry of Home Affairs
Agency executive	Jayanta Narayan Choudhory, Director General of NSG
Parent agency	Ministry of Home Affairs
Child agency	Junior and Mid level personnel on voluntary deputation from Indian Army and Central Armed Police Forces. Senior officers at the discretion of Ministry of Home Affairs (India)
Website
www.nsg.gov.in

The National Security Guard (NSG) (Hindi: राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा गार्ड) is a security force of India constituted "for combating terrorist activities with a view to protect States against internal disturbances". The force does not constitute under collective nomenclature such as Central Armed Police Forces or Paramilitary Forces of India. The force is a unique combination of personnel on deputation from Indian Army and Central Armed Police Forces, hence it is referred as NSG itself or Black Cats or Commandos. The personnel of NSG are known as Black Cats because of the black dress and black cat signage worn on its uniform. The two components of NSG are the Special Action Group (SAG), which consists entirely of Indian Army personnel; and the Special Ranger Groups (SRG), which comprises personnel drawn from Central Armed Police Forces and State Police Forces. The chief of the force designated as a Director General is an officer from the Indian Police Service.

Mission

The National Security Guard (NSG) was set up in 1984 as a Federal Contingency Deployment Force to tackle all facets of terrorism in the country. As a specialized counter terrorism force, it is intended for use "only in exceptional situations" and not meant to take over the "functions of the State Police Forces or other Para Military Forces". Yet, over the years its role has vastly expanded to provide personal security to influential politicians quite independent of the real threat that they face. Many politicians seek personal security details for themselves and their family for reasons of ego, prestige, and power projection.
The NSG's is trained to conduct counter terrorist task to including counter hijacking tasks on land, sea, and air; Bomb disposal (search, detection and neutralization of IEDs); PBI (Post Blast Investigation) and Hostage Rescue missions.


Organization

The NSG is under the authority Ministry of Home Affairs. It is headed by an officer of the rank of Director General who is usually from the Indian Police Service (IPS). The Director General is assisted by four Indian Police Service officers of whom two are Inspectors General each for Administration and HQ who in turn are assisted by Deputy Inspectors General each for Administration and HQ. Major General of Indian Army is deputed as the Inspector General (operations) who will hold the command of fighting forces and the officer is next in command to the DG NSG in terms of operations. There is one more Major General from Indian Army deputed as IG (Training). They are further assisted by two Brigadiers on deputation from Indian army as DIG (Operations) and DIG (Training). The strength of the NSG is estimated to be about 7,500 personnel. According to the NSG web site it is modeled on Germany's GSG 9 (Grenzschutzgruppe 9 or "Border Guard Group 9"). It has task-oriented complementary elements the Special Action Group (SAG) and the Special Ranger Groups (SRG). Air transport to support NSG is located at Indra Gandhi Airport. The Financial Advisor of the NSG has been an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the rank of Joint Secretary and also has Dy Advisors from the Indian Audit and Accounts Service and Indian Civil Account Service.


Special Action Groups

The SAG is the main offensive or the strike wing of the NSG. Its members are drawn from the Indian army. The SAGs includes headquarters, support units, and training wing. The training of both the action and ranger group is conducted by the officers and NCOs drawn from the army. There are two SAGs – 51 Special Action Group and 52 Special Action Group. The two SAGs (51 and 52) are tasked for counter-terror and counter-hijack operations respectively. The smallest operation sub unit of the SAG is called "hit", usually commanded by an NCO. A "hit" has five members – two pairs, or buddies, and a technical support member. Four hits make a team. A team is commanded by a Captain. In hostage rescue operations, depending on the situation, team size may vary between 50 to 90 NSG personnel. For immediate transport airlift IL-76MD strategic transport aircraft are stationed at New Delhi’s Palam Air Force Station and are ready to deploy within 30 minutes.


Special Ranger Group(SRG)

NSG has three SRGs, each with a strength of battalion, approximately total 900 all ranks. SRG personnel are drawn on deputation from Central Armed Police Forces and State Police forces. There are three SRGs – 11, 12 and 13. SRG renders logistical support to the SAGs during operations and are deployed for guarding high-risk VIPs/VVIPs. However VIP/VVIP Security is not mandate of NSG, It decided to withdraw 11 SRG from its present task of VVIP security and converted into a regular SAG-like unit for undertaking specific counter-terror operations.


Regional Deployment

In response to criticism of the time taken by NSG units to arrive in November 2008 Mumbai attacks Mumbai in 2008, from their base in Manesar, Haryana, the MHA decided to deploy NSG contingents in major cities across India like Mumbai, Kolkata (462 personnel), Hyderabad and Chennai.
Hyderabad will turn into a training hub of the elite 'Black Cats' by mid-2014. With the ministry of home affairs (MHA) giving its nod and sanctioning Rs 533.68 crore a few months ago, the National Security Guard (NSG) officials are gearing up to set up the Southern Regional Center (SRC) at Ibrahimpatnam, Hyderabad for training commandos. With the state government also handing over 600 acres at Ibrahimpatnam, the SRC is likely to be ready by next year. Tender notices have already been issued for civil works, which would be overseen by the Central Public Works Department. With this, Hyderabad would have an NSG hub at Trimulgherry as well as the SRC for training 'Black Cats'. As of now, nearly 300 commandos, ready for anti-terror operations round-the-clock, are stationed at the NSG hub at Trimulgherry. Similar hubs are in place in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. The proposal to set up a state-of-the-art NSG training centre at Ibrahimpatnam on the lines of NSG Manesar training centre has been pending for over three years. But the MHA officials, in their annual report released recently, announced the release of funds for developing infrastructure. "Post the 26/11 Mumbai terror strike, four regional hubs of NSG were operationalised in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata to reduce reaction time. A regional centre at Hyderabad is also being raised, for which 600 acres of land has been acquired. MHA has conveyed sanction of Rs 533.68 crore towards the construction of this Southern Regional Centre, NSG at Ibrahimpatnam," the MHA report said. With this, the state would have two trained anti-terror striking forces. Besides the NSG, the Andhra Pradesh police's OCTOPUS, which also has a training facility at Ibrahimpatnam, has a strength of over 250 personnel. NSG and OCTOPUS personnel, who undergo a gruelling training, including handling sophisticated weapons, commandos are sent back to their parent department once they attain the age of 35, ensuring that the force remains young and fighting fit.


Rank Structure and Designation

The ranks in NSG are roughly on the pattern of the police and the CAPF, as follows:

• Officers
  • (i) Director-General.
  • (ii) Additional Director-General.
  • (iii) Inspector-General.
  • (iv) Deputy Inspector-General.
  • (v) Group Commander.
  • (vi) Squadron Commander.
  • (vii) Team Commander.
• Assistant Commanders (JCOs)
  • (viii) Assistant Commander Grade I.
  • (ix) Assistant Commander Grade II.
  • (x) Assistant Commander Grade III.
• persons other than officers and Assistant Commanders-
  • (xi) Ranger Grade I.
  • (xii) Ranger Grade II.
  • (xiii) Combatised tradesmen

History

The NSG was established in the wake of 1984 Operation Blue Star, and the high collateral damage to Golden Temple, and civilian and military collateral casualties. Since it raising the NSG has been used in the of Punjab in 1986, and Jammu and Kashmir. Some of the NSG's known operations include:

• 29–30 April 1986: About 300 NSG commandos and 700 Border Security Force troops stormed the Golden Temple in Operation Black Thunder I. The Temple was cleared and handed over to Punjab Police on 1 May 1986. 300 Sikh militants were captured, and there were no deaths or injuries for either side.
• January 1988: The NSG conducted Op Black Hawk, a heliborne operation in the Mand area of Punjab. In this operation two terrorists were killed and one 7.62mm was recovered. It was a massive operation, says Ved Marwah, but did not get many spectacular results like in Black Thunder.
• 12 May 1988: 1,000 NSG commandos (all ranks) surrounded the Golden Temple for yet another assault, in Operation Black Thunder II. Sniper teams armed with Heckler & Koch PSG-1 rifles with night scope took up positions, including atop a 300-foot water tower. While commandos from the 51 SAG divided into assault squadrons, the SRG were used to seal off the area around the temple and for tactical support. In the three-day operation between 15–18 May 1988, the NSG cleared the temple. 40 terrorists were killed, and 200 surrendered. In the mid-1990s, a NSG battalion was again deployed in Punjab to confront the Sikh rioters. There they began training the Punjab Police in counter-terrorism.
• 5 September – 15 January 1988: Guarding of high-risk terrorist code-named 'Jack'.
• 4 August 1989: Operation Mouse Trap in the Tarn Taran district of Punjab, in conjunction with Punjab Police and other security forces. NSG was able to demonstrate that it was possible to achieve area dominance at night, if the strategy and tactics were right. Ved Marwah calls this Operation Night Dominance.
• 10 November 1990: NSG task force flown to Kolkata to rescue hostages of a Thai airbus by Burmese students.
• 25–26 January 1991: The NSG was involved in Operation Ani Ben, on CI tasks in Baroda, (Gujarat) where Punjab terrorists were holed up inside a house. Two terrorists were killed and two AK-47s were recovered.
• 1 July-20 September 1991: NSG employed along with SIT in search and strike missions after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.
• 25 November – 16 December 1992: 150 commandos were deployed at Ayodhya during the Ram Janambhoomi and Babri Masjid crisis.
• 27 March 1993: 52 SAG mobilised and moved to Adampur for rescue of hostages of Indian Airlines Flight IC 486.
• 24–25 April 1993: NSG Commandos storm a hijacked Indian Airlines Boeing 737 with 141 passengers on board at Amritsar airport during Operation Ashwamedh. Two hijackers, including their leader, Mohammed Yousuf Shah, are killed and one is disarmed before. No hostages are harmed.
• October 1998: As part of the implementation of the Union Home Ministry's decision to conduct pro-active strikes against militants, commando teams supported by IAF Mi-25/35 helicopter gun-ships began striking at terrorist groups deep inside the mountains and forests of Kashmir. After helicopter reconnaissance were conducted to pinpoint the militants, the commandos – comprising NSG and Rashtriya Rifles personnel – were para-dropped, along with supplies, into the area to hunt the militants. They had to rely on these supplies and their ability to live off the land until replenishment every fortnight or so. These missions are possibly ongoing.
• 15 July 1999: NSG commandos end a 30-hour standoff by killing 2 terrorists and rescuing all 12 hostages unharmed in J&K. The terrorists had attacked a BSF campus near Srinagar, killed 3 officers and the wife of another. The 12 hostages were kept locked in a room.
• 21 August 1999: After interrogating three captured terrorists, the Delhi Police Crime branch confirmed that two more terrorists were hiding in a one-storied house in Rudrapur, Uttar Pradesh. Since the terrorists were considered armed and dangerous (their colleagues were arrested with 100+ pounds of RDX), the Delhi Police sought assistance from the NSG. A 16-man team arrived at the house at 4:45 am They began their assault at 5:30 am, before first light. The first militant managed to fire at the commandos with a pistol he kept by his bedside, but was killed an instant later. The second terrorist was shot before he had a chance to fire and died 40 minutes later. No NSG personnel were injured.
• December 1999: Terrorists hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC814 from Nepal, and landed in Amritsar, Punjab. Within minutes of landing, the Crisis Management Group (CMG), which authorised the use of the NSG, was informed. But the CMG wasted precious hours and by the time the go-ahead was issued, it is too late. On the other hand, the NSG team on alert was elsewhere and no other team was raised during the delay. The hijacked plane took off before the NSG reached Amritsar Airport. The plane landed in Kandahar, Afghanistan where one hostage was killed. Finally, the Indian Government agrees to the terrorists' demands to release three jailed terrorists. The hostages are released and the terrorists escaped to Pakistan.
• February 2000: Following the Flight IC 814 fiasco, the Indian Government decided to implement an Air Marshal programme. At least two NSG operators will be present on flights over select routes. These operators will be armed with weapons firing lethal, but low-velocity, fragmentation rounds to minimise danger to the passengers and prevent penetration of the aircraft. Another decision taken was to deploy NSG teams permanently at eight sensitive airports around the country, especially those bordering Pakistan and the North East. This decision will cut short reaction times for the NSG and eliminate hassles involved in flying the teams to the hijack site. It is not known if this plan has been put into action.
• September 2002 – SAG commandos fly to the Karnataka state in India, in an effort to catch sandalwood smuggler and forest brigand Veerappan, in the wake of kidnapping of a former minister of the state cabinet, Nagappa. They pull out after suggesting that intelligence for the operation was inadequate. A small team is left behind to help, the hostage is eventually killed in December 2002.
• October 2002 – Two terrorists attack Akshardham temple complex in Gujarat. NSG flies in, delayed by traffic in Delhi. They carry out assaults in which one commando is killed and another one is seriously injured and was in a coma, died after 18 months. But by morning the two terrorists are killed and the operation successfully completed.
• December 2002 – Terrorists attack the Raghunath temple in Jammu. NSG ready to be flown out but called back at the last minute.
• 26 November 2008 Mumbai attacks — Operation Black Tornado and Operation Cyclone to flush out terrorists & rescue hostages after multiple attacks across Mumbai, India. Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan and Havaldar Gajender Singh Bisht of the Special Action Group lost their lives during the operations.Over 900 rooms were scanned, 9 Terrorists killed and over 600 hostages rescued during the Operation.
• 2013 Hyderabad blasts – Deployed in Hyderabad after the bomb blasts.
• 2013 Bangalore Bomb Blast - NSG was deployed in Bangalore after the bomb blast took place in the city.
• 2013 Patna Bomb Blast - A team of the NSG, which was sent to Patna for post-blasts analysis, said at least three more Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were defused.

NSG Commandos on the eve of US president Barak Obama's visit in Republic day 2015 ceremony.

Selection and training

Selection is demanding and has a drop out rate of about 70–80 percent. Three of their 14 months of training in Manesar, Haryana, are devoted to the basics.The basic training period lasts 90 days. Physical fitness training has 26 elements, ranging from an cross-country obstacle course to jumping from heights and across divides and scaling different kinds terrain. One endurance test involves martial arts, target shooting at the end of an obstacle-ridden cross-country run. This is meant to gauge the candidate’s performance under conditions of stress and exhaustion. Those who successfully complete the tests are sent for nine months of advanced training NSG PHANTOM COMMANDOS. NSG commandos are trained in parkour French obstacle clearance technique and Pekiti-Tirsia Kali new form of martial art from Philippines and many other advance techniques.


Equipment

• Glock 17 and Glock 19 9mm Semi-automatic Pistol
• SIG P226 9mm Semi-automatic Pistol
• Heckler & Koch MP5 – A3, A5, SD3, SD6, K and K-PDW 9mm Submachine Gun.
• AKM 7.62x39mm Assault Rifle
• SIG SG 551 / 552 / 553 5.56mm NATO Carbine
• Mauser SP66 7.62mm NATO Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle


• Corner-shot
• Laser Designator
• Advance Audio Communication Set
• GPS & GPRS Technological Systems
• Wall Surveillance Radars
• Portable X-RAY MACHINE
• Night Vision Devices
• Protective Goggles
• Special Tactical Gears
• Thermal Imaging Cameras
• Mini Remotely Operated Vehicles
• Non skid shoes
• Ghillie suits
• Helmet with in built hands free communication
• Level 3 bullet-proof vest
• Knee pad and elbow pads
• Taser
• Chartered helicopters and ability to use civilian aircraft for emergencies
• Anti-Materiel Rifles like the OFB produced Vidhwansak and possibly the Russian made OSV-96 .