GROWING INSURGENCY - Maoist rebels threaten to derail Indian elections

T hey have unleashed a campaign of ter ror in four states in the south and east of the country where they have threatened election officials, security personnel and voters who defy their call for a poll boycott.

The campaign intensified on April 21 when 250 rebels, known locally as 'Naxalites' hijacked a train and held 500 passengers hostage for four hours before releasing them unharmed.

The raid highlighted a deadly war which has gone largely unnoticed beyond India, and demonstrated the growing reach of a Maoist insurgency which now affects a quarter Indian districts.

It followed an earlier strike on a government office in Jharkhand where rebels blew up a conference center. In another incident, eight trucks were torched and a driver killed as Jharkhand prepared for India's second round of voting on April 23.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the Maoist 'Naxalite' insurgency is India's biggest internal security threat more threatening than Islamic militants who have killed several hundred in spectacular attacks on Jaipur, Delhi and Mumbai.

The Maoists are now believed to pose a substantial threat in 150 of India's 600 districts stretching from Andhra Pradesh in the south, up into the poor eastern states Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar.

In those 150 districts, the state is regarded as "non-functioning".

Their attack on April 22 was carried out by 250 rebels armed with guns and bows and errors, and highlighted their reach in India's remote regions.

They boarded the train, held the driver at gunpoint and forced him drive it to Hegarah, in Jharkhand's Lahehar district.

It appeared to be part of a co-ordinated series of attacks and followed several strikes last week, on the first day of polling, where they killed 17 elite commandos and election officials.

An estimated 6,000 people have been killed by the insurgents since they launched their uprising in Naxalbari, West Bengal, in 1967 after a peasant was killed by a landlord's employees.

Since then they have grown to a force estimated at 20,000 by India's intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing.

T hey have unleashed a campaign of ter- ror in four states in the south and east of the country where they have threatened election officials, security personnel and voters who defy their call for a poll boycott. The campaign intensified on April 21 when 250 rebels, known locally as 'Nax- alites' hijacked a train and held 500 passen- gers hostage for four hours before releasing them unharmed. The raid highlighted a deadly war which has gone largely unnoticed beyond India, and demonstrated the growing reach of a Maoist insurgency which now affects a quarter Indian districts. It followed an earlier strike on a govern- ment office in Jharkhand where rebels blew up a conference center. In another incident, eight trucks were torched and a driver killed as Jharkhand prepared for India's second round of voting on April 23. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the Maoist 'Naxalite' insurgency is India's biggest internal security threat - more threatening than Islamic militants who have killed several hundred in spectac- ular attacks on Jaipur, Delhi and Mumbai. The Maoists are now believed to pose a substantial threat in 150 of India's 600 dis- tricts stretching from Andhra Pradesh in the south, up into the poor eastern states Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar. In those 150 districts, the state is regarded as "non-functioning". Their attack on April 22 was carried out by 250 rebels armed with guns and bows and errors, and highlighted their reach in India's remote regions. They boarded the train, held the driver at gunpoint and forced him drive it to Hegarah, in Jharkhand's Lahehar district. It appeared to be part of a co-ordinated series of attacks and followed several strikes last week, on the first day of polling, where they killed 17 elite commandos and elec- tion officials. An estimated 6,000 people have been killed by the insurgents since they launched their uprising in Naxalbari, West Bengal, in 1967 after a peasant was killed by a land- lord's employees. Since then they have grown to a force estimated at 20,000 by India's intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing.