India -Exclusive: Maoists becoming part of labour unions in Delhi-NCR, say intelligence agencies

Exclusive: Maoists becoming part of labour unions in Delhi-NCR, say intelligence agencies
If you thought the Maoist uprising is confined to the faraway badlands of Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, you’ve got another think coming. Ultra-left organisations are steadily infiltrating labour unions and workers’ groups in Delhi and the National Capital Region, intelligence agencies say. Information gathered by these agencies suggests that Delhi is emerging as a major urban base of ultra left ideology. Front organisations of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) have let their members loose across the capital. Many of their members are said to be active in Delhi’s satellite towns like Gurgaon and Ghaziabad. Intelligence inputs indicate that the Maoists have the clearly defined objective of entering the workforce, becoming part of workers’ associations, and motivating them to carry out violent protests.
One of the groups active in the national capital region is the Revolutionary Democratic Front. Intelligence inputs indicate they have penetrated various social fora, trade unions and workers’ groups as well as bodies working for social empowerment. Intelligence agencies have information that RDF has told its fraternal organisations to participate and lead in any retaliation against violence by dominant social classes. “This is not like AISA, the student body of the CPI(M-L). Their level of involvement is much higher; they are more like a Maoist overground,” one Delhi-based intelligence official says.
An intelligence report says that the group has “resolved to launch a militant campaign against caste violence”. Of Delhi’s 11 districts, seven have a have strong ultra-left influence. They are Central, South, New Delhi, North-West, North, South-West and North East. Sources say that the group has already developed a strong base in Delhi and the National Capital Region. Intelligence inputs indicate activity by ultra-left groups in states like Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Sources say Maoist cadres from left-wing affected states like Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are being regularly sent to Delhi.
The RDF is just one of such identified organisations. “There are several frontal organisations of CPI(Maoist) that have penetrated into unions, workers groups’ and organisations working in the social sector,” says a source. Sources say the ultra-left cadres work in layers. The modus operandi of the group is aimed at provoking violence, starting from distributing pamphlets, distributing material related to Maoist ideology, holding rallies, holding rallies, and finally penetrating protests and triggering more violence. Anand Kumar, Professor of Sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University says such inputs cannot be dismissed out of hand but it is imperative to find reasons for this. “There needs to be engagement between policy makers, intelligence agencies and social scientists. We need to know what a sufficient indicator for being ultra-left is,” he says.
The Maoist strategy of creating urban bases in cities was uncovered in Delhi with the arrest of Kobad Ghandy in 2009 on charges of spreading the ultra-left influence. The presence of ultra-left groups and their active participation came to the forefront when Intelligence Bureau gathered information that left-wing extremist groups had entered the Maruti workers’ protests last year and instigated the workers to grievous violence.
There are intelligence inputs that ultra-left elements had even entered the Anna Hazare anti-corruption movement as well as the public protests after the Delhi gang rape case of December 16 last year. “These were instances where they instigated the mob. They have a planned strategy and there are inputs that they continue to do this,” said an intelligence officer.