Strong Condemnation and Protest Against the Killing of Comrade Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraj, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), and 28 Maoist Political Activists
On 21 May 2025, through a military operation called “Operation Kagar” led by the Hindutva-fascist Modi government, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), Comrade Basavaraj, along with 28 Maoist political activists, was killed. According to the government’s version, they were martyred in a so-called encounter following a 50-hour-long battle. However, various sources reveal that the ailing Comrade Basavaraj was arrested from a hospital in Odisha where he was undergoing treatment, killed there, and then his body was dumped in Chhattisgarh to fabricate a story of armed conflict.
We, the revolutionary, progressive, and democratic voices of Bangladesh, strongly condemn and protest this extrajudicial state killing, including the killing of Comrade Basavaraj, under “Operation Kagar.” This brutal military operation, which is being conducted under the pretext of countering Maoists, is in fact a planned act of state terror. Under the leadership of the Maoists, a movement has emerged to protect the water, land, and forests of the indigenous people. To suppress this just movement, to evict the Adivasis from their land, and to safeguard the interests of multinational corporate entities serving imperialism, the government has been launching one military campaign after another.
The Indian government has deployed thousands of paramilitary forces, especially the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), in the Abujhmarh region of Chhattisgarh. This region is home to numerous Adivasi communities whose land is rich in natural resources. These communities, long victims of state repression, are now facing even more horrific military brutality. In the name of suppressing the Maoist rebellion, the state is violently crushing the legitimate resistance of the oppressed, causing widespread violence against ordinary Adivasi people.
We, the progressive voices of Bangladesh, demand the immediate end to “Operation Kagar,” the military operation conducted by the Hindutva-fascist Modi government, and call upon revolutionary, democratic, progressive, and human rights organizations across South Asia and the world to stand in solidarity with the indigenous and oppressed peoples of India. Killing revolutionaries cannot destroy revolutionary struggle. Each death plants the seed of a new uprising.
We strongly demand:
1. An immediate judicial investigation into the extrajudicial killing of Comrade Basavaraj and all other Maoist political activists.
2. The acceptance of the peace proposal advocated by civil society to stop this unjust war against the people.
3. Immediate termination of Operation Kagar.
4. Release of all Maoist leaders and activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and Adivasi leaders arrested under false charges.
5. Recognition of the right to self-determination, land rights, and an end to the forced eviction of Adivasi communities.
In Struggle and Solidarity,
Anu Muhammad; Former Professor, Jahangirnagar University; Member, Gonotantrik Odhikar Committee
Altaf Parvez; Writer and Independent Researcher
Faiezul Hakim; Secretary, National Liberation Council
Manzoor Al Matin; Lawyer
Arifuzzaman Tuhin; Writer and Journalist
Hasan Fakri; President, Shaheed Biplobi O Deshpremik Smriti Sangsad
Shaheed Biplobi O Deshpremik Smriti Sangsad
Harun-or-Rashid; General Secretary, Maulana Bhashani Parishad
Zafar Hossain; President, New Democratic People's Forum
New Democratic People's Forum
Masud Khan; President, Jatiya Gonotantrik Gonomancha
Jatiya GonotantriGonomancha
Shubhrangshu Chakraborty; Coordinator, Bangladesher Samyabadi Andolan
Syed Abul Kalam; Writer and Intellectual
Abdur Rob; Member, Shaheed Biplobi O Deshpremik Smriti Sangsad
Badal Shah Alam [Senior Journalist]; Editor, Khanon, a magazine on art, literature, and culture
Afzalul Bashar; Director, Bangla Gobeshona
Souvik Reza; Professor, University of Rajshahi
Professor Kazi Farid; Department of Rural Sociology, Bangladesh Agricultural University
Nasir Uddin Ahmed Nasu; Convener, Ganomukti Union
Tamiz Uddin; General Secretary, Shaheed Biplobi O Deshpremik Smriti Sangsad
Shiplu Rahman; Executive Director, Siraj Sikder Study Center
Shamsul Arif Fahim; Researcher and Activist
Rafique Amin; Poet
Shahidul Islam Sabuj; Political Organizer
Anis Raihan; Writer and Journalist
Taqsim Khan; Activist
Rafsan Ahmed; Filmmaker
Akram Khan; Film Director
Rafiquzzaman Farid; General Secretary, Socialist Students’ Front
Robiul Karim Nantu; Businessman and Political Activist
Jamshed Anwar Tapan; General Secretary, Udichi
Biplob Bhattacharjee; Convener, Revolutionary Workers’ Movement
Salman Siddiqui; President, Socialist Students’ Front
Kazi Abdur Rahman; Retired Principal
Golam Sarwar; Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Rajshahi
Dr. Nazmus Saqib; Dental Surgeon
Sajib Tanvir; Independent Filmmaker
Ashiqur Rahman Onik; Independent Filmmaker
Dr. Tanmoy Sanyal; Editor, Little Magazine Postcard
Harunar Rashid Bhuiyan; General Secretary, Bangladesh Socialist Party (BASAD), Central Committee
Seema Dutta; President, Bangladesh Nari Mukti Kendra
Shaheerin Arafat; Journalist and Activist
Laboni Mondol; Literary Critic and Political Activist
Shaheenur Akter; Filmmaker
Amena Akter; Revolutionary Women’s Forum
Adnan Aziz; Student, University of Dhaka
Faria Zaman Niki; Student, Jahangirnagar University
Sattwik Bandyopadhyay; Supporter of New Communism
Rashed Shahriar; Convener, Bangladesh Youth Front
Farhana Sharmin Imu; Architect, Humanitarian Worker
People’s Democratic Students Unity(PDSU)
Revolutionary Student-Youth Movement(RS-YM)
Chatro Gonomancha
Md. Aslam; Convener, Chatro Gonomancha
Abdul Momin; Activist
Abdullah Qafi Ratan; Political Activist
Tahmina Yasmin Neela; Cultural Activist
Barrister Sadia Arman; Advocate, Supreme Court
Shyamal Baran Dash; Department of Anthropology, University of Dhaka
Abdullah Hel Bubun; Department of Anthropology, University of Dhaka
Subinoy Mustafi Iron; Co-founder, Activate Rights
Naib Ishraf Khan; Department of Anthropology, University of Dhaka
Hasan Jamil; Poet and Journalist
Ashiq Akbar; Poet
Mritosh Tatrach; Poet
Sorkar Aziz; Poet, Editor of Mymensingh Jong
Saikat De; Fiction Writer
Ziabul Ibn; Associate Editor, Khanon, a magazine on art, literature, and culture
Misbah Jamil; Poet
Juweiria Mow; Writer and Filmmaker
Milu Hasan; Student and Writer
Shoaib Mahmud; Poet
Shafik Sai; Poet
Nizam Rabbi; Worker and Rapper
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