A Thorn in the Heart: The Past and the Future of India's Maoist Movement
3600 Market Street, Suite 560 (5th floor)
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104
About the Speaker:
Rahul Pandita is the Opinion and Special Stories Editor for The Hindu, one of India's leading newspapers. He has extensively reported from the Maoist-affected areas in India. In 2009, he was given a rare opportunity by the Maoists to interview their supreme commander, Ganapathi. His vast experience in reporting on India's Maoist insurgency has resulted in two books: Hello, Bastar: The Untold Story of India's Maoist Movement and The Absent State. He is also the author of the best-selling memoir on Kashmir, Our Moon has Blood Clots. He is the recipient of the International Red Cross Award for conflict reporting.
About the Lecture:
India has many years of experience in dealing with armed uprisings. But none of these have proven to be as challenging as the Maoist insurgency in central and eastern India. For decades, the Adivasis (indigenous people) in large swathes of land were left untouched by the Indian State. This lecture will discuss how the void left by the Indian State was filled by Maoist guerrillas and how, from a small group in 1980, they became "India's biggest internal security challenge." In the last few years, the Indian security forces have managed to put pressure on the Maoist rebels. Rahul Pandita will draw from his reporting experience in the Red Corridor to argue how the end of the Maoist rebellion may not mean an end to the suffering of the poor and the marginalized in these areas.