Burning Forest: India's War Against the Maoists

The Burning Forest is a book that explores the reasons behind indigenous peasants' support for armed struggle in the militarized region of Bastar in central India,despite state repression. It also highlights the human rights violations and the conflict's impact on civilians,security forces, and Maoist cadres.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 432 pages
\n Publication date: 09 April 2019
\n Publisher: Verso Books
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The Burning Forest is a deeply empathetic and moving account of the compelling reasons behind indigenous peasants' unwavering support for armed struggle, even in the face of severe state repression that has led to lives lost, homes and communities destroyed. Over the past decade, the heavily forested and mineral-rich region of Bastar in central India has emerged as one of the most militarized sites in the country. The government has labeled the Maoist insurgency as the biggest security threat to India. In 2005, a state-sponsored vigilante movement known as the Salwa Judum was initiated, resulting in the burning of hundreds of villages, forcing their inhabitants into state-controlled camps. This movement drew on counterinsurgency techniques developed in Malaysia, Vietnam, and other regions. In addition to the widespread rapes and killings, hundreds of surrendered Maoist sympathizers were conscripted as auxiliaries. The conflict continues to this day, taking a heavy toll on the lives of civilians, security forces, and Maoist cadres.

In 2007, Sundar and others took the Indian government to the Supreme Court over the human rights violations arising from the conflict. In a landmark judgment in 2011, the Court banned state support for vigilantism. The Burning Forest provides a granular and critical ethnography of Indian democracy over a decade, shedding light on the courts, media, and politics of the country in the context of this brutal war.

\n Weight: 646g\n
Dimension: 156 x 233 x 30 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781788731454\n \n