The Burning Forest

India's War Against the Maoists

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Government, Political Parties, Communism & Socialism, Politics, History & Theory
Cover of the book The Burning Forest by Nandini Sundar, Verso Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Nandini Sundar ISBN: 9781788731461
Publisher: Verso Books Publication: April 9, 2019
Imprint: Verso Language: English
Author: Nandini Sundar
ISBN: 9781788731461
Publisher: Verso Books
Publication: April 9, 2019
Imprint: Verso
Language: English

An empathetic, moving account of what drives indigenous peasants to support armed struggle despite severe state repression, including lives lost, and homes and communities destroyed

Over the past decade, the heavily forested, mineral-rich region of Bastar in central India has emerged as one of the most militarized sites in the country. The government calls the Maoist insurgency the “biggest security threat” to India. In 2005, a state-sponsored vigilante movement, the Salwa Judum, burned hundreds of villages, driving their inhabitants into state-controlled camps, drawing on counterinsurgency techniques developed in Malaysia, Vietnam and elsewhere. Apart from rapes and killings, hundreds of “surrendered” Maoist sympathizers were conscripted as auxiliaries. The conflict continues to this day, taking a 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 out of the conflict. In a landmark judgment in 2011 the court banned state support for vigilantism. The Burning Forest describes this brutal war in the heart of India, and what it tells us about the courts, media and politics of the country. The result is a fascinating critical account of Indian democracy.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

An empathetic, moving account of what drives indigenous peasants to support armed struggle despite severe state repression, including lives lost, and homes and communities destroyed

Over the past decade, the heavily forested, mineral-rich region of Bastar in central India has emerged as one of the most militarized sites in the country. The government calls the Maoist insurgency the “biggest security threat” to India. In 2005, a state-sponsored vigilante movement, the Salwa Judum, burned hundreds of villages, driving their inhabitants into state-controlled camps, drawing on counterinsurgency techniques developed in Malaysia, Vietnam and elsewhere. Apart from rapes and killings, hundreds of “surrendered” Maoist sympathizers were conscripted as auxiliaries. The conflict continues to this day, taking a 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 out of the conflict. In a landmark judgment in 2011 the court banned state support for vigilantism. The Burning Forest describes this brutal war in the heart of India, and what it tells us about the courts, media and politics of the country. The result is a fascinating critical account of Indian democracy.

More books from Verso Books

Cover of the book Civil Imagination by Nandini Sundar
Cover of the book Black Radical Tradition by Nandini Sundar
Cover of the book The City by Nandini Sundar
Cover of the book Figures of Catastrophe by Nandini Sundar
Cover of the book Prisoners of the American Dream by Nandini Sundar
Cover of the book The Art-Architecture Complex by Nandini Sundar
Cover of the book For a Left Populism by Nandini Sundar
Cover of the book A People's History of the World by Nandini Sundar
Cover of the book Democracy Against Capitalism by Nandini Sundar
Cover of the book Females by Nandini Sundar
Cover of the book Man Tiger by Nandini Sundar
Cover of the book Metaphilosophy by Nandini Sundar
Cover of the book Yemen in Crisis by Nandini Sundar
Cover of the book Imagined Communities by Nandini Sundar
Cover of the book The Theory of Need in Marx by Nandini Sundar
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy