A news report in the internet edition of Times of India, on March 16, 2004, said Naxalites of the People's War Group (PWG) possess Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launchers. It further claimed that, at a meeting of the Andhra-Orissa Border Special Zone Committee (AOBSZC), PWG leaders asked their cadres to disrupt the April 2004 parliamentary and Legislative elections process from the beginning. In fact, the cadres have, reportedly, been directed to target polling personnel and security force escort teams.
Separately, a few hours later, on the same day, the Andhra Pradesh (AP) State Director General of Police, S R Sukumara, said at a press conference in Hyderabad that 'reporting statements by Naxalites might attract prosecution'. He, therefore, advised the press to maintain restraint. This raises a few questions in the context of reporting terror, and reporting during times of terror.
The political atmosphere in AP is charged and the fear of Naxalite violence during, and on the eve of, the elections haunts the people of the State. It is, hence, prudent to be cautious in reporting the activities of, and statements by, the Naxalites.
In fact, the news report cited above has an element of sensationalism in it. Indicating both potential capabilities and likely targets within the same news item, the report could possibly cause a scare among the civilian staff that would be deployed to conduct the polls in Naxalite affected areas.
Evidently, the Naxalites have clearly indicated that they would indulge in widespread violence during the electoral process. It is also possible that they would perpetrate violent acts after elections conclude. In neghbouring Chattisgarh, in November 2003, PWG cadres attacked villagers in some areas in the south bordering AP for participating in the Legislative Assembly elections. They were infuriated that the villagers did not mind traveling long distances to go and cast their vote, rather than heed the poll boycott call of the Naxalites and stay at home.
The Naxalite statement on possessing RPGs could be a mere bluff. The Naxalites do not seem to have the kind of linkages with the international 'grey arms market' that could help them buy RPGs. Though RPGs are not expensive to purchase, it is difficult to replenish ammunition. At best, the PWG might have fabricated a crude look-alike. Hence, the Naxalite claim that they would target the 'enemy' with RPGs, if 'he' deployed helicopters for surveillance, does not hold enough water. If it is true that RPGs are present in the PWG's arsenal, their possible source could have been the Maoist insurgents of Nepal who had looted a few RPGs from the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA), like they did in an attack in September 2002. However, it needs to be noted that the then police chief of AP, P Ramulu, said at a press conference on May 26, 2003, that his men had recovered drawings of RPGs from a Naxalite hideout in Kalimela village, on the AP-Orissa border.
There is no gainsaying that terrorism thrives on sensationalism and terrorists perform spectacular acts or make tall claims about their capabilities and intentions for publicity and to project a larger than life image about themselves. Therefore, the Naxalites crave for access to the mass media. And, in a way, some of the organs of the mass media thrive on publishing sensational news.
Another aspect of reporting about the Naxalites is devoting several centimeters of column length to dead leaders. For instance, several news stories appeared in the vernacular Telugu media after a high-ranking PWG leader, Polam Sudarshan Reddy, was shot dead in an encounter on March 25, 2003. Reddy was an accused in 1043 criminal offences and had quit the PWG only to re-join later. Reports at that time gave vivid description of the encounter, the influence he commanded in his native region and the turn out at, and the proceedings of, his funeral. Such widespread reportage boosts the morale of the Naxalites and also helps in indoctrinating the gullible. Indeed, there was little mention of the plight of his victims, or the amount of loss his actions caused to life and property. Within a few months of Reddy's killing, his wife and colleague in the PWG, Bharathi surrendered to the authorities. While the encounter death of Reddy attracted State-wide media attention and the local editions ran stories on him for a few days after his killing, news of the surrender of his wife was tucked away in an inconsequent place in the media.
No sooner than the March 16-announcement was made on the press exercising restraint, the debate immediately, and inadvertently, moved to the possibility of local-level police misusing the directives of their chief and implicating local journalists. It is, therefore, necessary that the press in the State is assured of its freedom. At the same time, it is, perhaps, equally important and necessary that the media conducted an informed debate among itself on reporting of the Naxalites and proposed guidelines it would follow.
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