India: Information on a political group called the People's War Group (PWG) in Andhra Pradesh
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 April 1996 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | IND23384.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, India: Information on a political group called the People's War Group (PWG) in Andhra Pradesh, 1 April 1996, IND23384.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aacc5c.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Revolutionary and Dissident Movements lists the People's War Group (PWG) of the Communist Party of IndiaMarxist-Leninist (CPIML), as the largest group among the Naxalites, revolutionaries fighting to overturn the Indian caste system (1991, 134, 136). For more information on the Naxalite movement, please refer to the attached pages from Revolutionary and Dissident Movements and to Response to Information Request IND17796.E of 15 July 1994, which is available at Regional Documentation Centres.
According to Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1995, in 1995
Killings by Maoist Revolutionary Naxalites continued in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, and West Bengal. Naxalites held "people's courts" in which village headmen and others were condemned to death and summarily executed as "class enemies" and "caste oppressors." For example, in August 1995, a Congress Party district leader in Bihar was beheaded by Naxalites. The Andhra Pradesh government claimed that Naxalites killed 103 persons during 1994. Some politicians, human rights groups, and the press claimed that faked encounter killings and excessive violence by police against Naxalites continued, but individual cases in 1995 have not been documented. In Andhra Pradesh, police violence against Naxalites was expected to abate after the state government in May called an end to an anti-Naxalite campaign by police in a unilateral gesture aimed at encouraging reconciliation. Naxalites belonging to the Peoples War Group in Andhra Pradesh were reportedly responsible for the assassination in December of National Parliament member Magunta Subarami Reddy (14 Mar. 1996, np).
As well, in 1995 and 1994 Amnesty International reported that the PWG was responsible for torturing and killing suspected police informers in Andhra Pradesh (AI 1995, 159 ; ibid. 1994, 159). Two incidents from November 1994 in Andhra Pradesh included the killing of 25 people in separate land mine explosions attributed to the PWG (WriteNet Bi-Weekly Media Reviews 29 Nov. 1994; ibid. 26 Nov. 1994).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Amnesty International. 1995. Amnesty International Report 1995. London: Amnesty International.
_____. 1994. Amnesty International Report 1994. London: Amnesty International.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1995. 1996. US Department of State. Washington, DC. (Diskette version provided to DIRB by the Immigration and Naturalization Service Resource Information Center)
Revolutionary and Dissident Movements: An International Guide. 1991. 3rd ed. London: Longman Group UK.
WriteNet Bi-Weekly Media Reviews. 29 November 1994. "Suspected Naxalites Kill Seven Policemen, Two Civilians in Andhra Pradesh." (UNHCR Refworld)
_____. 26 November 1994. "Naxalites Kill 16 in Landmine Explosion in Andhra Pradesh." (UNHCR Refworld)
Attachment
Revolutionary and Dissident Movements: An International Guide. 1991. 3rd ed. London: Longman Group UK, pp. 134-136.