India's Maoist rebels are trying to expand their influence by seeking alliances with separatist insurgent groups in the country's remote northeast, a top government official said Monday. The Maoists, commonly known as Naxalites, have been fighting for years in several Indian states in the east and south, demanding land and jobs for agricultural laborers and the poor. The violence has killed about 2,000 people, including police, militants and civilians. But Home Minister P. Chidambaram said the Naxalites were trying to extend their power by reaching out to insurgents in the northeast, a troubled region where most people are closer tied ethnically to China or Myanmar and where dozens of separatist groups are waging war against the government. The Naxalites have “been keenly seeking ideological resonance and tactical understanding with the northeast insurgents and have begun to lend support to their secessionist ideology and demands,” Chidambaram told a meeting of India's top police officers. The home minister also said that the insurgency in the northeast “has been sustained to a significant extent due to an extensive international border, safe sanctuaries in neighboring countries and easy availability of sophisticated arms in Southeast Asia.” Chidambaram gave no details, but some of the northeastern militant leaders, for instance, are believed to be in hiding in Bangladesh. Dozens of insurgencies have festered for years across India's seven northeastern states. Nearly all involve fights for autonomy or independent homelands for the region's indigenous peoples.
