The arsenal of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), or Maoists, today consists of a mélange of weapons and explosives, many crude, but some sophisticated. Indeed, the rebels have moved a long way from fielding traditional, farm implements, such as spears, crowbars and sickles.

The Maoist arsenal is largely ingenious and indigenous. Occasionally, they 'shop' for arms. The first of these reports came to light in 1991. Speaking on the floor of the House in the Andhra Pradesh (AP) State Legislative Assembly, on August 20, 1991, the then Home Minister of the State, Mr MV Mysoora Reddy, said the guerrillas had acquired 60 AK series rifles and 20 sten guns from Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). There were reports of purchases, subsequently, too.

Today, their arsenal consists of crude, homemade weapons, as well as SLRs, LMGs, AK series rifles and INSAS rifles looted from the security forces. Also, the Maoists have "designed and developed" crude rocket launchers and have acquired versatility in triggering explosive devices.

Explaining their ingenuity, a surrendered Maoist squad commander told this author at the Warangal Central Prison, AP, in January 2002, that they have acquired by 2001 the capability to service an AK and fabricate an SLR. Further, as Mr K Srinivas Reddy, a well-known analyst of the Naxalites, explained to this author, at one of their production units the rebels filled-in metal to plug the hole rigged in the barrel of rifles used by National Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets; at that time, the Maoists had looted 300 rifles from an NCC training camp in Guntur district, AP. The rifles are reportedly functioning perfectly.

Traversing a long course, the guerrillas' ingenuity took them on to designing and developing rockets and rocket launchers. This came to light when police in Mahabubnagar and Prakasam districts, AP, seized approximately 1,000 empty rocket shells and 42 launchers, in separate raids on September 7 and 8, 2006, respectively. These were fabricated at seven separate units in the Ambattur industrial estate, a suburb of the southern Indian city of Chennai. Subsequent investigations revealed an elaborate network stretching across five States, viz. Tamil Nadu, AP, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Chhattisgarh and Orissa.

The arrest and interrogation of the mastermind behind the manufacturing of rocket launchers in Ambattur, and subsequent investigations, brought to light several interesting and stunning facts. By 2006, the rebels already developed the 'fourth' version of these rocket launchers. The Maoists had done meticulous research while designing and fabricating the rockets and rocket launchers. This was further proved when designs of cross-sections, etc were recovered from a Maoist arms making-cum-R&D unit that was unearthed in Bhopal, the capital city of MP, on January 10, 2007. Besides, speaking to this author in Bhopal two days later, a top Intelligence official of MP said they had recovered over two dozen books on arms/weapons published by renowned international publishing houses.

In fact, the rebels launched their 'rocket-making programme' in 2002. It had two segments -- the pilot "Rocket Launcher-I" and the subsequent "Rocket Launcher-II" project, which paved the way for getting these manufactured at industrial units. The rocket development programme was undertaken under the guidance of a technical team that the Maoists had constituted. It comprised of four top leaders -- a member of the apex and all-powerful Central Committee, a member of the AP State Committee, a member of the AP State Military Commission, and a member of the Central Military Commission, which guides all military activities of the rebels country-wide, including manufacturing and acquisition of weapons, as well as actions undertaken by the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) -- in short, the Maoist military machine.

The rocket launchers were developed and tested in the forests in Malkangiri district, Orissa, in 2003. In fact, speaking to the media in Hyderabad, Mr Peravaram Ramulu, the then Director General of AP Police, said, on May 26, 2003, that his men, in a joint operation with Orissa police, had recovered designs of a rocket launcher from a camp in the forest near Kalimela, Orissa. Further tests on the rockets and rockets launchers were being conducted at that time. A few hours ahead of Mr Ramulu addressing the media, the rebels made a failed attempt to hit a police station by employing a rocket launcher in far away Karimnagar district, AP!

Subsequently, the improved versions of the rocket launchers were tested in 2004, in the Nallamala forests, one the eve of the peace process that was on with the Government of Andhra Pradesh between June 2004 and January 2005. One of the top leaders who supervised the tests later sat at the negotiating table with the AP Government at the peace talks from October 15 to 18, 2004.

According to one account, at the initial stage of developing the rockets, the guerrillas had spent Rs 950 per piece. Another account holds that for the entire Ambattur operation -- to manufacture 1,600 empty rocket shells and 40 launchers -- the Maoists had allotted a sum of Rs 35,00,000.

By the Maoists' own admission, these rocket launchers and rockets are, as yet, crude and merely have a "nuisance value". But, the rebels can hone-up their manufacturing skills and improve the accuracy of their rocket launchers. Much as there are several scores of brilliant minds in India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Maoists, too, have some.


Dr. P.V. Ramana is Research Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. His edited book titled "The Naxal Challenge - Causes, Linkages and Policy Options, published by Pearson Longman, was released in November 2007.