An Unfinished Revolution: A Hostage Crisis, Adivasi Resistance and the Naxal Movement

On 14 March 2012, two Italian nationals, Paolo Bosusco and Claudio Colangelo, were taken hostage from the
tribal-dominated Kandhamal area of Odisha, in eastern India. The kidnappers belonged to the extreme left- wing radical group known as the CPI (Maoists). They were led by Sabyasachi Panda who had been involved in several militant activities since 1999.

What followed was a dramatic month-long crisis in which a crew of television journalists engaged with the Maoist leader and facilitated the...