RAIPUR, India, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Indian tribal people, many carrying bows and arrows, gathered in the impoverished central state of Chhattisgarh on Tuesday to protest against Maoist rebel violence, police and witnesses said. The protest, organised to support the government's anti-Maoist militia movement, the Salwa Judum (Campaign for Peace), was held in Dantewada district, about 390 km (240 miles) south of the state capital Raipur and a hotbed of rebel activity. "The Maoists have blocked development and now the time has come to finish off the rebels to help millions of tribal people in our state," Brijmohan Agarwal, a senior state minister, said at the protest. Human rights groups accuse the government of putting civilians in the line of fire by sponsoring the movement and say Salwa Judum is intimidating people into joining their cause. Chhattisgarh is one of the worst-hit of 13 Indian states affected by decades of violence where rebels claim to be fighting for millions of India's poor and landless labourers. Since the Salwa Judum was set up in June 2005, more than 700 people have died and over 50,000 have been made homeless as a result of fighting between group members and Maoists. Analysts said the move could backfire as hundreds of poor civilians were increasingly at risk from Maoist reprisals. "The Maoists are still shaken by the Salwa Judum movement, and there could be further retaliation if people are not given security," Ajai Sahni of the New Delhi-based Institute of Conflict Management told Reuters by phone.
