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Maoist Menace

जागरण संपादकीय ब्लॉग
जागरण संपादकीय ब्लॉग
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On the 6th of April 2010, another gruesome chapter was added to the squalid saga of Maoist violence in India. In the worst ever strike the Maoist militants savagely killed 76 of our troops in the forests of Dantewada district in the state of Chattisgarh, one of the Maoist stronghold areas.

This horrifying incident has sent shock waves through the nation. It yet again exposes our vulnerability and raises questions about internal security. Along with cross border terrorism, this militant insurgency that has engulfed almost one third of India, has emerged as the biggest threat to our safety and challenge to our sovereignty.

In the aftermath of this deadliest ever attack, which inflicted on us the severest human tragedy, certain questions rankle me:
The training and preparedness of our paramilitary forces;
The role and contribution of the human rights activists;
The way forward to cope with this continuing menace;
As I delve to seek answers to queries that shroud my mind, I am bewildered that if the answers seem so crystal clear to me, how is it that our government has overlooked for as long, during the interim period of which, the menace of Maoism has attained grotesque proportions.

It was particularly disturbing to see mass funerals of our soldiers on television. Who does the responsibility of their brutal killing lie with? As per the home minister’s admission, the buck stops at his desk. While his mea culpa may have enhanced his political image or in all fairness set an example of rare rectitude in our polity, the fact remains that this realisation has been too little too late.

It might be premature for the experts to determine with conviction whether or not it was a case of intelligence failure; if we had timely, actionable intelligence information or no? Although the scale of the ambush, does complicit the intelligence as well; however, what prima facie appears flagrant is that it was a terrible incident of standard operating procedure failure. Over 80 men involved in reconnaissance in a forested area for four days where the terrain is unknown along with only one local police constable for assistance; using the same route on their return journey as well. You do not need to be a security expert to conclude that our troops must have been sitting ducks for the ruthless Maoists. The failure of the intelligence and the absolute lack of coordination between the paramilitary forces and the state police resulted in the massacre of the 76 hapless and unsuspecting security men.

This sordid incident was another abrasive reminder of the inadequate training of our state police and paramilitary forces; recall the attacks on a police camp in West Bengal in February earlier this year and CRPF station in Rampur few years back. Our internal security forces at best are effective in dealing with mob or riot situation but where it comes to counter terrorism, counter insurgency, their training and weaponry have been found wanting. They are not adept at coping with the ambush techniques and guerrilla warfare of the militants. A tragicomic situation arises when the chief of army staff admits the inadequacy of forces such as CRPF whereas the Indian government denies. Their recent statements have not been in sync; we are addled as to who to believe?

The civilised India has to cope with another form of disguised danger from the modern human rights activists. These activists, who have proliferated in the past years, pose a threat which is surreptitious but very potent. Under the garb of protection of fundamental human rights, they pre-empt any stern action against the barbaric criminals and ensure that they are dealt with soft hands. These are people who will take up the cause of repealing the armed forces special powers act, will make noise about state repression in countering terrorism and insurgency, but will gloss over the atrocities committed by the Maoists. With their piffle arguments these activists try and equate the tribal people and the militants; draw fallacious comparisons between riot situations and insurgent violence. They speciously speak of the impecunious economic, social situation of the tribal population as the casus belli for the militant violence.

The arguments of these politically driven human rights activists are nothing more than malarkey and are today out of kilter with the popular sentiment of the plebeians. Their vested political motives have taken the masquerade of human rights. It is high time our government machinery stopped to tug its forelocks to this baloney. We must realise that their sophistry is insidious for our democracy and security.

We recognize that the menace of Maoism if unbridled, can pose an existential quandary. There is no disputing that the permanent solution to this egregious problem will have to be two pronged i.e. economic development and firm policing. The large tribal population has lived in impoverished state for decades. The groundswell support that the Maoist militants enjoy can only be checked through development. But development cannot happen over night. It will take three to four years. What should the state do till then? Wait till the benefit of development reaches all and sundry? The perpetrators go around killing at will till then?

Violence, under any circumstances, no matter how enormous the provocation, is inexcusable. We cannot adopt a rickety, namby pamby approach towards this militancy. The areas lost to the Maoists have to be retrieved and under the present situation that can only happen by force. There is no merit in not using the army in the name of collateral damage. The government will have to see through the casuistry in the remarks that the state cannot kill its own citizens. The law of the land provides for capital punishment to certain criminals and the Maoist militants are not puny criminals but savage, barbaric quislings guilty of genocide. They need to be dealt with an iron fist.

This is not a retribution ruse but a long term strategy. No development can happen without first crushing the perpetrators of violence, demoralising them by eliminating their leaders. To bring about an improvement in the living conditions of the tribal population, the government needs to build schools, hospitals, provide electricity, construct roads, create employment etc. None of it will happen if the officers, engineers, doctors deputed by the government continue to be killed or kidnapped by the militants. The entire delivery mechanism will be thrown off gear by those who do not actually want development to reach the people as then their support base will erode.

There can be no talking with the Maoist leadership in these times. They will have to be annihilated by force. The questions of reintegration or rehabilitation of the foot soldiers amongst the Maoists will arise few years later; after the master minds of the violence have been killed and their sinister designs of acquiring power through the barrel of gun thwarted. The state must set its priorities in order. It needs to first execute, and then negotiate from a position of advantage. That will have to be backed by fair, equitable development and robust policing.

But first things first; in terms of propinquity to relevance, it is imperative to remind both the friends and the enemies the strength of the arm at the other end of the handshake and the weight of the iron beneath the glove.

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