Political Diary

New Delhi, 12 June 2010

Naxals: Wake Up Call

WILL UPA WALK ITS TALK?

By Poonam I Kaushish

Want to know the most banal and most abused political speak used always for all situations and occasions? “The Government will enforce the writ of the State in dealing with the challenge…. while pursuing a policy to address the grassroots developmental concerns.” Sic. No matter, these eyeball grabbing headlines and great sounding empty sound-bites translate into zilch.

The latest to espouse this is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh vis-à-vis the Naxalite menace which is tearing asunder with deadly precision the Indian State. Even as Union Home Minister Chidambaram's let the cat out of the bag by publicly ruing of having only a 'limited mandate' to deal with the dastardly militants. Thereby, underscoring the lack of political will, utter confusion, discord and divide within the Congress and Government. Already, two senior Congress leaders have lashed out at Chidambaram's “pro-active” approach.

Tragically, this blow-hot-blow-cold tactics has cast a long shadow on the security forces fight against Red terror both of the Centre and the States. Not only has it affected their morale, made them vulnerable in the absence of clear instructions from the top but also emboldened the Naxalites to carry out more brazen strikes, bringing newer areas under their control. Resulting in mounting number of attacks and surging casualties.

Think. The Maoists have killed over 2,670 people since 2005, equaling three deaths every two days according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal. This year in the last six months alone they have killed over 460 people and lost only 107 comrades. Plainly, only one Naxal gets killed for four deaths among security personnel and civilians. Even at the peak of Kashmir insurgency, the casualty rate was almost equal on both sides — a terrorist was killed by security agencies for every death among civilian and security forces. Add to this, the Maoists have seized over 2000 weapons including self loading rifles, bombs and RDX in the last three years.

Questionably, how does the Centre intend fighting the war? Does it know the DNA of the Maoists? Have an anti-Naxal policy in place? A realistic and accurate assessment of the challenge? Does it know what fuels the Naxal movement? Are the Reds driven purely by the “robbing Peter to pay Paul” syndrome? Do they actually care for the deprived tribals? Or is the ground reality quite different? Can an honorable cause and an eventual utopian outcome justify violent means? Is violence consistent with the norms of democracy?

Sadly, for the past year, the Government has talked ad nauseum about its 'anti-Naxal strategy' couched in jingoistic jargon of “clear, hold, develop, a four-legged race” et al. Used grand language like tackling terror “on the political, security and development fronts in a holistic manner". Failing to realize that impressive catchphrases don’t add up to well-thought of strategies. Instead they only allude to a mumble-jumble of intentions and wishful thinking at best and complete catatonia at worst.

Undoubtedly, our war against Naxalism is slowly but surely turning out be a one-sided bloody affair, as Maoists dominate a battlefield of dispirited and ill-prepared security forces with no credible intelligence flow. The level of their sophistication in inflicting large-scale casualties on civilians and security personnel with minimum damage to themselves exposes their superiority. In addition, the tribals' feels if security forces could be killed where do we go? So willy-nilly they start obeying the so-called diktats of the Naxalites. This gives impetus to other groups to attack elsewhere.  

Not only that. The Maoists have assumed alarming proportions and are all set to ratchet up the stakes to a deadly and more potent level to destroy our democracy and replace it with anarchy. According to intelligence sources, the Reds have links with the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, HUL and other Islamic terror outfits and enjoy patronage from China.     

Shockingly, New Delhi is fighting this violent movement with not even one tenth of the total security forces required to contain the violent movement. Worse, more than 30% of the Centre’s outlay towards modernization of the police force in the Red corridor has not been released at all. Of those released not all funds were used. The audited accounts of eight Naxal-hit States -- -- Orissa, Andhra, Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, UP, West Bengal and MP — show an outlay of Rs 4,680 crore was made between 2000 and 2007 but only 63% was used.

True, the Adivasis are a disadvantaged lot. Chhattisgarh’s Bastar which lies in the heart of Maoist territory ranks as one of the poorest districts in the country. Sans basic amenities, roads, no medical facilities and means of income almost non-existent. Development is only a word parroted by the polity at election time.  

However, at the same time beyond the Adivasis' abject poverty is a skillfully orchestrated charade that serves the interests and ulterior motives of the Red brigade. Recall, prior to the State’s anti-Naxal operations and Salwa Judam in 2005, the Reds were busy hampering development and creating a fear psychosis. Bluntly, the Maoists facade of social movement hides a sinister design: usurpation of political power. Asserted Chidambaram, “It is a wake-up call. Naxals call this war. They call us enemies. They call Parliament a pigsty.”

What next? First, New Delhi needs to clearly define and acquire resources to contain if not annihilate the enemy. Towards that end there should be planned deployment of time-bound resources imposed by the conflict. It needs to remember that if there is a disconnect between its objectives, tactics, resources and ground conditions, all stratagems and measures are rendered redundant.  

Two, the Government must put calculated emphasis on intelligence-led and narrowly targeted operations seeking out the leadership, rather than dissipating the forces on chasing cadres. The State must seize and hold the initiative that it has long relinquished, instead of concentrating on territory. Given that the Maoists follow the ‘fish in water’ policy: which renders the guerrilla soldiers indistinguishable from common citizens.

In this lop-sided war involving psychological warfare, the Government has to tread carefully, first identify the enemy and then deal with him. There must be a clear determination to contain the Maoists on their peripheries, to engineer their expulsion from areas in which their influence is nascent, and ensure that they are not able to expand into new areas.

Three, the police forces not only need reorientation but also equipped and mandated to deal with the Maoists. Only through genuine police reforms and dramatic augmentations in general policing capabilities can the State stem the rising tide of Naxal terror. True, the army has trained around 47,000 police and paramilitary personnel for counter-insurgency battle. And is providing surveillance and logistical support to the CRPF in the Maoist operations. But more needs to be done.

In the ultimate, New Delhi needs a clear vision coupled with a no-nonsense approach devoid of sentimentalism to come to grips with this long, bloody war. The Centre cannot pass the buck to the States, it must take a forceful lead, demonstrate its honest intent, quickly forge a no-holds barred policy --- a military one, if required --- to show that acts of Maoist senseless violence would not be tolerated and they would have to pay for targeting ordinary people. As the Israeli’s assert, an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.  The ball is in the Government's court. Can the UPA walk its talk? ----- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)