Political Diary
New Delhi, 1 June 2013
Naxals Kills, Govt Crawls
NETAS PLAY BLAME GAME
By Poonam I Kaushish
It’s the season of banalities in politics. An outsider would
be excused for thinking that India’s
biggest crisis is not its acute governance deficit, policy paralysis, depreciating
GDP, security imperatives but cricket and more cricket, stupid! Given 24/7
electronic media and newspapers space obsession with the IPL spot-fixing
scandal. Alas, lost in the seamless and mindless meandering babble, is the brutal
reality that the 1967 peripheral peasant threat nee Naxalites have now reached
a critical mass: political doorstep.
For the first time the Red Brigade did the unthinkable,
nearly annihilating the Congress top leadership in Maoist-infested Chhattisgarh’s
tribal-dominated Darbha region instead of policemen and local public
representatives 10 days back. Among the
28 killed were the Party’s State President Nand Kumar Patel, his son and Salwa Judam founder Mahendra Karma and
critically injured 30 others including former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister VC
Shukla. In one fell stroke the Maoist had brought the political class to its
knees.
Predictably post the rash of blink-and-miss high-level
visits of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi and right consoling
decibels interspersed with ‘we-will-hit-back-with-a-vengeance’ bravado, came
the political diarrhea of tu-tu-mein-mein,
finger-pointing and politricking.
While the Congress squarely blamed the State Government for “deliberately”
providing lackadaisical security as the Intelligence Bureau had warned of a
major offensive in the region. The BJP hit back by talking of ex- Chief
Minister Ajit Jogi’s alleged involvement and accused its rival of trying to
encash the tragedy in the Assembly elections in November.
Duty done, the killing was dusted off the political radar.
Raising a moot point: How does the Centre intend fighting the war? Does it know
the DNA of the Maoists? Have an iron-tight anti-Naxal policy in place? A
realistic and accurate assessment of the challenge? Does it know what fuels
their movement? Are the Reds driven purely by the “robbing Peter to pay Paul”
syndrome? Can an honorable cause and an eventual utopian outcome justify
violent means? Is violence consistent with the norms of democracy?
The tragedy is that the Government is clueless of how it
should tackle the growing menace. At last count Maoists had spread their deadly
tentacles in 20 States and 223 districts– and is showing no signs of
exhaustion. (7 States have already slipped beyond State control). Worse, they
have assumed alarming proportions and intend ratcheting up the stakes at a
potent level to destroy 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. Simultaneously, they want to
transmute the social structure through the barrel of the gun and are getting
moral & material support from the Nepal,
Pakistan’s ISI and China. Their
ambition is to have a ‘Red Corridor’ from Pashupati to Tirupati.
Not only that. As the Reds becoming mightier and deadlier
with each killing, the police helplessness is obvious. They have killed over
3,670 people since 2005, equaling three deaths every two days according to the
South Asia Terrorism Portal. Shockingly, only one Naxal gets killed for four
deaths among security personnel and civilians.
Add to this, the Maoists have seized over 3000 weapons
including AK 47’s, bombs and RDX in the last four years. Highlighting, the
Government ill-preparedness, our intelligence apparatus’s in-effectiveness and
the abysmal lack of Centre-State coordination.
If this is bad news worse follows. There are split signals
from the powers-that-be. Two senior Union Ministers want a continuation of the
“soft approach of talks tempered with grassroots development” while not a few
feel a hard line followed in Andhra’s famed Greyhounds annihilation of the
Naxals should be pursued.
They advocate taking a leaf out of late West Bengal Governor
Dharam Vira’s book in the sixties when Naxalism first reared its head in the
state. Said he, “There is no place for a live Naxal in my jails.” Or what
policemen Julius Ribeiro and KPS Gill’s an-eye-for-an-eye policy in Punjab during the Khalistan movement during the eighties.
Importantly, the issue is not the latest crisis because this
is not going to be the extremists last. What matters is that it exposes the
Government’s, Centre and States, soft under-belly. Sadly, for over a year, the
Government has talked ad nauseum
about its 'anti-Naxal strategy' couched in jingoistic jargon of “clear, hold,
develop, a four-legged race” etc.
Used grand language like tackling terror “on the political,
security and development fronts in a holistic manner". Sic. Failing to
realize that 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.
Undeniably, the polity’s powerlessness to deal with hard
targets strongly has given us the soft State image whereby everyone takes us
for a ride. Worse, the Administration is unable to enforce its writ throughout
the country, a natural sine qua non
of a State. Remember, it is no use having the instruments to enforce law if one
lacks the ability to put them to effective use.
At the same time it is also true that 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.
However, 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.
What next? The time has come for New Delhi and the badly-affected States to
get its priorities undertake joint operations and set up joint unified commands
for continuous monitoring of the arms profile of various Naxal groups. Urgently
needed along-side, is identification of sources and networks, coordinated
intelligence gathering, and a well-equipped police force, if this grave
security threat is to be combatted.
The Centre cannot pass the buck to the States, both have to
seize the moment and take the Maoist bull by the horns. Our netas need to display some spine and
punish the Naxals. The only way to hit back is to carry the fight into the
enemy camp. It is not enough to assert ‘we have might and muscle. One has to
display that power.
Send a clear message that senseless violence wouldn’t be
tolerated. Remember, nations live or die by the way they respond to a
challenge. Do our leaders have the stomach? The ball is in the Government's
court. Can the UPA walk its talk? ----- INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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