Political Diary

New Delhi, 2 May, 2017

Naxals: Wake Up Call

WILL MODI WALK HIS TALK?

By Poonam I Kaushish

Sitting ducks, a tale of how 99-strong CRPF troops were easy prey for 300 Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district last week resulting in 25 massacred. The second deadly attack in less than two months which left 12 dead and the third in seven years. Underscoring, tall talk of containing internal terrorism is simply banal and a hog wash!

Yet, post assault, things ran par on course. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh called an emergency meeting of top security officials, asserting, “This cold blooded murder showed the Naxals' frustration over the success of our crackdown operations in the recent past.” Sic. Tweeted Prime Minister Modi, “Cowardly and deplorable. The sacrifice of the martyrs will not go in vain, we have taken the attack as a challenge and will enforce the State’s writ.”

Really? Then why hasn’t accountability been fixed? And heads not rolled? Will the State admit it has blood on its hands? Specially, after the DGP CRPF accused the Chhattisgarh Government for being laggard in constructing the road in the Maoists den. Shockingly, the road, where the attack took place has been in the making for years.

More scandalous, the security personnel have been crying hoarse for new technology which shortens construction time of one km road to just two days. Alas, this proposal too has been gathering dust for three years with the State Administration. Alongside policemen acknowledge they were soft targets due to the route’s predictability for the road construction side.

Undeniably, the Naxalite menace continues to tear asunder with lethal precision the Indian State. Equally, it showcases the lack of political will, utter confusion and exposes the Central and State Government’s soft under-belly in their anti-Naxal armour, slack coordination and no cohesion between the forces on the ground. 

Moreover, the attack highlighted lack of unified strategy and actionable intelligence. Failing to realize that knee-jerk operations will not yield results, instead it would put security forces at risk. Alongside, the Centre’s much-hyped policy on tackling Red terror is caught in a time wrap. One-step-forward-two-steps-backwards.

Asserted a senior police officer, “There is a lot of vacillation and ad hocism, whereby counter-Naxal strategy and attacks have been outsourced to the Central security forces.” Consequently, with the Central forces playing the role of a supporter and not a lead force to the State, the fight against Maoists is manifest by massive confusion and operational weakness with both accusing each other of failure.

Questionably, how does the Centre intend fighting the war? Does it know the DNA of Naxalites? What fuels their movement? Have an iron-tight anti-Naxal policy in place? A realistic and accurate assessment of the challenge? 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?

Tragically, the Government is insensible of how it should tackle the growing menace. At last count Maoists had spread their poisonous tentacles in 20 States and 223 districts (7 States have already slipped beyond State control). Worse, they have assumed alarming proportions, ratcheting up the stakes at a potent level to destroy democracy and replace it with anarchy.

Undoubtedly, both the Centre and State need to get their act together, take the bull by the horn and realize that anti-Naxal operations are a chronic terrifying black hole. For starters, the Centre must rid itself of finding political and bureaucratic solutions instead get security and intelligence experts to strategize tactical requirements to contain this.

Intelligence sources assert the Maoist game plan is to occupy the countryside, surround cities until they can force regime change. Simultaneously, they want to transmute the social structure through the barrel of the gun. Towards that end, they are getting moral & material support from Nepal, China, and Pakistan’s ISI, Lashkar-e-Tayiba, HUL and other Islamic terror outfits. Their ambition: Have a ‘red corridor’ from Pashupati to Tirupati.

Sadly, for a year, the Government has talked ad nauseum about its ‘anti-Naxal strategy’ couched in jingoistic jargon of “challenge, clear, development”  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.

Shamefully, New Delhi is fighting this violent movement with not even one tenth of the total security forces required to contain it. Worse, more than 30% of the Centre’s outlay towards modernization of the police in the Red corridor hasn’t been released. Of the amount released only some has been used.

Frankly, our war against Naxalism is slowly 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. 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.

What next? First, New Delhi must clearly define and acquire resources to contain if not annihilate the enemy. There should be planned deployment of time-bound resources imposed by the conflict. The Government 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 State must lay calculated emphasis on intelligence-led targeted operations seeking out the leadership, rather than dissipating the forces on chasing cadres, 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.

Three, there must be a clear determination to contain the Naxalites 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. As also deal with distortions in the social system on a war footing to alleviate poverty, ensure speedy development and enforce law and order strictly.

Time to 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 NaMo’s court. Can he walk his talk? ----- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)