Naxal Attack

The latest attack on CRPF jawans from naxalites in Bastar only
underlines the fact as to how spineless the government has been in
tackling the Naxal menace in India. A large number of heavily-armed
Maoists, perched on a hilltop, had opened fire with automatic weapons
on a 63-member security contingent which was returning on foot from
road opening duty yesterday killing 26 CRPF personnel and injuring
eight others. The internal security threat that the Maoists represent
compound India’s problems with security and given how the external
terror threats have been handled so far, it is tough to see what can
be done to address the Maoist menace. Back in May Congress president
Sonial Gandhi talked about addressing the root cause of the problem
maintaining that Naxalism is a socio-economic problem and asked for
development initiatives in tribal areas to isolate the insurgents.
Some senior leaders of the party had openly criticised the anti-Naxal
approach of the UPA government, replying to which Sonia Gandhi said,
"While we must address acts of terror decisively and forcefully, we
have to address the root causes of Naxalism." Although time and again
the government has ruled out deployment of armed forces to tackle the
rising Naxal menace, the Centre has been toying with the idea of
hiring retired army officers as part of a multi-pronged approach to
deal with Left-wing extremism. But the fundamental point remains that
the Naxals have mostly targeted the police and security forces who
remain badly trained and under armed to be able to retaliate to these
ambushes and attacks. Clearly Manmohan Singh was worried when the PM
made this statement: “I have consistently held that left-wing
extremism is perhaps the gravest internal security threat we face. We
have not achieved as much success as we would have liked in containing
it. It is a matter of concern that despite our efforts, the level of
violence in the affected states continues to rise.” The government’s
has been very short sighted in tackling the problem. The root cause,
like Sonia Gandhi had mentioned has not been addressed and neither
have proper intelligence gathering mechanisms put in place to prevent
proliferation of these groups. Today anything between 15000-20000
Naxalites roam around in the jungles of Chattisgarh, parts of Andhra
Pradesh and the like representing a clear and present guerrilla
threat. And there has been tacit support for them from across the
border (especially China). The need of the hour is to use a judicious
mix of tough measures (like taking the help of the army, if required),
beefing up intelligence and eradicating poverty along with handling
the ideology that can help people detach themselves from the movement.
After all, the naxalites only demand a dignified life, and good
governance and proper attention is all that is required to give it to
them. India is a democracy and only peaceful resolution can provide a
long term solution. Just talk of retaliation will only prove what
Gandhiji had said: ‘An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.’
- Monica Singh