the prime minister Mr.manmohan Singh not so long ago had labeled the Maoist insurgency as among the gravest threats to our internal security and stressed on the need to address this problem with “utmost urgency"....while governments both central and state have grappled to address the issue in myriad ways, the most blatant tactic among them all was that employed by the Chhattisgarh government in the form of SALWA JUDUM ....what started out as a successful model which helped villagers in Maoist areas defend themselves from the atrocities committed on their lives and property by the Maoist, gradually transformed into a rouge, unaccountable outfit charged with unbridled violation of human rights. The state adopting a policy of "arming citizens to fight disgruntled citizens" is a blasphemy of the principles of democracy enshrined in our constitution. Every civilized society in our world has public institutions entrusted with the onerous task of securing the confidence of the people it seeks to serve. Our country has many.... the police and the paramilitary forces have their job cut out to secure the lives of ordinary citizens & maintain law & order. By resorting to salwa judum, the govt of Chhattisgarh has not only obliterated any remnants of morale which the battered police force has, but also has exposed the inadequacies of rural policing & intelligence. Involving people in the process of development for long has been regarded as a prerequisite for securing good governance….but such organizations such as salwa judum shouldn’t be the means employed to realize this goal!!.The recent Supreme Court judgment in this regard holds significance. The SC has now banned the salwa judum and other organizations of the ilk from operating and pulled up the chattisgarh govt for conceiving such a policy.this is indeed a positive development.sense has finally prevailed!!
.good governance has often been cited as a cure for Maoism .involvement of all stake holders in their respective capacities to contribute towards addressing the endemic & systemic problems is imperative. While the security of the rural populace can only be ensured by boosting up the capabilities & morale of the rural police force in affected regions[in terms of weaponary,training,preparedness,technology aids(night vision, bullet proof vests etc )], “community policing” model could be actively promoted through awareness programs to bridge the “trust deficit” & improve “grassroots level intelligence” capabilities . For any civil administration to exist and operate to its fullest potential in the affected areas there is a need to provide adequate security to civil infrastructure, personnel & villagers. Securing such an environment for development is not possible unless people themselves want it to stay that way. Identifying and tracking overt as well as covert Maoist “sympathizers” is important in this regard. On one hand there is a need to restore faith in the government through proactive action by the administration .on the other hand there is a need to plug in the loopholes which have rendered democratic methods of protest defunct & ineffective. If this can be achieved to some degree & if the people are educated on the means to bring erring officials to book for violation of norms or shirking from their authoritative responsibility, then it could go a long way in curbing Maoism in the long run.
Maoism today lacks the ideological force it once commanded. Unlike the earlier cadres composed of distinguished ideologues, Maoists of the present day are a frustrated lot devoid of ideological underpinnings. A Maoist today is one who is affected by unemployment or victimized by any atrocity conducted by a public authority. The external financial & arms support which the Maoists once had from the Nepal Maoists and the Chinese has also gradually tapered down. The fact that Maoism is slowly but surely on the path of decline, provides immense opportunity to the government to counter them. It is an opportunity which govt can let go only at its own peril. The government has to revisit its policy on the Maoists and adopt a clever mix of force, diplomacy, dialogue, rehabilitation for employment and proactive visible development to reverse the inroads made in the past few decades by the Maoists. There is a need to recognize the common necessities of the reds (sympathizers, arms, ammunition, finances for propaganda and sustenance) as well as the tactics employed by them (hit & run/guerilla tactics ,slipping across jurisdictions of states ) to evolve effective strategies to deal with them.
The need of the hour thus is a committed, proactive bureaucracy and governmental agencies working in tandem to dismantle the Maoist on one hand and ensuring good governance to all citizens so that any kind of depravation doesn’t persist. And even when it does, there are democratically mandated mechanism to ensure complete, speedy and transparent redressal of grievances.
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