Dialogue With Naxals

Home Minister P. Chidambaram has rejected the Naxal (Maoist guerillas) proposal for talks as pointless. Any possibility of a discussion between the sides seems to have thereby faded away. The government probably is in no mood to have talks with Naxals. This is true of the other side as well. Efforts made for talks so far have not been very serious on the whole.

Naxals were asked to give up violence only for 72 hours and to send a written proposal for talks. They placed the condition for a ceasefire, and gave a mobile number for discussing matters. This mobile number too was that of a kidnapped policeman. Is this the way to take steps for dialogue?

Government's Intention
Aspersions may be cast on the government's intention to hold talks with Naxals. But the attitude of Naxals is much more dubious. It suggests that they have the strength of constitutional authority. It has been proved by repeated attacks on police forces that Naxals are unwilling for discussions. They justified these heinous activities as "Operation Peace Hunt" in retaliation to the government's "Operation Green Hunt."

The killings of 24 policemen in West Bengal became part of "Operation Peace Hunt". It can be deduced from such barbaric deeds that Naxals are suffering from the same psychology as terrorists like the Taliban. At a time when Naxals are showing their stubbornness and prejudice, strangely enough a section of intelligentsia is pressuring the government for talks with them. Is this possible if the adversary is absolutely unwilling to come to the table?

If Naxal sympathizers really want a dialogue between both sides, they must shoulder the responsibility of convincing Naxals to show some seriousness and maturity. Since this appears to be a remote possibility, the government must make preparations to rein in Naxals who are becoming more daring and powerful. The federal government seems to be determined to overcome Naxal organizations. But the states affected by Naxalism have started showing their reluctance in this regard.

Wavering Attitude
Naxals are now targeting common men and police forces. Yet, instead of retaliating, the affected states are coming up with all kinds of excuses. Some of them are claiming to be trying to convince them, while others are dreaming of a change of heart among them.

There are certain states that are more concerned about their own interests. Meanwhile, Naxals are taking full advantage of the states' wavering attitude.

Having failed to win the cooperation of these states, the federal government has been unable to take any step, in spite of the best of its intention. Nor can much satisfaction be derived from the coordination reached between state police forces and the Central Reserve Police Force (CISF) after a lot of hard labor. It has also been decided that their joint forces will fight Naxals. Could this work not have been started years ago?

Question of India's Internal Security

The points that have emerged at the two-day meeting on the country's internal security held in New Delhi pertain to the threats from cross-border terrorists and Maoists. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's views for the resolution of these problems deserve to be commented. Singh underlined the need to beef up vigilance at the Line of Control in view of increasing infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir. He also spoke in terms of strengthening the country's security system in order to counter the threat of Maoist militants.

Antinational Activities
Meanwhile, union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has also sent across a stern signal to organizations engaged in antinational activities. He has warned militant organizations active in Pakistan that a crushing defeat will be inflicted upon them in the event of any conflict taking place.
Participating in the deliberations, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal not only stressed the need to ponder over basic factors leading to the creation and spread of problem of Naxalism (Maoist guerillas) but also said that the problem can be overcome to a great extent if all people of the country are provided with benefits of economic prosperity. He made another significant point that terrorists today are under the influence of other countries and India has become a soft target as a soft state.
We feel that India has been recognized as a soft state since centuries. Since ancient times, countries of Central Asia such as Iran and Afghanistan targeted India when their dictatorial kings or tribal invaders trampled the country with a few thousand horse riders. They intended in India hundreds of times. In this regard it is astonishing to note the attitude that the Indian Government and citizens have been adopting on such occasions. We feel that we have not got to do so over the past years.
Militants often converge in large numbers in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir [PoK], and hold out threats to India. Jamaat-ud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed also challenged India recently in Lahore by threatening that India should free Kashmir, failing which the sole option left is "Jihad" (crusade). He committed the folly of asking Indian Home Minister Chidambaram to meet him in Lahore. He also put forward his agenda to liberate Hyderabad from India. He also said that his organization has tested the Indian Army.

Beginning of India-Pakistan Talks
All this notwithstanding, India has taken a decision to restart talks with Pakistan, even as in the wake of the Mumbai attacks the Indian Government said it will not resume talks with Pakistan until it brings all the accused of the Mumbai attacks to justice. Now once again threats of Jihad have been held out openly by militant outfits from Pakistan. Despite all this, it is not known under which compulsions India has invited Pakistan for talks.
We are in complete agreement with the view that unless and until effective arrangements are made along the border with Pakistan the cross-border infiltration will continue due to which current conditions will persist unabated.

Adequate Steps Needed
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is right in saying that until basic defense amenities are not provided to millions of people the problem of Naxalism will continue and the internal security cannot be ensured until then. Simultaneously, it is also important for states to exercise full vigilance.
Doubtless, the country is very vast. Hence, problems also are varied to resolve, to which there cannot be readymade solutions. The conditions can be improved only through correct identification of the causes of every problem separately, followed by adequate steps to ensure internal security.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Brings Maoists To Dialogue Table

Finally, Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren's political acumen and Home Minister P. Chidambaram's determination have started showing results. Positive tidings have come from Maoists, who have been fighting a bitter battle for a long time. They are now willing to hold talks with preconditions.
When Soren was sworn in as chief minister on 30 December 2009 for the third time, he appealed to Maoists to give up violence and have discussions, instead. The home minister had also adopted tough measures to control Maoists. At the same time, he had always emphasized the need to pay attention to the human side of the issue.

Mainstream of Democracy
As a result of these efforts, Maoists have offered to join the mainstream of democracy. This suggestion, which raises hopes, has come before Shibu Soren's meeting with P. Chidambaram to be held on 9 February. This has made Soren's role all the more important. The most important condition laid down by Naxalites (Maoist guerillas) is removal of the ban imposed on them. They have also demanded release of their associates, payment of compensation to the innocent and oppressed, end of police atrocities and false encounters, and removal of paramilitary forces from villages.
According to them the previous government had acted arbitrarily in giving land to Jindal Steel, Arcelor Mittal, and Tata Steel. Tribals were cheated in the process of requisition of land. These deals must, therefore, be reexamined. At a first glance, this demand does not seem to be unjustified. Jharkhand is endowed with extremely fertile land, enormous natural resources, and minerals.

Strengthening Roots of Naxalism
Yet, the state has been beset with tremendous poverty, unemployment, hunger, corruption, and looting of tribal lands. These problems have helped in strengthening the roots of Naxalism here. In such a situation, the government has to take all these factors into account during talks.
Who, after all, would not like this state, which had been deprived so long because of its bitter struggle with Naxalism, to develop and basic facilities to be made available to people?

Development Projects
Joint action initiated by the central government in Naxal-influenced areas has so far proved to be successful. Chidambaram has also clearly stated that the purpose of this program was not to kill people or cause unnecessary violence but to accelerate the sped of development projects.
Therefore, Soren is faced with the challenge of dispelling tribals' doubts and removing separatism. It would be interesting to watch the steps he takes in these directions. If the can carry this historical process of dialogue further, he will truly succeed in steering a backward state like Jharkhand to a new road.

Widespread Maoist Movement in India

After the Naxal (Maoist guerillas) firing on a police patrol party in Chhattisgarh, murder of 17 people in Amose Bhiron village of Bihar, massacre of 19 policemen in Maharashtra, and killing of a police inspector Francis Induwar in Jharkhand, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Naxals cannot be called militants and the possibility of use of military against them is also ruled out. Earlier, he also said that the government would not bow before Naxals.
The government will not remain a mute spectator toward activities such as extraction of money, looting, snatching, and violence by Naxals. Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram also commented, "Until the Naxals lay down their weapons, talks cannot be held with them."
The statements of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister fell on deaf ears of Naxals. On the contrary, they gave a call for closure in Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.
During the shutdown, the Naxals blew up railway tracks in Jhrandi area of Dhanbad, burned three trucks in Giridiah and damaged a bridge by triggering explosions. A telecommunication tower of a private company was set on fire in Burky Salia village of Bihar.
In West Bengal, a worker of an anti-Maoist committee was murdered. Two officials of the Punjab government and the Punjab State Electricity Board were killed at Amarapura in Pukur district of Bihar.
Naxal activities continued for the second day in Bihar and Jharkhand. They ransacked the railway station at Bansipur, set ablaze the divisional office of Sangrampur, and blew up a building of a school in Chatra village of Jharkhand. A polling booth was targeted at Garhchiroli in Maharashtra. It is astonishing that the prime minister is speaking in term of not using military against Naxals, saying that they are not militants.

Aim of Naxals
The aim of Naxals is to grab power through the barrel of a gun in accordance with Maoism. Hence, it is futile to hope that they would join the mainstream of the country's democratic order.
Distressed over the turmoil triggered by Naxals, the Communist Party of India-Marxist-led West Bengal government is also appealing to the union government to wipe out Naxalism. It is worth mentioning that Maoism also influences the West Bengal government. It was owing to this inclination toward Maoism that the Communist Party of India was divided a few years ago.

Gravity of Situation
After the capture of Lalgarh, etc. in West Bengal by Naxals, at the instance of the Bengal government, the central government rushed the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel there and freed Lalgarh. Viewing the gravity of the situation, Chief Minister Budhadev Bhattacharya called on the prime minister and the home minister recently to start a joint campaign for the elimination of Naxals. They suggested that an identical drive should be launched in neighboring Jharkhand state because Naxals fled to another state easily after carrying out an incident in one state.
In response to the appeal of Chief Minister Budhadev Bhattacharya, the Union Government agreed to deploy 17 companies in West Bengal. All this manifests the gravity of the situation and that it is beyond the capacity of state governments and their police to deal with Naxals. He has suggested that a similar drive should be initiated in the neighboring Jharkhand state. That is why Naxal-affected state governments are asking for deployment of more security forces to combat Naxal violence.
Notwithstanding the deployment of the central security forces, the conditions there are not being brought under control because the CRPF has also its own limitations. The position of the police is such that its strength is not in proportionate with the rising population. It is, therefore, better to press the military into service in order to wipe out Naxals.

Eliminating Militancy
In Punjab, militancy was eliminated by deployment of military when terrorism was at its peak there. It was owing to the complacency of the government that forest smuggler of the South, Veerappan, could not be arrested for a long time. The image of India continues to be that of a "soft state," and China and Pakistan are exploiting our softness.
While the government persists with its policy of not using military against Naxals and offering to hold talks with them, they continue to intensify their activity and extend their area of influence. Although the government is using only the CRPF to counter Naxals, yet eventually it will need to press the military into action to wipe out Naxalism (Maoist movement) that is posing more and more threat to India's internal security.

Police Reforms

India's internal problems are increasing due to extremism and Naxalism (Maoist insurgency). It has also to contend with the threat of infiltration. To confound matters, police officers are unable to function freely due to political pressure.

The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P. Chidambaram both drew attention to these problems at a conference of directors general and inspectors general of police.

The police are clearly facing challenges from all sides. It is necessary to make the police efficient and perceptive. This cannot be possible without joint effort of the Union and State Governments. But law and order being a state subject, they are unwilling to brook any interference by the central authorities in their right. They fail to realize that when the situation gets out of control, it is the Union Government that has ultimately to bear the responsibility. State and federal governments do not obviously see eye-to-eye on the internal security problem. This in turn is giving opportunity to criminals and anarchical forces to thrive.

Undeniable Fact
This difference between the two sets of government was quite evident during the Ishrat Jahan case in Gujarat, and in the Lalgarh issue of West Bengal. It is this situation that had impelled the Home Minister to advise police chiefs to object to frequent transfers of their officers. It is an undeniable fact that State Governments transfer police officers on the pretext of their inefficiency or of meeting needs of time.

Yet, if an officer of Uttar Pradesh is transferred within four months, it is certainly not due to his ineptitude. It smells of corruption, bias, and favoritism. The Home Minister's statement that state governments spend only the leftover of their budgets on police is quite significant. How can the state police force function efficiently in such a situation?

Assigning More Responsibilities
The Prime Minister went a step further than the home minister to assign more responsibilities to the police. He expects the force to keep an eye on internal and external activities that might affect the country's security.

The Prime Minister also urged them to understand the real causes of incidents that are drawing more and more youth to extremism. In other words, he wants the police to become an efficient and autonomous wing of the democratic structure and to have greater involvement. His statement clearly recommends reforms in the police system.