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Naxalism : Strategy for the future |
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Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil has made it clear that the Centre will let the Naxalite-affected states decide if they want to impose any pre-conditions while entering into a dialogue with the rebels. New Delhi has no problems even if the Naxalites don’t give up arms before the talks.
Patil recently chaired a meeting in Hyderabad of chief ministers from nine Naxalite-affected states. The Andhra decision to initiate talks with People’s War Group was a major issue at that meeting.
For decades, Naxalism has hit several states including Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Bihar. Observers believe that the fact that it has been always treated as a law and order problem, the authorities have never been able to sort it out. The last conference however agreed that it is not just a law and order problem and needed to be addressed on other fronts as well. However, some states including Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand reportedly expressed concern at the ramifications of talks between one state and Naxalite groups which operated in other states as well. Patil, however, made it clear that the Centre would follow a hands-off policy - at least for now. If any state wanted to enter into a dialogue, it was free to do so. “We won’t interfere with that,” he said.
And it was up to the states to decide if they would talk with the Naxalites even if they insisted on carrying arms - this is what People’s War seems to want in Andhra Pradesh. Patil reminded that in Nagaland the agreement with the security forces let the insurgents keep arms in their camps, but remain unarmed outside. He assured Naxal-affected States of all possible help from the Centre, including more funds, over and above the General Budget for them, for modernisation of police, improving intelligence gathering and sharing mechanisms to take sustained and effective police action whenever the possibility of a peace dialogue did not exist.
He said the conference helped various Governments in redrawing a broad roadmap in fighting Naxal problems, through peace talks or otherwise, in coordinated manner and while appreciating each others problems.
While not prescribing a “unified” approach to dialogue with the Naxalites - as some states had suggested - the Centre wants the states to consult each other and conduct talks in a manner that “does not impact the other states adversely.”
It was only to be expected that there would be divergent views on how to handle this major problem confronting the States in the Andhra Pradesh-Nepal corridor. While Andhra Pradesh has already taken a few steps towards holding talks with People’s War (PW), neighbouring States do not want any talks in isolation. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa in particular seem nervous about the prospect of extremist violence migrating to their territory as a direct result of Andhra Pradesh having a stand alone ceasefire.
Observers note that differences on approaches would continue to exist, but the fact that the Union Home Minister, the Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, three Chief Ministers, and some Home Ministers from the affected States participated in the deliberations made it clear that an attempt was at last being made to put together a framework for peace talks with the naxalite groups, including the ones banned in several States. The Special Adviser, M.K. Narayanan, has cautioned that naxalite violence, which haunts 125 districts across 12 States in varying degrees, is set to hit another 24 districts. The strategic objective of the naxalite movement, it would appear, is to create a “Compact Revolutionary Zone” extending from Nepal to Andhra Pradesh.
The Centre and the affected States must take a more serious and sympathetic look at the socio-economic and political inequities that encourage the growth of naxalism. The Centre has launched a few special programmes to assist naxalite-affected States through Backward District Initiatives and also through other Centrally sponsored schemes. It is up to the States to utilise these funds imaginatively rather than merely go in for modernisation of the police force. Before the other States can get to the stage of talking to the naxalite groups, they should at least focus their energies on tackling the causes of these problems - improving the socio-economic conditions of the tribal people and taking the fruits of development to their doorsteps. In the process, they are likely to realise that in order to reach the tribal pockets where the naxalites hold sway, they need a peaceful milieu and a reasonable degree of public order. It is a vicious cycle: there can be little development without peace and to bring about peace, there must be development.
With the focus of the conference on development rather than security measures, a number of decisions were taken to address the issue in tribal areas. Priority was given to development of road network in Naxal-hit areas through allocation of additional funds. It was also decided that the Centre would take steps to amend the Forest Conservation Act so that tribals might be allowed to build houses and export forest produce from the protected areas. The Home Minister also indicated his approval for Orissa’s initiative to withdraw minor criminal cases against tribals in order to build their confidence.
While the Uttar Pradesh representative said only three of its eastern districts were affected by Left-wing extremism, Bihar complained of a serious problem but did not spell out any forthcoming police action against the Naxals. Meanwhile, the West Bengal government has sanctioned Rs 1 crore for the rehabilitation of 50-odd extremists of the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation who surrendered last year.
The government of Chhattisgarh would prepare its own plan for ground-level action against Naxalites. The state has decided to draw up a multi-pronged strategy for guerrilla-type “jungle action”, involving Army-trained personnel
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