Maoists Strike Again. Will Government Retaliate

It was only six weeks ago that Maoists had massacred 76 CRPF jawans in Dantewada. Yesterday, the Maoists blew up a civilian passenger bus killing 16 SPOs (Special Police Officers) and 15 civilians. With the second major attack against the police, the Maoists have made their intentions clear and unambiguous. They want the combing operation in Chattisgarh to stop else they will target not only the police but even those who would assist the police.

Maoists have called for a 48 hour bandh and 5 states – Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh – are on high-alert. Naxalism has clearly become a menace to the Nation’s internal security. Today, Maoists have reached a stage where they are able to threaten the Indian Government with violence. But even now, home minister P Chidambaram still maintains that the law and order is a state issue and that he had limited mandate. When an organization’s activity puts 5 states on high alert, it is a national issue and central government should be able to step in and stop it. This is a perfect example showcasing the need for stricter and effective laws to counter terrorism and Maoism in India.

Even after the laws are framed, sometimes we ourselves stop the Government from enacting them. The social activists among us fight against state violence. But in Monday’s blast, Maoists have not differentiated between the police and the civilians. What kind of soldiers would target civilians and non-combatants? In spite of innocent civilians losing lives, the social activists still root for non-violence and peace talks. After two major outbursts of violence involving huge number of casualties, the chances of peace talks between the Maoists and the Government appear to be supremely slim.

Now, Chidambaram is of the view that there is a need to revisit operations against Naxals. Undoubtedly, he means air support and may be even army support. And rightly so. When a Nation’s internal security is threatened, it must be restored at all cost.

It is probably time for the Government to say ‘enough is enough’ and strike back hard at the Maoists with whatever means to restore peace and control in the Maoist affected areas. No matter what, the Government should at all cost avoid a third Dantewada.