Internal Security: Can CRPF neutralise Naxals and Maoists

Union Home Minister P. Chidambram’s statement that the Naxalites are active in 20 out of 28 states is alarming. Clearly, it has become a huge inter- and not intra-state problem. It has to be tackled at both the Central and state levels, requiring close coordination and perhaps, under a centralised operational command.

If each affected state goes its own way with little coordination, it will be playing into the hands of the Maoists. Perhaps a new legislation has to be brought out for Central intervention to ensure unity of command and effective coordination between the states.

An armed struggle has to be met with the armed might of the nation and it just cannot be left to individual states with different political parties in power. A state of emergency may have to be declared in affected areas. However, the real battleground of this ‘war’ is not in the forests of Jharkhand’s Dantewada but in the national and state capitals. The political challenge the Naxalites pose seems greater than the military one. Consider what happened in Nepal. Therefore, we should not lose time anymore.

The Naxalite movement is neither a classic war nor a law and order problem but in between. The jungle/semi hilly terrain in and around Central India, the kind of arms and weapons being used and the reasonable high level of tactics employed by them necessitate use of specially trained paramilitary forces. They should be well armed with mortars and machine guns on the lines of the Army and be highly trained and motivated.

These forces should be able to live and fight in inhospitable areas and be tough physically and mentally. Above all, they should be trained by those who will live, fight and lead from the front as Army officers do, leading to high morale and operational domination over the rebels.
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Wanted: A specially trained force to combat Naxalites by Lt-Gen Harbhajan Singh (retd)