Bull by the Horns

Niranjan Sahoo and Anshuman Behera

In a serious setback to ongoing anti-Maoist operations, 22 security personnel were killed and 31 sustained serious injuries in encounter with the dreaded Maoists along Sukma-Bijapur border in Chhattisgarh. Given the large number of casualties involved including the elite CoBRA commandos of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), questions about intelligence failures, security forces committing tactical mistakes and not following up standard operating procedures have been raised by security experts and analysts.

Moreover, this was not a surprise ambush by the Maoists on security forces. Reportedly, this was a major combing operation jointly conducted by CoBRA unit of CRPF, Special Task Force, District Reserve Guard (DRG) and District Force of Chhattisgarh Police to capture the most wanted Maoist No.1 area commander Madvi Hidma. Even before the security team issued any clarification, the chief minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel was quick to reject any chances of intelligence failure which would have been the major factor leading to the loss of lives of security personnel. This is the last thing one expects in a combat situation in any major counterinsurgency (COIN).

The irony is that an attack of this scale and intensity could take place at a time when the Indian state and its security forces are seen to have acquired better combat skills and experience and are believed to be in dominant position compared to the insurgent organisation. Fact of the matter is that the year 2019 (see below graph) saw one of lowest ever casualties among armed forces in the decades. A coordinated and well-calibrated counterinsurgency operation from the federal government and the Naxal-affected states yielded in bringing down Maoist-led violence to an all-time low.

Practically, the ultras real presence has been reduced to few tri-junction districts in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha. No wonder, India’s ministry of home affairs (MHA) removed 44 districts from Naxal affected list, while the ‘worst-affected category’ was brought down to