R.C. Sharma

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called Naxalism the biggest internal security threat. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed serious concerns about it and Union home minister Rajnath Singh has resolved to deal with it seriously. Yet, when it comes to ground reality, there is not much change that can be seen.

It is often seen that elections, especially in Naxalite areas, are carried out without any untoward incident. The police and the local administration seem to become super efficient. The only reason that can be attributed here is that they fear being reprimanded and want to put on their best show during those few days. Once the elections are over, things go back to normal. This lack of farsightedness is what plagues the administration and various security agencies in the country. The system of security governance/ police leadership takes and addresses security concerns in a lop-sided manner. It does not plan for the future. It relies on temporary measures, addressing a single incident and not solving the actual problem.

Security agencies and civil administration very well know that Maoist violence is a deep-rooted problem which has taken the form of violent security concern across the country. They also know that it has to be dealt with an iron hand but little has been done to tackle this menace. The police and other security agencies have not addressed this problem seriously. Efforts have been made but mostly they have been half-hearted and ad hoc. Consistency in approach has been missing. So, in the end, steps taken to control the menace have been piecemeal, interrupted every now and then by Maoist violence. Failures are bound to happen, but they must lead to analysis, followed by firm decisions and success. Failures must not be reinforced by failures. Professionalism must develop out of failures but unfortunately, that is not happening.

The situation has reached this far because the security establishment does not plan for the future. Another probable reason could be the lackadaisical attitude of the bureaucracy. But when dealing with something as serious as Naxalism, a way has to be found around the hurdles. The police can always approach the political leadership in case of a problem which they may not be doing in reality.

In the last four-five years, it has been noticed that Naxals follow a certain st