Dude,whats happening in India?This was the question asked by my boss to me.He admires India and he thinks India has tremendous potential.Well I told him India is doing good....and he seemed satisfied with my answer...But that prompted me to think are we really doing good??
The thing which is bugging me since last 1 month is the threat to internal security of India....Barely one month has passed since Naxalites had killed 24 cops in one of the biggest attacks in Bengal.As usual the state government was unaware of their activities.While on the other hand Prime minister acknowledges Naxalites as the biggest threat to the Indian sovereignty when he says "It would not be an exaggeration to say that the problem of Naxalism is the single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country ",but when it comes to take action against them, his party and ministers dodge it to the state government. As gen.V.P. Malik says “I think there is political consensus on how to tackle Jihadi terror. It evades us when it comes to the Naxalites.” And the result is 1,591 Naxal-related attacks in 2008 which costed 721 people of their lives.As of 2009, Naxalites are active across approximately 220 districts in twenty states of India accounting for about 40 percent of India's geographical area.
Now the question is why no action is being taken against them.The answer is before taking any action , first of all you need to consider the problem grave enough.Most of the state governments have a soft corner towards Naxalites.First and foremost example is West Bengal govt. which don't consider Naxalites as a threat.If you look at the history you will come to know that Naxalites originated from CPI(M) which ruled West Bengal for three decades.This communist organization not only ruined the edge of industrialization which Bengal had at the time of independence but also gave shelter to like minded movements like Naxalism.Such movements also got sympathy from so called thinkers like Arundhati Roy,who supports communism because according to them democracy failed in India , so this is high time to switch to communism.How can we fight with Chinese intentions of acquiring Indian land when you have people who support communism living in India.
Why I am stressing on Bengal more than any other state is because this state is Naxal hub since 1967.For those who are unaware the word Naxalites comes from Naxalbari, a small village in West Bengal,where an extremist section of Communist Party of India(Marxist) led by Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal led a violent uprising in 1967.Its no hidden truth that State government of Bengal not only gives shelter to Naxalites but because of its porous border with other countries like Bangladesh it makes trafficking of arms for Naxalites easier.The State govt. doesn't even hide its liking for china.Majority of times they behave as representatives of Republic of china in India.
Other reasons for Naxal dominance include lack of developmental schemes in the affected districts as well.The poor people of such districts are given free medical treatment,free food etc. by the Naxalites,which,in turn help them.Most of the times such places are inaccessible for the forces.One of the key strategy that can help fight this menace can be building of a network of roads in inaccessible forested hills that can help movement of people,which,in turn,can help in intelligence information gathering.Armed forces can respond much faster in such remote locations restricting the movement of Naxals who depend on forest cover and terrain for their cuts and thrusts.Better late than never, Central govt. has just approved a 7,300 crore special roads package for Naxal-affected areas.
Lack of police personals is another issue.With over 2 lakh vacancies in the armed forces and having one of the lowest people to police ratio in the world, you cannot ask for efficient law and order.You cannot even secure cities, forget about villages and here we are talking about dense forests so you can imagine the situation.
With two notorious neighbors like china and Pakistan , you would not like to have distress in your home. Imagine a situation when China with its ally Pakistan and its representatives in India(Naxalites) act together for their common goal i.e. disintegration of Indian republic.How many fronts you can handle together?Where you will march your army,towards your eastern border,towards your western border or to handle pests (read Naxalites)....Keep thinking,the question it tricky...
