[IE]
The ambush of four BSF jawans in the Koraput district of Odisha is
yet another chilling reminder that Maoists can strike at will and have
probably regrouped after a brief lull. More diabolical is the fresh
revelation that the radicals had a bigger plot to loot arms and
ammunition with serial blasts on the same route and might have been
rather disappointed with four bodybags. Killings have not stopped in the
hinterland of these Maoist-hit states of Chhattisgarh, Odisha and
Jharkhand with the region providing a safe corridor for the left wing
extremists who hold sway.
Despite the gruesome killing of 24
Congress leaders and workers in Bastar area last May, the Centre has not
gone beyond except terming the issue as the single biggest internal
threat to the nation. The much talked about coordinated action to flush
out Maoists from the ‘Red Corridor’ began long ago in bits and pieces
and without much political will. The area domination exercise, so
emphatically expounded by the then home minister P Chidambaram, has gone
kaput.
As the bloodbath continues, the conflict has moved to a
new violent level. In fact, five years ago prime minister Manmohan Singh
had warned of the growing militarisation of the Maoist movement. True,
it has veered away from the days of ideological commitment and the
radicals are now up to hijacking trains, daring jailbreaks,looting arms
and ammunition and running extortion network in the mineral belt. The
government’s approach, whether at the Centre or state level, has more or
less remained event-centric. What is required is a decisive and
concerted action plan. But in the process of crushing the movement, the
authorities must not forget that the violent ideology is rooted in the
poverty and backwardness of the region. As the hawks in the government
advocate tough measures from time to time and moderates espouse peace
offensive, the violence must end.
