Brutality cannot be met by persuasion and doles
The Monday massacre by Maoists of security personnel in the infamous Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, should ideally disabuse the bleeding hearts of the notion that the ultras are waging a just battle against the state's injustices. But even this gruesome incident, in which more than two dozen jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) lost their lives, will not serve that purpose. The left-liberals, who are so gregarious in condemning one incident of strong defensive action by security forces against stone-pelters of Kashmir, or one case of errant conduct by a security person in the line of duty, will not condemn the Maoist killers. The maximum they will stretch their conscience to is to criticise the action and say that violence cannot be a solution. These so-called activists have been brought up since their younger learning days on a staple diet of ideological extremes, and that makes them speak of tolerance but look the other way when the grossest forms of intolerance are committed by their own — including those who have become enemies of the state. In the recent Monday incident, the CRPF jawans were on duty sanitising a stretch for the laying of a road — work for which was in progress. The Maoists have been crying themselves hoarse against the supposed indifference of Government authorities in providing basic necessities to the people, on whose behalf the ultras are allegedly waging their war. But the construction of a road is a developmental activity. On occasions in the past, Maoists in Chhattisgarh and elsewhere have targeted Government assets that were directly crucial to local self-governance and effective law and order to benefit the common citizen. Thus, panchayat building, police stations, schools etc were vandalised. The Maoist ‘concern' for the lay people is also evident by other activities of sabotage the ultra-leftists, such as blowing up of railway tracks and causing accidents that claim the lives of hundreds of innocent people. The bare truth is that the Maoists do not want development to come in their strongholds because development brings growth and greater economic leverage to the poor. It makes them understand the dubious plan of the Maoists to keep them backward and illiterate; and thus easy fodder for disruption. The Maoists' approach is not very different from that of separatist elements in Kashmir valley. They too are determined to not allow normalcy — because normalcy would lead people to put their minds on development-oriented work.
Though the situations are different in both the cases, the underlying agenda is the same: Undermining the authority of the state and its democratic system, and plotting to have the bullet dominate the ballot. The response of the Government cannot be too different — in essence at least. For far too long, both State and Union Governments have been giving more carrot than the stick to the anti-state elements in the hope that persuasion instead of coercion is the way forward. While it's true that persuasion is the desirable method, it cannot be put to work repeatedly even after it has not just failed but also been exploited by the potential beneficiaries to further their violent means. The strong arm of the state must show up now, before it’s too late.