Every time the state makes efforts to reach out, extremists attack because education is the worst enemy of such terrorists. Across the southern districts of Odisha and Chhattisgarh, they kill people who seek education
People who play five-card poker know of the term ‘straddle’. In effect, people who straddle means that they are doubling down by paying twice over what they need to even before the cards are dealt. The reason they do this is that it is on them the round ends and thus they have an advantage. Yet, it could also mean that they would have unnecessarily wasted their money. The reason this column brings up a poker term is because India needs to double down on extremism. And doubling down in this case does not mean additional feet on the ground but to secure infrastructure and educational opportunities and thus attack the root cause for rebels.
It is worth noting how terrorists in Kashmir valley have shut down schools and colleges. The students with nothing else to do have joined the ranks of the stone-pelters. But these students who will, thanks to the terrorists, lose a year of education and possibly even lose interest in education, could see limited future economic opportunities. By targeting schools and burning them down, the terrorists funded from across the border, know exactly what they are doing. This is exactly similar to the way the Taliban and the Daesh operate. Minus a formal education, young people have little option but to pick up the gun in troubled areas.
Yet, the leaders of such rebellious movements ensure that their kith and kin get the best education, not just because they’re hypocrites but also because they know the opportunities of a proper formal education. There are several localities across Delhi where Kashmiris live, and the reason most of them have moved to the capital in addition to escaping the daily cycle of violence is to ensure their children get educated, and to an extent assimilated into the Indian state.
It is troubling that the Governments in Jammu & Kashmir and the Centre did not strike harder at those terrorists who earlier this year went on a school-burning rampage. If 2017 is going to be a summer of discontent in the valley, the groundwork was laid by school burnings. This year could be a lost cause, but the groundwork needs to be put in place for later to ensure that Kashmiri children get educational opportunities and the related benefits of a proper education. If this means that schools and colleges have to be protected by soldiers and policemen, so be it.
Similarly, the recent Sukma attack was a troubling one. But those who shed crocodile tears for the ‘oppressed’ tribals fail to understand that this was because the Government is bringing infrastructure to parts of the country that have been left behind for decades. The CRPF that was attacked was protecting a road — it was an opening party. left-wing extremists have made a habit of attacking infrastructure - roads, telephony and electricity as well as educational and healthcare institutions. This is again to keep their ‘support’ in the dark and away from the benefits of modern education and medicine.
After each attack, apologists claim that tribals have picked up weapons against the state because the state has failed them. In fact, every time the state makes efforts to reach out, these extremists attack because education is the worst enemy of such terrorists. Indeed, across the southern districts of Odisha and Chhattisgarh, these extremists often do not think twice before killing ‘their people’ who have dared to get an education. Even if someone dares to go to a hospital for healthcare, the extremists execute entire families. And then columns full of impotent rage and malicious lies at the failure of the Indian state are written in foreign newspapers.
To be fair, the Narendra Modi Government has been working extremely hard on building infrastructure — from roads and power lines to schools and healthcare — in remote areas where left-wing extremists operate. They have also been working with organisations to ensure tribal children are given opportunities in urban areas. Even though the previous Government put several poison pills in place to try and ensure the Modi Government stumbled, Modi and his Cabinet have worked extremely hard to ensure that benefits reach everyone. The attack in Sukma was extremely unfortunate, and from an enforcement point of view, the police forces in the area must go after the extremists hard and cut off the head of the snake by capturing the leadership.
However, to ensure that the area does not remain a snake pit, the good work in road-building and other infrastructure must continue apace. More roads, more schools, more hospitals., at the end of the day the failure of 70 years of governance have to be addressed.
There is also the need to address hate-mongers who question the policies of assimilation, like those, who in misguided ‘nationalist' fervour threaten Kashmiri students, or casteist leaders who attack tribals for moving forward. These are problems and only an enforcement of the rule of law can improve the situation.
Social justice has been a rallying cry for politicians for three decades now, and the policy of reservations have done their bit in addressing that issue. However, in this era, where private enterprise is taking the lead, it is economic development that will ensure social justice. And for that, the state has to ensure better educational opportunities for children.
There can be no going back on the developmental agenda, indeed investments have to be increased. It was the lack of opportunities and rampant corruption that formed the basis for the various rebellions across the levent. It is little wonder that those who wish to weaken the state attack education and infrastructure but the government must have the resolve to ensure that schools and colleges stay open and indeed give youth from these troubled areas increased opportunities in large cities. It is only when people realise that there is a lot to lose, particularly monetarily for themselves and their communities, that they will settle down.
(The writer is Managing Editor, The Pioneer)