The long battle against the extremists

Synopsis: The long battle against Maoists is not providing the optimum results. Unusual wars are not fought just on the ground; They also require proper soft strategy.

Introduction 

1. 22 jawans martyred on the April 3 encounter between security forces and the Maoists in Sukma.
2. Also, one CoBRA jawan, Rakeshwar Singh Minhas held hostage by the extremists.
3. After efforts from officials and non-officials, Maoists agreed to free him. A team of local people went deep into the forest area succeeded in releasing the jawan after discussion.
4. The extremists wanted to portray themselves as not all violent and compassionate. Thus, they agreed to release the jawan.

Reasons for prolonged extremist attacks since Independence:

The frequency of attacks may vary depending upon the preparation of the Maoists and their strength of retaliation. But, the strategies of the Maoists have not really changed much. So, the analysts are confused about how Maoists are able to attack the security forces easily.

• Firstly, they spread misinformation about the numbers of Maoists in a village and their location. Communication tools in government forces have not improved over the years. 
  • Horrible incidents like the recent one in Chhattisgarh happens because of a lack of intelligence and planning on the part of the government. 
• Secondly, the fact that many states cannot give full attention to the task of eliminating extremism. This works to the advantage of Maoists.
• Thirdly, governments often deploy more policemen and improve technology. But this has an effect only for a short period of time. 
• Fourthly, the rapid economic development of the region might pull people away from extremist ideology. The state and central governments involved have taken the appeal seriously and implemented numerous development schemes in these areas.
  • However, this has helped only partially. Civil servants who have served in Andhra Pradesh say a dedicated leadership at the district and ground levels helped in transformation.
  • The inclusion of local youth into the security forces helps in fighting the extremists. For example, the Greyhounds of Andhra Pradesh has controlled Extremist forces well.
  • Over-dependence on Central forces is counterproductive. 
• Fifthly, economic scarcity and religious fundamentalism often capture the thinking processes of many in the region. The passion attached to the Maoists is therefore difficult to remove. Shared ideology and resources by like-minded groups lift their abilities.

The present situation of extremism:

• Unless the extremists face the depletion of resources and manpower, they are not going to accept everlasting peace. But that situation is not happening in the immediate future.
• But if consider the situation for a decade, then there is a chance for gradual migration of younger extremists to other parts of the country. They might move for better living conditions, job opportunities, etc. This migration might start gradually but could increase over the next few decades. This will weaken the extremists in the long run.

Conclusion 

• The objective of the extremist attacks is to give a warning to the government that it has no option but to grant all the demands of the extremists. But they fail to understand that their demands are extremist in nature, which no constitutionally elected establishment will ever grant.

Source: The Hindu