Ominous Signs
The confessions of a high-ranking Maoist who was arrested from Kolkata's outskirts make for alarming reading. According to Somen,which is the nom de guerre of this terrorist (all those who indulge in terror tactics to achieve their goals are nothing but terrorists, and let's not call them insurgents or militants or revolutionaries), the Maoists were planning strikes in many urban centres in Bengal and have built up strong bases inside Kolkata. These Left extremists have also infiltrated various educational institutions and are on the threshold of recruiting young men and women from colleges and universities, including premier ones like Presidency and Jadavpur University. All this brings back memories of those dark days of the early 1970s when Naxals had nearly overrun Bengal. They ultimately couldn't achieve anything and the Maoists will also achieve nothing. But like the Naxals before them, the Maoists are leaving behind a trail of death and destruction and have already hampered or even stalled development in many areas of Bengal and a few other states. The state government, and society as a whole, including civil society which seems to show a strange and suicidal tolerance for these Left terrorists, ought to become vigilant immediately and defeat the evil designs of these Maoists to cause chaos in Bengal.
Fighting Maoists
Unfortunately, the Bengal government is shockingly ill-equipped to fight the Maoists. The police know precious little about the terrorist outfit and its leaders, how it functions, its goals and its tactics. Nostate police officer, it appears, has ever studied the Maoists, leave aside the government raising a special force to fight these terrorists, as states like Andhra Pradesh and Orissa have done. There is no clear strategy to tackle and defeat the Maoists. This is outrageous, considering the fact that the Maoists have been around for many years now and have been gaining in strength steadily. That Somen's confessions (about the extent of the spread of his outfit's tentacles even in Kolkata) have caught the police by surprise and has sent alarm bells ringing in Writers' Building only shows that the police's and the state's intelligence network is useless. The growth of the Maoists would surely have been detected by an efficient and strong intelligence radar. It is high time the state and central intelligence agencies, and the state police's own intelligence-gathering machinery, are revamped and infused with not only fresh blood, but meritorious officers and personnel are posted there and allowed a free hand to do their job. At the same time, a special force to hunt down and exterminate these terrorists needs to be raised immediately and this force be trained in jungle and urban combat. It is only the army that has the resources to impart such training. And this force should be left free to tackle the Maoists instead of being utilized to guard our worthless politicians.
Tough Measures
A very hard-fisted approach is required to deal with Maoists, or any terrorist for that matter. The state cannot afford to be soft in tackling terrorism. Yes, the root cause ofterrorism--and in this case, it is excruciating poverty caused by abject state neglect of the tribal and rural areas and endemic corruption that causes colossal leakage of developmental funds meant for theseareas--must be tackled. But we've seen in the past that Maoists have stalled developmental projects since they know that these projects, aimed at benefiting the poor, would lead to loss of their influence and stranglehold on the poor and the tribals. They want the status quo to continue because they can grow only if the poor and the tribals continue to live in poverty and neglect, without access to healthcare, education and other amenities.