Maoist insurgency – Associated challenges and solutions

 Context- The recent death of 10 district reserve guards and a civil driver   at Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada  in an IED (Impoverished explosive device) attack  shows  that Maoists are not decimated and are highly active in several LWE- Left wing extremism affected districts.

 About LWE in India:

•  LWE- Left wing extremism,Naxalism or Maoism is a political ideology dealing with use of violence and terrorism to spread radical communist, socialist and anarchist political ideas.
• LWE is in opposition to imperialism and capitalism. 
•  LWE groups popularly known as the  Moaists and Naxalistes target the government, law and private property and are viewed as a threat to stability and security of the nation.
•  Among the states of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal,Jharrkhand and Chhattisgarh, Chhattisgarh remains the state  with the highest  significant presence of the Maoists.
•   During 2018-22 Chhattisgarh accounted for nearly 70-90% of deaths and one-third of the violence  related to Maoist attacks.
•   The state of Chattisgarh started the process of maoist elimination  quite late and while other states worked vigorously to end LWE, causing the Maoists  to be  pushed into the concentrated areas in Chhattisgarh.
•  The absence of roads,infrastructure and connectivity and least administration in Bastar have fueled the Maoist activities here.

  Challenges:

•  Geographic spread- the LWE operate in wide inaccessible and remote areas with hilly terrain and dense forest without proper infrastructure  that is challenging for the security forces to track  the LWE groups .
•  Unequal development- the LWE is active  in areas of uneven development and government negligence  where the local communities face inadequate access to basic amenities.
•   Local support- most of the LWE is supported by local rural youth and tribal population who feel marginalized by the government

 Government on LWE:

•  The government report shows that Maoist networks are now limited to 5000 sq kms from earlier 1400 sq km and the violent attacks have slid down by 77% in 2022  and the year 2022 saw only 509 such attacks compared to 2259 in 2009. 

Initiatives:

•  SAMADHAN– the governments ‘long-term policy’  to one stop solution for LWE.

 S- Smart leadehip

 A- Aggressive strategy

 M- Motivation and training

 A- actionable intelligence

 D- Dashboard based key performance  indicators and Key result areas

 H- Harnessing technology

 A- Action plan for each theater

 N- No access to financing

•  The Ministry of Home Affairs  has been supporting the  state governments by deploying CRPF- Central reserve police force, helicopters, and special india reserve battalions.
• The scheme like SREs– Security related expenditure to modernize technology and training of the security forces and  the SCA – special central assistance  scheme for providing funds for the LWE district development.
•  Greyhounds- an elite anti- naxal force founded  in 1989.
•  Operation green hunt- during 2009-10 with massive security force deployment in  LWE affected  areas.
•  Aspirational districts programme- launched in 2018  has been working to transform districts that lack behind in key social areas.

 What the security forces need to do:

•  Need for SOPs– The standard operating procedures(SOPs) exist in the LWE affected areas  that are even revised from time to time.However over a period of period complacency that sets into the SOPS makes them to be ignored for which they are not  strictly adhered to . Much of the adherence to the SOPs falls on the commanders on ground  who are in physical control of the security personnel; any deviation from the SOP leads to devastating results .
•   Constant surveillance– Majority of the incidents have been attributed to failure of intelligence.However, pinpoint intelligence is not always forthcoming. There is a need for both surveillance and intelligence agencies to work in collaboration.
•  Maintenance of secrecy- As much of effort is directed towards intelligence , there needs to be  no compromise on the secrecy of the movements of security forces.The emphasis must not only be laid on collecting information of movements of maoists but secrecy in communication among security personals needs to be taken care of.Casual talks amog security forces personnels can lead to leak of information.

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