– Yogesh Kumar Goyal
While carrying out a major attack in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada, Naxalites targeted the IED and blew up the vehicle of the security forces. In this attack, 10 DRG (District Reserve Guard) personnel including a driver were martyred. It is believed that due to the informer of the Naxalites, the Naxalites were successful in carrying out such a big incident. Although the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel is saying that the fight against Naxalites is going on in the last phase and Naxalites will not be spared at any cost, the government will eliminate Naxalism in a planned manner but the reality is that similar statements are being made by every Naxalite. Have been hearing after the attack. The reality is that the Naxal problem is a very old one, which has not yet been brought under control. Governments may have been changing but the ground reality is that Naxalite attacks have not stopped. If we look at the statistics of the last 13 years in Chhattisgarh, there have been 10 major Naxalite attacks since 2010, in which about 200 of our soldiers have been martyred.
DRG personnel are the most targeted by Naxalites as they have successfully carried out many operations against Naxalites since their formation for the first time in 2008, that is why they are considered the biggest enemies of Naxalites. The ‘DRG’ are special forces of the Chhattisgarh Police, who have been specially recruited to fight the Naxalites. Naxalites who surrendered in DRG jawans and people who grew up in the environment of Bastar are included and this is the reason that till now only these jawans have got the biggest success against Naxalites.
However, in view of the frequent Naxalite attacks and the martyrdom of the soldiers in these, the biggest question is that what difficulties are being faced in curbing the Naxalites completely, why there is no success in curbing the Naxalite attacks completely. Can you get It was told in the Lok Sabha in 2021 by the Central Government that in Chhattisgarh till 2020, 489 of our soldiers have been martyred in a total of 3722 Naxalite attacks. Although the Ministry of Home Affairs claims that there has been a 39 percent reduction in the incidents of Naxalite violence in 2022 as compared to the year 2018 and the number of casualties of security forces has also decreased by 26 percent, but for some time the Naxalites, while realizing their strength, are seen unbridled, in order to crush them, the need for a major change in the strategies has been felt by the government.
The biggest concern is that Naxalites are now freely using sophisticated weapons and powerful explosives. In such a situation, the question also arises that from where and how are these dangerous weapons and powerful explosives reaching them in the forests? The question is also that how do the Naxalites get information about any operation by the team of security forces many times in advance? How do the jawans who set out on a mission to find the Naxalites in the jungle after getting a clue of their activities, themselves become their victims? How do the Naxalites get to know every minute about the operation of the jawans? It is obvious that this is not possible without the support of the local people.
In fact, the Naxalite groups are aware of every nook and corner of the area in which they operate and contact with the local people also helps them. In such a situation, it is very important that along with the direct fronts of security against Naxalite groups, special attention should be paid to constitute a strong and well-organized intelligence system. This fact is not hidden from anyone that Naxalites often get support at the local level and some of their special informers are also involved in this. In such a situation, the answer to this question should also be sought that what are the reasons behind this local support to Naxalites?
One of the reasons why the roots of Naxalism could not be eradicated is the harassment of local tribals in the name of search by the police and paramilitary forces. In fact, many times such cases have come to the fore, when local people are tortured and sometimes even killed on the suspicion of being Naxalites. The meaning of saying is that the image of the police has been more intimidating than winning the trust of the people, which has been harming the anti-Naxal campaign. The government often considers increasing the deployment of jawans to give more momentum to the anti-Naxal operation, while the basic problem is not the numerical shortage of the action force but strategic flaws, which have put question marks on the anti-Naxal strategy. Overall, a complete solution to the Naxalite problem is not possible until the governments formulate policies to promote development works while meeting the basic needs of the people in such areas and implement them firmly.
(The author is a freelance commentator.)
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