Curbing Naxal Violence…
The Naxalites need to be dealt with an iron hand writes Raju Vernekar
With naxal attacks occurring unabated, it is time that the Central Government dealt with Naxalites with iron hand, instead of going in for “talks” with the Naxalites. Only a full scale aerial combat seems to be the solution.
On Wednesday a CRPF Deputy Commandant and four men were killed in West Bengal’s West Midnapore district, whereas on Sunday last, the Maoists blew up a bus carrying locals and police officers in Dantewada district of Chhatisgarh. In the incident 24 civilians and 11 special police officers were killed and several others were injured.
The above attack (second in Dantewada) came a day before the start of the 48-hour bandh called by Maoists in five states from Monday, to protest the security operations launched by the Centre. In this attack a passenger bus, which was on its way from Sukma to Dantewada, was blown up by Maoists near Chingavaram village, nearly 450 km from the capital city of Raipur, using an improvised explosive device with gelatin sticks.
Similarly on May 15, Maoists killed six persons including a village sarpanch by slitting their throats and then threw their bodies on the main road between Teregon and Unchpur in Manpur block in Chhatisgarh’s Rajnandgaon district. The rebels had apparently aimed to lay an ambush targeting the security forces rushing to the spot.
It may be recalled that on April 6, 2010, Maoist rebels killed 75 policemen/CRPF men in a jungle in Dantewada in Chhatisgarh, in the first major attack in Chhatisgarh.
A quick look at the turn of events in the last few months have proved that the Naxalites activities have grown manifold. On May 8, eight CRPF jawans were killed when Naxals blew up a bullet-proof vehicle in Bijapur district of Chhhattisgarh. On April 4, Maoists triggered a landmine blast killing 11 security personnel of the elite anti-naxal force Special Operations Group (SOG) in Koraput district of Orrisa.
Similarly on February 15, last, 24 personnel of the Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) were killed when Maoists attacked their camp in Silda in West Midnapore district of West Bengal.
The year 2009 was also eventful since there have been continuous Naxalite attacks in almost every corner of the country. On April 13, ten paramilitary troops killed in eastern Orissa when Maoists attack a bauxite mine in Koraput district followed by attack in Jharkhand on April 22 in which the Maoists hijacked a train with at least 300 people on board in Jharkhand and forced it to Latehar district before fleeing.
On May 22 the Maoists killed 16 policemen in the jungles of Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra followed by many attacks in June. On June 10, Nine policemen, including CRPF troops and officers, were ambushed by Maoists during a routine patrol in Saranda jungles in Jharkhand. On June 13, Naxals launched two landmine and bomb attacks in a small town close to Bokaro, killing 10 policemen and injuring several others.
On June 16, the Maoists killed 11 police officers in a landmine attack followed by armed assault. In a separate attack, four policemen were killed and two others seriously injured when Maoists ambush them at Beherakhand in Palamau district. This was followed by another attack on June 23, when a group of motorcycle-borne armed Naxal rebels opened fire on Lakhisarai district court premises in Bihar and freed four of their comrades including the self-style Zonal Commander of Ranchi.
The last July too proved horrific with as many as four attacks. On July 18 the Naxalites killed a villager in Bastar and in a separate incident torched a vehicle engaged in road construction work in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh. On June 23 a 40-year-old tribal killed by Naxalites at Ettapalli taluka in Gadchiroli district. On July 27 six persons killed when Naxals triggered a landmine blast at Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh. Similarly a special police officer and another person killed by Naxals in Bijapur district.
Again in September last, there were three attacks. On September 4, Naxals killed four villagers in a forest in Aaded village in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district. On September 26, the Naxals killed BJP MP from Balaghat Baliram Kashyap's sons at Pairaguda village in Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh). On Sept 30, the Naxalites set ablaze Gram Panchayat offices at Korchi and Belgaon in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. In yet another attack on October 8, 17 policemen were killed when Maoists ambushed them at Laheri police station in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.
In 2008 there were two major attacks. On June 29, 2008 the Maoists attacked a boat on Balimela reservoir in Orissa carrying four anti-Naxalite police officials and 60 Greyhound commandos, killing 38 troops. Similarly on July 16, 2008 the 21 policemen were killed when a police van was blown up in a landmine blast in Malkangiri district of Orissa.
Whether it is Chhatisgarh or any of the nine states facing the naxalite menace, the situation remains same and the outfits like Peoples War Group (PWG) and Maoist Communist Party play the main role of luring poor tribals.
As of now the Naxalite menace has been affecting 55 districts of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. In Maharashtra over 80 per cent of the tribals were killed in Naxal attacks in the last few years.
The Naxalites hail mainly from Andhra Pradesh and under the banner of the Peoples’ War Group (PWG). They operate through "Dalam" or a band of armed workers who go on inciting people to wage a war against the State. Among these Platoon Dalam, Tipagarh Dalam and Khobramendha Dalam are the most vicious. Besides, the CPI (Maoist) with armed cadres and a strong contingent of local supporters is also active in the states like Chhatisgarh and Maharashtra.
The Naxal attack has indicated that while our security personnel need better equipment and training, it has also proved that the efforts to bring the disgruntled elements in tribal community into the mainstream of the society have failed.
The tribals are caught in the crossfire between the police and Naxalites. While the Naxalites collect money in the name of revolution, government funds meant for tribal and rural development remain unspent or fall into the wrong hands. They also collect heavy ransom from different manufacturing units. They not only attack security personnel, but also attack the Panchayat Raj institutions indicating that they do not want people to taste political power.
Paramilitary men numbering 80,000 have been deployed to mount Operation Green Hunt by the Centre. They are receiving logistical support and training from the Indian Army. However, now it is the time that a full scale effort, should be launched if need be with the help of the Indian Air Force. Otherwise, the Naxalite attacks would be a regular feature.
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When Cricketers Go Partying
By Adelmo Fernandes
The other day I was surprised to hear the Indian cricket captain M.S.Dhoni giving a silly excuse that their boys had too many parties during the IPL season so that they lost all the matches and finished last at the T20 World Cup in the West Indies. Unlike the Yuvrajs, the Harbajans and the Zaheer Khans of the Indian team, Dhoni is probably not a party animal and hence does not realize the need for the mind and the body to relax after a hard day on the field. And the Indian captain is talking of his players’ need to take care of their bodies. Mr. Dhoni we are talking of a man’s cricket team and not the woman’s team. A fit mind means a fit body and to get the mind in the pink of health there is nothing like going for late night parties (well that’s probably how our cricket players feel). So why should anyone question their integrity and their love for playing for their country? And who has the right to question our pampered cricketers about all those parties when they are paying from their own pockets (or is it the IPL bosses who are throwing those lavish parties)? Well it hardly matters. When you have enough money to throw away why not party around with some of the most fabulous looking ladies around? Mr. Lalit Modi, the head of the party animals was seen in the company of an ex-Miss Universe. That is the type of beauty our cricketers get to keep company with during these parties. If the better-halves of these fattened cricketers are not complaining about all those ladies gyrating to the music at such parties, why should the Indian captain do so? It is rightly said that one man’s meat is another man’s poison. Or is it a case of sour grapes as far as Dhoni is concerned? For some reason the Indian captain could not attend these parties. So this was probably the best excuse he could give for India’s dismal performance at the World Cup. But then Dhoni is no saint himself. When at a press conference he was asked about what was more important for him, winning the World Cup or the IPL Trophy. Without even a wink Dhoni said the winning the IPL was more important. It is true that our cricketers are attracted to money like bees are to honey. There is nothing wrong in receiving the prize money after winning a tournament. The problem lies in playing for money. Comparing the performance of some of our trusted players at the IPL and the World Cup says it all. Yusuf Pathan was a hit at the IPL. At the World Cup he found it difficult to hit those sixes. The less spoken about Yuvraj Singh the better it is. If Yuvraj is the playboy of Indian cricket, Harbajan Singh is the poster-boy. And what about Zaheer Khan? Well, given a choice all the three of them would rather walk the ramp than run those twenty-two yard between the wickets. It seems that all those cheerleaders gyrating to the music at the IPL seems to have a psychological effect on our cricketers. Lalit Modi may have brought entertainment to the cricket stadium. But all this at the expense of a good cricket match. After the IPL ,our cricketers appear to have forgotten how to play the game. At the World Cup they would think twice before chasing a ball while fielding, leave alone diving for it. When it came to taking those catches, they seemed to have butter-fingers. While batting they looked dazed. Probably a hangover of the IPL.