What would be the most effective way for the Indian government to respond to the Maoist insurgency?
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described the Maoist guerrillas also known as Naxalites the biggest threat to internal security in 2006. He reiterated that Maoist guerrillas have stepped up their insurgency and a dedicated security force must be set up to eliminate “this virus” one year later in December 2007. Only 10 years ago the rebels were active in just four states. Now security experts say they are entrenched in a vast eastern and central belt that stretches across country’s border with Nepal known as the “red corridor.” Around 15 of India’s 29 states are now affected by Maoist violence. Naxalites or Naxals as are called by their own comrades, command a well trained guerillas group of 20,000 strong men. The Maoist insurgency has intensified over the last two years and is beginning to attract the kind of national and international attention. They have extended their rebel from the formerly troubled Kashmir or the northeast of India’s poorest regions. Places where ethnic tribe
The Indian government is importing not only weapons but unfortunately in some instances, also the brute force and counterproductive tactics used by the weapon states. While combating the Maoist insurgency the use of repressive and lethal force by security personnel against the insurgents has resulted, in some occasions, in innocent victims getting caught in the crossfire. This has further alienated the local populace, which was already reeling from the effects of the insurgent violence. The references to holistic healing and Mahatma Gandhi are not unrelated to the Maoist insurgency but in fact constitute key parts of the solution. One of the ideas Gandhi championed was “Panchayat Raj” – devolving control to locally elected councils at the village level. This would ensure that the officials were directly accountable to the local population and they would have a personal stake in seeing their localities flourish. The local populace would in turn feel empowered by having control over issu
