BJP TODAY

February 16--28, 2005 - Vol. 24, No. 4

The Lengthening Red Corridor
By Amarendra Tiwari

The ghost of Charu Mazumdar continues to haunt India even after 33 years of his death. Naxalite violence is spreading its wings throughout the country in an unprecedented manner. Naxalites are busy blowing up police vehicles in UP, killing people in Bihar, blasting landmines in Jharkhand, running a parallel government in Andhra Pradesh, threatening state machinery in Chhattisgarh and eliminating their prime targets, which include politicians and police officers.

In spite of the grave threat they pose to India's internal security, the present UPA dispensation at the Centre has taken a soft posture on Naxal terrorism. Taking a cue from the Centre, the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh decided to engage the People's War Group, the main Naxal organization in India, by extending an olive branch to its leaders. It is a hard fact to digest that, those who were hounded by the state police until May 2004, are now sitting face to face with the Chief Minister and the state officials.

Former Chief Minister Shri Chandrababu Naidu must be rubbing his eyes in disbelief as only a year ago the Naxals had tried to kill him by blasting a powerful landmine in Thirumallai region. He survived but his party MLA from Penugonda, P. Ravi, was not lucky enough and he lost his life. He was killed recently in a bomb attack when the administration was busy holding peace talks with the Naxals.

Naxalites are spreading their tentacles and making full use of this golden opportunity of 'ceasefire' offered by the Andhra Pradesh government. They are using the ceasefire period to regroup, recruit, train and rearm themselves. They have stepped up their activities even beyond the borders of Andhra Pradesh.

In UP they blew up a police party near Varanasi, killing 18 policemen. In Bihar they tried to disrupt the ongoing assembly elections. They even killed the LJP candidate from Imamganj in Gaya District. Former BJP President Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu had a miraculous escape during the election campaign; nevertheless, naxalites set afire the helicopter in which he was travelling. In Jharkhand they blew up a railway station and blasted a land mine killing seven policemen. According to an official report by the ministry of Home Affairs in October 2003, there were 55 districts in 9 states affected by the Naxalite activity. And now, as per the Intelligence Bureau reports in October 2004, that the figure has gone up to 155 districts in 13 states. In other terms, it means more than 40 percent geographical area of the country is affected by Naxal activities.

The Naxal axis now commences from northern Telangana districts in AP through the Dandakaranya forest spread over Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, the Bastar area, western Jharkhand, Bihar and the UP districts that adjoin Nepal. It then links up with the terrain where Nepalese Maoist rebels are active in eastern Nepal and reaches right up to Kathmandu. This long stretch is known as the 'Red Corridor of Terror'.

Naxalites have established a parallel government in several parts of this "Red Corridor". They make a mockery of the Constitution, judiciary, administration and democracy. They have no faith in any institution whatsoever. They propagate Mao's philosophy that "Power flows from the barrel of the gun". They preach cynicism in the name of communism, involve themselves in acts of murder, kidnapping and smuggling.

They also impose 'injustice' in the name of 'justice'. According to a Home Ministry paper on Naxalite violence, the number of 'Jan Adalats' until September 30 2004 stood at 117 as against 141 such 'Jan Adalats' in 2003 and 102 and 103 in 2002 and 2001 respectively. A good percentage of Naxalite-run courts order executions also, a report says. Eight executions were ordered in 2002 and 19 in 2003.

All this has had a demoralising effect on security personnel engaged in meeting the Naxal menace. A senior police officer in Andhra Pradesh was reported to have said "They (politicians) are playing their political games and the police have been made a scapegoat." The problem with the ongoing peace talks in AP is that the security forces have lost the psychological advantage. They have been pushed to a secluded corner. When the Congress government, headed by chief minister Dr. Y. Rajshekhar Reddy decided to hold talks with the Naxalites after lifting the ban against them, the intelligence office had warned of "increasing attacks on MLAs, politicians, railway stations, police stations and other important centres and organizations". Their worst fears have come true.

The YSR administration in Andhra Pradesh is playing with fire by allowing the Naxalites to regroup and revitalise their ranks. When the emissaries from Naxal groups -- Vara Vara Rao, Kalyan Rao and Ghaddar -- met the home minister in Hyderabad, they made it clear that the naxalites' targets remain unchanged. Chandrababu Naidu and many other TDP-BJP leaders continue to remain on their hit-list. A subsequent statement from the "comrades" said it would redraw its list and include in it the names of Congress leaders, if they failed to live up to their expectations.

Naxalite leaders mince no words and are unambiguous when they announce, "By going to the talks, we are not declaring any ceasefire. Talks are a part of our tactical line." It shows the 'ceasefire' offered by the government is unilateral. It is also dangerous and futile since those with whom the government is having a dialogue claim that "Naxalism is not a problem, it is a solution"!
Placatory steps taken by the Congress government have brought a reign of red terror and the government's silence when Naxals kill is deafening. Unfortunately, the Congress and its government have failed to take lessons from history.

When M. Chenna Reddy was the Congress chief minister in Andhra Pradesh, the ban on Naxalites was lifted. Talks began but fell flat. The administration had to clamp the ban again. The security forces had to wage an intense battle against the Naxalites to re-establish their authority in the so-called "liberated zones". Now the security forces are aware that the areas recovered at great cost to life and property is slipping out of their hands again and it leaves them frustrated and disgruntled.

Former Deputy Prime Minister and BJP president Shri Lal Krishna Advani has come down heavily on the Congress-led UPA government for its policy of appeasement of naxalites. He has said that the UPA government "committed a fundamental mistake" by allowing the AP government to declare unilateral ceasefire.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has always favoured a crackdown on people involved in spreading 'red terror'. When the BJP-led NDA was in power, the Naxalites were hounded down even in deep forests. They were forced to contain their activities and it was an act of exasperation when they tried to eliminate Chandrababu Naidu as he was an important constituent of the BJP-led NDA government. That seems such a long time ago.

Now Congress is in power and is pampering the Naxalite organizations. This is the reason why the Naxalites are all praises for the Congress. They did not forget to compliment the Congress government in Hyderabad for ensuring a safe passage for them and for proving a good host at the talks they attended with arms.

Time is running out and alarm bells have already started sounding in different parts of the country. The manner in which the Congress mollycoddles with Naxalites, who show little respect for the Indian State, poses a serious threat to India's security. Therefore, pussyfooting on the issue will not work. The need of the hour is to follow an integrated approach towards the problem of Naxal terror. The present dispensation should not ignore the concern and caution expressed by the opposition parties and security forces.