Force against Naxals not a solution: Experts

CHENNAI: The use of armed forces in the Naxal infested areas is not a solution to the Red menace and the government should identify the real dimensions of the insurgency.

Conveying this at a workshop, 'The Naxal Threat: Causes, State Responses and Consequences,' organised by the Centre for Security Analysis, here on Friday, experts felt the use of armed forces would sully the image of the military and stressed the need for gathering civil intelligence and to put in place an effective midlevel governing system.

Former Union revenue secretary M R Sivaraman stressed the need for sensitisation of all officers posted in tribal areas.

Sivaraman said that the security forces in Bastar and other areas should secure the interests of the people before tackling the naxals there. "I had suggested the formation of a Bhil battalion in the insurgencyhit area to tackle the Naxal menace, but the government did not evince interest," said the former bureaucrat. He said that though there were several provisions to protect tribals, they were seldom used. "We have provisions in the Constitution, besides various schemes as well as nine national commissions. However, the condition of tribals is pathetic," he rued.

P V Ramana, research fellow, Institute for Defence studies and Analyses, said that the Centre had done little after the formation of the Coordination Centre within the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1998. "While in 2003, there was Backward Districts Initiative under the Planning Commission, in March 2006, the ministry unveiled a 14point policy to deal with naxals. But the policies had its own problems," he said. "In its annual reports, the MHA has stated that security, development and PPM (public perception management) were the cornerstones of the government's policy. However, the security response seems to have acquired preponderance over the development issue," he alleged.

Tribal researchers and social workers Sharanya Nayak and Malini Subramaniam said that the simple tribal aspirations for a secure livelihood, to live close with nature, with their cultural practices have become a war of sorts criminalising their very being all of a sudden.

The games played by the corporate sector in capitalising on the conflict situation cannot be ignored. "The government has turned a blind eye towards tribals who are caught in the crossfire," Nayak said. "Tribal villages are now marked by scattered families and women linger outside police stations looking for their kith and kin."