By David Axe
This inability of Indian states to cooperate against the Naxals betrays what Schaffer calls the ‘uncomfortable seam between the federal government and the states when it comes to internal security.’ It should be the job of the central government to help unify the actions of the states into a coherent national policy.
But that’s legally complicated in India. ‘That’s the nature of the Indian Constitution,’ Sunil Dasgupta, a professor at the University of Maryland, tells The Diplomat. ‘The constitution says that law and order is the function of the state or province and not the central government and so the states have to respond [to the Naxalite threat].’
Even during the terror attacks on Mumbai in 2008, ‘you didn’t see a take-over of the law-and-order apparatus by the national government,’ Dasputa points out.
Weapons of Choice
Not only does the strictly state-based approach to defeating the Naxals preclude a coherent national strategy, it also means that the Naxals—who aren’t restricted by legal considerations—can adapt faster to a changing military environment. Indian police lack the resources, training and leadership of the army. They just can’t keep up with their Naxalite opponents.
The Naxals have speedily adopted many of the tactics and weapons being refined by Islamic insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today, Improvised Explosive Devices—the biggest killer of US and NATO troops in Afghanistan—are the Naxals’ weapon of choice.
‘IEDs not only threaten the safety of our men, but also considerably hamper the speed of operations because the security forces, fearing IEDs, usually walk in the Maoist-prone areas as they do not have the latest mine-protected vehicles, which can guard from such threats,’ Indian Intelligence Bureau Chief Ajit Doval told defence reporter Manu Sood. Doval called for India to buy US-style Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected armoured trucks, each costing around $1 million.
But there’s no process in place, and no money, to buy the trucks and other bomb-defeating equipment for the police. ‘The Indian government and the security agencies have lagged behind in developing a doctrine to fight the IED threat of the Maoists,’ Sood concluded.
Katoch dismisses the equipment debate. ‘Equipment is not the issue,’ he says. ‘Leadership and training is. We already have a successful example of handling Naxals.’ That is, the improved governance and economic development paired with sustained security operations that allowed Andhra Pradesh to diminish the local Maoist threat. States just need to adopt and adapt that basic model.
For his part, Dasgupta says he believes the Andhra Pradesh approach is already taking root in other states, despite the communication ‘seams’ that Schaffer identifies. Ironically, increasing violence is actually proof of that, Dasgupta claims. ‘Any rebellion will have greater violence when government begins to contest their levels. So I think what you’re seeing is a function of the government trying to contest the Naxals.’
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A K SAXENA (A retired civil servant)
THE DIPLOMAT Blogs
India’s Greatest Threat?
May 28, 2010
The ideas contributed in the article reflect the common perception. These form part of college text books on Sociology.The root cause lies in implementation of developmental schemes already in force.These do not take off due to lack of political Will.The naxalites/Maoists’ main grievance is their exploitation by the society, economic disparity,poverty and discrimination in all departments of living.
A K SAXENA (A retired civil servant)
aksaxena@nic.in
Yang tsup
there are credible info that communist movement had support from China.
ABose
“Chhattisgarh, a state in rural western India” – how is this state in Western India..
A Mukherjee
Follow the money trail and see where it leads to. That will be interesting. To wage a war against the Indian state these fellows need a lot of funds. I suspect it could be from Beijing.
Zack
And your proof is….? Sorry, but conspiracy theories have no basis in proper diplomatic scholarship
T Rama Bhat
Mr.A Mukherjee has only said that he suspects that the money trail COULD lead to China. Voicing a suspicion, is not the same as floating a conspiracy theory.
I hope the authorities are on the job of trailing the source of funds. The number of firearms naxalites have, the salaries they pay their members, etc. requires a lot of money. Surely it’s nobody’s argument that the destitute tribals are capable of funding them.
The problem has reached a stage where no official or contractor will participate in any development work (even if the government wakes from slumber now) unless the naxalites are curbed. Development work cannot precede or move in tandem with armed government action now.
Christian
India hindu brainwashed fanatics will point at China for all India’s troubles. The Naxalites are rising up against the Indian government because of the Hindu caste discrimination which forces on them a pathetic life of servitude and slavery with no hope. India is a sham democracy and a failed state….period!
Amused
Yes, Christian, India is a failed state just because you say so, period! After all, “me say it so me must be right”.
Sam
@Christian. Sounds like you are unable to handle the fact that a billion Hindus can grow a country at 8-9% a year for the foreseeable future after the Brits stole everything they could get their hands on for 200 years! This too in an open multi-religious, multi lingual democracy with all its craziness and daily ups and downs. Can’t hack it huh buddy? Well get used to it, it ain’t failing anytime soon.
Ibtakhar Ahmad
Today, Naxalism is a big threat as they began targeting trains. The government should solve this problem very seriously.
Ankit
I am sorry but whoever wrote this article has zero knowledge of the matter or about India and the Naxal problem. All descriptions are inaccurate, even the Dantewada incident is described wrong. Please hire people who actually know about what they write.
Preethi Sundaram
Andhra Pradesh is in South India not Eastern India as the article states.