 "No quick fixes to the Naxal problem: Gopal Pillai")
What are the factors that have led to this grave situation?
Most people have to understand the background. Naxals have a particular ideology. They are fascists and have no belief in parliamentary democracy. Their aim is to capture political power through armed struggle. The group doesn’t allow dissent. The Naxal mindset is that if I make the security situation bad, then no teacher or doctor will work in that area. They are not interested in improving the situation as it suits their ends. It is the failure of the government to some extent, it should have done more.
Armed with ammunition, Naxals are driving the political parties out. For instance, in Andhra Pradesh, many panchayat presidents and block administration staff have been killed. Also, according to 2010 figures, out of 1,200 people killed by extremists, 800 were innocent tribals, who were killed on the presumption they were police informers. So for the Naxals, if you are not on their side, they will kill you. That is why a situation has emerged, that people don’t come out against them out of fear of being killed. This needs to be addressed.
Other issue is about genuine grievances related to land rights and forest rights of the tribals. We need to give them the right over the forest produce. For instance In April 2011, Mendha (Lekha) became the first village in Gadchiroli district to sell bamboo under community forest rights (CFR). Now 18 gram sabhas in Maharashtra have been allowed to sell tendupatta (tendu leaves) under CFR. Earlier they were given Rs 3 lakh as revenue by the forest dept. But when they auctioned on their own, they got Rs 2 crore.
Another issue is related to the number of cases registered by the forest department against the tribals. A decision was taken in 2011 that all these cases would be dropped to prevent harassment of tribals by local forest officials. When we followed up, we realised that even though the order had been passed, the reality on the ground was very different. In some cases, the public prosecutor would file the withdrawal application in some courts out of security concerns in the area. Some would say they didn’t receive the government order. We had to create a grid about orders received, applications filed and cases withdrawn et cetera. So it’s not enough for politicians to pass the orders, the ground-level implementation needs to be ensured.
What are the policy measures that need to be undertaken?
Firstly, improve security so that development can take place. Secondly, ensure tribal land rights. There have been some contradictory policies in tribal areas, as a result of which they have been left back in comparison to the mainstream. The question is do you want to leave them behind in isolation as museum pieces. Why can’t a man from the tribal area get educated, sell his land, migrate to a city and set up an industry. But land laws are such that land in these areas can’t be sold to a non-tribal. Even if he tries to sell the land, the buyer will know it’s illegal and pay far lower than the market price. Thirdly, declare tendu and bamboo as forest produce and give tribals full right on such minor forest produce. Also, when land is acquired, ensure full compensation and rehabilitation.
The police to population ratio is still low in left-wing extremism (LWE) -affected areas. What are the policing and security challenges in these areas?
In 2009, when I took over as home secretary, there was a huge shortage in the police force. Originally, the Bastar district was much larger than the state of Kerala. There were only 1,000-odd policemen for such a large district, as compared to 95,000 policemen in Delhi, which is much smaller than Bastar. In 2005, the whole of Chhattisgarh had only 23,000 police personnel. The state government increased the numbers and the current strength is now 48,000, but there is a need to double, or even triple, that number. Induction of forces is very crucial and this is one reason why getting back control is proving difficult. Another example: while there were 90 battalions of paramilitary forces in Jammu and Kashmir when I became the home secretary, there were less than 25 battalions in the seven LWE-affected states. Now the number has increased to 80.
The local police is very disillusioned and disorganised. I visited some of these areas. A police station in one such area was supposed to have 11 police personnel, but only four were present, and they were also playing cards behind closed doors. In 2009, I realised that it would take a decade to raise a substantial police force as large-scale recruitment and training drives needed to be conducted. In other parts of the country, the role of the beat constable is to look into thefts, robberies and similar crimes. However, the policemen in places like Bastar are required to be like commandos who can go into the jungle, live off the land and trek for a minimum of seven days. Training such personnel will take time and the full impact of the build-up will be felt only in 2016.
What measures can be undertaken to avert a serious attack like this one?
Like I said, these kind of setbacks are inevitable till the expansion of the forces takes place. Also, Mahendra Karma was on top of the hit-list of the Naxals. Usually these leaders are surrounded by security personnel carrying AK-47s, but that day he was not accompanied by many guards. Maybe it was the presence of such an important anti-Naxal crusader that led to the attack.
Having said that, positive changes are taking place. Between 2009-11, we got 10,000 sq km liberated. And all the villagers in those areas said that we are supporting the government, but don’t take the security forces away from the area for at least ten years. Earlier, the BSF was withdrawn as soon as the operation was completed, resulting in the return of the Naxals. But for the past four years, the same BSF battalion has been stationed there. We have created a grid of battalions for a set number of villages, hence life is coming back to normal. Normal development has started again in these areas. Marriages are taking place, markets are opening up, roads are being built. I am optimistic, but it’s a long drawn-out process. It will take us a decade to gain the upper hand. The biggest motivation that will result in more and more teachers and doctors coming to the area is sound security.
There also has been much debate about the use of army in LWE-affected areas.Your comments on the same.
I firmly believe that the army shouldn’t be used against local people. They are already overstretched and don’t have the capacity to employ so many divisions in this area. I have always said that remove the army from Jammu and Kashmir except from the border towns. But we are using the army training facility to train the local police and CRPF jawans for three to six months before they report to the field. Also, we are employing two retired sappers per company, who are experts in detecting and disarming explosives.
Lastly, what is the way forward in tackling the problem?
The only way forward is to build infrastructure and add to the manpower. Teachers, nurses, doctors should want to go there. It is not possible to do this overnight, partly because of the remoteness of the area. All grievances need to be addressed through a proper redressal cell. The minute that happens, the Naxal influence will come down. This is very important so that the tribals feel faith in the government.
The Naxals in some ways work like organised criminal extortionists. They earn approximately Rs 1200 crore per year through extortions that they use to pay the cadres and buy ammunition with. We have to tackle this strategy. At the end of the day, it is all about winning the hearts and minds of the locals, and that can only be done by the political parties...it can’t be done by the policemen or the CRPFjawans. They can’t just come to the villages just once to give speeches. They have to stay there and establish a connect. Naxals have been trying to get into Uttar Pradesh as well, but they haven’t succeeded as the Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party have such a stronghold on the ground that there is no vacuum. Parties need to create that in the LWE affected states.