kind courtesy: The Telegraph CITHARA PAUL http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100520/jsp/nation/story_12468855.jsp
Suggestion to use IAF nonsense: Fact-finder
Ram Mohan is the man P Chidambaram turned to when 75 CRPF men and 1 Chhattisgarh Police head-constable who were out to hunt Maoists perished in an ambush set by their quarry. Ram Mohan’s was a one man fact finding mission to ascertain why, how and under what circumstances an entire company of CRPF was wiped out. This man was interviewed by Telegraph in Delhi and had this to say about Centre’s approach.
Rammohan in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Prem Singh)
New Delhi, May 19: E.N. Rammohan is back from Dantewada, having wrapped up his job as the one-man commission appointed by the Centre to find out what went wrong before 76 security personnel were killed on April 6 by Maoists in one of the bloodiest ambushes the country has seen.
The former BSF chief feels the government has gone “terribly’’ wrong in its approach towards the Maoists and the larger cause of tribals. “Military operation is no solution to the Maoist insurgency. The problem is much larger and much deeper,’’ he says. He calls the suggestion to use the air force “nonsense’’.
Q. You have submitted your report on Dantewada. What went wrong there?
A. Everything went terribly wrong there, including the military action. Primarily, it was wrong on the part of the government to assume that the Maoist issue can be solved using force. How can you justify using force against your own people? The suggestion to use the air force against Naxalites is nothing but nonsense. Military action is no solution. Every insurgency has its reasons as they do not happen out of nothing. And as in the case of every other insurgency, the Maoist insurgency, too, has its reasons and unless and until the government addresses the root cause, it (efforts to solve the problem) is not going to succeed.
Q. What, according to you, are the root causes?
A. The root cause is that the Indian system has failed to deliver justice to the indigenous people. We have an institutionalised system of suppression in the form of caste. When you have landlords taking away your land, your women and treat you like animals while the official system looks the other way, it is bound to create repercussions. And now you have these MNCs which, after making deals with the government, come and throw the tribals out from the forest where they have been staying for centuries. Isn’t it quite natural for them to protest?
Q. But the government is doing all these in the name of development…
A. Who needs this kind of development when your basic rights are not addressed? If the government is so keen on developing the tribal areas, what it needs to do is to give the tribals the right to the land, including the minerals in the region. Give them the due share of profits from the mining activities and not some lower-rung jobs in the mining companies as a driver or a peon. This, along with the strict implementation of land ceiling act ,will solve the Maoist issue. Otherwise, the Maoist insurgency is going to stay here regardless of the kind of force being used — air or ground.
Q. But when you have hundreds of ordinary people being killed by the Naxalites, you cannot expect the government to be passive.
A. Nobody is saying that. What I am saying is that the government should rework its strategies. The priority should be to win over the tribals. But this cannot be achieved by offering infrastructure development in the form of roads and schools. What the tribals want is dignity and basic rights to livelihood, and this is no uphill task if the government is determined. Maoists are here to stay as long as the system fails to deliver.
Q. There is an apparent confusion within the government in handling the Maoists. While the home minister is asking for more force, a strong section within the party wants a different approach.
A. This difference of opinion is a good sign. It shows that there are some people who differentiate between the Maoists and tribals. It is wrong to assume that tribals are siding with the Maoists because of their love for Maoist ideology. They are listening to Maoists today because Maoists were the only people who extended a helping hand while everyone else, including the state, only looted them. Now it is the turn of the government to act on their behalf if it really wants to win them over.
Q. As an expert on insurgencies, how do you assess the Maoists’ strategies?
A. I rate the Indian Maoists’ strategies as one of the best. They have an agenda and that is to capture Delhi. They are very clear about it and they are using the tribals in a clever manner to achieve that target. I feel the Maoists have been much more brilliant than the government in strategies and execution. If the government does not act promptly in the right manner, it will be too late
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