Provident Approach Towards Terrorist Threats

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"Terrorism is the tactic of demanding the impossible, and demanding it at gunpoint" -Christopher Hitchens

This came as a welcome news:" The Army will not be used in a "combat role" in the ongoing anti-Naxal battle. The Centre and states will, instead, recruit ex-servicemen — including retired sappers for de-mining exercises — on contractual basis to fill the gap and will focus on strengthening paramilitary and police personnel through intensive training and recruitment programmes. Role of armed forces will only be limited to "training". " - Times of India

Though I have to own that I feel some disappointment that ex-servicemen could be contracted to do combat duty. The training that the army personnel receive is not likely to endear themselves to any civilian population, especially in conflict zones.

And then there is the question of alienating the resident population, in that whereas the police speak the same language and belong to the same culture, the army is a more heterogeneous unit.

I think the home ministry's macho reaction, calling for the deployment of the army is a hasty and unnecessarily aggressive one. The Defence ministry has shown some spine in resisting the urge to go and rid the mountains of the outlaws cowboy style.

The situation is a socio-political one, and the involvement of the army would do nothing to resolve it. Given the contradictions inherent in the Indian mode of governance, it is never a good idea to try to find a solution to an issue once for all. It is compromise that works in our culture, and with some level headed thinking and patience, we can come to terms with the issues that have given cause for the Maoist insurgence.

I can write more and more about this, but there is a relevant quote which expresses the truth better than I can:

"The surest defense against terrorism is to refuse to be terrorized. Our job is to recognize that terrorism is just one of the risks we face, and not a particularly common one at that. And our job is to fight those politicians who use fear as an excuse to take away our liberties and promote security theater that wastes money and doesn't make us any safer."- Bruce Schneier

Please look back at the quote from Hitchens: in opting for the use of army, and trying to resolve this issue at gunpoint while ignoring the true grounds of this conflict, we are moving towards a point that would give justification to the allegation that the government is itself culpable of a terrorist mindset.

We don't need it- let the government look for political engagement and fair means of conflict resolution. This is not to say that the Maoists are to be given a free run- if the police do their duty with resolve and with proper training, and if the government backs them with equitable measures that profit the affected people- there will definitely be a viable solution.