‘Focus on good governance, reducing deprivation and alienation’: Prime Minister
Concluding remarks at the 2nd meeting of the Standing Committee of Chief Ministers on Naxalism
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan
Singh, has urged the Chief Ministers that the strategy “to walk on two legs”
needs to be adopted to have an effective police response while dealing with the
scourge of Naxalism. The Prime
Minister also requested the Chief Ministers to focus on good governance,
reducing the sense of deprivation and alienation and work on covering every
poor family in Naxal-affected areas under effective poverty alleviation
schemes. He urged them to work as a
cohesive team, work on a war footing and pay the highest attention to the
challenge of Naxalism. Dr. Singh said
that at the same time, legitimate needs and aspirations should be examined with
due care and sympathy.
In
his concluding remarks at the 2nd meeting of the Standing Committee
of Chief Ministers on Naxalism, here today, the Prime Minister emphasized the
need to recognize that Naxalism was not merely a law and order issue. He assured them that the Government would
not be stingy in allocating additional resources for core development
activities, which have such a vital bearing on the welfare of the poorest
sections of our community. Dr. Singh
pointed out that the change in the character of the Naxal movement,
characterized by growing militarisation needed to be recognized.
The
Prime Minister referred to some measures regarding police response to Naxalism,
which require immediate attention.
These are – the need to train local police better and invest heavily in
their capabilities, all ‘thanas’ in Naxal areas to be fully manned and
fortified and package of incentives to attract the best police personnel to
anti-Naxal operations. Dr. Singh
pinpointed to the possible need for a specialized force on the pattern of
Andhra Pradesh’s Greyhounds. Requesting
the Chief Ministers to invest in improving intelligence on the Naxalite
movement, the Prime Minister said that police action had to be supported by
effective intelligence gathering. In
this context, Dr. Singh said that States may consider undertaking joint
operations and setting up joint unified commands for badly affected areas.
Besides
the Chief Ministers of the states affected by Naxalism, Union Home Minister,
Shri Shivraj Patil, Union Minister for Rural Development, Dr. Raghuvansh Prasad
Singh, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, Shri P.R. Kyndiah, Union Minister for
Panchayati Raj, Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, Minister of State for Home Affairs,
Shri Shriprakash Jaiswal, National Security Advisor, Shri M.K. Narayanan,
Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia were among
those present on the occasion.
Following is the text of Prime
Minister’s speech on the occasion:
“I am extremely happy to be with you
all today during your deliberations on an issue which is of vital importance to
all of us. I came here with the primary
purpose of listening to your views and the strategies you are adopting to face
the challenge of naxalism. It would not
be an exaggeration to say that the problem of naxalism is the single biggest
internal security challenge ever faced by our country. I have been carefully
listening to all of you here and have also interacted separately with some of
the Chief Ministers whose states are worst affected by this phenomenon. A wide
range of views has been expressed but there seems to be unanimity on the fact
that we need to give the problem a very high priority. I am also very happy
that there is a broad convergence of views what needs to be done at the State
level, what needs to be done to coordinate the activities of various States and
what needs to be done by the Central Government to strengthen the hands of the
State Governments. And you have heard
my colleague, the Hon’ble Home Minister. He has promised that whatever is necessary
to deal with this menace, will infact, be done. We will not be stingy when it
comes to dealing with internal security of our country.
Charu Mazumdar had once talked of a
‘Spring thunder over India’. Today, almost 40 years later, the Naxalite movement
may have lost much of its intellectual attraction, but has gained in strength
and has now spread to over 160 districts all over the country. The ideological
base of the movement has diminished and there are many lumpen elements now in
the movement. But, there seems to be also some support from deprived and
alienated sections of the population. We need therefore to look closely at the
causes of this deprivation and alienation.
We must find practical, credible strategies to reconcile the imperatives
of development and the imperatives of national security. The naxalite movement
is generating some notions of empowerment to these classes through the use of
violence and weapons. They are trying to establish “liberation zones” in core
areas where they are dispensing or claiming to be dispensing basic state
functions of administration, policing and justice. It is a cause for great
concern that civil administration and police are periodically absent in some of
these areas.
It is also important to note the
qualitative change in the character of the movement which has now adopted new
methods and tactics. They were earlier restricted to using local weapons, acted
in small groups and indulged in isolated attacks. The naxal movement is now
characterized by growing militarisation, superior army style organisation,
better trained cadres, attacks on large targets through large scale frontal
assaults, better coordination and possible external links. It is this change in
character of the naxal movement that needs to be recognized and all responses
on our side must be guided by this new reality. It is therefore heartening that
most of us in this room recognize this aspect and are infact, willing to
respond effectively.
One aspect of your response has to
be the police response. The discussions have highlighted a large number of
measures that need to be taken. I see a few measures as being those, which
require your immediate and sustained attention.
Firstly, we need to strengthen the
local police on all fronts. They are in the vanguard of the fight against naxal
violence. Local police needs to be better trained and equipped to face an enemy
who is evolving into a major force. We need to improve their weapons, buildings
and vehicles. We need to invest heavily in their capabilities. There seems to
be a persistent problem of shortage of manpower and vacancies. I urge all of
you to ensure that all ‘thanas’ in naxal areas are fully manned and fortified.
You need to ensure that the manning is done by capable, competent and motivated
officers and staff. If necessary, we should have a package of incentives to
attract the best police personnel to anti-naxal operations. We will also need
to consider measures for protecting policemen from undue harassment for actions
taken against naxalites. States may even consider investing in effective
para-policemen, wherever it is considered necessary.
Secondly, we need focused attention
at the state level in attending to this task. We may need specialized force on
the pattern of Andhra Pradesh’s Greyhounds. This investment is essential if we
need to turn the tide in favour of the Government. These Special Task Forces
should be under capable senior officers with assured tenures. States can
consider taking capable officers on deputation from other States as per their
requirements. Chief Ministers could set up a monitoring group at their level
for monitoring the issue periodically.
Thirdly, police action has to be
supported by effective intelligence gathering. We need to work to improve our
intelligence on the naxalite movement – on their numbers, their weapons, their
organisation and their movements and their plans. I request all Chief Ministers
to invest in this activity.
Lastly, there is the issue of
coordination among States. A lot of responses require coordination among states
– in intelligence gathering, in information sharing, in police responses.
States may consider undertaking joint operations and also setting up joint
unified commands for badly affected core areas. Police action needs to be backed
by a liberal surrender and rehabilitation policy. Most states have such a
policy. I would like you to review these policies and modify them where
necessary to make them more attractive.
We must, however, recognize that
naxalism is not merely a law and order issue. In many areas, the phenomenon of
naxalism is directly related to underdevelopment. It is not a coincidence that
it is the tribal areas that are the main battleground of left wing extremism
today. Large swathes of tribal territory have become the hunting ground of left
wing extremists. Exploitation, artificially depressed wages, iniquitous socio
political circumstances, inadequate employment opportunities, lack of access to
resources, under developed agriculture, geographical isolation, lack of land
reforms – all contribute significantly to the growth of the naxalite movement.
All these factors have to be taken into consideration as we evolve solutions
for facing the challenge of naxalism. I can assure you that when it comes to
making resources available for these core development activities having such a
vital bearing on the welfare of the poorest sections of our community,
Government of India will not be stingy in allocating additional resources for
these activities.
Such violent extremist movements
have huge societal costs. Our investments for growth are unlikely to fructify;
employment is not likely to grow and educational facilities may be affected.
Schools do not run, dispensaries do not open and PDS shops stay closed. We can
easily ascribe all these inefficiencies to “extremism”. “Extortions”, which are a recurring
phenomenon, not only inflate costs but also challenge the functioning of the
Indian state. We must recognize that such extremism is a threat to our
democracy, our way of life. Therefore in the end, we lose as a society, we lose
as a democracy.
Therefore, I request all Hon’ble
Chief Ministers to focus on what we term as good governance. The Hon’ble Home
Minister has also laid emphasis on this aspect of the management and containment
strategy. This would include effective
implementation of development programmes, periodic monitoring and ensuring that
there are no leakages. We are currently implementing a whole range of
programmes which can have a bearing on rural poverty and unemployment. We have
the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Backward Regions Grant
Fund. These programmes demonstrate that funds are not a constraint. I would
request all Chief Ministers to work on covering every poor family in
naxal-affected areas under effective poverty alleviation schemes. Chief
Ministers could consider, at the same time, in reducing the burden of debt on
the rural poor tribals. They could reduce the unnecessary harassment of tribals
by compounding and closing small forest offences. They could provide effective
price and procurement support to produce in tribal areas. They could initiate
another wave of rural reforms, which can ensure employment and land to the
poorest in these areas. They could promote local participation in governance,
as my colleague Mani Shankar pointed out, through effective implementation of
the design of the Panchayati Raj vision
of the late Shri Rajiv Gandhi.
Our strategy, therefore, has to be
to “walk on two legs” to have an effective police response while at the same
time focusing on reducing the sense of deprivation and alienation. The police
response is necessary so that the obligation of the Indian state to uphold
public order is fulfilled. However an effective police response does not mean
that we need to brutalise the Indian state. Legitimate needs and aspirations,
even if set out in procedurally or presentationally inappropriate terms, should
be examined with due care and due sympathy. We are dealing after all, with our
own people, even though they may have strayed into the path of violence. What
we need is an intelligent, effective police response, done quietly and
discreetly. We have heard many ideas today. I request the Hon’ble Home Minister
to examine the suggestions made today so that we could adopt some of them.
While you are at the front in the fight against naxalism, I assure you of all
possible support from the Central Government.
When
I was a student in England some 50 years ago, Lord Kaldor, one of my teachers
used to say that the progress of a country depends critically on those whose
ideals and motivations influence the critical decisions that guide a nation’s
destiny. You are those critical individuals who can provide the necessary
leadership in this vital area affecting our internal security. If you give
priority to this issue, I am confident that we will contain the spread of the
naxalite movement and gradually isolate and eliminate it. I therefore urge you,
Chief Ministers, to function as a cohesive team and work on a war-footing and
pay the highest attention to the challenge of naxalism, the challenge of
combining development and security.”
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YSR/DS/HK/LV
(Release ID :17128)