Even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asserted at the chief ministers’ meet on internal security that “we need to cripple the hold of Naxalite forces with all the means at our command”, Naxalism isn’t about to disappear. The Dantewada jailbreak of December 16 has been followed up with a spectacular Maoist ambush that killed 12 policemen four days later in this south Bastar district. There is also the disconcerting news which has its origin in Jharkhand that the central committee of CPI (Maoist) has earmarked Rs 30 crore per annum to upgrade its arms manufacturing units and procure rocket launchers, mortars, hand grenades and other weapons. Obviously, the governments at the Centre and in the states have an onerous task at hand to quickly find an antidote to this rapidly spreading cancerous ‘virus’; it is immaterial whether a ‘Pashupati-to-Tirupati’ red corridor is being built or not.

However, though the PM admitted that “often, the lack of development and the lack of any prospects for improving one’s lot provide a fertile ground for extremist ideologies to flourish”, his prescription was to set up a special task force for Naxals. This reflected two things. First, the government has its back to the wall against the Naxals and it is hard-pressed to create a coordinating mechanism in the Naxal-affected states, an intricate task that requires creating a symphony out of discordant notes. Second, despite the realisation that the development deficit is feeding the Naxal rebellion, the government has no clue to how to deliver on this front quickly.

... contd.