It is a measure of our hypocrisy that the Salwa Judum is not subject to more public outrage. Chhattisgarh is not strategically important like Kashmir or the Northeast. Nor is it part of a politically charged narrative like Nandigram. But that should not be taken to imply that the crisis is not more serious. In some ways it is a more serious case of the state wiling itself to wither away. And we ought not to fall to the blackmail that because the Salwa Judum was set up as an anti-Naxal front, it deserves our sympathy. Indeed, all the signs are that the Salwa Judum may produce a political alienation that is far more explosive for Chhattisgarh’s long-term well being. But more importantly, there can simply be no excuse for sponsoring private armies that exacerbate violence and victimise citizens. The Supreme Court has often used the argument that maintenance of law and order is a constitutional obligation of the state. For a state so hung up on the idea of sovereignty, abdicating its core sovereign function is nothing short of scandalous. Even more scandalous is the consequence: thousands of displaced people, with little prospect of returning home, and brutalised by a violence unleashed in the name of protecting them.

The writer is president, Centre for Policy Research pratapbmehta@yahoo.co.in