One of the authors of Operation Green Hunt, a concerted push to knock Maoist rebels down by the United Progressive Alliance government, had famously said: “Development and anti-Maoist operations are not married, they don’t have to walk hand in hand.” P. Chidambaram, who later helmed the drive as Union home minister, probably put faith in that strategy — crush the rebels first, development and the rest of what the welfare State must offer can follow. More than two decades on, it can reliably be argued that decoupling the security drive against Maoists from demonstrable development efforts has not worked. That said, there is no guarantee that State welfarism alone can become an effective ally in the drive against ultra left-wing insurgency. This is vexed, intractable territory; a solution has eluded successive governments and a succession of strategies.
The Narendra Modi government is doubtless in the throes of a robust thrust to decimate Maoist rebels in the forbidding Dandakaranya forestlands. Its push to uproot the defiant Maoists has manifested itself in a string of violent assaults, encounters, and ambushes. Multiple dozens have been killed and scores injured among the ranks of security forces as well as the rebels who hold the advantage of better knowledge of the region’s topography as well as the ability to spring surprises, a key element in guerrilla combat. Dandakaranya, which has been the operating base of armed Maoists for decades, is spread over parts of several states — Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. At the core of it lies the thickly forested and mostly inaccessible region called Abujmarh, the citadel of an insurgency that has defeated attempts to tame it. Parts of Abujmarh’s interiors are still unmapped. Access is near impossible because the Maoists have prevented roads and bridges from being constructed. Aerial mapping is rendered tough because of the thick forest cover. Drones and unmanned flying craft loaded with cameras have helped security forces but it is debatable to what extent. The real challenge is not getting a security advantage, employing modern and sophisticated jungle warfare techniques and gadgetry; the challenge lies in winning over Dandakaranya’s tribals who, for fear or for favour — and certainly on account of the dim view they take of a mostly truant State — remain a key part of the Maoists’ battling arm.
