Rama Krishna Sangem
For BJP led governments at the Centre as well as in Chhattisgarh, Bastar and its surrounding Maoist affected southern districts are like another Kashmir, which they think need to be cleared of armed militants. Interestingly, both are closely monitored by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. You may think both are incomparable as one is a border state (now union territory) and another is a part of a state in the heart of the country.
If Kashmir is an issue of Pakistan backed separatist and terror groups, Bastar is a problem for the Centre as it has become a hot bed of Maoist extremism – where CPI (ML) Maoist’s PLGA (People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army) militants are well entrenched for about two decades. There is no similarity or links between the Kashmir terror groups and militants of PLGA. If the former are of Islamic militants, the latter are of Maoist ideology, who believe that power flows through the barrel of gun to establish a communist state.
But, for Narendra Modi led BJP government that came to power in 2014, both are equally dangerous to the unity and sovereignty of the country. Of course, former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh who led Congress led UPA government for a decade from 2004-14, famously said once that Maoists are the biggest threat to the internal stability of India. It’s also a fact that UPA’s home minister P Chidambaram had launched the Operation Green Hunt to remove Maoists or Naxals.
Different approaches
However, the Congress led UPA and BJP led NDA governments at the Centre have had different approaches to take on terrorists in Kashmir and Maoists in Chhattisgarh. There is a stark contrast in their strategies and tactics too. Congress led UPA government at the Centre and its own regime in Chhattisgarh followed a reactive stand towards Maoists. That means, they sent paramilitary forces into forests only when the Naxals resorted to some action. They named it Operation Green Hunt.
The strength of paramilitary forces deployed in Bastar and adjoining areas too was very low during Congress time. But, BJP adopted a different stand – a proactive approach. They sent armed forces into forests even if there are no incidents from Maoists side. Moreover, the BJP regimes set a deadline of March, 31, 2026, to wipe out Maoists from the jungles of Chhattisgarh. Though Congress ministers talked of eliminating Naxals in a specific period, they were never serious about it. They named it Operation Kagar, means on the edge of otherside.
But, BJP’s Home Minister Shah is very serious about his deadline. He instructed the forces to stick to the timeline and go aggressively against Naxals. If we see the pace of paramilitary forces’ aggression in Maoists strongholds in Chhattisgarh in the last two years, they may get to their target even before March 2026. Almost all the Maoist hideouts have been reached by the forces, which was never before during the UPA regime. BJP made it clear that there won’t be any talks with Maoists, leave alone ceasefire.
Just as BJP abrogated Article 370 in 2019 August, as part of his election manifesto, the saffron party government at the Centre is keen on turning Chhattisgarh Maoists-free in near future. Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai last week presented a memorandum to the Centre seeking Rs 49,000 crore assistance, for taking up infrastructure projects in South Chhattisgarh, which includes Bastar. PM Modi and HM Shah want to take back both Kashmir and Bastar into the mainstream. There’s no possibility of Maoists regrouping in near future.
