Crossing over

Battling and defeating the Maoists has for some time now been neatly defined as a two-prong strategy of field battles using the police forces of affected states and Central paramilitary as well as undertaking developmental work in the backward areas where such insurgency thrives. Doubtless,the risk to this strategy,indispensable and alternative-less as it is,is the vicious cycle of violence precluding development and lack of development sustaining violence. The imperative of defeating the Naxals and thereby guaranteeing the efforts at economic progress under restored law and order couldnt be understated. On the other hand,given that Maoist violence is a multi-state problem,police forces across such states have to coordinate with each other as well as with the Central paramilitary.

The proposal from the Andhra Pradesh government to the Centre to develop road and communication infrastructure from the Andhra side to Maoist strongholds in Maharashtra,Chhattisgarh and Orissa along the boundaries Andhra shares with these states is therefore thought-provoking. Its worry is that not only have Maoists been safely entrenched in these almost inaccessible borderlands but the chances of their amassing strength to reassert themselves in Andhra also remains a distinct possibility. The police,as of now,can reach these dangerous zones only after traversing several kilometres on foot. That doesnt just corrode their battle-hardiness but also exposes them to chances of ambush. Accessing whats called the seamless corridor that Naxals have created from Visakhapatnam district to Gadchiroli in Maharashtra,via Orissas Koraput-Malkangiri districts and Dantewada in Chhattisgarh,by building roads and bridges that can quickly move security forces will be a big blow to Maoist safe-houses. Moreover,worked into this infrastructure project will be the pre-emptive strategy of identifying where the insurgents are likely to spring up next.

There may also be merit in allowing the Andhra police to chase Naxals into the bordering districts of neighbouring states,since a lot of precious time is wasted on inter-state police coordination,allowing the insurgents to escape into oblivion. However,its reasonable to be circumspect about a police force operating outside its jurisdiction,and the problems of competition with their counterparts and dangerous misunderstanding with locals it might engender. But that only reinforces the case for everybody to be on the same page.