DNA Edit | Desperate Maoists: Cornered and losing territory fast, Naxalites are lashing out in fury and frustration

The Maoist attack that killed 25 CRPF soldiers in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district shows yet again how the Red rebels remain the biggest roadblock for rural development in the central Indian states and the government’s attempts to take the fruits of development to the Adivasi population. For decades, Maoists have used the cover of the vast forested terrain spanning Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, parts of Telangana, West Bengal, and Bihar and Maharashtra, often described as the ‘Red Corridor’, to create a base for an armed takeover of the Indian state. With no base among the peasantry or the working class, the Maoists succeeded in entrenching themselves among the Adivasis, romanticising the idea of isolation from an “exploitative” mainstream.

The Union and the state governments in these areas have responded with a mix of force and developmental initiatives to win over the Adivasis, who are often caught in the crossfire. The latest attack, predictably, targeted CRPF jawans who were protecting workers involved in building two key roads through the heart of Red territory. Maoists know that roads will bring in trade, ensure delivery of basic services and create jobs for the local populace. That is anathema for them. Naxalites know very well that the moment villagers get the taste of a better life and education for their kids they will move away from the “cause”.

Challenged and driven to the fringe in the other states, the south Bastar region is the last bastion of the Maoists and, naturally, they will put up a stiff fight. Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh is betting big on constructing roads and schools in the Bastar area. Like the Maoists who catch their cadres young, this strategy of building a school network in insurgency-hit areas and ensuring mid-day meals will help in weaning away the young from the path of violence. Many of the school buildings built in the past were bombed by the Maoists, but with more CRPF camps coming up in Bastar and a greater security presence — it is just a matter of time. The dastardly ambush at Sukma is a sign of the Maoists’ desperation. The government should ensure better facilities at CRPF camps, take exemplary care of the families of the dead soldiers, and devise better protocols to ensure that the danger to road opening parties and construction workers is minimised.