Beyond the gun: Security forces move to erase Maoist ideology

New Delhi, Feb 17 (IAN) The security forces are on course to meet the March 31 deadline set by Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, to wipe out each and every Maoist from India.

While operations on the ground continue and are at the fag end, the forces have also embarked upon a mission to ensure that the ideology too is wiped out completely.

A security official part of these operations said that this is an equally important step in the battle against the Maoists.

Sometimes, the ideology can be more dangerous and hence it ought to even linger on, the official said.

Work is on both in the cities as well as the remote areas to ensure that the ideology of the movement is completely eradicated.

The approaches for the urban and rural areas are different, the officer explained.

Last year, the Intelligence agencies had sounded an alert about how some are trying to put the ideology of these Maoists out in the urban areas.

In 2019, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took up the probe into a case, what went on to being called the urban naxalite case.

It was found that there were many who were running NGOs in the same of social work.

In reality, they were receiving foreign funds and the same was being used to fund the movement.

Several arrests were made and the NIA learnt that major conspiracies were being hatched to hurt the country's security. These persons had also planned on targeting high profile personalities, the probe also found.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that there is a two-pronged approach that the agencies have taken. Some associated with the movement were infiltrating protests such as the one against air pollution.

Under the garb of an issue of concern, they were raising slogans in favour of the Maoists and even criticising the security agencies for gunning down these people in the jungles.

In the rural areas, the CRPF has been identifying memorials which had been built for top Maoists who had been slain by the security forces.

All these memorials are being wiped out by the CRPF personnel. This drive is currently being carried out in Sukma, Bastar and Bijapur in Chhattisgarh.

So far, the security personnel have razed 53 memorials that had been built by the CPI (Maoist) to honour their top commanders and leaders. These memorials that have been put up in the forest areas are being razed.

Now, there is a plantation drive that is on so that these areas merge with the forest and there is no trace of the memorials.

Another official explained that this is a significant and important move. These memorials can in the future become rallying points for those trying to revive the movement. If there are large gatherings around these memorials on a regular basis, then the issue could gradually gain traction.

Moreover, this would also lead to the security agencies taking action. If the action is too harsh then these people will cry foul and protests would start to take place in different parts of the country, an official said.

We want to put a complete end to this movement and do not want anyone to even speak about it. It is one thing to put down the moment and another to prevent the revival. If the revival has to be prevented then every memory relating to the "naxal movement" has been erased, the official explained.

The official said that the razing down of memorials will be carried out in all areas where the "naxalite" movement thrived. We will be focusing on other states too, the official added.

The official said that during the drive there was not even a murmur from any of the villagers. They were in fact supportive of what the security forces were doing and this is a very positive signs and the people themselves were tired of this "naxalite" menace, he also said.

Following the encounter in which Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju was killed along with 26 others, many of his sympathisers had tried to give him a grand funeral.

However this was denied by the Chhattisgarh Police. The police refused to hand over the body to some people who claimed to be relatives. These persons had approached the court, which in turn as them to speak with the police.

The police said that these persons lacked the valid documents to prove that they were related to Basavaraj.

The police learnt that there was a plan in place to make a grand issue of the funeral.

Several human rights organisations too had reached Chhattisgarh and even protested the police action. They alleged that the police cremated the body in the absence of the family members.

Another official said that the police learnt that the idea was to glorify the "naxalite" and then indulge in propaganda. Hence the action by the police is completely justified, the official also added.

Source: IANS