Chhattisgarh Congress and Human rights activists on one side and Chief Minister Raman Singh on the other may differ on what transpired in the Bastar encounter. The fact remains that a number of innocent and defenceless tribals were killed. Raman Singh is one man to whom the only solution to the Naxal problem is the military solution. He is on record stating that Salwa Judum – held by the Supreme Court as illegal and unacceptable – is the only answer to Naxalism. Not too many days ago he has vowed to institute a no-holds-barred fight against the Naxals.
The Home minister P. Chidambaram is the father of Operation Green Hunt. If the fight against Naxals is fought in the way these two wish, the state will end up being a destructive power. There cannot be any military operation without mistakenly killing a number of innocent tribals. The bigger the operation the larger the number of innocent killed. This can only push the tribals into the ranks of Naxalites, thereby increasing their strength. In any case, the killings of our own people cannot just be dismissed as the collateral damage. Why are the Central as well as the state governments so averse to exploring the avenues for dialogue?
Dr Mookhi Amir Ali
Mumbai, M.S.