The recent offensive of the government,and the counter-offensive by the maoists that has led to the loss of scores of innocent lives puts a grave question before us which no one seems to be bothered to ask or answer-Who gives the guns to the maoists?
Sure they kill policemen and after every ambush, run(?) away with the weapons of the slain. But the number of weapons, or for that matter, their quality, isn’t good enough to wage a war against the state! Consider the recent Dantewada massacre.The large amount of IEDs, pressure mines (which blew up the anti-mine vehicles) and ammunition that finished off an entire platoon of CRPF (75 brave men) in a matter of an hour must have come from somewhere. I don’t think the maoists have built gun factories and Improvised Explosive Devices labs in areas where the government hasn’t built a school or health centre in the last 60 years. They are getting it all from somewhere outside those long-forgotten jungles.
The government can squeeze the supplies of the tribals and let them die in poverty, but it can’t cut off the supplies of the maoists. The naxals can track the movements of our forces, make our own citizens rise against us, while we are still fighting over their exact numerical strenghth! The void Indian State left in those forests has now become a black hole that’s threatening the very concept of our nationhood. Maybe the government is clueless about their elaborate weapons procurement procedure,their movements and their tactics. Maybe they are colluding with the maoists. In both cases, the losers are-“WE THE PEOLPLE…”.
Act now, voice yourself.
The writer is a correspondent of Youth Ki Awaaz.