The Maoist menace has been on the increase not only in West Bengal but also in other parts of the country. They indulge in jail-breaks, destruction of railway lines, siege of police stations and other methods. For instance, in a daring attack in 2004, over 100 Maoists attacked Koraput district headquarters in Orissa and looted 200 sophisticated guns and other weapons. They also looted the district armoury, five police stations, Koraput jail and the SP's office. In 2005 the Maoists attempted a daring jailbreak in Jehanabad in Bihar and freed some of its leaders and looted weapons. In 2007, they attacked the Dantewada jail and freed 303 prisoners including 100 naxalites. The Maoists have a pan-Indian presence and want to capture political power though armed struggle. Their guerrillas operate under a single unified command.

The question is: will a mere ban on the organisation help? There are 35 other organisations like the LTTE, Al Qaeda and Laskhar-e-Toeba which are operating in the country despite the ban. CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat may be right when he says that political and administrative steps are needed to check the Maoist insurgency in West Bengal and elsewhere. These banned organisations may go underground for a while, pretend to be martyrs and come back after regrouping.

Why did Lalgarh happen? It is a shameful episode which has signalled a backlash not just against the West Bengal government but also against a state that had chosen to ignore economic development and social justice. But should not Karat also answer as to who is responsible for the sorry situation. The left front government has ruled the state for three decades. Karat and his party should introspect on the reasons for the poor state of affairs. The Maoists have entrenched themselves in Lalgarh. The Buddhadeb government looked on without doing anything. The inaction of the Centre and the state has emboldened the Maoists to declare Lalgarh as a liberated zone. It was only the recent attacks on government facilities in the state which compelled the Central Government to step in. First, the Home Ministry banned the outfit first, the West Bengal government followed suit. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya defied the party line that a ban will not help, in heeding the Centre's advice to ban the Maoists.

The naxalite movement could be traced back to a village called Naxalbari in West Bengal in 1967. Soon the movement spread far and wide. A nightmare is beginning to unfold now that armed Naxalites have a presence in 170 districts in 15 states. One third of the forest area is under their control and so are several states making a red corridor from Bihar to West Bengal, Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

In September 2004, two of India's leading armed movements, the Maoist Communist Centre and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), popularly called the People's War Group, merged to form the Communist Party of India (Maoist). The Maoists are running a parallel government, levying taxes, holding “kangaroo” courts and determining educational and moral behaviour.

The Maoists are partly political, partly insurgent and partly terrorists. For their purpose they recruit local boys to fight their battle and declare the areas under their control as liberated zones. This is what happened in Lalgarh. What started as a protest movement by the local tribals against police excesses gradually became a violent political movement led by the Maoists. The State government dithered to contain the Maoists in view of the Lok Sabha polls.

Lalgarh cannot be viewed in isolation. There have been many debates in Parliament and state legislatures and the UPA government had been talking about evolving a special strategy. However, the increasing incidents of violence show that more needs to be done. There should be a proper naxal policy instead of saying it is state subject. As the naxalites are operating more from the rural and forest areas with the help of the locals, the strategy should include better communication facilities in these areas. It should also ensure better police training, more modern equipment for the police, improve the socio-economic conditions in the rural areas, create more job opportunities for the rural youth to prevent them from joining the Maoists. And above all, the Government should create confidence among the people that it will protect their lives.

Interestingly, the party and the Government are divided on the ban. The .Buddhadeb government has the upper hand as of now. The CPI-M is blaming the Trinamool Congress for its links with the Maoists while party chief Mamata Banerjee pleads ignorance of the Centre's decision on ban. The Congress and the BJP are in favour of the ban.

Will the ban improve the situation in the red corridor? The Maoists and their sister organizations have now been banned. In some states, its members cannot hold meetings, rallies and organise bandhs. Their bank accounts have been frozen and no warrant is required to arrest a Maoist. What is happening in states like Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh despite the ban should be an eye-opener for the government. Political parties also have a responsibility not to play politics in matters like dealing with the Maoists. (IPA Service)