There has been a surge in Maoist-related violence in several parts of the country. In Karnataka, suspected Maoists set a bus on fire in Shimoga district a fortnight ago. Then in Chikmagalur district, police gunned down one alleged Maoist and four sympathisers in an “encounter”. In Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district, Maoists ambushed police personnel and shot dead 25 of them. They also took away a large amount of arms and ammunition. Two days ago, they blew up a TV transmission centre in Andhra Pradesh. The violence and counter-violence is worrying as it is not localised. The Maoist fire has spread and is raging across several states in India.
The ambush in Dantewada was an elaborately planned operation and it is believed that some Nepalese Maoists participated in the attack. Clearly, the many meetings with states affected by the problem that the Centre has convened from time to time and the various action plans drawn up have failed. Under pressure in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, Maoists are slipping across to Andhra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The government has been talking about improving co-ordination between states affected by the Maoist problem. The spreading violence indicates that this is not happening. Combing operations in one state should be backed by heightened alert in neighbouring states.
The violence over the past fortnight provides pointers to why India’s strategy to tackle Maoism is failing. Police operations lack the support of the people. This is not surprising given the way these operations are carried out.  The “encounter” between “armed Maoists” and police in Chikmagalur, for instance, is believed to have been a raid carried out by the police. Locals insist that the so-called Maoists shot dead were in fact innocent villagers. The entire village is now protesting the police action. When innocent people are killed or encounters staged, local support for the police evaporates. Not only do people then join the rebel ranks but also, their faith in state institutions is eroded. They stop providing police with information on movement of Maoists or their plans. If police were unable to prevent the attack on the bus in Shimoga or that on the TV transmission centre, it is because they did not have actionable intelligence. They have only themselves to blame for this. Only by winning the locals over to its side – and sincerely addressing the issues affecting the people – can the government hope to solve the problem.