For an effective counter-insurgency strategy

Of the three internal conflicts rocking India, the one involving Left Wing Extremism (LWE) tops the other two — witnessed in Kashmir and the North-Eastern region — in terms of the number of lives lost and the geographical spread.

The rapid spread of the LWE in central India and the ever increasing military capabilities of the members of the People's Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA) — the fighting force of the CPI (Maoist) — have forced security analysts to recognise the need for reassessing the capabilities of the security forces drafted for counter-insurgency operations.

The state's counter-strategy has predominantly been militaristic, as evidenced by the heavy deployment of security personnel for the purpose. The causes of Maoist insurgency, which require to be tackled by galvanising civil administration, received only cursory attention.

Full review here Hindu