Meet the Doctrinal Challenge

Context: Battle against Maoists must have greater clarity, especially in recognising the ideological underpinnings of the insurgency.

Recent rise in the Moist-insurgency:

• In May 2013, Maoists killed 25 senior leaders of the Congress, including V C Shukla, Mahendra Karma and Nand Kumar Patel, in Chhattisgarh’s Darbha Valley.
• In April 2017, the Maoists attacked and killed 25 CRPF personnel in the Sukma district.
• In March 2020, they killed 17 personnel of the Chhattisgarh police in Elmagunda forest in the Sukma district.

Understanding the roots and challenges of Maoist-insurgency:

• Rooted in political doctrine: Guerrilla warfare, according to Mao, has not just a military objective but a political one, too: To gradually liberate regions from government control and establish people’s governments in those “liberated zones”.
  • In the absence of a doctrinal approach, governments resort to romantic heroism, which may give temporary results but the challenges remain and recur.
• The seven important elements: The Maoist strategy depends on seven important elements:
  • Arousing and organising people; Achieving internal political unity; Establishing bases; Equipping forces; Building national strength; Destroying the enemy’s national strength; Regaining lost territories.
• Ingredients of guerrilla warfare: The people, army and territory are the three main ingredients of the Maoist guerrilla warfare strategy.
  • People are the three main ingredients of the Maoist guerrilla warfare strategy; Mao insisted that the revolution should begin from areas that are the most remote from governments.
  • The recent visuals of the release of abducted CRPF jawan, in which hundreds of locals can be seen, demonstrate the popular support that Maoists enjoy.

Way forward: The repeated failures of our security forces on the Maoist front do not indicate a lack of government power. They demonstrate;

• Meticulous planning on the three fronts –
  • For the people: A hybrid approach is needed, involving civic organisations that can reach out and influence the misguided people, together with developmental and counterinsurgency activity by the government.
  • Demilitarising Maoists: This has succeeded in Nepal, Bihar, and elsewhere and requires deeper engagement with the people in Maoist areas. 
    • Need of trained leaders: Leaders must be well-educated in revolutionary technique, self-confident, able to establish severe discipline, and to cope with counterpropaganda.
  • Area domination: The Maoist leadership can be targeted not by ill-planned daredevilry but by well-planned area domination.
    • E.g. Andhra Pradesh has succeeded in decimating Maoism through area domination.