THE latest Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh claiming lives of as many as 22 jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) offers a fresh reason for the Government -- and the nation -- to wage an all-out internal war on Left Wing Extremism (LWE) and crush the Maoist uprising that is so openly aimed at overthrowing the lawfully elected Government with full constitutional sanction to carry out its work as per the moral, ethical and historical tenets that have guided the Indian thought and action through ages. It is time the whole nation -- well beyond ideological divides -- came together to hit back with lethal force and finish Maoism in a decisive manner. ‘The Hitavada’ has often asked for this and repeats the insistence this time as well. We believe that when extremists indulge in violence against both, the common people and the State, there is every moral, legal and constitutional justification for an all-out action of waging a war to crush the dangerous and anti-national activity.

 

If such a step is taken, the whole of India will stand up and stand by the Government. This is not just a matter of our belief but also a matter of an urgent national need. Of course, we have every reason to believe that Union Home Minister Mr. Amit Shah will abide by his own commitment of giving a “befitting reply at appropriate time” to the Naxals who perpetrated this latest act of violence.

 

The Central Government led by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi has faced such situations quite a few times in the past seven years and has never missed the chance of hitting back with lethal force. On this front, the Modi-Government has fulfilled its own promise to the nation. Now also, we expect a similar response to this latest Naxal attack. One of the biggest misfortunes of the country is the ideological cleavage the society has to put up with. There are quite many elements in the larger Indian society and its political community supporting the Leftist violence and have often taken the help of the Maoists to ride to power in some States. With this kind of political backing -- direct or indirect -- any plan of a no-nonsense action against Left Wing Extremists is often loaded down with unfortunate risks of pre-emption. The security forces have suffered such fates on quite a few occasions particularly against Naxalites in the past quarter of a century in several States afflicted by Left Wing Extremism. It is time for the nation to put behind all those unhappy memories of failed missions against Naxalites and to come together under a fresh, no-nonsense and open initiative to teach the extremists a lesson for life. Chhattisgarh is one of the few States that suffered the worst in Naxalite violence.

 

Not only has it witnessed Naxalite violence against the security forces and Government systems, but also seen the massacre of as many as 27 leaders of the Congress party in Jeeram Ghati in a matter of just under one hour. All those unhappy memories now surge up in the mind as one looks at the details of this latest Naxal attack. Notwithstanding all this, we must not miss taking the note of a lot of effort out together by the Central as well as State Governments to combat Maoist violence. We agree that in the past few years, Left Wing Extremism has been pushed back to a great extent, thanks to the concerted effort.

 

Yet, we cannot also miss the reality that a complete success against Maoism has eluded the nation because of the confused ideological response of the political and liberal-intellectual lobbies to this challenge. Time has now come, however, to put to end all such differences and put together a tough fight for the common cause. ‘The Hitavada’ has often insisted that India must “wage a war” against Maoism. Nobody should try to brand this as war-mongering or trigger-happiness. We ask for an all-out war against Maoism because we have seen how dangerous the Left Wing Extremist movement can become if allowed to grow unchecked. That is why we insist that the nation does needs a direct action against Maoism so that the patently anti-national activity is put to sleep once and for all.