It was supposed to have been a mini conclave: chief ministers of nine states facing the ire of Naxalite groups getting together to discuss methods to put an end to the violence. But if the turnout at the September 21 meeting in Hyderabad convened by the Union Home Ministry was any indication, there were few takers for the idea.

Only Naveen Patnaik of Orissa and Arjun Munda of Jharkhand, besides Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, turned up for the meeting though Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, who chaired the session, had invited the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal too. Instead, they deputed their junior ministers or officers for the meeting. A recent Union Home Ministry document located Naxalite activity in about 125 districts spread across 12 states-Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Uttaranchal are the latest entrants to the original group of nine Naxal-infested states. The left extremists are also said to have targeted 24 other districts even as they continue to organise training camps in the existing units. Until August this year, Naxalite violence had claimed 405 lives in 1,140 incidents across the country. That is a substantial increase from the 348 deaths in 1,138 incidents in the corresponding period last year.

PICTURE SPEAK
ON THE WARPATH: Naxalites at a camp	SHARED CONCERN: Patil (second from left), Patnaik, Reddy, Munda

A notable feature this year has been the phenomenal increase in incidents in other states, even as Andhra Pradesh, until recently the hotbed of Naxalite activity, witnessed a decrease. While the ultras continued to target government and private properties, they were also displaying a growing penchant for attacks on railway property as well as on police personnel and police stations-105 policemen were killed and 245 weapons looted in 151 attacks in 2003 as against the loss of 100 policemen and 147 weapons in 126 attacks in 2002.

With the new Congress Government in Andhra Pradesh engaging the ultras in talks, neighbouring states are understandably nervous about the prospect of extremist violence migrating to their territory. And Bihar, which wants the border with Nepal effectively sealed to prevent Maoists from having a free run there, is worried about the prospect of a merger of the People's War (PW) and the Maoist Communist Centre of India. The Home Ministry has advised the states and intelligence agencies to gear up and stall their merger plans. "Any such realignment is likely to impart a qualitative impetus to Naxalism that has already witnessed perceptible growth in recent years in the form of extensive militarisation, increasing violence and geographical spread," warns a note circulated among the chief ministers.

Consequently, none of the states, except Andhra Pradesh, is eager about engaging the radical leftists in a dialogue. The irony is that Andhra Pradesh is better placed than the other states in understanding and handling left-wing insurgency that began with an attack on a CRPF posse in the north coastal Srikakulam district way back in 1970. Since then Naxalism has grown and several groups were formed, with the PW, led by its late founder Kondapalli Seetharamaiah, emerging as the most dreaded group. No state other than Andhra Pradesh can claim to have gathered and updated intelligence on the Maoists to give the police an edge. Better weaponry and communication networks have been introduced under police modernisation programmes. To top it, the state has an exclusive commando force called the Greyhounds to deal with the militants.

TRUCE TWISTS

WORRIED NEIGHBOURS: While Naxalite activity decreased in Andhra, it increased phenomenally in other states this year. Reddy's observation that the ultras may consolidate themselves has made the other states wary about the peace process. HOME INSTINCTS: Patil feels that the states should adopt a coordinated approach. The Union Home Ministry wants the militants to surrender their arms to keep the dialogue process going. TRACK TWO: The Union Home Ministry will help in launching socio-economic programmes.

Alongside, the state has made investments to improve backward areas and introduced programmes to try and wean away the rural poor from joining the ranks of the militants. Yet, with its rich experience Andhra Pradesh could not contain them. And that has prompted Reddy to give peace a serious try. But other states, none of which can boast of elaborate study and analysis, are unimpressed by the initiative.

Patil feels the time is ripe for a coordinated approach to the issue though it is the privilege of the states to adopt their own appropriate strategy. "The strategies adopted in the past require a fresh look as the intensity of left wing extremism is not the same everywhere. Based on the experience they need to be revalidated or modified. This requires pooling of experiences of the states," said Patil at the meeting. .

However, Reddy's cautious admission about the peace initiative so far is forcing the other states to remain noncommittal. He says while violence has come down substantially ever since the process of reviving talks began, there is concern about the militants consolidating themselves and taking advantage of the state dropping its guard. Delhi is already asking for a shift. The Union Home Ministry is keen that the militants should be asked to come over ground and surrender their arms to sustain the dialogue. Even the state police are opposed to the idea of allowing them to move around in villages with arms during the negotiations phase.

The contentious issue has already delayed the progress of the peace talks with the PW suggesting that it could be discussed during the negotiations itself. But the state Government is in two minds. It is against taking any step that would retard the efforts made in the past two months to bring PW leaders to the negotiating table.

As it awaits the outcome of the Andhra Pradesh experiment, the Union Home Ministry is to offer help in launching socio-economic programmes and equipping the police better by providing additional funds. The Centre has decided to include five affected districts under the Backward Districts Initiative of the Planning Commission to provide an additional Rs 15 crore a year to each for three years from this year. Besides this, a special allocation is being made by the Ministry of Rural Development under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana for the affected states which will utilise it to create the infrastructure for the development of the area. It is for the states to use these funds imaginatively. To keep poor villagers from taking to arms, Andhra Pradesh is already working on a comprehensive project to help farmers in making their unproductive land useful.

In the ultimate analysis, as Reddy points out, taking a holistic view to solve the socio-economic, political and regional inequalities prevailing in the areas in which the Maoists are active is the way out. If that is not done, the problem may defy a viable solution.

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