It is difficult to justify President's rule, the suspension of democracy and the abrogation of popular Government, however distorted, in a State. Yet, if the removal of Mr Shibu Soren's largely discredited Government in Jharkhand can ensure the Union Home Ministry, now in charge of the State's administration, is able to take on the Maoist challenge determinedly and without obstacles being raised by local politicians, then it may be worth it. The first stage of India's Maoist war is taking place in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha. While the Chhattisgarh Government and the Union Home Ministry are working in coordination, and side-stepping both political differences and bureaucratic confusion, the other State Governments have not been half as responsive. That it took so long to destroy the Maoist camp in the Porahat forest area of West Singhbhum is only an indication of the delay in Jharkhand. From generators and solar panels to 300 kg of dried fish, from a munitions factory to elaborate communication systems, this camp was representative of the organised insurgency that Maoism is. After going through the list of what has been recovered in Porahat, and after hearing of the 2,000 rounds fired and grenades thrown by the Maoists during 72 hours of intense, non-stop fighting, only the horribly naïve will believe these are a 'bunch of boys' fighting for tribal rights in the jungles. The combined force of the Jharkhand Police and paramilitary units such as the Central Reserve Police Force had to fight inch for inch before defeating the terror militia and liberating Porahat and that part of West Singhbhum from Red terror. It is to be hoped this will be first of many rapid successes and the security forces will use the respite of President's rule and the break from Jharkhand's irresponsible politics as demonstrated by Mr Soren's reluctance to take on the insurgents — which the Maoists deftly exploit, by playing off one group against the other or resorting to crude threats and attacks on those politicians who stand up to them. Before Jharkhand goes back to its voters and seeks a new mandate, which will probably happen in the coming winter, the Union Government needs to free it of the noxious influence and fear of Maoist guerrillas. Only then are genuine democracy and a real, honest attempt at economic development possible.
While the Maoists are being seriously combated in Chhattisgarh and now Jharkhand, and pockets of Odisha, the real problem remains the original homeland of Maoists' bloodlust: West Bengal. A State without a Government — the CPI(M) and its authority have withered away in the rural vastness — West Bengal has now become a sanctuary for Maoist hordes escaping from neighbouring States, particularly Jharkhand. It is also increasingly the locale for blockbuster attacks simply because these are far easier to execute in a State where the Union Government has not rolled in its war machine and where the State police and political administration are compromised, comatose and unsure whether they should be battling the Red terrorists or embracing them. If the heartening progress in Jharkhand continues, then it is very likely that West Bengal will become the last bastion of the Maoists — the State to which the defeated armies of desperate, ideologically perverted insurgents will migrate for the final, defining battle. That is, of course, a matter for the future. For the moment, India needs to press on and win back all of Jharkhand.
