THE Rammohan report on the Dantewada massacre of the Central Reserve Police Force personnel is said to have stated that the ' lack of coordination between the CRPF and the Chhatisgarh police' was the primary reason for the tragedy. Heads are bound to roll but the buck shouldn't stop there. Their failure is only reflective of the lack of coordination between the Central and the state governments, and an absence of strategic thinking on the part of both.
Paramilitary forces, according to the Home Minister, have been sent to assist the state in anti- naxal operations to regain control of the area. On that fateful day, 81 CRPF personnel were assisting one Chhatisgarh Police constable to clear the area. So much for centrestate coordination. Actually, the very deployment of the CRPF is a case in point.
Far from being a professional counter- insurgency insurgency force, CRPF is a crowd and riot- control force. Its personnel lack the training and mental preparation for countering the naxals.
The main reason for the deployment of the CRPF is that it doesn't disturb the delicate balance of centre- state relations.
The priorities therefore are political not strategic. If the naxals are to be tackled effectively, then both the Centre and the state government need to think strategically. Then they can, perhaps, learn to cooperate better on the ground.
