Left Wing Extremism- Possible SOLUTIONS

               Left Wing Extremism - Possible SOLUTIONS

         Extremism,no doubt, is the greatest threat to the internal security of our nation. In order to achieve our aim of inclusive growth this internal security issue should be addressed effectively.

         The main reason for existence of the extremism is regional imbalances in growth and development and these extremist affected areas,called Red Corridor regions, are least developed. The reason for this scenario of imbalance is not merely becoz of govt but also extremists themselves are responsible for this situation. The extremists are generally against any initiative or step of the govt taken in these regions. This is becoz the extremists leaders may have vested interests in doing so.

        The problem of extremism certainly has solutions and according to me the possible solutions are:

   Firstly, all efforts should be made to disarm the extremists by way of negotiation. And police action(not military action) should be used as a final resort for disarming of extremists who have picked up arms against the State. Disarmament of cadres should be the first step followed by intensifying the pace of development, becoz development and peace go hand-in-hand and there is no precedence between the two. This can be seen by the fact that the majority of the developmental activities by the govt are stopped/halted by the threat or act of violence by the extremists. So disarmament of cadres should be the first step.

    Followed by disarmament, the govt should focus on intensifying the pace of development in these regions through people-centric developmental models and by using local resources and local population. The presence of govt should be made felt to the people by taking small developmental programs like providing housing, drinking water, hospitals, schools etc to reduce the trust deficit in the people.

      Along with taking developmental programs, the govt should explore all possibilities of talks with the extremists and govt should try to convince them that it exists for the welfare of the people.

        Presently the main problem is that the people do not have trust in the govt and extremists organisations are encashing on this trust deficit to fight against govt by using local people. Therefore there is an immediate need from the govt to increase its image in eyes of the people of the red corridor regions. The govt should take steps on its perception management among the people. This can be done by frequent meetings with the local people by politicians and officials to establish a connect between the govt and the people. This can also be done by conducting various awareness campaigns in the region to educate the people about their rights and govt initiatives taken in the region.

      Also there should be better coordination between the central and state govts in addressing this issue. Instead of thinking on short term political gains, the govts at centre and states should work in synergy to solve the problem of extremism.

     Also steps should be taken to strengthen the state police and there should be better coordination between intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies.

     Since the extremists are active near or along two or more state borders, there should be a mechanism for sharing of information between the states to combat extremism. And National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) is a great step in this direction. NCTC should be setup early with necessary modifications and its objective should be converted into action with full faith and spirit.

      With these steps I think the problem of extremism can be solved significantly. 

     Let us hope that the govts, both centre and states, will take the issue of extremism seriously and in the greater national interest work together and achieve the goal of eradicating extremism from the country.