India: Misdiagnosis from Dr Singh
Manmohan Singh has the image of being a moderate man, not prone to exaggeration or extreme reaction. Therefore, if such a person, perhaps in desperation, refers to how there is a Naxalite-related incident of violence every day, and moreover characterises the Naxalites as the most serious threat to India's security – well, clearly this has a certain weight. On the one hand, the prime minister is right, and a quick scan of the newspapers reveals as much. In Giridih, in Jharkhand, a former chief minister's son is killed; in Dantewada, in Chhattisgarh, 300 inmates escape in a daring jailbreak; in West Midnapore and Purulia, in West Bengal, Maoists expand their strongholds; in Theni, in Tamil Nadu, there are fierce clashes between Naxalites and police.
On the other hand, recognising the intensity of the rebellion is not enough. Prime Minister Singh appears to lose his reasonable moorings when it comes to understanding the nature of the Naxalite problem – and, more importantly, when it comes time to provide prescriptions. He termed the Naxalites a "virus", but such an unhelpful description clearly does not take into account the fact that this is largely a poor people's movement, and as such requires a multi-pronged approach. This type of rhetoric leads naturally to the next step in the public mindset, wherein the establishment wants to 'kill the virus'. Dr Singh has clearly misdiagnosed the problem, and is listening to his Internal Security advisers more than he should. His rhetoric is of the kind that can only push a vicious cycle of confrontation and repression.