Abbreviations & Index at the end of the book
CONTENTS
H
GET YOUR COPY TO READ IN COMPLETE
www.spsmilitaryyearbook.com
SP’s Military Yearbook | 2014-2015 | 42nd Issue | 329
TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS
“When the security forces do not exercise Maoists start targeting the leadership at Lt General (Retd) P.C. Katoch the necessary care and caution to avoid the Centre and the state capitals. collateral deaths of innocent civilians, Ground Reality counter-insurgency operations themselves, instead of putting down When the Congress motorcade of some 20 vehicles slid into the the insurgency, become a root cause of more insurgency”. Maoists trap in the Jagdalpur forest on May 25, 2013, it shattered the —B. Raman, former Additional Secretary, illusion of the insurgents being under pressure and on the run because Cabinet Secretariat of some recent targeting of Maoist leaders by security forces. As always, tactical pauses by insurgents get misconstrued and in such periods eavy security forces deployment dur- insurgents recoup, build capacity and have all the time to strike again ing the first phase of Chhattisgarh elections at the time and place of their choosing. The site chosen by the Maoists on November 11 saw through the voting suc- for this ambush was along a curving stretch of road with dominating cessfully, despite several disruptions created heights providing long distance observation and concealed firing posiby the Maoists at Dantewada, Kanker, Sukam tions: the vehicles were moving bumper to bumper and the Maoists and Durgapur, which resulted in killing of one blew up the second lead vehicle using an IED, bringing the motorcade Central Reserved Police Force (CRPF) constable, injuring another to an abrupt halt. What followed was intense automatic fire that evenwhile recovering a bomb, use of improvised explosive devices tually gunned down 17 Congressmen and 10 policemen. Another 36 (IEDs) and looting of electronic voting machines (EVMs). However, were injured. The ambush was sprung by some 200 Maoists, reportbecause of the forthcoming general elections, the political hierar- edly of age group 18-25, many of them women. Senior Congressman chy is apparently playing down incidents that would be otherwise V.C. Shukla was injured in the attack and later died at a private hosconsidered very serious, be that the cross border raids, beheadings, pital in Gurgaon. The Maoists were methodical, composed and cold ceasefire violations and terrorist attacks by Pakistan or intrusions blooded, which is not surprising with their core group having been by China deep inside our territory. When serious external issues are trained by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the manner dealt with in a lackadaisical fashion, little resolute response can be in which they have booby-trapped those killed in the past including at expected to the Maoist insurgency. The only small ray of hope has Latehar. The statement by one of the injured who was given a lifesavbeen the recent admission by the Home Minister that the Maoists do ing injection and was bandaged by a woman Maoist after he faked have the potential to strike effectively in at least four states—a depar- being a doctor himself and cried for help, shows that Maoists are well ture from his predecessor who had stated in 2010, “The government organised to look after their own casualties. The hard fact is that you is confident that the problem of left-wing extremism (LWE) will be cannot leave everything to chance in insurgency-affected areas despite overcome in next three years.” Ironically, India stirs only when cri- tactical pauses in hostilities. We don’t seem to have learnt anything sis occurs. Post kidnapping and/or killing ground level politicians from heavy casualties suffered in the past by even foot columns of the and bureaucrats, Maoists have struck a convoy of Congressmen Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) moving bunched up along roads but perhaps India will consider it as an ‘extreme crisis’ only after and tracks in areas of Dantewada, Garhchiroli, Bhadrakali and Latehar.
INDIAN DEFENCE
As the Maoist juggernaut gathers steam, there is still time for the Indian state to get its act together. We need to ensure that we should not be forced to fight a two-and-a-half-front war, or worse still permit the internal halffront upgraded to a third ‘full-front’. Resolving the Maoist insurgency should be our top priority.
ASIAN WHO’S WHO
Bridging the Persistent Fault Line
REGIONAL BALANCE
The Maoist Menace in India
CONCEPTS & PERSPECTIVES
WEAPONS EQUIPMENT VEHICLES
4