Dialogue needed

Sir, - Successive Governments both at the Centre and in the States have botched up the naxalite problem by crude handling. Naxalites are, like other citizens, human beings and could be made amenable to reason if only a different down-to-earth human approach has been adopted. It is seldom a law and order problem. Pinning their faith in Mao's cryptic dictum, ``power flows from the barrel of the gun,'' the naxalites are firebrand extremists utterly frustrated with the myriad social injustices - unrelieved deprivation of countless millions, a chronic and cynical contempt and contumelious nonchalance to the sufferings of the socially lower placed whose miseries are piling up every day and a ruthless feudalism and exploitative landlordism still prevailing in remote pockets of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

The present electoral system has disillusioned many an educated person as again and again the very same corrupt and vicious elements are coming to power.

The dialogue mode of inviting the Dalam leaders and engaging them in peaceful parleys, implementing their demands and involving them in processes of governance may be tried as Acharya Vinoba Bhave did with Chambal dacoits.

R. Sadagopan,

Chennai

Sir, - Time and again, you have been emphasing the point that the naxalite menace should not be handled in isolation as a mere law and order problem and instead the larger issues of social inequalities, economic deprivation, corruption, unemployment, caste and communal conflicts should be addressed. These maladies bedevilling the lower strata of society are yet to be corrected. It should nevertheless be realised that the naxal problem is more an off-shoot of the deep frustration and discontent among the unemployed youth than due to their ideological fixation.

Be that as it may, the Andhra Pradesh Government should galvanise the police and intelligence machinery to meet the growing threat of terrorists in a more effective manner. Further, there is an imperative need to inculcate security consciousness among the VIPs, who could be prevailed upon to undergo the rigmarole of prescribed security drill for their own safety.

P. K. Varadarajan,

Chennai

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