Shoma Chaudhury of Tehelka wrote a brilliant cover story on the Central Government’s planned offensive, Operation Green Hunt, against the Naxalites. She questioned the government’s wisdom in waging war against our own people. Shoma is certain of the operation’s failure for some very valid reasons she has cited in the article.
You might agree with her fully, partly or not at all. You might say she has let off the Naxalites by suggesting that most of them are poor tribals driven to arms by deprivation. That might be a very unpopular place to be in especially when Naxals are showing new signs of Talibanisation with such as chilling new methods as decapitating abducted policemen.
Home Minister P  Chidambaram”s speech part reproduced by the Indian Express today might answer some of the questions that Shoma raises but one basic question still remains:  Why are we letting the government launch a risky operation without asking enough questions of its strategy post “reclaiming” of the territories?
Is the mainstream media too eager to back the government? Are we jumping into this without the wisdom of adequate debate?
Let’s debate that.
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B V Rao
Administrator