Warangal’s dirty war

From all accounts, it was a case of mistaken identity. The extremists targeted the bus, suspecting the occupants to be policemen. The idea, quite obviously, was to avenge an encounter that had occurred two days earlier, in which five prominent Naxal activists were killed. This only goes to show the level of brutality that has come to mark this engagement.

In fact, there have been bizarre incidents of People’s War cadre, acting on false information and killing innocent citizens and later tendering apologies for the violence they perpetrated. The latest incident recalls another horrendous act that took place a decade ago in which 26 passengers in a rail bogie were charred to death, after the Naxalites had torched it.

Then there was another incident in Karimnagar district, when five persons were killed after People’s War men blew up a jeep assuming that policemen were travelling in it. Last year, the Warangal district collector was badly injured when extremists fired at his vehicle believing him to be a Telugu Desam leader. The list is endless and only goes to show how often ordinary citizens have been caught in the crossfire between Naxalites and the police.

Yet, there seems no way out of this mess. While the Naxalites have displayed an uncommon stomach for the ugliest forms of violence, the Naidu government has shown itself to be truly clueless on how to deal with it, blowing hot and cold by turns — endless rounds of police excesses followed by offers of dialogue.

A much publicised peace process went on for over six months only to end with representatives of the People’s War and the state government indulging in mutual recrimination and the familiar spiral of violence and non-violence staging a vigorous return. The relative peace that prevailed in the disturbed areas of the Telangana region as long as the talks were on, provides a clue to how things could be if both camps had played it right.

Unfortunately, they did not. The Naxalites went on to step up the offensive, with the police reacting to it with equal vehemence. Such competitive intransigence benefits nobody. There has to be a genuine anxiety on both sides to evolve a lasting solution through a transparent peace process. If the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government can enter into a dialogue and wind down a long and bloody confrontation, there is no reason why it cannot happen in Andhra Pradesh.