NEW DELHI, 21 December 2007 — Uneven economic growth is posing a serious security threat to India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said yesterday, calling for an escalation in efforts to counter insurgencies.
He told a meeting of state chief ministers that a large proportion of recruits for militant groups came from regions untouched by India’s scorching growth.
Describing development and internal security as “two sides of the same coin,” the prime minister pointed out, “Often, the lack of development and the lack of any prospects for improving one’s lot provide a fertile ground for extremist ideologies to flourish.
“I notice that in many cases, internal security problems arise out of the uneven development and we also need to address this issue if we are to make any long-term headway in combating extremist ideologies and extremist elements,” he said. Manmohan focused on the failure to deliver social justice and development to India’s poorest regions, saying the neglect had alienated people and helped open up economic, social and religious divides. “These divides and disparities lead to disaffection, large-scale migration and discord.”
Speaking about extremism, Manmohan pointed to the recent incident of jailbreak in Chhattisgarh. “Not a day passes without an incident of left-wing extremism taking place somewhere or the other,” he said.
Over the last few years, the Maoists have targeted important economic facilities and killed important political leaders, he said. “We need to cripple Naxalite (Maoist) forces with all the means at our command,” he said, and asked the states to set up “specialized and dedicated” forces to combat extremism.
Manmoham called for better policing and said states needed to do a better job of intelligence gathering and coordinating security operations, as well as beefing up and modernizing their police forces.
“This requires greater investment in our police forces. This is not wasteful investment. This is an investment in our future,” said the economist-turned-politician who has in the past also stressed the need for inclusive growth.
A four-decade Maoist rebellion has grown because of social inequality and spread to more than a dozen states, an insurgency that Manmohan has described as the single biggest security challenge.
Referring to terror attacks in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Rajasthan, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, Manmohan said: “We need to improve our surveillance and preventive systems to reduce the probability of terror attacks.” On issue of investigation and prosecution of cases of terror having interstate or international linkages, he said: “The suggestion is to set up a Consultative Mechanism to decide on a case-to-case basis whether investigation needs to be done by a designated agency.”
