Maoist insurgency and the apathy of the government

Yesterday some Maoists had taken a Delhi-bound train hostage. The full train!! They took only the drivers as hostages and demanded that one of their top leaders be released. However, as it turns out, they let go the drivers unhurt after sometime.

Going by the current policy that the UPA has been advocating that in case of a hostage situation, they will not meet the demands of the terrorists/maoists etc., the future for a lot of citizens look bleak. UPA criticized what the Vajpayye govt did at Kandahar. Released dreaded criminals in lieu of the passengers. My point here is, if you have a policy like that, what are you doing about the safety of your citizens? You will not release terrorists or meet the demands of their captors, even if they kill people. And you have done absolutely nothing to do to protect those citizens. So basically the value of the citizen's life is zero in the eyes of the government. No, I am not advocating that prisoners should be let free or their inane demands be met. However, it is the responsibility of the state to look after its citizens. To put together a machinery so that nothing untowardly happens. If the state fails so miserably, who does the citizen go to?

That is precisely the reason why we have these 'goondas' becoming so powerful. They settle disputes which the state takes ages to. Thats why we have these tribals turning into foot soldiers/maoists because they had no taste of the development that the country is experiencing elsewhere. Its very easy to get people to get on the wrong side of the law when they are gullible. I do not believe that it is so difficult to weed out these maoists. Given our military strength, and intelligence support, they are a very small problem. But I do not see an approach from the government that would directly address this problem and aim to solve it, whatever decisions need to be taken notwithstanding. And if this problem lurks long, I see that more such groups will crop up. So its time the government takes a firm decision and makes a plan as to how they plan to end this maoist menace. Otherwise, who knows, next time you or I are traveling, we are the hostages!