Dealing With Agitational Terrorism

In last few months there has been a spurt of violent activities in the country and Maharashtra. The worst sufferers are common men, women, children who are accidently caught into the spiral of violence. Citizens who have suffered most are women, senior citizens, school children, citizens going out to earn their daily livelihood, travelling public. Public property worth hundreds of crores have been burnt or damaged by the agitators. 

The agitators have burnt buses, private vehicles, damaged private property. This causes miseries all law-abiding citizens & slows down local economy.

 

Violence took place in Maharashtra during Citizenship Amendment Act, National population Register and National Register of Citizens, Bhima Koregaon incidence, Aurangabad riots, during Milk agitation, by various farmer groups demanding increase in prices and now the Maratha reservation. Then there was Patidar agitation, Patel agitation & many more.

It is not intended to go into the reasons or righteousness of agitations.

This violence can be termed as “agitational” terrorism. Mob leadership leads not to jail but political prominence and ascendance. Violence becomes a form of political clout, not of crime. This naturally encourages further criminal violence.

Unfortunately the street violence is only going to increase in the days to come. The government therefore has to gear up security forces, intelligence agencies to forecast where this violence will take place next and stop it before it leads to violence.

Media,Vote Bank Politics Inciting Violence

Who is responsible for all this violence? Is it not the responsibility of all the political parties, the social, print and the electronic media to respond to such agitations in a responsible manner and not compete with each other for vote bank politics inciting further violence?. All political parties and all forms of media are responsible for aiding and abetting this violence. Most media houses give ball by ball commentary of violent activities of protestors, thereby only increasing the violence.This has to stop.

Tackling Agitational Terrorism

Isn't it the duty of government to protect its common citizens. Should the agitating NGOs/organizations not be forced to make up the damage which their volunteers have caused to the public property? All economic activity comes to a halt, causing losses of crores of rupees to livelihoods and production. Most important issue is how do you tackle this kind of agitational terrorism and protect common citizens. Some methods are given below:-

· The most important aspect is the political will power to tackle violent mobs. Because of vote bank politics no political party wants to tell the truth and they keep on supporting unreasonable demands of organizations carrying out agitational terrorism.

· While it is every bodies right to agitate for his demands, but the Lakshman Rekha is crossed when agitatators start burning public/private properties. Then they must be stopped and law and order restored.

· The mob has numbers, numbers matter in violent situations.On many occasions police get out numbered .Therefore the need of the hour is to increase the strength of police strength on the spot of violence.

· The police strength can be increased immediately by enlisting retired policemen who have performed their duties in exemplary fashion while in service. It is estimated that more than three lakh retired policeman are residing in Maharashtra. Why can't we enrol about 50 to 60000 competent, still fit policemen for adding to the police strength during the time of crisis?

· The police strength can be further increased by enrolling home guards during the time of crisis. Office/static duties performed by the police men should be given to them and trained policeman should be utilised for tackling violent mobs.

· If adequate suitable retired police are no available then use must be made of suitable retired army personnel.

· Large number of policemen have gained practical experience of tackling violent mobs. Full use must be made of their rich experience.

· Most important is gaining intelligence about such violent activities and organizations. If you are fore warned then you are fore armed and are in a position to stop violence. Presently the strength of Police Intelligence seems to be inadequate.

· Intelligence operators strength should be increased manifold by enrolling retired policeman who have performed the duties of Intelligence collection while in service.

· In Jammu and Kashmir there is an intelligent organisation called as the multi-intelligence centre. All intelligence agencies such as Intelligence Bureau R&AW, Army intelligence Navy, Coast Guard intelligence, revenue customs exercise Income Tax Intelligence meet regularly to fore cast what can go wrong. The National Technical Research Organisation is well equipped to collect technical intelligence (monitoring mobile communications etc).

· Let us activate the multi-agency centre in Maharashtra. The meeting should be shared by the Chief Minister/ the home minister / DGP police and must meet at least once in 15 days to share Intelligence and help security forces for carrying out correct deployment and be ready to meet the violent mobs .

· It is also important to prosecute all agitators who have damaged government and public property. Again the police strength always falls short because number of Investigation teams that are available to investigate such crime is always short. It is recommended that suitably qualified investigating officers from the retired police community must be enrolled to strengthen the existing investigating setup thus increasing the efficiency of the investigating organisation.

· Technical intelligence is very important to keep a watch over violent organisations. It is easy to monitor communication by violent mobs with their leaders, to stop violence.

· Lot of new nonlethal riot control equipment is available. The police must be equipped with this kind of riot control equipment & riot gears .This will increase the efficiency of the police to deal with violent mobs.

· Quick judicial trials of violent mobs caught by the police punished in the Fast Track courts will instil the fear of law among the rioters.

· Code of conduct is required to be evolved especially for TV & social media. Media must stop unnecessary publicity to the violent mobs. Anybody fuelling violence on the social media must be punished .All social media platforms should be monitored and action taken against those spreading hate. We must utilise modern technology to stop spreading of wrong, fake news on the social media.

Mahatma Gandhi led a non-violent agitation in 1922 that degenerated into violence at Chauri Chaura, where a mob burned a police station. Gandhiji immediately took responsibility, called off the agitation, and asked the judge in his case to impose a severe penalty on him for committing a “Himalayan blunder” in believing the agitation would be peaceful.

Will the leaders of various agitations, for sundry vote banks, ever take responsibility for violence as Gandhiji did? Will they call off their agitations if these turn violent? Will they ask for jail sentences, for themselves or their followers?