HOW SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL ?

The Telangana controversy has added a fresh dimension to the problems of Insurgency infested India. Including the Maoist insurgency, more or less, half of India is in the grip of Insurgency. Now, demand for smaller states (division of existing states) seems to be emanating from several other corners of the country. Unless, the issue is tackled firmly and quickly, there is the real possibility of the movement for demand of smaller states taking on much bigger proportions and inevitably be followed by armed struggle.

Had the Maoist Insurgency been nipped in the bud, while it was still in its fledgling state, we would not have had to see state apparatus being not only challenged but also being held to ransom at will by Naxalites on numerous occasions in the past year alone. Now this issue with the Government, needs to be put to rest once and for all before the very notion of taking up arms to get their demands met even crops up.

The Armed Forces, largely the Indian Army, along with the Para military forces, have been embroiled in Counter Insurgency operations in the North Eastern states for more than five decades and in J&K for more than two decades. And still there is no end in sight. The Army has so far been kept away from Maoist Insurgency, but unless things take a drastic turn for the better(which seems unlikely) that situation is set to change. It is probably only a matter of time.

On the issue of Telangana, the Union Government is walking on thin ice. If they are not careful, the situation may just get so out of hand, that military intervention in most if not all states of the country would eventually become inevitable. What a catastrophe, that could be, I shudder even to think.................Civil war in the country.

In an earlier piece on this blog, I had delved into the fallacy of our slogan "Unity in Diversity". Here we have a situation where there is no unity even in small states, leave alone the country.