Unified Command: The New Face of Militarization in Chattisgarh

In spite of the widespread resentment in Jammu and Kashmir and Assam against it, the example of Unified Command is now being replicated in Chhattisgarh.

The Hindu reports:

"A Unified Command comprising officials of the Centre and the State governments will tackle the naxalite menace in Chhattisgarh, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil announced on Thursday night. It was decided to have a Unified Command, as in Jammu and Kashmir and Assam, led by the Chief Minister, to have a better coordination between State and Central forces to deal with the menace, Mr. Patil told reporters at the Raj Bhawan after a meeting on the problem.

To avoid a situation of the State forces working under Central forces or vice versa, it was decided to put the command under the Chief Minister, he said. "

Setting up of a yet another Unified Command even after its strong condemnation by Justice Saikia Commission in Assam betray the scarce concern of the government for rule of law and primacy of civil administration over the armed forces.

It must be noted that Justice K.N. Saikia Commission, which probed the secret killings that rocked Assam between 1998 and 2001, had been very critical of the role of the Unified Command and the Indian armed forces in the killings. It had stated:

“The Army was ubiquitous…By Army, we mean the armed forces of the Union deployed in Assam in aid of civil power.” The report also said there was “general resentment” against the Unified Command Structure/Chief Minister and recommended that the Government must first keep in “abeyance and then gradually dismantle” the Unified Command structure of the Army, the Assam Police and the Central paramilitary forces as an immediate measure to prevent recurrence of such killings.”