There is something superficial to the manner in which the NDA government seeks to oversimplify complex problems, and proffer “oneliners” or catchy terminology as solutions. The latest in that series of limited successes is the home minister projecting “SAMADHAN” as the panacea to the Left Wing Extremism that has taken firm hold across a vast swathe of Central India in what has come to be known as the “Red Zone”. At a recent meeting of chief ministers, Mr Rajnath Singh sought to highlight the new game-plan as “S” for smart leadership, “A” for aggressive strategy, “M” for motivation and training, “A” for actionable intelligence, “D” for dashboard-based key performance indicators and key result areas, “H” for harnessing technology, “A” for action plan for each theatre, and “N” for no-access to financing. True that the several strands sought to be thus interwoven would add up to a comprehensive approach ~ but in reality it amounted to precious little since the home minister was “economical” when fleshing-out the way in which each prong of the policy formula was going to be implemented.

As an academic exercise, Mr Rajnath Singh’s presentation might be regarded as “clever”, but slim are the chances that it will reverse the trend of the recent debacles in Sukma ~ which had prompted the high-level meeting. Whether the police officials who will be required to translate the home minister's words into action on the ground fully comprehended what he had in mind will only be known if, and when, the security agencies gain the upper hand in the difficult, hostile, jungle environment.

Not that all the chief ministers present lapped up the verbal banquet: Mr Nitish Kumar of Bihar charged the Central government with shirking its duty and passing the buck by citing the Constitutional demarcation that has law and order on the states’ list. Others, including some from the BJP, demanded greater financial backing from the Centre for anti-Maoist operations, a few called for the employment of air power. And, contrary to Raisina Hill’s “56-inch chest” approach, more than a couple favoured a revival of the previous government’s Integrated Action Plan. Perhaps a few rungs down the ladder, the senior police officials present were able to work out ways of better local coordination and exchange tactical feedback, but overall the meeting yielded little.

The short point being that when the Centre and the states have differing perceptions on where the solution lies, there can hardly be a unified attempt to pressure the insurgents to shun violence. Before trying to get the states to jointly flex their muscle North Block needs to do much homework: a meeting called by the union home minister must rise above mere jaw-jaw and serve as more than a photo-op. Else “Samadhan” will remain one more hollow slogan.