Giving a thumbs up to the defence ministry’s proposal to raise a territorial army battalion consisting of local tribal youth in Maoist-affected areas, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked it not only to take it up on priority basis but also to raise three battalions instead of one.
After being vetted and cleared by both the key ministries, the proposal is expected to come up in in the cabinet committee on security soon, top government sources said.
The defence ministry’s proposal is based on the concept of ‘Home & Hearth battalions’, which it has raised successfully in insurgency-prone border areas of J&K and Northeast. The defence ministry is keen to induct tribal youth in the territorial army because of their ability to attack swiftly and stealthily in jungle warfare.
Upbeat on the move, a senior MHA official said, “It is a great advertisement for the concept of nation building in areas that have remained neglected and have little clue about idea of India as a single entity. It will target the same youth who in the absence of opportunities usually goes to the Maoist fold.”
“We expect a lot of publicity by word of mouth by families of tribal recruits. That is why we have asked them to increase the number of Home and Hearth battalions from one to three, which means employment to over 3,000 tribal youth,” the official said.
In the eventuality of pushing the army into operational mode, these battalions will come very handy as they would be knowing the terrain and local resources. To make the move more potent, the MHA asked defence ministry to target only key areas of worst Maoist-affected districts in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha to recruit tribal youth.
