In recent years, the Maoist insurgency in India has assumed a proportion that poses a serious threat to the nation's internal stability and its socio-economic progress under a democratic dispensation. The Central as well as the affected State governments have therefore undertaken to deal with the Maoist rebellion in a holistic manner. This effort involves redress of the roots causes of problem in an environment that must be first sanitised by judiciously executed police action. To be able to control the Maoist insurgency it is necessary to understand the situation in its entirety. Indeed, there are many publications authored by highly competent political analysts to examine the causes of the rebellion and to show the appropriate ways of grappling with that challenge. There are, however, only few publications that record the situation as it prevails in areas where the insurgency thrives and the experiences of the people affected by it in some manner or the other. This book seeks to fill that void. Notably, the purpose of the book is furthered by the unique opportunities that the author had been exposed to. Native of one of the most insurgency affected areas, the author had been a commander of all military assets in the heart-lands of the Maoist rebellion besides being responsible for rendition of military advise to five of the most severely affected state governments. Later, these opportunities were rounded off when he undertook journeys across these areas as a freelancing common citizen. He was therefore able to observe the turmoil from the policymaker's, the rebel's and the citizen's view points, both at the macro as well as micro levels. This book is an account of such first hand observations made in the course of time spent in the areas where the Maoist rebels reign. The observations are tempered with the prevailing societal conditions and the nuances of local politics, so as to foster an understanding as to what could have provoked the simple folks to take to arms against their own democratic state. This book therefore is an attempt to sensitise the reader in appreciating the deep rooted problems in a society distressed by the Naxal-Maoist rebellion. The purpose would also be well served if this account leads to rendition of such inputs which could be factored into the process of appropriate policy-formulation by the state.
