This multi-volume book should prove an important addition to the literature on the significant subject of Naxalism and Maoists insurrection in India. It all started in 1967 in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal and assumed serious proportions in 2004 when its two main factions of people’s War Group and Maoist Communist Centre merged to create CPI (Maoist), which since then has been spear heading the movement in the country. The States and the governments at the centre have been fighting the scourge, achieving varying degrees of success at different stages. Former PM Manmohan Singh dubbed it as “the most serious internal security threat” to the nation’s integrity and sovereignty in 2007. The Counter-Maoist strategy has been hampered by two factors: One, avoidable debate on security versus development approach; and two, powerful support it gets from the Left-Liberal and Civil society groups and individuals who are infact Urban Maoists themselves. As of today, the LWE is blocking the development of Maoist-infected areas, so it is all the more essential that Maoists are eliminated as early as possible from the country. The NDA government’s Home Minister Rajnath Singh vowed to do so within five years and India is waiting for that.
