Those studying the Naxal challenge cannot afford to ignore the fact that corruption in delivery mechanisms is one root cause of the insurgency.

Though fuzzy, there are linkages between Indian and Nepalese Maoists and these have been either admitted or downplayed by all sides –– the Nepalese Maoists, the Indian Maoists and the Indian government.

There are no shortcuts to overcoming the grave Naxal threat to our democratic way of life. Broadening the mandate by handing over the problem to the army is neither fair nor efficacious.

Air presence is a critical factor in counterinsurgency operations as it provides a high level of dominance and control over the situation.

The hard lesson of Chintalnar is that the police are simply not investing enough in their frontline leadership and training to tackle the situation. Even when attempts have been made to bring in competence, the efforts to acquire required counterinsurgency skills have been marginal.