The Nepalese Army’s proposal on integration addresses both the Maoists’ insistence on integration of the ex-combatants and the non-Maoists’ anxiety that the army could face a professional crisis and politicisation.

The sense of a liberated zone is apparent as one enters Chitrakonda, with three storey tombs painted in red with the comrades’ name and a hammer and sickle dotting the arid landscape.

Abduction is a Maoist tactic to arm-twist the government and secure the release of imprisoned comrades as well as make some tactical gains by placing demands that could be projected as pro-people.

The Maoists are trying to cash in on major issues like Telangana to expand their mass base in Andhra from where hail their top leadership.

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.

From the security point of view, it might not be prudent to carve out states from Maoist affected regions without adequately preparing the administrative and security apparatus.

A few weeks ago Sunday Express reported that the Madhya Pradesh Hunger Index at 30.9 was worse than that of Ethiopia. Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, its two neighbours, were only marginally better at 28.7 and 26.6 respectively. BBC had also brought out a similar report in October 2008. According to the report, the statistics came from the country’s Planning Commission and not from a local NGO and that the authorities were extremely alarmed. The state was ranked 11 in 1994 but has fallen to 17 in 2008.