S. Kalyanraman replies: Naxals pose the more serious challenge to India today because they seem to enjoy a measure of popular support particuarly among the tribal people. Naxals have gained popular support among the tribals because they have taken up the tribal cause and tribal discontent -- tribal peoples in India's heartland feel that they have not adequately benefited from the mineral wealth being extracted from their "land"; and that they have been generally neglected by the government which has not been providing them with governanance and civic amenities; etc. Popular support has enabled Naxals to expand their armed cadre, given them the advantage of operating more freely in tribal-dominated areas and to gather adequate intelligence about the movements of the security forces. If the Naxals manage to consolidate their presence and entrench themselves in these areas, then it will be natural for them to seek to expand the areas under their influence. While it may be too early to say whether the Naxals will be able to expand thus, what can be said with greater assurance is that a Naxal consolidation in tribal areas will prolong the insurgency, militarise the people of the area, and generally hold back the region's and the country's progress.

In contrast, neither militant Islamists nor Hindu radicals enjoy any degree of popular support within India, which makes them that much less dangerous. But this is not to discount that they pose a serious security challenge given that they mainly target innocenet civilians in places of worship, markets, suburban trains, hotels, etc. Here, the threat from militant Islamists is more dangerous than that posed by Hindu radicals because militant Islamists are much better organised and trained and linked, going back to the Afghan jihad of the 1980s. India faces a terrorist threat not only from Indian militant Islamists but also from Pakistani militant Islamists. In addition, linkages exist between Indian and Pakistani militant Islamists on one hand and criminal networks like the D-Company on the other. And all these actors have links with the Pakistani Establishment -- Dawood and his lieutenants are based in Karachi and are under Pakistan's protection, the Lashkar-e-Taiba and other anti-India groups continue to enjoy protection in Pakistan, and Indian Islamists receive training in Pakistan and their travel is facilitated by Indian criminal networks.

In contrast, Hindu radicals are new to this game, and, under the present circumstances, it appears unlikely that there will be state support or international support for the organisation of a group or groups committed to waging a holy war of any sort. Nor do these groups appear to enjoy any popular support.

Rumel Dahiya replies: The most important contribution that India can make in fighting terrorism globally is propagating the right conceptual framework. Delinking terrorism from religion, terrorism being bad and unacceptable under any pretext like 'root cause', defeating terrorism without putting people to hardship are the ideas that would resonate across the globe. Defeating terrorism at home through synergised efforts of all agencies of the government and cooperation of the people will send the right message to all the countries affected by terrorism. Besides setting an example of how to eliminate terrorism, India could and should cooperate with other countries through information sharing about terror networks, their financing, arms trafficking and cross-border linkages etc. However, it is not advisable to get directly involved in fighting terrorism on foreign soil.

S. Samuel C. Rajiv replies: A wide range of drivers influence individuals/groups to employ violent methods against state authority – socio-economic, ethnic, ideological, religious, among others, As such, there cannot be a single magic bullet to deter terrorist actions. Nimble and vigilant security structures are essential as are measures to address the causes of their real or perceived grievances.