Sharad Durgawad Asked: What are the major demands of Naxalites from the government, and the challenges government is facing to fulfil those demands?

P. V. Ramana

replies: The objective of the Naxalites is to seize/capture political/state power through protracted armed struggle. All the other demands are meant to achieve this goal. The major demands include rights over water, forests, land and mineral wealth (jal, jungle, zameen and khanij). Lack of political consensus, implementation and monitoring of development schemes and programmes, issues of governance and security force preparedness are the challenges the government is faced with.