New Delhi - India has not achieved much success in containing left-wing extremism and it remained the gravest internal security threat to the country, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Tuesday. Addressing a conference of police chiefs in the Indian capital, Singh said a nuanced strategy was required to deal with Maoist extremism as it had support among the poorest in many areas.
According to latest government data, Maoist rebels are active in areas in 20 of India's 28 states. Most of these lie in poorly developed areas inhabited by indigenous tribal people.
There had been frequent acts of violence by armed Maoist rebels reported by 400 police stations in 13 states, federal Home Minister P Chidambaram said in his inaugural address at the police chiefs' meeting Monday.
While 721 people had been killed in Maoist violence in 2008, at least 1,405 incidents and 580 killings have been reported between January and August 2009, according to Home Ministry figures.
"I have consistently held ... that left-wing extremism is, perhaps, the gravest internal security threat our country faces," Singh told the police chiefs.
"I would like to say frankly that we have not achieved as much success as we would have liked in containing this menace. It is a matter of concern that despite our efforts, the level of violence in the affected states continues to rise," Singh added.
"The movement manages to retain the support of the tribal communities and the poorest of the poor in many affected areas. It has influence among certain sections of the civil society, the intelligentsia and the youth. It still retains a certain elan. all this adds to the complexity of the problem."
The Maoists, who operate in a corridor stretching from India's border with Nepal down to southern Andhra Pradesh, claim they are fighting for the rights of the landless, poor and tribal people.
Singh also said the situation in India's north-east, where several separatist rebel groups operated, was worrying, especially in the states of Assam and Manipur.
Extortion and intimidation by rebel groups was hampering development projects and firm and compassionate handling of law and order could bring about a substantial improvement, he said.
In the context of terrorism, Singh urged the police chiefs to try and understand better why local youth were being induced into participating in terrorist activities and how they were being recruited, indoctrinated and trained.
"The factors that cause social disharmony and alienation should be clearly known so we can work to eliminate them," the prime minister said.
