ABSTRACT
The problems of internal security of the country pose the most serious challenge to political stability, economic growth and international image of the nation. In the period 2009–10, the threat emanating from Naxalite violence is proving to be the most difficult to handle. It covers a vast area of the country encompassing more than ten states, some of which are highly populated. The causes of violence range from tribal rights, dispossession of land, under-development, political and bureaucratic corruption, to the cult of violence to which the Maoists are wedded.
