The Maoists may be a rent-seeking band of thugs who have read Mao enough to be convinced that political power grows out of the barrel of a gun, but there’s no mocking the very real socio-economic grievances they feed on. The “red corridor” doesn’t just circumscribe Naxal-dominated areas, they also delineate a zone of illiteracy, ill-health, and unemployment — an area of darkness that is the legacy of a derelict state. Which is why, even as the government gears up to the necessary task of defeating the Naxals by force, it must come up with creative ways to hasten development in these regions. One such move is the Indira Gandhi National Open University’s decision launch vocational training programmes for below-poverty-line (BPL) families in the Naxal-dominated areas of eastern India.

IGNOU’s proposed course is laudable for both its aim as well as its method. Focussing on vocational courses on computing, instead of more traditional forms of higher education, could provide the immediate skill sets by which local youth can plug into the market. A long-distance course is also better suited to the realities of remote areas. The exclusive focus on BPL families makes it all the more targeted. The course seems attuned to the peculiar realities in which it will operate, rather than stuck in the semantics of noble intentions and is thus all the more likely to succeed.

There is talk of various other ministries subsidising this programme, talk that must be translated to immediate action. For such creative interventions are a must to end the chronic cycle of poverty and despair in these regions. And at a time when Maoists are bombing roads, taking down electricity lines, looting post offices and beheading officers, measures such as these could give the Indian state the moral edge.