The Centre seems to have heard some of this message. As per a new blueprint to tackle Naxalites, development-related activities will be promoted in Maoist areas. Of special concern are tribal laws, especially over forestry, which breed resentment. But all this will be ineffective as long as we refuse to accept that the Naxal problem is also a law and order one. When Naxalites kill road-layers, uproot electricity poles and render civil administration impossible, there can be no development. When they terrorise people and extort money and assistance, the issue is certainly not one of social alienation. Special assistance must take place concurrently with stronger security measures to wipe out Naxals from the areas in which they roam so freely.

If statistics of leftist extremism are cause for alarm, another set of numbers is cause for hope. Zero. That’s the number of security personnel killed in Andhra Pradesh due to Naxalite violence this year, a steady decline over the past four years. The decline in civilian deaths is more dramatic: while 132 civilians died in 2005, only five have been killed in 2009 so far. These numbers are the result of neither happenstance nor luck. Andhra Pradesh has a locally recruited, dedicated anti-Naxal force — the Greyhounds — unlike other states which often outsource the fight to Central paramilitaries, less familiar with local conditions. They also have a deep-rooted intelligence gathering set-up which has driven out Naxalites from their state. Some numbers speak for themselves. It is hoped that the Centre is willing to listen.