Maoist rebels in India—known collectively as Naxalites, who are fighting essentially a peasant insurgency against the government (see Intelligence Report)—have stepped up attacks in recent weeks, with reports suggesting the movement will seek to expand operations in the near-term. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the Naxalites the preeminent threat to India’s public security. With increasingly active Maoist rebels entrenched in a natural resource-rich hinterlands from Andhra Pradesh in the south up to the Nepalese border (known as the “red corridor”), and with their root motivational grievances centered on perceived socio-economic disadvantage, neglect, and exploitation by the Indian government, the Naxalites also pose a significant threat to India’s economic and industrial growth in the near-term.

Growth Not All-Inclusive