Maybe I should give up reading newspapers.

While waiting for Ajeesh last night, I picked up a copy of The Hindu and read this and this.

As the op-ed piece says

Whatever the estimates, it cannot be denied that the innocent people, especially the tribals, are the ones who are put to hardship. The Maoists are supposed to be espousing the cause of the tribals. Ironically, because of the continued violence and killings, even the few development projects and facilities they would have got in the normal course, have now been denied to them. The Maoists need to give up the terrorist ways and come to the table for substantive talks, and not continue mindlessly on the path of violence.

I wonder what the chances of this are? Will the government go into the areas that support the Naxalites with iron fists and jackboots? The letters page carried quite a few letters suggesting that it would be acceptable for ‘civilised’/’democratic’ rules to be bent or broken in order to combat this menace.

Perhaps it might be better, as the BJP suggests, to look into how the Naxalites came to such strength in these areas, i.e. who or what (if anything) permitted them to grow and what are the reasons for people joining these movements? Why on earth am I in line with a party that’s allegedly based on religious fundamentalism and extremism. (I’m told that it does have christian and muslim leaders.)

Actually, I’m not sure if I can care any more. A, where’s my plastic box?!!!!!!!!!!!