Naxal outrage

Like every other armed rebel group, the Naxals have their supporters and their detractors.
What shocks me though is how insignificant and faraway the whole issue seems. Some 900 policemen have been killed in Naxal attacks in the past three years. Many hundred civilians have also lost their lives. And yet, there is no outrage. No sense of alarm about how dire the situation is.

There is one reason and one reason only that India needs to vote across 4 weeks - we do not have enough security to protect every polling booth. There are as many as 20,000 naxals across India. Yesterday they hijacked a train - and then let it go - just to prove they could strike at will!

I guess what I'm trying to say in short is: The Naxals are a security problem. But they've only got to this stage because they believe there are no legitimate means left to bring attention to their problems.

There are three ways to deal with this problem:
1) Ignore it and watch it get worse. (Which has been done brilliantly by the UPA - even though Manmohan Singh once called Naxalism the single biggest national security threat).
2) Go to war against them - and have a bloody mess on our hands (a la Sri Lanka)
3) Talk to them - No pre-conditions.. only a truce... Somehow, I like this one. I don't think any other way will lead to a proper solution.