Why the top echelons of the government got around to tackling a 10th standard biology question is the story, though. Positioning bamboo, the government feels, will mark a crucial step in tackling the socio-economics of Naxalism.
This is how it all began. The UPA government woke up to the fact that the common thread running through Naxal-affected areas was lack of development. This was alienating tribal communities and pushing them to take up arms and join the Naxalite cadres. It concluded that these tribal belts were also rich (and slowly degrading) forest areas. A home secretary-led committee concluded that the tribal communities needed to be given better rights, control and revenue from the forests they lived in or depended on and that the role of the forest departments should be reformed - they could not act as the police that keeps tribals out of the forests. Read the full report here.
Source: Nitin Sethi, TNN.
