Maoists claim they are fighting against the government for the rights of tribals and rural poor neglected by governments for decades.
They also raise issues relating to land ownership and equitable distribution of resources. Their sole aim is to overthrow the Indian government through armed struggle.
They are active mostly in eastern and central India, where human development levels rank among the lowest in the world, forest cover and rugged terrain facilitate guerrilla tactics and protracted low-intensity insurgency, and tribal and lower caste groups are preponderant.
