Naxalites in Andhra Pradesh: Have We Heard the Last of the Peace Talks?

The government of Andhra Pradesh says it continues to be open to talks with the Naxalites and that it is the latter who have broken off negotiations. What the government does not say is that the Naxalites broke off talks only after it became clear that the government had no intention of stopping the killing of their cadre. To this extent the Naxalites' decision to leave the table cannot be faulted and the principal responsibility for restarting the process would lie with the government. But the revolutionaries have an equal responsibility, namely, to ensure that the unreal tone and the drama of the first round is eschewed and the two sides conduct themselves with the degree of realism one supposes they are capable of.