Who are these Maoists who, according to the government, constitute the "single biggest threat" to India's internal security? What is their politics? Why and how do they justify violence? How do they perceive their "people's war," their political goals and themselves? How did the Maoists establish themselves in the Dandakaranya region of central India? How do they now live and operate in the "base area" they have constructed? How does their "Jantanam Sarkar" function in the guerrilla zone of Bastar? First-hand reports of the functioning of the CPI (Maoist) in central India have been rare. Based on a two-week long visit to the Maoist heartland, this article attempts to answer some of these questions.