Maoists construct road in Palamu

After years and decades of being villified for its destructive policies across the "Red Corridor" in India, Maoists appear to be undergoing some change of heart in the state of Jharkhand.

They have been found to have offered a helping hand to villagers in Palamu District to construct a road and undertake other developmental initiatives, in an effort to restore normalcy in the area.

Villagers said that they had urged the Maoist-dominant Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC) to step in to construct the road after the government seemed to pay no heed to their grievances.

A Maoist, Ajay, blamed the state government for the bad condition of roads in the rural area.

The Maoists, however, don't seem to have backed away from expanding their insurgency, and there is a concern that could move from remote rural areas to the cities.

The Maoist insurgents are estimated to number 7500 hardcore fighters in nearly a third of India's 630 districts. While they have made few inroads into cities, they have spread into rural pockets in 20 of 28 states.

Maoists say they are fighting for the rights of poor farmers and landless labourers. Thousands have been killed in the insurgency since the late 1960s.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the Maoist rebellion as one of the gravest security threats to India.