India's home minister yesterday said security forces were locked in a "stalemate" with Maoist insurgents despite a crackdown in 2010 that killed a record number of people.

India's left-wing guerilla movement, which began in 1967, feeds off land disputes, police brutality and corruption and is strongest in the poorest and most deprived areas of India, many of which are rich in natural resources.

The Indian government launched a major offensive by police and paramilitary forces in the second half of 2009 which intensified last year to fight what is sometimes referred to by sections of the Indian media as the "red menace".