Violent rebellion began in 1967 in West Bengal village of Naxalbari

·         Violent rebellion began in 1967 in West Bengal village of Naxalbari and spread over rural areas of central and eastern India

·         Led by elusive military commander Kishenji, supported by between 10,000 and 20,000 fighters

·         More than 6,000 killed since rebellion began

·         Bloodiest attacks on security forces include 76 killed in April 2010 ambush; 55 killed in 2007 attack on police post

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Every time a camp is set up, the commander conducts a roll-call and updates camp members about their responsibilities if they come under attack.

Akash, 18, was in charge of my security at the first camp. He also gave me a few lessons in self defence.

He slept for about four hours each night: two hours were spent guarding the camp from under a mohua tree in drenching rain.

Nonetheless, he never failed to wake me up early for my walks through several kilometres of rain-sodden forest.

Though the purpose of these walks was to take me to villages and camps in the Maoist-controlled Dandakaranya forest, I learned the rebels walked long distances every few days for their own safety.

"If we stay in a place for long, chances are that information of our stay will get out and we will get encircled."

The constant movement, he told me, also helps them gather information about the whereabouts of security forces from villagers.

The relationship with villagers in areas they control is generally positive, but not always. Maoist will kill suspected informers and that has the potential to create a climate of fear. But they are also aware that harming ordinary villagers will simply erode their support base.

But this is a highly polarised area. In areas controlled by the paramilitary units there is little support for the Maoists - and villagers who display such sympathies have uncertain fates.