New Delhi, Sep 2(PTI): A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) training guidebook, which is meant to orient its workers and office-bearers to its ideology and views on key issues, says that Maoists in India enjoy "regular support from Pakistan and China", making them a big threat to the country's internal security.
It says that Maoists, also called Naxals, are "reportedly conspiring to conduct joint strikes with the support of terrorist outfits active in north-eastern states".
The issue of Naxalism and the support it may enjoy has come into prominence with the recent arrests of some alleged naxal activists by the Maharashtra Police, which has invited condemnation from opposition parties and rights groups with the BJP stoutly defending the police action.
Besides "Maoism", the party's training guidebook also identifies "forced conversion" as an internal challenge.
It claims that a conspiracy to change the demography of the country has been going on for several years in the guise of "Jihadi" and "Masihi", an apparent reference to proselytizing works of some Christian groups, activities backed by money and muscle power.
"It is a big internal threat to the country. Some external agencies are also involved in conversions and they widely use money and goons for these activities," the manual says.
"The speed of conversion has been so high in some states that it has completely changed their demography. People in such states are extremely agitated over it and that anger may prove to be explosive any time," it adds.
Forced conversion disturbs the atmosphere of brotherhood and social cohesion, the guidebook says, accusing some political parties of either "promoting" conversions or extending "mute support".
Among the economic challenges, it cites the social, economic and caste census of 2015 to say that a big part of the country's population is forced to live below the poverty line.
Blaming the previous Congress governments, it says the 60-year-rule of the opposition in the county rendered over 60 per cent rural population "economically deprived".