India, May 25 -- The winter of early 2014 had waned, and Manmohan Singh too was headed towards the end of a decade-long run as the Prime Minister (PM) of India. Like a whirlwind, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, was poised to storm the portals of power in Delhi. Before officially relinquishing his post, the suave and mild-mannered Singh invited a select group of editors to a breakfast meeting.

A question popped up during the general conversation to list three important issues that remained unfulfilled during his tenure. Of the three issues he cited was the Maoist insurgency, which PM Singh felt, despite the government action, was spreading across the country.

He felt that if the trend continued unabated, then within...