Hyderabad, April 24 -- The leaders of rights organisations have appealed to President Droupadi Murmu, urging her to advise the Government of India to declare an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, and to initiate 'Peace Talks' with the Communist Party of India (Maoist) on an urgent basis.

Enclosing a memorandum endorsed by hundreds of organisations and individuals across the country on April 4, the activists wrote a letter to Droupadi Murmu on Thursday, April 24, drawing her attention to Schedule 5 of the Constitution, together with Articles 339(1) and 275(1), which conferred upon her office a clear constitutional mandate concerning the welfare of scheduled tribes and the governance of scheduled areas.

"Given the scale and urgency of...