India presently hosts a plethora of terrorists and insurgent outfits across the ideological spectrum. It is home to religious groups in the north, ethno-nationalist groups in the northeast and left-wing groups in the central, southern, and eastern regions. The largest insurgency outfit among them, which has been touted as the greatest threat to India’s internal security by Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh, is the Communist Party of India [CPI(M)], or simply the Maoists.  Any fruitful attempt to study the present status of the Maoists has to begin with a study on the genesis of the organization after India’s independence.The Maoist movement in India has been punctuated by internecine conflicts, politics and splits for more than half a century. However, the growth of the movement was also marked by unifications and consolidations, even as recent as 2004, which led to its present form. The initial chrysalis and further growth in the early years of the movement can be segmented into three distinct phases of splits and disintegration, followed by two stages of consolidation and unification.