The Maoist-style attack on the police station in Piuthan and the shooting of the prime minister's personal secretary in Kathmandu indicate that the state's anarchy is taking a new shape. Nepali society is just coming out of the brutality of the 10-year war, and violence has not yet abated in the Tarai. Those responsible for atrocities during the war are still free. There has been strong political polarization after the Maoists came to power. Now, there seems to be an effort to push the country towards civil war by the anti-federalists and those who define federalism only through ethnic chauvinism, anti-republicans and criminals, religious fundamentalists and revisionists. The government must act strongly against these elements and end impunity, otherwise this country will slide into chaos.