If the huge crowd that came out to a recent public hearing is any indication, general people want a quick end to the Maoist insurgency. They want the end to come through a dialogue between the government and the insurgents, and they want the Maoist to initiate that dialogue. On 24 June over 900 people gathered in the capital to voice their opinions about how to resolve the insurgency. They listened to five speakers-all leaders in their respective fields-neurosurgeon Upendra Devkota, advocate and women's rights activist Sapana Malla-Pradhan, water expert Dipak Gyawali, dalit rights activist Durga Sob, and independent leftist activist and writer Hari Roka. Although all the panelists, except Roka, concurred that dialogue between the Maoists and the government is impossible unless the insurgents lay down their weapons, the majority of the public who spoke said that a sincere ceasefire should be a precondition for any talks. In a poll conducted at the end of the hearing, 56 percent of the general public voted that the Maoist should declare a ceasefire and initiate talks soon.