Rebelling against rebels

Fed up with Maoist brutality and violence, women in Dailekh district in western Nepal led a revolt against the rebels back in 2004. They chased out many Maoists while others were caught and handed over to the army. But only a month later, the rebels started retaliating, and villagers were in fear for their lives. 

Excerpts of the story published 20 years ago this week on issue #226 17-23 December 2004:

Returning to Dullu in Dailekh after last month’s women-led revolt, it is clear anti-Maoist feelings are still running high.

The spontaneous outrage has spread even to outlying VDCs and the rebels have either been chased out or caught and handed over to the army. The Maoist western command in-charge, Diwakar, has been in damage-control mode after issuing a self-critical statement. But his district-level leaders have taken the uprising as an affront to their prestige and retaliated against unarmed civilians wherever they could.

In the latest incident on Sunday, a group of armed Maoists surrounded the village of Khadkawada, beat up locals and abducted four of the women leaders who had been leading the anti-Maoist movement. Earlier, on 7 December, when villagers had gathered at nearby Chhiudi to discuss the recovery of property that the rebels had looted, a local Maoist cadre threw a socket bomb at the group. Khadga Bahadur Khadka, a farmer, died and 16 others including a woman and a child, were injured. In two previous incidents, Maoists have killed five Dailekh resisters. In Chhiudi itself, Maoists hurled a socket bomb at a group of women who had led the anti-Maoist movement two weeks ago. Luckily, the bomb didn’t explode.

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