The Red Corridor

A soldier’s life is a life of discipline, respect and dignity. They have an air of command around them. I have been seeing or rather living a part of a soldier’s life from childhood. My father, Major Raj Mundra is the most wonderful person I have seen in my life. He was a caring father and a loving husband. I always wanted to join the army for the only reason that I wanted to be like my DAD!

It was a Friday and everyone in the camp were preparing for the “Women’s Day” celebrations. I was in my XII^th and was waiting for Dad to come home so that we could celebrate. My mom, a social activist, was keen on celebrating this day as she wanted to emphasis the importance of womanhood on every opportunity that popped up. Meanwhile, I and my sister decided to play chess till dad came. I wasn’t much of chess player but she insisted in playing with me so that she could win. We sat on the couch, placed a table and started to play the game which I could never win even in my wildest dreams. The phone rang; I saw mom coming to pick the phone, so we continued with our game. I don’t know who was at the other end, mom made a loud groaning-like sound, I turned to see her standing numb and letting off the receiver from her hands. We looked at her, she was standing still, she again made that sound which we heard earlier. We ran across to her and she just let down herself in my arms.

I picked up the receiver after settling mom in the couch, she had started crying loud now, seeing which my sister also started crying. I said “Hello”. The news was about my father; he was abducted by the Maoist and beheaded publicly in a village, after which they burned his body. It was an act of terrorism by them to inflict fear in the people as the army was helping the villagers. Soon our house was filled with people, I was not able to feel or hear anything, felt so numb, so dead. I could feel a bee humming in my head. Many were comforting me, many cried on my shoulder for comfort. I just didn’t know what to do, cause I lost my father who had promised to be with us this evening. I never thought about losing my father at any point of my life, didn’t have a reason to think so. But I did not cry. Crying would vent out the anger, which would reduce the intensity of revenge. I didn’t want that to happen at all, I wanted that fire to burn and burn high. This gave me the energy to fight; for my father; finish what he had started, wipe out the Maoist.

We were left alone after the funeral; I did not feel like eating or even talking to my mom. All I could think of was the Maoist. I wanted revenge and wanted them to know that it was me. But how? This was the question that intrigued me. To catch your prey, you must know its weakness, to know the weakness, we must know about the prey. So I decided to reach upon every source of information about them. From all the information I understood one thing; that I can stand against them only when I had power to command and the training to kill. Both these are the attributes of an army officer. I made up my mind to join NDA after my XII^th. Four years of rigorous training, two year posting to J&K, the hot bed of soldiers. All of this did not appear to me as hardships, only stepping stones to my aim; “Kill the Maoist”, “Kill them all”. My knowledge regarding them was also being updated regularly and more precisely as now I had more reliable sources than Google; the army data warehouse, were we can get information on anything around the world. Having access to more accurate data bought up quite astounding revelations to me. I got to know more about the Maoist, their start, ideology and background.

They were formed as a part of civic revolution, which is so uncommon now as we are too confined to ourselves. They were formed to protect the people of the villages which were being wiped off by the government so that they could make profits by selling the land to corporate who wanted to mine the mineral rich land. When the actions taken up by government started becoming inhuman and life-threatening, they started reacting the same way. Their villages were burnt, men were killed and women were raped. All of this, because they wouldn’t give their land! The government came up with sweet names for these treacherous acts, which we common man read in newspapers, heard in radios and saw on TVs. We all stared coldly at these people, who took up weapons not to “kill” but to “survive”. They lost confidence in the system of the world which we live in, so started with an alternative system, which they have shown to the government, that it is more effective the one we all follow.

What is this madness? Why is the rich after the money that can only be stacked up in their vault as they have already earned a fortune which even their future generations can spend? Why should they want to suffice their profit hunger drenched in human blood? The Government actually gave false information’s about the Maoist attacking villages which never happened. Why would the government take such a step which brings happiness to one person and misery to a 100? And look at us, the common man; looking at the Maoist as merciless terrorists and pouring out our sympathy for the government

My fire for revenge was put off by these realizations. I could even find saneness in their act of beheading my father as he was part of the regiment that had burnt their villages, killed their men and raped their women. For the first time in my life I felt ashamed of the fact that my father, a soldier, was used by the government for such a heinous act. It is not the Maoist who killed my father. It is the system, the government and the people that killed my father. Without knowing this many sons like you and me have thought and act against the Maoist, playing our role in the puppet show organized by the government and funded by the corporate. The money they make in this deal can suitably be named as “Blood Money”. Now think, have you stained your hands with this blood money? Will you now use the freedom we earned to stop these atrocities happening in our very democratic India?

Food for thought!

Do we really enjoy the freedom or are we just being let off as the government or the corporate have no interests in our lands?