It was 4th April 1998. I can never forget that dreadful day in my life. All the happenings of that day and the events leading to it, and how I came out of that death hole are still fresh in my memory even after three and a half years.

We had joined the squad just a month and a half ago. Before that we were doing some tech (technical) work elsewhere. To tell you the truth we both loved squad life more than anything else but due to Party requirements we had gone for tech work a second time. But we were waiting to come back and work with people. We thought from then onwards we could once again live closer to people, learn from them, grow with their inputs and become an integral part of their life. It had been a dream for us for many years. We were very happy that our much anticipated opportunity had finally come. We were on the path of moving forward with mutual co-operation and discussions. In the midst of all that excitement this ghastly incident happened. Whenever I think of that, which snatched away my happiness of living with a squad, my anger and hate towards the enemy multiplies.  

Only a week had passed since we both left Kanagala squad and joined Krishnapatti squad when this incident happened. Area committee meetings started the very next day after our arrival. For six days these meetings went on from morning eight to night ten o’ clock. As a result, there was no time to talk to any of the members privately. All the squad members were brimming with new energy because the squad had come out of a few crises recently and they also made some fresh plans to develop the area. Our commander Ramanna was also looking very confident because it was a familiar terrain for him and also because we both joined the squad as SAC (squad area committee) members. The Area Committee meeting ended on a high note.

The very next day Ghattanna and three more people went to give a strong warning to an informer. Seven of us were left including one Regional Committee (RC) member. Since the Commander had high fever we weren’t able to walk much that night. The plan was to wake up early in the morning at four o’clock and start walking. But we were a little delayed. As a result we could not reach the place where we wanted to halt for that day. The sun was already up by the time we came down the hill. So we stopped at the acacia trees and took shelter in their shade.

It was very hot that day. Hunger made matters worse.  The Commander had to plead with Yadanna to go and get some food. Since Santha and I are women, we could not go into the village in the day time. Commander was suffering with fever. Both RC member and his guard Sanjeev could not go because it was a serious risk for them. The other comrade was a new person, so he wouldn’t know where to go. Finally there was no option but to send Yadanna even though he too was not well.

Yadanna brought some cooked rice but in very small quantity. There was no curry or mirchi powder to eat it with. We shared whatever was available and slept with bed sheets screening us from the sun. In the evening we found a few washer community people at the river bank. We asked them to give us something to eat. They were also short of food but we finally ended up sharing their meal and walked up the hill in the night. After we reached the top, once again Yadanna had to be sent to meet the batch that went to thrash the informer. Since none of us knew the appointment place, again Yadanna was the only option. He went grumbling. After some time he came back but Ghattanna’s batch was not with him. Wondering why they did not come I fell asleep.

Early morning as if in a dream I vaguely heard RC member Madhav’s voice asking Yadanna ‘Is your sentry duty over…?’ As it is a routine question I turned over to the other side and drifted back to sleep.

Suddenly I heard bullet sounds. I woke up with a start and looked around. It was pitch dark, nothing was visible. By instinct my hand searched for my rifle. I remembered keeping it near the tree. But it was not there. Where could it be! There was no time to think…‘Akka Akka get up’ I woke up comrade Santha who slept next to me on a polythene cover. We both ran in the direction of the sentry point which was on a high rock. It was only 5, 6 feet away from us. Even in that shock I did not forget to carry my blanket in one hand and leather water bottle in the other hand. While we were running I realised my leg was injured from a gunshot. As soon as we took cover there, we saw a blurred image of a human figure coming towards us from a distance of 8 feet.

Before we realised what exactly was happening some more shots were fired at us. Santha collapsed and I got wounded by bullets in my chest. All this happened in the blink of an eye. While the person who shot at us was running away I heard Madhav’s feeble voice saying ‘Yadanna… give me the rifle.’ Based on that, I thought the person who ran must be the RC guard.

I started crying loudly as the pain was excruciating. I couldn’t bear it but at the same time I knew it was not right to cry in that situation. So I clapped my hand tightly on my mouth and tried to listen to what was happening outside. There was absolute silence … no one seemed to be there. Have the police left..! I tried to wake up Santha. She didn’t stir. Soon I realised she was no more. I felt devastated. ‘What is this, why did it happen this way, what should I do now?’   

Both my body and mind were in a horrible state. My dress was drenched in blood… I tried to remove the bullet from my leg while it was still hot but could not… In my chest I found two big holes deep enough to put my finger in… It was a horrible sight… I found another big wound on the left side of the body under the chest… There were many more small wounds on the chest… How did I not die even after getting hit by bullets in the chest? Once all the blood drains out of the body I will surely die. The thought of death reminded me of the emergency medicine I had with me. Immediately I gulped down some antibiotic and a tablet to stop the blood flow. I felt happy for my presence of mind in bringing the water bottle with me. I wanted to clean the wounds and apply medicine on them, but I did not have sufficient water. So I tried to clean them with a cloth and tie a bandage. But that too was not possible. I only managed to tear out a piece of cloth from my lungi and tie it over the wound on my thigh.

By this time the sun was fully up. I heard the footsteps of someone coming. I lifted my head and saw Yadanna. I felt so happy to see one of our squad members. ‘Were you not injured Yadanna?’ I greeted him with a flood of joy.

He said nothing happened to him and looked here and there. I asked him to check on the condition of Ramanna. He said Ramanna, another squad member Veera Swamy and Santha whose bodies were also lying on the ground were all dead. He said it in a dry tone, very matter of factly. But I ignored it. When I saw a SLR (Self Loading Rifle) in his hands instead of his .303 rifle a small suspicion crept in but I told myself that the weapons might have got swapped during the encounter. “Anna I have bullet injuries in my chest and leg” I tried telling him but his concentration was elsewhere. “Yadanna…please tell me what exactly happened?” I asked anxiously.  

“Six police men came” he said curtly.

“Just six policemen… how dare they come here and attack us? How did they reach here? We came here only last night; no chance of anyone seeing us. Even if the police saw us in their routine combing duty they wouldn’t dare attack us when there are so few of them. Anyway we will talk about it later. First let us leave this place and go to a nearby thanda (tribal hamlet). Police might come again” I said anxiously.  

“Will you be able to walk then” he said.

“It will be difficult. But with your support I will somehow manage to walk at least for some distance. Yadanna…give me the medical kit. If there are any injections in it, I will take them and then we can leave” I said.

Throughout this conversation he did not come near me even for a moment. There was no concern in his voice or actions. All the while he looked like he was searching for something. But I was in no state to take serious notice of his demeanour. I was keen to get out of that place as quickly as possible with his help. That thought alone kept me going.

He brought the medical kit after I reminded him a second time. I opened the kit and searched for some medicines. I found the powder that we apply for injuries. As I was just about to apply it, a huge stone fell on my head. My head spun. Blood flowed over my face blinding my eyes… still I managed to look… and the face I saw was Yadanna’s. Yadanna alias Somla Nayak. He stood like a messenger of death ready to attack me again with another sharp stone.  

In a second I understood everything. Pain…anger…sadness…revenge… all emotions flashed through me. So he is the reason behind everything that happened since morning… one of our own men betrayed us. Not the police or anyone else. My heart ached more with this revelation than the pain caused by the wounds. “Please Yadanna don’t do this” words tumbled out of my mouth involuntarily. But they did not stop him.  

“Die…you miserable woman die” he shouted in a cruel voice and threw the stone in his hand at my forehead. It made a sharp gash. Blood started dripping again and I couldn’t see anything.

But my brain did some fast thinking. ‘He will definitely show no mercy towards me. I can make that out from the way he said ‘die woman die.’ So it is best that I pretend to be dead.’ As soon as the thought flashed through my mind, I lied with my face down without moving my body and holding my breath. He brought another big stone and threw it on my back. I was never beaten so badly in my life till now. I felt I might die any moment. My entire body screamed with pain which I cannot describe. I stuffed my palms into my mouth and stifled the loud sobs that threatened to come out. With great effort I was able to stop my heavy breathing. Still he had doubts that I might be alive. So he hit me on my back many times with his rifle butt and also kicked me relentlessly. Still I did not move. I was rigid like a dead body. Finally he changed into a civil dress and left in a hurry.

I lied in the same position for another ten minutes. Everything was silent. I understood that he left in the direction we came. Only then I took a deep breath and tried to turn my body, but it was not possible. Stones and kits were lying on one side and akka’s dead body on the other side… both prevented me from moving. On top of that my injured left leg. It was very painful to move it, let alone stand on it.

Suddenly I heard a moan from somewhere. It was comrade Ramanna’s voice. So he was alive…!! He must have lost consciousness till then. It was good that Yadanna did not notice it. Otherwise don’t know what he would have done… I should not delay it anymore. I must check his injuries and give him emergency medicine. If only I can stop his bleeding… would someone not come in the meantime? If they come and take him immediately maybe he can survive.  

With great effort I slowly managed to sit up. But however much I tried I could not stand up. That is when I understood how bad my leg injury was. Meanwhile Ramanna stopped moaning. It was over… he breathed his last. I could not save our commander. What a terrible thing to happenI cursed myself. Unable to bear the anguish, I banged my fists on the stones. What should I do now… except for cursing myself what can I do now…!

I must take revenge on the person who was responsible for all this. How to let the world know about everything that happened here? I wondered if the comrades who escaped knew what exactly happened here! Looking at my injuries I doubted if I would survive for long. Actually I was astonished that I survived this far. How did I manage to survive till then in spite of the bullets lodged in my chest and the force with which he hit me with rocks? Maybe the bullets didn’t touch my heart. But still I could have died with all that bleeding.

The police would anyway come now. What if I get caught by them?  It would be better to die before that. But, if I were to die, how would the world know that the person responsible for this terrible incident was the comrade turned betrayer Somla Nayak? What if he acts innocent and meets the other comrades and repeats the same thing! Oh no! I should keep myself alive until the real face of this betrayer was exposed. I should somehow keep myself alive no matter what happens.

I took out a few more tablets from my pocket and swallowed. I should somehow get out of here. I removed my blood soaked clothes and managed to wear a petticoat and blouse but couldn’t wrap the saree around. So I wore it loosely on my shoulders. I took a biscuit packet and some medicines, tied them in one corner of the saree. ‘If I can somehow crawl till the slope of the hill, from there even if I tumble down I will be able to reach a road. Wouldn’t someone come on the road and save me sooner or later?’ That was my thought. But my body was not at all co-operating in putting it into action. Still I should not be desperate… I should put in more effort… Our courage is our strength… If we have the determination to live we will definitely succeed… I was trying to reason with myself. I suddenly remembered the novel ‘The Story of a Real Man’.

The hero in that novel is badly injured in a war between Russia and Germany. I think it is the First World War. He is left behind in a jungle all alone. He is unable to walk because both his legs are injured. But still, he keeps moving crawling on the rocks for many days. I think it is 21 days. He survives on just water. He heats water in a vessel he is carrying and drinks it. Finally he succeeds in getting to a place of human habitation. How was he able to survive for so many days… only because of his determination and steadfast nature. Now I needed to have the same qualities. I gave confidence to myself. I removed the thought of death from my mind.

But the hard reality was that I couldn’t take even one step from there.  

How do I get out of here? …Why haven’t the comrades, who managed to escape, send anyone yet? Maybe they had sent but that person did not come out of fear. So what should I do now? If I shout there are chances of someone hearing and coming to rescue me. That is the only way. I started shouting loudly ‘Is anyone there? Anna…please come and help me.’

But how long could I shout like that? The heat was unbearable. My body was itching due to all the blood and sweat it was soaked in. My face was tight with a pack of blood and sand (this was the result of lying with my face down for a long time) and my nose was burning. The water in the leather bottle was over. My tongue was parched. I was trapped on all sides. On one side lay Santhakka’s dead body, which I did not have the energy to move. On the other side was the sentry’s boulder, on the third side a deep valley and on the fourth some small boulders. There was not even the slightest hint of shade. The day was progressing. As and when I gathered some energy I kept calling out in the hope someone will hear and come to my rescue but it did not happen. I would faint due to fatigue and as soon as I recovered consciousness, I would start calling out again. This went on for hours together. In the midst of all this, so many thoughts were swirling in my mind.

What were the reasons behind this incident? How did Somla turn into a betrayer? When did he change? Why did we not notice? How many more such betrayers are there in the party? I started thinking about our members one by one. With hindsight I started feeling suspicious about three members in Krishnapatti and Kanagala squads. I thought I must warn our comrades to keep an eye on them. (PS: After this incident, all the three of them surrendered to the enemy.)

I wondered how long it was since Somla started conspiring with the enemy! How did we fail to notice the change in his behaviour? Come to think of it, I realised that he was not at all enthusiastic in our recent Area committee meetings. He hardly participated in our discussions. When asked to give his opinion he said he will speak in the end after everyone had their say, and after everyone’s turn was over he would simply say there was nothing to speak. On occasions he even slept through the meetings.

Since he was an old acquaintance, I wanted to ask him what all he learnt in the last two years. But there was no time to speak to him separately. Even a month ago he managed to escape unscathed from an encounter and met the squad at the RV place*. In our review, we had come to the conclusion that he was all right… we had no suspicions about him!

However the squad was away from its area of operation for the last six months due to internal crisis. Even the daily routine of the squad was disturbed in that period. There was no combined study… no updates about military and political happenings… personal vendettas came to the fore… who was responsible for all this…?

Didn’t it start with the District Committee Member (DCM) Shankar, who took six lakhs and ran away home? Isn’t he responsible for all this? Yes… the rot started with him. He worked as a commander for Kanagal squad and also as DCM for a long time. When Krishnapatti DCM was wounded and shifted elsewhere Shankar was given the responsibility of that squad too. But very often he would go for rest along with his wife due to ill health. Slowly he got used to the culture of good food, TV etc. in middle class shelters. District secretary Kiran got injured at the same time. So when many RC members stayed back in Medak because of the losses the party was incurring there, Shankar had a field day here.

Ramanna did criticise the ways of Shankar, but Shankar managed to rally the entire cadre against Ramanna. Adding to the woes of Ramanna, Anjanna, a member of Krishnapatti SAC (squad area committee) formed a group against Ramanna. A third SAC member remained silent while all this was happening. Poor Ramanna… since higher committee was also not in touch with him he must have felt lonely and suffered a lot. This resulted in a crisis in both SAC and squad, and led to all kinds of unruly methods and we became distant from people.  Amongst all these things how could anyone notice what changes had come over in the behaviour of a squad member? Where was the time to notice who had changed into an enemy agent? What a pity…! This is a stark example of how enemy can plant its agents when our structures are not strong enough. It is also an example of how internal issues of a squad if unresolved for a long time can bring disastrous results.  

This was the second covert operation in the party’s history. First covert was Kathula Sammayya. That happened three years ago. Look at the amount of money enemy is spending to sabotage our movement! Look at all the new approaches he is adopting! I wondered how they chose Somla? He was not a person interested in educating himself in spite of being there for two years. Even his political knowledge was poor. We had taken him into the squad because he stood staunchly against the landlord even after getting arrested and beaten. In his community everyone gets married early. So marriage also became an issue for him. When Ramanna got married Somla developed hatred towards him. He was frustrated that he was not getting married.  

Meanwhile he had gone home several times on health grounds. Every time his mother beseeched him to come back telling him she will get him married if he came home for good. His brother, who is a sarpanch, kept telling him to ‘surrender’ assuring that he will take care of his safety. So there were multiple reasons for his change of heart. The problematic conditions in the squad… the pressure exerted by the enemy… the enticements they were offering… all these put together made him a covert. He joined the party because of his personal anger against the society and stopped at that. If one does not understand the society politically and grow beyond personal agenda, chances are that the person will stoop to any level. Somla proved it.

As I kept thinking about the conditions that led to this incident, I remembered my own travel with the party… my entry into the party… life with my partner… our life together in the revolution… what I achieved so far… and what I am yet to achieve etc. etc. If I were to die here what would my parents think? Will they help the party after my death? How do I convey my last wish to them? How do I convey my last words to my partner? If I manage to live… how can I increase my strengths and work for the party with more dedication? In the last three decades the party had developed so much. It is the result of many, many sacrifices. I recollected all the names of the martyrs I knew…and my memories with each of them. Some of the martyrs were lying right beside me now. So many thoughts were coming into my head and I felt like putting them on a paper right there. What a mad thought!

In the midst of all these thoughts, I continued to call out for help.  

Finally in the evening two men heard my shouts and came to help. They belonged to a nearby village. They got scared when they saw the blood soaked bodies there. When I explained everything they empathised with me. I pleaded with them to take me from there immediately. Just when they were spreading a blanket to carry me in that a few lambadas called them. Both the men went to talk to them. I heard some whispers. Soon I could hear their footsteps receding. My heart sank. How could these people leave me and go even after seeing the condition I was in? Overcoming my shock and anxiety I kept calling them. But there was no response. They left. What a letdown of our belief that people will always save us! How did it come to this… is it because of the Somla incident?

I came to know later that people in the village were talking about ‘annalu killing each other’. Those words hurt me badly. Since this was not a normal encounter the two villagers who came might have behaved the way they did. I decided to wait. Since some of our comrades escaped they might send someone to help by night time … I needed to have some hope. I tried to keep up my courage.  

It was getting dark. Police would never dare to come here in the night, even to pick up the dead bodies. Meanwhile I should give some rest to my body. I should somehow go to sleep. A good night’s sleep will give me strength. Once I get a little strength I will be able to drag my body at least for some distance. This reasoning gave me some solace. Suddenly I remembered that our squad had an APT (appointment) with the batch that went to warn an informer. What if Somla goes there and harms them? What if he takes the police with him? But Somla might not know that today’s APT is also at the same place… a lot of doubts… ifs… and buts.

Though I was feeling anxious I finally came to the conclusion that since the appointment place was nearby if anything happened I would be able to hear it. I kept my ears wide open to catch any such sounds while looking at the stars in the sky. Once again I became very thirsty. When the two men came they gave me a water bottle from Veeranna’s kit. I drank the whole bottle. They could have at least given me one water can before leaving. I felt like laughing at my own thoughts. If they were so considerate would they have left me here? Now there is nothing that I can do.  

In the novel Vasantha Gitam there is an incident about drinking urine to quench thirst. I tried that too but failed. Since I had already taken medicines, the smell of urine made my stomach turn. So there was no other option but to keep wetting my tongue. I looked at the watch. It was Santhakka’s watch. I had asked those two men to remove the bullet belt from her body but they were scared to turn the dead body and managed to remove only the watch. So that night I had only the stars in the sky and the watch on my hand as companions. Just then I saw a star falling from the sky. It reminded me of our martyrs, our red stars…!   

I tried my level best to sleep. Maybe due to the wind the dead body of Santhakka was making some strange sounds. The stinking smell of the dead bodies and the howling of foxes… never in my 28 years of life I had to go near a dead body. My mother had died when I was six years old. I have a vague memory of sitting next to her body and wiping my dad’s tears… Did I ever get stuck in such a thick forest and in such darkness all alone…? No…never. But ‘revolution is something which makes you undergo experiences you have never had. Isn’t it’!

Except for the sound of foxes there was complete silence. What if they come at night and tear away at the dead bodies! What if they think of me also as a dead body and devour me? Maybe that is better because police would anyway come in the morning. Instead of getting captured by them with no weapon in hand and lying in a helpless immobile state, getting devoured by the foxes seems to be a better option. Anyway I already told those two men who came to help me about Somla. I told them clearly that he was responsible for all this and if he was seen anywhere, he should be beaten to death by the people. Therefore I need not worry that truth will be buried with me if I die. So now there was no need to fear death. Police might come even before dawn; if they do I should not die without killing at least one of them. But how can I do that? I should also pretend to be dead and when they come near me I must grab their rifle and shoot them. Otherwise assuming I am dead when they lift me into the lorry I should look for the right opportunity and grab the rifle and fire in quick succession. After many such thoughts I drifted into sleep.

I woke up many times that night but went back to sleep. At 4 o’ clock I woke up completely. Without further delay, I slowly made an effort to move. Compared to the previous day my body felt lighter. I kept my two hands behind me on the ground and put weight on them dragging the body backwards. In that somewhat sitting position I could move little by little. I managed to go till the dead body of Ramanna. In that darkness I could not see where exactly the bullets hit Ramanna’s body. The minutes of the Area Committee meeting and the resolutions passed in that meeting, written in my own hand, were in Ramanna’s kit. I did not feel like tearing them. ‘Someone will surely come and keep them safe’ was my hope driven conviction. It was getting late… before the sun comes out I should somehow get to the edge of the hillock. If I keep wasting my time with this kind of thoughts police will arrive before I manage to escape. I once again looked towards the sky.

Suddenly I saw a movement of a human being at the far end of the hill. There seemed to be something in his hands. It looked quite long. Was it a rifle? Were they policemen…? If they were policemen why would they stand so far away instead of coming here? May be they were not…!! I decided to take a chance and gave a loud shout. Why would common people be there so early in the morning on top of a hill? Were they thieves? Even if they were thieves they are human beings aren’t they! While all this was going on in my mind I saw three people walking towards me.  

The minute I heard ‘akka…’ I knew it must be our people. It gave me immense courage. Among the three two were the same people who came yesterday. They had a long stick in their hand and a small bundle of food. 

Anna what happened yesterday? Why did you leave me and go like that…?” I asked.

“True we went away abruptly… but our heart was not at peace… last night we didn’t feel like eating food… we could not sleep also… we thought how could we leave akka to her fate like that and come away… we felt very concerned for you… we couldn’t stay at home any longer… so we came back akka. Those Lambadas scared us… which is why we left. You must be feeling very hungry. Please take this food.” They handed me the small food bundle they brought along.

“Now I don’t need anything. First we have to get away from this place before the sun rises. Anna… did you think about where to take me?” I asked.

They tied a gongadi to the stick they brought and made a swing out of it. They put me in that and carried me for almost one hour down the hill with great difficulty. By then the sun was up. Sounds of a farmer tilling his land could be heard. They said they could not go any further. There was a tree bush nearby with a big slant rock in between. Besides that a small rock and some stones were there. They made me sit down on the stones under the rock. My leg was paining badly due to the jerky movements caused by the travel. It was swollen and the injuries turned black with thick cakes of blood and dust. I was very uncomfortable sitting in a hole like place. I never thought I would get stuck there for three more days. They brought a water can, listened to my narration of the events and left.  

I sent them back to get our kits and bullet belts. But they got frightened midway and came back. They brought me rotis for lunch but I couldn’t eat anything as my body was burning with fever. I did not sleep the entire night hoping that at any moment they will bring a vehicle to take me. They had promised to come back but did not. By then the dead bodies must be rotting. I did not even have the phone numbers of any civil rights activists. Only then I realised the importance of keeping such information handy.   

One of them came around ten o’ clock the next day. He said they couldn’t come the previous night because five police men in plain clothes were going around in the village.  He also said they couldn’t find a vehicle. That night too they came without a vehicle. They said they sent someone to fetch a vehicle from the next village but he did not turn up. As a result, I had to stay another day in that rocky hole. Thus, I spent three days just a kilometer away from the place of the incident. If the police had come then they would have captured me easily. All those three days my mind was full of escape plans. I also wondered why Somla hadn’t surrendered yet and why he did not bring the police. However much I wracked my brain, I couldn’t find answers to these questions. 

The next day they took me a little further and laid me down in another rocky place. They said they cannot take me to a human habitation as people there might become suspicious. I thought if only they could take me at least till the road I can find a jeep to go to the town. But they said that the road is 9 kilometers away. Actually if they had taken me in another direction on the first day itself the road would have been much nearer. I understood the consequences of not having a grip on the area.

The next two days passed with greater hardships. There was no shade there. It was full of small stones that kept pricking me. The only change when compared to the previous place was that there were a few habitations nearby. The Lambada people living there kept coming and talking to me. They wanted to know what happened and I explained everything in detail. This went on for five full days. I sat there talking to them, clarifying their doubts without proper food or sleep, and drinking only water.

The big mistake I made was not going and staying with them. I kept asking them to arrange a vehicle for me. They did not do that but invited me to come and stay with them. I was worried that if I went with them, I will not be able to meet the Annas from the village who were trying to shift me to the town. I was banking on them to help me reach the nearest town. I was doubtful if the Lambada people could arrange a safe trip to town. At that point in time, Lambadas helping us in such situations was very rare. Since my experience with squad life was also not much, my understanding of these people was also limited. That was also a reason why I did not go with them. Still they were very friendly with me. They cried when they saw my injuries. They gave me food. But they did not provide a vehicle. Two more days passed like this. One day my saviours came and told me that they arranged a jeep. But that jeep never came. It seems the driver came half way and went back refusing to come any further into the forest. I realised I can’t depend on them anymore to get out of that place.  

So I sent word to an organization leader that I knew who lived in the next village. He came and arranged for my shifting. I got to know from him that the RCM and his guard also came to him and were safe. That night they took me on a wooden stretcher to someone’s house. The next day I was finally put in a jeep and taken to a nearby town. Just as our jeep was crossing the outskirts of the village, I saw the police going to the incident spot. The news of the shootout came in the papers on the day I reached the town. There were two reports about me; that I was dead and that I had escaped. Anyway that nightmarish incident ended there but I had to encounter many more difficulties.

Finally, I got medical help ten days after the incident. With the help and support of our comrades, party sympathisers and other people I managed to regain my health in six months. I am grateful to the comrades who gave shelter and took care of me for four full months when I was lying in bed with a broken leg. I realised then how class relationships are thicker than blood relationships. Though initially I had a few bad experiences, I realized from this own experience how the party and people take great care of revolutionaries. I realised that the best way to express my gratitude would be to work with greater strength and devote myself to people. I immersed myself in those efforts!

As for Somla, people showed that they will not forgive anyone who betrayed the revolutionary cause. Enticed by the enemy Somla killed three of us, but his every moment after that was filled with fear. That was why he didn’t approach the police immediately. He surrendered to the police with weapons only after a week. Maybe he was scared that police would do something to him as he failed to kill the target, which is RC member Madhav. Since Madhav escaped and Somla could kill ‘only’ three people he must have been scared to face the police. This might be the reason for his anxiety on that day even after attacking us.

Somla was in constant fear of dying either in the hands of the police or the peoples’ party or the people themselves. It made him go around aimlessly. He stood in front of an MLA’s house and abused him, demanding to be taken to the police for surrender.  This one week delay on his part gave me the opportunity to escape safely.

Even after surrendering to the police along with weapons there was no mental peace for him. Every day he went around the thandas in a drunken state demanding money from people and threatening to kill them if they didn’t give. He had two policemen with him. People got vexed and one day when he was badgering the leader of a thanda for money they got really angry and snatched the rifle from his hands. After that they literally stoned him to death. He remains a stark example of what happens to a covert who tries to sabotage revolution. I was still in the rest period when this incident happened. It once again proved that ‘People make the revolution’. Yes… People are the makers of history… they are the victors!

Notes:

Anna – elder brother

Akka – elder sister

RV place* – meeting place

Thanda – hamlet

Lungi – garment worn by both sexes around the waist like a skirt

Gongadi – a rug

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