Volume 6, No. 3, March 2005

Bharat Kumari Regmi, aged 24, had been staying in Khursanibari of Narayan town, the District Headquarter of Dailekh, teaching in a local government-run primary school. She was raped by dozens of royal army force after they had surrounded the house where she was staying at around 4.00 am, on 27th December 2001. This mother of a five year old son was raped by them till she became unconscious. She was left naked with all doors and windows of the house wide open. It was only at eight in the morning that she realized that she was lying in a pool of blood. She refrained from telling the truth about the gruesome mass rape fearing that she may be ostracized by her husband and society. However, her husband came to know of the incident from others and instead of ostracizing her he started taking care of her all the more lovingly. She says it was because of this that she too started working in the organization. But what a dilemna! The husband Narayan Sharma, an alternate Central Committee member of the All Nepalese National Free Student’s Union (Revolutionary) who gave so much love and who inspired her to work in the organization was killed by the royal army when he had gone to participate in the "New Leap Forward Movement" in Dolpa on 23 August, 2002. At that time Bharat Kumari had gone away for her treatment. Thus Bharat Kumari, the victim of mass rape at one end and sufferer at having her husband murdered at the other end has now decided to take revenge against all, by joining the movement. This is a presentation of part of her interview given to the representative, Mr. Gagan Sen of Janawaj weekly paper dated 6 March 2003.

Ans: I was staying in my brother’s place in Khursani ban. From there it was easy for me to go to school. On that date I was alone at home at that time. One local CID woman (who was given a cordless phone by the royal army) informed the royal army that my husband will be coming to meet me. At around 2:00 am at the dead of night about four dozen royal army men came and surrounded the house and searched for my husband, but they could not find him. Then after that they started molesting me.

Question: Was there anyone you could recognize?

Ans: I could not recognize any one amongst the royal army. However I recognized one Havaldar and one policeman I had seen them earlier many times. But I don’t know their names. One of them was from the plains, who used to come often pretending to sell Marich. Another police was the one who had an injury in his hand due to a gunshot in the police raid in Rukum. Since I was so scared I could not look at the other’s faces and could not count exactly how many there were.

Question: How did this incident take place ? Could you explain briefly ?

Ans: First of all the army searched my pillow, they found Sandipt’s (husband’s) photo. They burnt it. I said, "Whatever may be, this is my husband’s photo why do you burn it?" Thereafter, one army man gave an order to rape me. They held me and pinned me down with their boot on my feet. In the first chance I managed to run away. One of them then hit my chest with his boot. From that blow I became dizzy and fell down on the ground. I was in a conscious state till six or seven men raped me. Thereafter I lost my consciousness. In the morning around 8 am I regained my consciousness. I was still bleeding. I did not have a single cloth on my body. The tyrants had even left the doors and windows of the house open. I slowly got up pretending nothing had taken place. But my brother had come to know of it. After knowing the incident my brother gave an injection to stop the bleeding. To my brother I said, "Please take me to your brother-in-law." My brother gave me advice not to go there because of my bad state of health. But I did not listen and kept looking for Sandipt and I got him. I did not tell Sandipt about the incident. I loved him a lot. I was afraid he may not accept me if he came to know of the incident. If he became alienated after knowing this incident then I thought I would loose everything. (Crying) That is why I kept the incident a secret for three months.

Ans: Although I did not want to reveal it, someone who must have seen through the open door and they must have told him. Sandipt too heard the rumour and continued to ask me. For a long period I avoided by saying it was not true. Even then he said, "You did not do it with your consent, you tell me." I told him the whole truth.

Ans: I realized I had a wrong impression about him. He accepted me. Infact he showered me with more concern and love after I told him all the events. He said revenge must be taken. For this he advised me to join the Party organization he made me enthusiastic. When sometimes I sulked he used to make me laugh. He used to say even if you cannot take revenge I will take it. But, he too has been killed by the enemy (Crying). I could meet his father only after having undergone treatment I have not met anyone.

Ans: His father said that you are not our daughter-in-law, you are our son. He said that you have now taken our son’s place. He cares for me a lot.

Ans: I became all the more ill staying with Sandipt. I had already come into contact with the Party organization. It was the party organization that arranged for my treatment. Now I am fit and am now working in the organization.

Ans: Most probably the party organization did not tell me immediately of the news because I was unwell physically and mentally. The news was finally relayed to me by a responsible comrade after I had reached my work place after having recovered from the illness. Infact, I had a faint haunch about it while undergoing the treatment. Later on a responsible comrade explained the whole incident in detail.

Ans: We are human beings. Being a human being it is natural to have human feelings. I have feelings. Although I was mature ideologically even then I felt hurt, maybe because of inherent human feelings. I even fainted for four to five hours after hearing the news. When ideology leads feelings it is necessary to understand why he was martyred.

Ans: It was basically a love marriage but it was performed traditionally with our brother’s approval.

Ans: In reality, it is only through grasping correct ideology that can heal such a deep pain. For the sake of the Nepalese revolution, he continuously fought in favour of the proletarian class and gave his life for it’s sake. In my opinion he was great. It is by following the bloodstained path left by Sandipt with ideology leading it and by not letting his bag and his gun fall on ground that my pain will be reduced. It is only through getting involved in the continuous revolutionary process that one can get liberated from the pain. I feel I have become emboldened. I may have some emotional problem but I cannot say that I will not be able to develop in the ideological field. I will take revenge from my place. The Vermillion wiped from my hair parting will see the red rays of the morning sun. I am very hopeful.

Ans: First of all for those victims who are working in the party organization, I would like to tell them that they should not halt their steps from marching ahead because of some disillusion created by observing partial loss. Let us all be brave and let us go ahead to take revenge against oppression, repression and tyranny meted on us. Let us not look at our personal loss as a big loss. Let us look at the gains gained by our Party. Those of the family of martyred comrades who have not joined the organization I would like to say to them that those who gave their life for the sake of the nation and its people, they have certainly not chosen the wrong path. We should not feel hopeless because children have been robbed of their parent’s, or that the sister’s Vermillion has been wiped off from the parting of their hair. We will repay our fighter’s blood, with blood. The party has made big achievements. The blood shed of our near and dear ones have not gone waste. Let us follow the spirit of that blood. It is in that process that we can meet our martyred relatives.

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