At the mercy of the republic...
During a routine area domination in my AOR, I traverse into a settlement of about five huts. Puppies and ruminating goats lay scattered like fallen leaves beside their settlers. A few old men sit on their haunches while a young man leans against a tree. Women…young and old, too immersed in their daily chore of pumping water from the hand-pump. The first sighting of armed forces in their eyes, from our POV, is a very interesting phenomenon. They ignore us the way eyes ignore a packet of warm dusty wind on a hot afternoon. They seem affected by our presence, but they try not to care. Generally, they seem unbothered. At other times, they seem withdrawn, even intimidated. I enter the settlement with about thirty personnel. My personal guard takes position in a different direction, just in case. This village has an ill reputation of being a Naxal-supporter village. The grinding of villagers between the government machinery and the ANE has seen eternity. So when they see me, they try h...
