August 9, 2005 - 40 Nepalese soldiers were killed in a so-called battle with Maoist terrorists of Nepal. 70 Royal Nepalese Army personnel are still missing after the attack.

RNA had taken up the responsibility of paving pitch road highway in Karnali district of Nepal. So a group of military people (called "Pioneers") was sent to the remote Maoist affected area of the country. Actually, the name of the team belies their capabilities. Normally, Pioneers in RNA include those people who have completed the first half of their lives and are retired from their service. Most of them are not skilled in weaponry and normally perform the functions of carpenter, plumber, and house builders. That is why they formed a soft target for the Maoist insurgents. Additionally, the workers had some explosives for building road and some weapons. This was a great opportunity for the Maoists to strengthen their arsenal. After all, how much more enticing and softer can a target get?

The most important question that seems to have been lost somewhere is, who are the people responsible for this tragedy? We cannot say that Maoists are because as we all know they are on a war and they have already sent their message loud and clear that "Everything is fair in war"(Love is a cock-and-bull story to those militants). So who is the culprit? I feel that the question has got something to do with the decision makers of RNA. They should have anticipated such attack and either should have given enough protection to the workers or should not have sent them to Karnali at all. A wrong decision of few top-level officers, who I don't think have ever experienced a war situation in their lifetime, has cost the lives of 40 people.

Just few weeks earlier, there was a terrorist attack in Britain that killed fewer English citizens and the incident shook the whole world. There were tones of backlashes and the British government immediately took some serious steps to strengthen the security within their country. Contrastingly, Nepal has lost thousands of lives in the last few years and there were lots and lots of repercussions too but no strong actions. Is Nepal really cursed by Sati? Anyone who tries to do the best for the country gets the worst.

Nepal Blog Discovery expresses a heartfelt lamentation for all those brave Nepali soldiers who lost their lives as a consequence of their attempt to serve our nation. God bless them all.