Though 23-year-old Shahi was initially struck by Subedi´s beauty and courage, there was another reason that confirmed his decision to marry the 21-year-old.
“She was a PLA fighter -- that’s why I chose to marry her,” said Shahi. “Since we were in the same armed struggle, we understood each other perfectly.”
Meanwhile, Subedi, fiddling with her wedding ring throughout the interview, also said she chose marriage as they were both fighters for the same cause. They have now been married for two and a half years, and have no children yet.
It is not unusual for male and female combatants to marry each other, said 6th Division commander Tej Bahadur Oli, also known as Commander Pratik.
Currently, there are over 400 couples in the main cantonment in Surkhet and its satellite camps, and most of them got married during the conflict period, the 35-year-old commander added. Those who wish to marry need to fill an application form and inform their immediate commander.
“But first they need to be in love,” Pratik said, laughing heartily.
Combatants seeking matrimony also need to fulfill two other criteria, he said. First, they need to have completed four years of military service in the PLA. Secondly, the males should have reached 22 years and the girls 20.
The wait for approval of the application can take up to six months, said combatant DBS Rana. He is married and has a daughter but his family lives back in his hometown in Banke district.
“The party will investigate whether or not the love between a pair is genuine,” 32-year-old Rana said straight-faced before flashing a wide grin and joking with other newly married combatants. The older married like himself and Sher Bahadur Karki were usually married before the armed insurgency.
“My wife took up arms a year after I joined the PLA so she could stay close to me,” 28-year-old Karki said. Otherwise they would not have been able to see each other every day as she would have had to stay behind in a village far away in Kalikot, he added.
Couples interviewed said that combatants who find themselves in close proximity, living and training together, would naturally fall in love and tend to get married. They said the marriage ceremonies that take place are usually simple affairs attended by the PLA community and curious local villagers.
Dressed in their combat fatigues, the groom and bride promise to spend their lives together, fulfill their duties towards each other and also towards the communist cause, said Commander Oli. He added that it is not compulsory for PLA combatants to be married to each other. “They have the freedom to choose their future spouses,” he said.
“It is a natural thing to eventually get married,” combatant Komal Prasad Acharya said. He has been married for five years and has a son.
Though the 26-year-old enjoys the company of his family within the camp, he admits that it can be difficult raising children in those surroundings.
“The facilities here and at home are different, especially for education. At home we also have the freedom of eating any time we want, unlike here,” the combatant from Kalikot said.
Despite all this, most couples like Shahi and Subedi are contented living close together and they look forward to spending their lives together as husbands and wives and as PLA combatants.
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