Nepalis plough in Indian soil|Impact

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Indo-Nepal border: It has been 10 years since Nepal's Maoists begun their struggle to establish a communist republic through violence, and even today, their terror continues unabated — not only in Nepal, but also beyond its borders.

Hundreds of acres of Indian land is being ploughed by Nepali citizens. What's more shocking is that even their flags are flying high on Indian soil.

At a stretch of the Indo-Nepal border, nearly a hundred and fifty kilometers of land is virtually unguarded and Nepali farmers are ploughing not only the no-man's land but also the Indian soil beyond.

What is more alarming is that they have the support of the army and the Maoists.

And the Indian villagers living on the border are crying for help. "These people crossed the border with flags and guns," says Ram Babu, a villager.

Rajesh Srivastava, a staff of revenue department, says, "They crossed the border and entered India. They hoisted their flag in our territory."

Is this a slow but deliberate design of the Nepali army to keep pushing its boundaries into the Indian territory?

Pillars demarcating the International boundary have been uprooted and Maoist camps right on the border is a sure sign of lurking terror."We want peace. We are fighting for peace," says Maoist leader, Sri Babu.

Response to this crisis from the Indian side has been poor so far. After a month's persuasion by villagers, only a handful of SSB jawans and a team of local district officials have come to survey the land.

A situation as this one, should ideally have set the alarm bell ringing in India, but the way Government on the Indian side has reacted to save its borders is a encouraging enough signal for Nepali Maoists.

A handful of SSB jawans are hardly a match for the might of Nepali Maoists and its army. And the explanation offered by the officials reeks of callousness. "An enquiry is on. We will have an answer soon," says S Chandrashekar, a forest officer.

It's high time that the Centre takes action — not only to save the villagers who are losing their land but also to check the terror unleashed by the Nepal Maoists.

(With Sujit Kumar and Rupesh)