Nepal, Oct. 11 -- The morning sun usually brought life to the hills of Kumaltar, but lately, it only revealed the bones of a dying village. Located seventy kilometres away from the bustling hub of Kushma Bazaar, Kumaltar was once a vibrant settlement of terrace farms and singing rivers.

Now, it was a quiet graveyard of empty mud houses with locked doors.

Hira Bahadur, known to everyone as Subedar Ba, stood on his porch. He adjusted his old, stiff Indian Army cap. After thirty years of service and retiring at the prestigious rank of Subedar, he had finally returned home. He expected a warm welcome-the laughter of children running through dusty paths, and the smell of fresh dung and wet soil.

Instead, he found silence.

More than half th...