With the wedding season in full swing in Nepal, another wedding shouldn't be such a big deal. But the wedding last Saturday in Mahadeb Besi bajar in Dhading wasn't just any ordinary wedding. With discussion about the integration of the PLA and the Nepal Army forming a backdrop, a Maoist PLA and a Nepal Army soldier tied the knot.

On 11 November 2003, Dhading based Salisha Aryal's father, Indra Bahadur, was arrested by the then-royal Nepal Army, accused of being a Maoist informer. From that day on he still hasn't been found. Studying in grade 10 at that time, Salisha left school and fled to a Maoist shelter with one aim: to avenge her father's disappearance. She became a guerrilla in the Maoist army.

Salisha, who was based at Chitwan's Satikhor cantonment, had returned home to Dhading to pursue leads regarding her father's disappearance. When she was asking for help, she was introduced to a soldier of the Nepal Army-Srikumar Acharya. From then on they started dating. "I fell in love with his character and his behaviour," says Salisha.

When asked whether marrying a soldier from the Nepal Army would change her belief in Maoist principles, Salisha says, "I believe in the Maoists just as I did before and I will continue to." Among the guests were Dhading's Maoist CA member Pushpa Bikram Malla, PLA's 4th division commander Yam Bahadur Adhikari and district secretary Akansha. Malla says: "This wedding does not only have cultural significance but it has political significance too."

Her uncle Bharat says, "The time and situation have changed. If we want to change society, looking for revenge won't work."