The Gonds didn’t make any noise. Policemen turning up in their houses was normal for them. It had been happening for generations. Some, like the mahji, were surprised when they were told they were being arrested because they had been talking to Maoists. The mahji told Patnaik that he had never seen a Maoist in his life, and wasn’t even sure what they stood for, which was true. But Patnaik did not listen. At each house, the other members of the family quietly stood by while the policemen went through the few belongings and pieces of furniture. The few cellphones which some of the headmen possessed and Jadob’s old phone were all seized, put inside a bag and taken away. The team also took some books and papers from Jadob. Most of the books were of Odia poetry, but Patnaik had told his men to take any papers or documents they wanted to. It was a serious raid, he had told them.

The Gonds were all pushed inside the truck and taken back to Balangir. In less than two hours, the protesters did not have a single leader left in the villages.

Korok was sleeping at home when all this happened, and was shaken awake by his neighbour. They hurried to the mahji’s house, but by then Patnaik and his men had left. The mahji’s daughters were huddled in a corner, crying. He had never been arrested before. He was the headman of Deogan, the most respected of the Gonds. But all the elders were gone.

Korok sat outside. He could have crossed the river and gone to Jadob’s small house in the village nearest the road, but there was no point. Korok had first felt fear when his father was arrested, but Jadob, the mahji and his own uncle’s family had been with him. Everyone knew his father would come back. But this morning, Korok felt really, really alone. Without the leaders, there was nothing anybody could do. The government would make the villagers leave their homes. The epho’s house and garden would stay. Or maybe not. The government could even make the epho move to a new house, and tear down this one. Korok’s garden would be swallowed by the mine. He could not even bear to imagine it. And besides, when the hill was gone, there would be no more flowers for him to grow.