Randhir Chaudhary, December 1/ These days, one’s patriotism is easily questioned by the Nepali elites, whenever he/she speaks something in favor of the ongoing Madhes movement.
But, neither those elites have dared to speak about deep cause of the escalating movement in the Terai nor do they play any roles to bring the two sections of the population Pahadis (people of hill origin) and Madhesis on the same page. Madhesi and Tharu forces launched their protest as soon as the first draft of the constitution was passed by the Constituent Assembly. Moreover, the promulgation of the constitution was accompanied by a violent, pain-filled divide of the society with the people in the hills celebrating Dipawali to mark the promulgation of the constitution and Madhesis and Tharus observing blackout in their region, the southern plains. Madhesis and Tharus say the new constitution discriminates against them and it renders them in minority in their own region. Who are responsible for such sharp division of the Nepalese Population?
Different Manipulators
As we know many Nepalis live in the villages where the ‘city-centered media outlets’ have no access.
The mainstream media always gives less coverage to the protests in the Terai even when the number of participants is high. One example is the recent human chain formed across the Terai by the protesting Madhesi parties. Media gives space to the Terai agitation only when the protesters get violated.
Local journalists working for mainstream media say their dispatches about Terai agitation are often thrown into the dustbins by their editors. Such tendency has angered people in Madhes. This is the reason why almost all the mainstream media are not allowed to send their newspapers in the cities of the Madhesh.
Not only the media, the so-called intellectuals also face the wrath of the Madhesis. I have seen many writers and columnist speaking and writing the political leaders’ language- what are the demands of Madhesis?
It seems they are not aware that the state signed the 22-point agreement and 8-point agreement with the Madhesi forces on August 30, 2007 and February 28, 2008 respectively. The former was signed with Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Nepal (now Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal) and latter was signed with United Democratic Madhesi Front.
These days, when we switch on the Nepali news channels, the interviewers play double roles. They ask questions and become defensive whenever any interviewee speaks something in favor of Madhes movement.
A retired professor and ex Ambassador of Nepal to India had shared his experience with me that he was called pro-Indian when, at a TV talk show, he said the Nepalese leaders should resolve the domestic problems first to resolve the blockade at Nepal-India border entry points.
And, such roles of different stakeholders inflamed the protesters’ anger on the ground.
People in Kathmandu and other hills districts should know very well that the Madhesi parties began blockading the border entry points only when the government did not even feel the need to talk to the agitating parties. The government pushed the agitating Madhesi parties to the wall by declaring one after another areas of Madhes riot hit or prohibited zones. State resorted to repressive measures to supress the Terai agitation.
Since then, the Kathmandu intelligentsia have started mingling the madhesi demands with the demands of India and tried to give illusion to the public that the Madhesis’ demands are that of India’s. Even in the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review (UPR), 2015, debate the issue of blockade which Nepal claims a de facto blockade by India on the Nepal-India border was raised by Nepal but brutal killings of protestors, police personal and use of excessive force in Madhes was not raised. Madhes protest should not have been discussed in Geneva with priority. Do we believe that this was not possible because of our Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa, who has been labelled as human rights violators by the Raymajhi Commission, 2006?
Think seriously
I totally agree with columnist Tula Narayan Sah when he says, there are three kinds of political forces in the Terai. I also see the third force- or the separatists have started to draw people’s attention Repression and defeat of moderate Madhesi forces such as Upendra Yadav led Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal, Mahantha Thakur led Terai Madhes Democratic Party and Rajendra Mahato led Sadbhawana Party would only embolden the hands of separatists.
Author, Adrian Guelke said in his book- Politics in Deeply Divided Society,’ said, in the deeply divided societies, which are characterized by lack of consensus on the framework for the making of decisions and by a contested political process in which the legitimacy of its outcomes is challenged by one segment of the society the strategy of the disaffected communities is likely to be directed primarily at exit from the polity through secession or partition.
Nepal’s new constitution is the 7th constitution of Nepal but there had never been a case like this in the past when Madhesis sustained such a long protest against the constitution. After the incident of Tikapur, thousands of Tharu population have been displaced from Kailali and its nearby districts. A Tharu civil society leader, in a programme organized by Jagrit Nepal, in Kathmandu, said how anger against the state’s apathy towards Tharus’ grievances was brewing in Tharu dominated districts like Dang, Banke and Kailali. According to that leader, a big chunk of Tharu are feeling alienated. They have stopped buying commodities from the shop owned by people of hill-community. Tharu youths are even considering taking up arms.
Nationalism Card
In the aftermath of the blockade of border entry points, the leaders of big parties are saying the madhesi concerns are India’s concern. One of the cabinet minister claimed that India is preparing to merge the Terai region in India. The problem with hill nationalism is that, it always suspect Madhesis’ loyalty to the nation. Whenever it puts demands vis-à-vis the state, the state thinks that the Madhesis are speaking on India’s behalf. I remember what Adolf Hitler has mentioned in his Autobiography- “Unless you have enemies, you cannot become great leader. Even if you do not have enemies, create the fiction that your country is in danger, because when people are afraid they are ready to become slaves. When people are afraid they are ready follow the politicians”.
We can see same thing on social media- the innocent people starts saying ‘rasstrwaadi’ to the leaders who made such fictions. But, this has become corrugated philosophy in this twitter generation, where people from opposite community are ready to give counter logics to falsify such fiction.
Be critical
Madhesi parties have joined the parliament and their participation signifies that they are committed to democratic resolution of their issues. The state would be in illusion if it thinks that the Madhesi lost their battle on the street and therefore they have now returned to the Parliament. As long as moderate Madhesi forces remain active in the democratic process, they will block space for the radicalism in the southern plains. Kathmandu needs to think that they are only demanding inclusion and proportional representation in all the state organs; they are seeking corrections in the gerrymandering of the provinces. Why is the state showing reluctance to incorporate the clauses of interim constitution which has been removed in the 2015 Constitution? Taking this scenario into serious account, to topple the germinating separatists, it would be good enough to address the marginalized concerns quickly. As we know, nobody can stop the tide of history and one cannot swim against the current of the time. You might dodge successfully for a while, even for years, but sooner or later the existing genuine issues of downtrodden communities will tilt the nation towards uncontrollable position.
Twitter: randhirJNK
Writer is human right activist.
