K Yhome, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi, #2228, 2 March 2007
The recent turmoil in Madhes (or the Terai plains bordering India) was a stark reflection of the challenges confronting the restructuring process in Nepal. It was also a reminder to the current interim government that the problems in Nepal are not yet over and that there are serious socio-economic and political issues that need to be addressed.
The Madhesi uprising in January was marked by bans, protests, and violence in some major areas of Nepal's terai resulting in the death of over thirty people. This has in several ways changed the interim government's approach to and the management of Nepal's political restructuring and peace process. It has also raised many questions. Why was the violence so potent? Who was responsible? How will it affect the restructuring process? And so on.
These questions are palpable in the context of Nepal's fragile political restructuring process that is underway. While exploring answers to these questions, however, there is a proclivity to misinterpret the Madhesi issue. Some (mis)conceptions that have come about in the wake of the uprising are not only erroneous but also dangerous.
The Madhesi issue is not a communal issue. It is not one of Madhesis ("people of the plains") vs Pahadis ("people of the hills") as some tend to view it. This misinterpretation of the Madhesi issue commits a serious mistake by making it a community-based issue that could have grave implications for the country. To view the issue as a problem between Madhesis and Pahadis reveals a poor understanding of Nepal's complex society.
While one may have some facts supporting such an argument, it fails to explain the real issue of the Madhesis. There were also reports that certain "forces" (implicating the "Royal agents" and the "right wing" elements in India) of allegedly instigating the Terai riots to create trouble for the interim government in a bid to salvage the "monarchy" in Nepal. Hard evidence to ascertain the involvement of these forces is difficult to unearth, but many in Nepal point fingers at these forces as being responsible for the violence.
Whatever the motive of those behind the terai violence, many ordinary Madhesis have lost their lives. Madhesis out on the streets at the risk of their lives were there for a different reason. For them it was a fight for a genuine object - the Madhesi cause.
The Madhesi issue did not suddenly emerge in January 2007. A long history of a sense of discrimination is at the root of the Madhesi struggle. To explain the recent uprising it is necessary to understand the issue from the correct perspective. The issue relates to a movement against the state's "discriminatory" politics. It is a fight for recognition of rights - political, cultural as well as economic - and a struggle for equal representation and opportunity. This forms the core ingredient of the Madhesi issue.
For over five decades, the Madhesis have been waging a movement against "discriminatory" laws of citizenship and language, as well as recruitment policies to the armed forces and bureaucracy. The struggle can be traced back to 1951 when a party called the Nepal Terai Congress was formed under the leadership of Vedananda Jha to advocate "regional autonomy" for the Madhesis.
Again, in 1983, Gajendra Narayan Singh established an organization called Nepal Sadbhavana Council with the aim of combat discrimination against the Madhesis. In the post-1990 era, the organization turned into a political party called Nepal Sadbhavana Party and in the general elections of 1991, 1994, and 1999, the party's manifesto called for a federal system of government, a liberal policy on citizenship and a separate Madhesi battalion in the army.
Despite the long struggle, however, the Madhesi issue has not been resolved partly on account of Nepal's five-decade history of being under autocratic rule - 1960 to 1990 and 2002 to 2006 - where political activities were restricted. Even during the short-lived democratic experiments in Nepal - 1950 to 1960 and 1991 to 2002 - the issue remained unresolved because of the lack of political will on the part of the successive governments.
The failure of the movement is also partly because of the internal divisions within the Madhesi leadership. The Sadbhavana Party has seen frequent infighting and splits that have further weakened the movement. It is in this context and in light of the predicaments mentioned that the Madhesi uprising of January needs to be understood.
The resolution of the Madhesi issue depends on how the interim parliament drafts a new constitution taking into account the various socio-political issues of the country. Should it fail to ensure the aspirations of the people, the recent outburst of violence in the terai will only be an indication of more chaos to follow.
Issues Discussed
A total of four thematic papers were presented by the expert of Madhesi communities
· The history of Nepal has recognized Madhesh as a separate unit through different legislations as administrative unit. Therefore, the demand for separate identity Madhesh province is legitimate demand.
· The Madhesh has an expectation to have strong Madhesh Pradesh with right to self- determination.
· The Madhesi people are discriminated, disrespected and treated as national of other state by the ruling class. In the past the identity card (Rahadani) was made compulsorily for the Madhesi people to enter to Kathmandu valley.
· The proposed special structure is not clear and may be detrimental to the strong Madhesh province.
· The autonomous regions and special structure should not be too stronger than the province. There should be balance of power among them.
· Madhesh should address the issues of discrimination and exploitation against Madhesi Dalit, Janajati and other minority groups living in Madhesh.
· Madhesh and Madhesi want to assert that they are the part and parcel of integrated Nepal and this is an opportunity to integrate the spirit of Madhesi people in the national mainstream.
· The parties to the constitutional negotiation need to accept the concerns of each other to resolve the issues of Madhesh. Only reliable and common agendas of the Madhesi people will help Madhesis in Constitutional negotiation.
· Madhesi Leader should not be of dual character. They should come together to discuss on the agendas of Madhesh and not concentrate themselves on the struggle for power sharing at this moment.
· Madhesh revolution has raised the issues of identity, representation, access, ownership over natural resources and federalism. All these attributes need to be addressed in the new Constitution.
· Madhesh has been gradually loosing decision making power. Madhesi people are more progressive than the Madhesi leaders.
· Internal democracy, intra party discussion, inter party discussion requires to be strengthened.
· Madhesi people demands Hindi as language of communication, but it should not be at the const of mother tongues like Maithili, Bhojpuri etc. therefore it should be listed as language of communication.
· All the mother tongue or national language should be treated equally by the state.
The workshop acknowledges the issues of Madhesis in the thematic committee reports
· Recognition of Madhesh Movement in the proposed preamble
· Federalism with identity of Madhesh province
· Proportional representation (reflected in CA)
· Proposed for Madhesi Commission
· Recognition of all language spoken in Nepal as national language
· Proposed for National Language Commission
· Decreasing trend of discrimination to Madhesi people (in practice)
· Right to self-determination for Madhesi community.
Conclusion and way forward
· The workshop has to further narrow down and identify the common agendas of Madhesi community.
· Madhesi CA Caucus should play a vital role in uniting all Madhesi CA members of all parties and also collaborate with all the underprivileged groups –Dalit, Janajati, Tharu, Muslim etc who occupy major area of Madesh.
· Articulate common agendas of Madhesh for constitutional negotiation and only reliable agenda should be agreed as bottom line. Common agendas should be agreed on the basis of what has been achieved. We should analyze the present situation, discuss and agree on possible common agendas of Madesh.
· The Madhesi CA Caucus should play a role to break the silence or distances among Madhesis and non Madhesi parties through its regular interactions and interventions on the issues of their concern.
· It is a time for tough bargaining for the Constitutional negotiation for the Madhesi issues. The negotiation should be across the party line. Hence, based on our three days discussion, now Madhesi parties and CAs should come together with one voice on the following concrete issues for constitutional negotiation.
1. Electoral system
2. Forms of the governance
3. Address the diversity and discrimination within the Madhesh (what will be the position of other communities residing in Madhesh like Tharus, Dalits, Janagatis, and Muslims etc).There is need to have regular dialogue with these communities while addressing the Madhesi issues in the new Constitution.
4. Shape of Madhesh Province (one or two or other units). We may review our past stand on the basis of the reality and learning's.
5. Language and
6. Power sharing between Madhesh and the Centre.
It is the need of the day to focus the future programme on the above mentioned issues and continue our discussion by narrowing down the contentious issues on the constitution. It's equally important to raise stronger voice in the constitutional negotiation then only we can achieve and see our agenda reflected in the new Constitution and for this continued support from UNDP is vital.
The recent turmoil in Madhes (or the Terai plains bordering India) was a stark reflection of the challenges confronting the restructuring process in Nepal. It was also a reminder to the current interim government that the problems in Nepal are not yet over and that there are serious socio-economic and political issues that need to be addressed.
The Madhesi uprising in January was marked by bans, protests, and violence in some major areas of Nepal's terai resulting in the death of over thirty people. This has in several ways changed the interim government's approach to and the management of Nepal's political restructuring and peace process. It has also raised many questions. Why was the violence so potent? Who was responsible? How will it affect the restructuring process? And so on.
These questions are palpable in the context of Nepal's fragile political restructuring process that is underway. While exploring answers to these questions, however, there is a proclivity to misinterpret the Madhesi issue. Some (mis)conceptions that have come about in the wake of the uprising are not only erroneous but also dangerous.
The Madhesi issue is not a communal issue. It is not one of Madhesis ("people of the plains") vs Pahadis ("people of the hills") as some tend to view it. This misinterpretation of the Madhesi issue commits a serious mistake by making it a community-based issue that could have grave implications for the country. To view the issue as a problem between Madhesis and Pahadis reveals a poor understanding of Nepal's complex society.
While one may have some facts supporting such an argument, it fails to explain the real issue of the Madhesis. There were also reports that certain "forces" (implicating the "Royal agents" and the "right wing" elements in India) of allegedly instigating the Terai riots to create trouble for the interim government in a bid to salvage the "monarchy" in Nepal. Hard evidence to ascertain the involvement of these forces is difficult to unearth, but many in Nepal point fingers at these forces as being responsible for the violence.
Whatever the motive of those behind the terai violence, many ordinary Madhesis have lost their lives. Madhesis out on the streets at the risk of their lives were there for a different reason. For them it was a fight for a genuine object - the Madhesi cause.
The Madhesi issue did not suddenly emerge in January 2007. A long history of a sense of discrimination is at the root of the Madhesi struggle. To explain the recent uprising it is necessary to understand the issue from the correct perspective. The issue relates to a movement against the state's "discriminatory" politics. It is a fight for recognition of rights - political, cultural as well as economic - and a struggle for equal representation and opportunity. This forms the core ingredient of the Madhesi issue.
For over five decades, the Madhesis have been waging a movement against "discriminatory" laws of citizenship and language, as well as recruitment policies to the armed forces and bureaucracy. The struggle can be traced back to 1951 when a party called the Nepal Terai Congress was formed under the leadership of Vedananda Jha to advocate "regional autonomy" for the Madhesis.
Again, in 1983, Gajendra Narayan Singh established an organization called Nepal Sadbhavana Council with the aim of combat discrimination against the Madhesis. In the post-1990 era, the organization turned into a political party called Nepal Sadbhavana Party and in the general elections of 1991, 1994, and 1999, the party's manifesto called for a federal system of government, a liberal policy on citizenship and a separate Madhesi battalion in the army.
Despite the long struggle, however, the Madhesi issue has not been resolved partly on account of Nepal's five-decade history of being under autocratic rule - 1960 to 1990 and 2002 to 2006 - where political activities were restricted. Even during the short-lived democratic experiments in Nepal - 1950 to 1960 and 1991 to 2002 - the issue remained unresolved because of the lack of political will on the part of the successive governments.
The failure of the movement is also partly because of the internal divisions within the Madhesi leadership. The Sadbhavana Party has seen frequent infighting and splits that have further weakened the movement. It is in this context and in light of the predicaments mentioned that the Madhesi uprising of January needs to be understood.
The resolution of the Madhesi issue depends on how the interim parliament drafts a new constitution taking into account the various socio-political issues of the country. Should it fail to ensure the aspirations of the people, the recent outburst of violence in the terai will only be an indication of more chaos to follow.
The Madhesi Issues in the New Constitution
A workshop on the Madhesi Issues in the New Constitution was held from 21-23 December 2010 at Godavari Village Resort with two major objectives; to discuss on the agendas of Madhesh among the Madhesi CA members representing different political parties and other stakeholders and to identify common agenda of Madhesh that needs to be addressed in the new Constitution. The Workshop was jointly organized by Centre for Constitutional Dialogue, Madhesi CA Caucus and Madhesi NGO Federation. A total of 53 participants (19 CA members including the Committee Chairs, senior political leaders from eight political parties) participate the workshop.Issues Discussed
A total of four thematic papers were presented by the expert of Madhesi communities
- Federal Structure and Issues of Tarai/Madhesh - by Surendra Mahato
- Issues of Inclusiveness, Representation, Identity and Access of Marginalized Madhesi People in the Thematic Committee Reports - by Chandra Kishore Jha
- Issue of Language in the New Constitution and Ways to Address – by Gopal Thakur
- Expectations of Terai/Madhesi People from New Constitution, Achievement as of Now and Futures Probabilities - by Kausalendra Mishra
· The history of Nepal has recognized Madhesh as a separate unit through different legislations as administrative unit. Therefore, the demand for separate identity Madhesh province is legitimate demand.
· The Madhesh has an expectation to have strong Madhesh Pradesh with right to self- determination.
· The Madhesi people are discriminated, disrespected and treated as national of other state by the ruling class. In the past the identity card (Rahadani) was made compulsorily for the Madhesi people to enter to Kathmandu valley.
· The proposed special structure is not clear and may be detrimental to the strong Madhesh province.
· The autonomous regions and special structure should not be too stronger than the province. There should be balance of power among them.
· Madhesh should address the issues of discrimination and exploitation against Madhesi Dalit, Janajati and other minority groups living in Madhesh.
· Madhesh and Madhesi want to assert that they are the part and parcel of integrated Nepal and this is an opportunity to integrate the spirit of Madhesi people in the national mainstream.
· The parties to the constitutional negotiation need to accept the concerns of each other to resolve the issues of Madhesh. Only reliable and common agendas of the Madhesi people will help Madhesis in Constitutional negotiation.
· Madhesi Leader should not be of dual character. They should come together to discuss on the agendas of Madhesh and not concentrate themselves on the struggle for power sharing at this moment.
· Madhesh revolution has raised the issues of identity, representation, access, ownership over natural resources and federalism. All these attributes need to be addressed in the new Constitution.
· Madhesh has been gradually loosing decision making power. Madhesi people are more progressive than the Madhesi leaders.
· Internal democracy, intra party discussion, inter party discussion requires to be strengthened.
· Madhesi people demands Hindi as language of communication, but it should not be at the const of mother tongues like Maithili, Bhojpuri etc. therefore it should be listed as language of communication.
· All the mother tongue or national language should be treated equally by the state.
The workshop acknowledges the issues of Madhesis in the thematic committee reports
· Recognition of Madhesh Movement in the proposed preamble
· Federalism with identity of Madhesh province
· Proportional representation (reflected in CA)
· Proposed for Madhesi Commission
· Recognition of all language spoken in Nepal as national language
· Proposed for National Language Commission
· Decreasing trend of discrimination to Madhesi people (in practice)
· Right to self-determination for Madhesi community.
Conclusion and way forward
· The workshop has to further narrow down and identify the common agendas of Madhesi community.
· Madhesi CA Caucus should play a vital role in uniting all Madhesi CA members of all parties and also collaborate with all the underprivileged groups –Dalit, Janajati, Tharu, Muslim etc who occupy major area of Madesh.
· Articulate common agendas of Madhesh for constitutional negotiation and only reliable agenda should be agreed as bottom line. Common agendas should be agreed on the basis of what has been achieved. We should analyze the present situation, discuss and agree on possible common agendas of Madesh.
· The Madhesi CA Caucus should play a role to break the silence or distances among Madhesis and non Madhesi parties through its regular interactions and interventions on the issues of their concern.
· It is a time for tough bargaining for the Constitutional negotiation for the Madhesi issues. The negotiation should be across the party line. Hence, based on our three days discussion, now Madhesi parties and CAs should come together with one voice on the following concrete issues for constitutional negotiation.
1. Electoral system
2. Forms of the governance
3. Address the diversity and discrimination within the Madhesh (what will be the position of other communities residing in Madhesh like Tharus, Dalits, Janagatis, and Muslims etc).There is need to have regular dialogue with these communities while addressing the Madhesi issues in the new Constitution.
4. Shape of Madhesh Province (one or two or other units). We may review our past stand on the basis of the reality and learning's.
5. Language and
6. Power sharing between Madhesh and the Centre.
It is the need of the day to focus the future programme on the above mentioned issues and continue our discussion by narrowing down the contentious issues on the constitution. It's equally important to raise stronger voice in the constitutional negotiation then only we can achieve and see our agenda reflected in the new Constitution and for this continued support from UNDP is vital.
External Links
- Ten major issues of Madhesh which should must be address by Constitution
In Nepali (on this blog)
Facebook Version - Hachhethu, Krishna (2007). "Madheshi Nationalism and Restructuring the Nepali State". seminar "Constitutionalism and Diversity in Nepal", organizd by Centre for Nepal and Asia Studies, Trubhuvan University. Kathmandu, Nepal. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
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