"Negroes will be mentally healthier if they do not suppress rage but vent it."
- Dr. Martin Luther King
Audio
Madhesi Rights 1
Madhesi Rights 2
Madhesi Rights 3
Sajha: Madhesi Rights
SEBS: Bhagat's Vocal Blog On Madhesi
There is the macro and there is the micro. Inflation is a macro reality. The prices at one shop are micro. One person is micro. A million people are macro.
When you discuss prejudice, discrimination, racism and things like that, you are talking macro, although there are clear micro implications. The masses are made up of individuals. It is individuals getting adversely affected.
Measuring inflation takes training, it is quite a sophisticated process. Seeing prejudice and discrimination takes a heightened political consciousness. On the part of the oppressed and the oppressor.
Where you see prejudice and discrimination, people claim not to see the same.
When they discriminate, they look at you and not see an individual. They see Madhesi. But when you complain, they turn that upside down. They say you are an individual, the Madhesi identity does not exist. There are only Yadavs and Jhas, what caste are you? If even that.
For every prejudiced Pahadi, you will meet an internalized prejudice Madhesi. It is the happy equilibrium between the two that sustains the prejudice in the first place. And so both have to be attacked.
And so when someone like me comes along and is vocal about the sad political plight of the Madhesis in Nepal and in the mini Nepals across the world, there is this urge among many to try and suggest there is nothing wrong with the macro, instead maybe there is something wrong with the micro of the one person that I am. Maybe I am a frustrated individual. Maybe I have hypertension, maybe I have high blood pressure. Perhaps there is some other kind of chemical imbalance in my body that leads me to making angry speeches. Maybe there is perhaps even mental imbalance. Society is okay. The person seeing the social disease is the one diseased.
That also applies to race. There are racists and there are internalized racists.
Budhanilkantha, Sadbhavana, Berea, DFA
A Few Diagrams
Someone prejudiced is deficient. When you point that out, they hit back. You are the one deficient. They try to turn the tables. There is no sickness out there. It is your sick mind that is seeing the sickness.
When you do political work, you got to protect yourself. Basically you are selling ideas. A little detachment helps. The personal and the political have to be seen separate. Privacy is important. Beware of people whose idea of getting "close" is to try and invade your privacy.
And the internalized prejudice is but a mirror image of the prejudice. Both have to be attacked. The slave mentality Madhesi is no boon to the cause. The internalization is the price they pay to belong to the prejudiced Pahadi social circles they might roam. It has got to be a huge emotional price to pay. It can not possibly be healthy.
Formal education and political consciousness do not always go together. The more educated might just end up more entrenched in their prejudiced ways.
In a way the whole thing is tricky, in a way it is not.
In The News
Govt. decides to withdraw, not to file cases under TADO NepalNews
Newly appointed ministers sworn in
Indian court hands down three year sentence to Gajurel
Talks moving in positive direction: Mahara
CPN (Maoist) opens its contact office in Lalitpur
Child labour poses a serious challenge in Nepal: ILO
Koirala urges Maoists to move as per spirit of people’s movement
Journos took money from the royal govt.: MoIC
Home Minister Sitaula, top Maoist leaders hold talks in Kaski
Pakistan donates computers to Nepal Army Times of India, India
Nepal's PM Makes Historic Trip to India OhmyNews International, South Korea
Time To Consider Nepal’s Merger With India
Nepal scraps anti-terrorism law
Nepal's king stripped of veto power by Parliament Detroit Free Press, United States
NEPAL: Interview with UN Resident Representative, Matthew Kahane Reuters AlertNet, UK
UN awaiting Nepal's invitation to monitor ceasefire
UN awaits Nepal's call to check ceasefire
Maoists force Nepal govt to suspend parliament
Nepali Army continues recruitment
UN awaits govt letter
Janaandolan injured still in hospital
Who received how much from royal govt?
Home Minister Sitaula meets Maoist Chairman Prachanda in western Nepal
प्रचण्ड-सिटौला वार्ता
वार्तामा केन्दि्रत हुन सदन स्थगन गरिने
शाही सरकारबाट रकम बुझ्ने पत्रकारहरू
विद्यार्थी हत्याको विरोधमा जनकपुर बन्द
बनेपामा माओवादी सभा
स्थानीयद्वारा मेलम्ची बन्दको चेतावनी
माओवादी रोपाइँमा व्यस्त
चन्दा प्रकोप
मदन भण्डारीको बाटोमा प्रचण्ड
Visitors
| 1. | 08:44 | Deutsche Telekom AG, Germany | |
| 2. | 08:46 | Universität Hannover, Hannover, Germany | |
| 3. | 08:51 | Easynet Limited, United Kingdom |
| 08:54 | Bharti British Telecom Internet Limited, India |
| 7. | 09:09 | Bharti Enterprises, India | |
| 8. | 09:32 | National Internet Backbone, India |
| 11. | 09:44 | Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, India |
| 13. | 09:58 | Software Technology Parks, India | |
| 14. | 10:12 | National Centre for Software Technology, India | |
| 15. | 10:20 | Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway |
| 11:26 | Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, India |
| 12:54 | Emmsons Infotech Ltd., India |
| 46. | 13:40 | Google Inc., Mountain View, United States | |
| 47. | 13:45 | AMD, Austin, United States | |
| 48. | 13:48 | Comcast Communications, Alexandria, United States | |
| 49. | 13:55 | Columbia University, United States | |
| 50. | 13:57 | Singapore (singa.pore.net) |
Teraian get together at Nepali Mandir, NY
Teraians (madhesis) get together is being organized on June 17 at Nepali Mandir. Aim is to promote interaction between madhesis and socialize. We also plan to discuss about current challenges faced by madhesis in Nepal and abroad.Venue: Nepali Mandir, 34-11 62nd Street, 2FL, Woodside, NY 11377.
The nearest subway station is 65th Street on G,R,V.
Date: June 17, 2006, Saturday
Time: 12 - 5 PM
Programs:
12 - 12:30 Light Lunch, potluck -- bring some of your own food, not mandatory)
12:30 - 1:30 Introductions lead by Dr. Binay Shah
1:30 - 4:00 Discussions, one question each by Paramendra Bhagat, Satya Narayan Yadav, Biplav Yadav. A question is asked and each person takes turns to respond. Chairs arranged in a circle.
- What has it meant for you to be Madhesi? What prejudices and discriminations have you experienced as a Madhesi in Nepal, socially inthe US?
- How do you feel about the problems of sexism, and casteism and classism within the Terai?
- How can the Madhesis worldwide get together to earn rights?
4:00 - 5:00 Informal talk and refreshments
Looking forward to meeting you.Sincerely,
Dr. Binay Kumar shah
President, NY ANTA
June 7 Madhesi Rally In Janakpur
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