Democracy For Nepal: Nonviolent Madhesi Movement For Equality Or Violent Ethnic Riot

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Nonviolent Madhesi Movement For Equality Or Violent Ethnic Riot

I have never believed in violent political methods, nor do I today in the heat of the Madhesi Movement. But I do preach nonviolent militancy. I do preach major street action. I do preach the concept of a continuous movement for something like a democracy movement, like in April 2006 in Nepal, or a civil rights movement, like the Madhesi Movement, the Maghe Kranti, going on now. You have a few basic demands, and you shut the country down until those demands are met.

I played a major role in pushing the concept of a continuous movement for the democracy movement in Nepal for 15 months, and all my efforts are well documented in the archives of my blog at Madhesi.net. What ended up happening was much bigger than what I had envisioned, what anyone had envisioned, but otherwise the political leaders now in power kept thinking in terms of a mass meeting here, a mass meeting there, a rally here, a rally there, a Nepal Band here, a Nepal Band there. The most they would go for would be a Band that lasted a few days. Even the April Revolution started with a four day Band.

I have compared the April Revolution to the physical universe. There was no center. It was a global effort, and the primary credit goes to all those who actually braved the streets.

I see this Madhesi Movement as the second chapter of the April Revolution. It has the look and the feel and the tempo of the April Revolution in all ways. To me the goal of this movement - total equality for the Madhesi - is as clear as was the goal of the April Revolution: democracy and human rights. The Janajatis also have been warming up. The Madhesh has been totally shut down like Nepal was shut down in April. Martyrs are being produced at the rate of one a day like in April. The king kept calling for dialogue, Girija is doing the same. The royalists back then warned of Maoist infiltration. Today the Pahadi Bahuns are warning of royalist and Hindu supremacist infiltration. Only this time around the global media has been very slow coming.

As a Madhesi, I have been waiting for this movement all my life. This movement has helped me ditch my proposed three state federalism - Koshi, Gandaki, Karnali - and go for a Madhesh state, a Kirat state, a Newa state, and the like. The contours of this movement have drawn the boundaries of the future Madhesh state. I have been blunt in terms of openly thinking in terms of a separate Madhesh country in response to the Pahadi Bahuns in power thinking aloud possibilities of sending in the military. But I hope that is just saber rattling on both parts, for I am someone wedded to the idea in the long term of a South Asian economic union. The global trend is integration and globalization, not disintegration.

Yes, there has been violence. But that violence has been one of state terror. Nonviolent Madhesi protestors have been killed. There is talk one policeman was killed, and that is wrong, but the Jwala Singh faction of the Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) has taken responsibility for that. The Madhesi Janadhikar Forum need not take responsibility for the JTMM any more than the Congress or the UML need take responsibility for the Maoists.

There have been some other acts of violence too. There have been retaliatory acts of arson in response to the Nepalgunj riots. And all that has been wrong and unnecessary. But then was the April Revolution neat and clean? Hardly. It is hard for a powerless people to get organized. That is why the Madhesi Movement has been so long in surfacing. Those who have been the reason for the Madhesi powerlessness are the ones who have been complaining the Madhesi Movement is not super well organized.

People like Upendra Yadav and Jay Prakash Gupta have been on my mailing list, the largest Nepali mailing list in the world, forever. I was on the phone with Rajendra Mahato and Anil Jha recently. Recently I sent out a private webpage of close to a hundred Madhesi leaders in Nepal of nearly that many organizations to the Madhesis in America for phone banking purposes to express moral support. I have had Madhesis in London and Toronto chat with me online. We ended up launching Madhesi International.

The basic demands have to be met. That is what will get the people off the streets. There is no other way now, there was no other way in April.

Democracy is one person, one vote. Anything else is hypocricy. And so all 205 constituencies have to be of equal population. Half of Nepal lives in the Terai, so 103 of the 205 constituencies have to be in the Terai. That is the most fundamental demand. Without that the constituent assembly elections will not be allowed to take place since such elections will be farcical like the king's municipality elections.

Federalism has to be given now. Girija asking for three years to give federalism is no different from the king asking for three years to give democracy. We already have a map, the Maoist map. The Madhesi like it, the Janajati like it, let's go for it.

Denial of citizenship papers is violation of human rights that the Pahadi human rights organizations don't talk about, the Pahadi media does not much write about. 10 years ago a Congress government put the number at 42 lakh. Today Krishna Sitaula wants to cap it at 33 lakh. That is not going to fly. All those who were six years old 10 years ago in a country where 40% of the people are less than 14 years old must have become eligible. I am guessing the number at 60 lakh.

And Krishna Sitaula has to resign. All those killed by his police have to be declared martyrs by the state. That would be the starting point of a political resolution, or a Madhesh Band is as good as a Nepal Band and it will continue indefinitely.

This Madhesi Movement has been issue based and has invited the Janajati and the Dalit in. There is plenty of room for progressive Bahun Chhetri men also in this movement.

The Madhesi Movement is like the civil rights movement in America in the 1960s. The success of that movement did not make the whites less well off. It was good for all. Similarly DaMaJaMa equality in Nepal will not diminish the Bahun Chhetri men. Spreading democracy and social justice is kind of like creating wealth. You grow the pie. It is not a zero sum game. Many whites marched with blacks in the US in the 1960s.

King's 3 Years, Girija's 3 Years: Not Happening
Sukhdev Shah: Terai’s Fate—Looking Within!
Pahadi Bias Colors Global Media
Butchers, Stop The Killing, You Will Get Tried
Action Plan: 5 + 5
Gyane In April: 3 Speeches, Girija In Magh: How Many?
सत्ताधारी सात पहाडी पार्टीको घैंटोमा अझै घाम लागेको छैन
Girija Koirala: Address To The Nation: Madhesi Movement Partial Victory
The Movement Will Not Stop, It Will Go To Step 2
Dragonfly Without A Wing Loses Hearing Capacity
सरिता गिरी: अशान्त मधेस, नया नेपाल
Hamro Nepal Press Release: Only A Political Outlet To The Madhesi Movement
माघे क्रान्ित, राजावादी र िहन्दु कट्टरपन्थीबारे
The Maoist Map Is A Pretty Good Map
Kamal Thapa Should Be Arrested, But Not For The Madhesi Movement
Madhesi Movement Invites The Dalit, The Janajati, The Mahila
The Ball Is In Girija's Court: A Response To Pramod Kantha
Gagan Thapa On The Terai

In The News

Awakening Ethnic Identity and Freedom NepalNews
The Interim Constitution; the Madhesi Turmoil
PM's statement hasn't addressed Madhesi people's demands: NSP-A "The statement (PM's) couldn’t totally address the demands of our party and the voice of Madhesi people," Rajendra Mahato, general secretary of the party told Kantipur Television after the party's central committee meeting. The party has been advocating the proportional electoral system and distribution of the election constituencies on the basis of population. Mahato also said that the Terai region should get half of the total election constituencies across the country. ...... Girija Prasad Koirala .. expressed commitment to opt for a federal system of governance and add more electoral constituencies to Terai and other districts in proportion to the growth in population.
PM's statement insufficient: Prachanda
3 protesters killed in Inaruwa
Terai agitation continues unabated; curfew in Biratnagar, Chanranigahpur The eastern and mid Terai region where life has been disrupted severely for the last two weeks owing to the ongoing protests, though showed signs of normalcy yesterday, could not retain it for long. ..... The four-hour relaxation in curfew order saw a huge number of people thronging the marketplaces to buy essential daily goods. ...... Demonstrators on Wednesday night torched UML's Tulsi Lal Memorial conference hall at Garuda. ..... Madhesi Rastriya Mukti Morcha, a CPN-Maoist affiliate, began demonstrations since morning labeling the prime minister's address and appeal a "dodge". ...... Lahan, the epicenter of the eastern Terai agitation, that has been seeing agitation and demonstration for the last 14 days in a row, has not been able to breathe again. ..... more than a dozen buses bound for Kakarvitta from Kathmandu have been stranded at Bardibas of Mahottari. The protesters obstructed vehicular movement at Dhalkebar, Dhanusa Wednesday night forcing more than 350 passengers traveling to eastern Nepal to remain stranded in the middle of the highway. ..... Jaleshwor, Mahottari too has not remained untouched with the ongoing demonstrations. The demonstrators padlocked more than a dozen government offices including District Election Commission's Office, Agriculture Development Bank, Rastriya Banijya Bank among others this morning...... Kalaiya of Bara also did not show any sign of improvement today. The marketplace, schools, offices and industries remained closed.
PM's address was not as per eight parties' agreement: Prachanda the Nepal Sadbhavna Party-Anandi Devi had already lodged a note of dissent before the PM made an address and the Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party did not even participate in the meeting.
Second day of strike cripples life in eastern hilly region
Protesters storm, torch govt offices in Birgunj; curfew clamped, lifted Around 10,000 protesters earlier today gathered at the local Ghantaghar and vandalized and torched the Land Revenue Office, Office of the Controller of Auditor, Forest Office and others while marching towards the customs office. .... The demonstrators also vandalized the vehicles parked around the customs office. ..... Earlier this morning, demonstrators vandalized the Transport Office and Nepal Oil Corporation.
Amnesty International urges enquiry into Terai killings
Capital sees shortage of petroleum products
Highway robbers loot property worth Rs 1.1m from passengers around Rs 11 hundred thousand worth of jewellery, money and other personal belongings from the 15 passengers of the vehicle.
PM's address not satisfactory: MPRF Yadav said that the peaceful protests in the Terai region would continue until the fundamental demands of the Madheshi people were met. ......senior party leaders including NSP chairperson Anandi Devi Yadav and other central committee members are present in the meeting ...... The leaders have not ruled out the possibility that NSP might decide to opt out of the seven party alliance at the end of today's meeting. ...... senior leftist leader Ram Raja Prasad Singh termed the PM's address to be "unfortunate" and called it to have been "full of ill intentions". Chairman of the Nepal Janabadi Morcha, Singh in a statement today, said that the government must exhibit its generosity by fulfilling the genuine demands put forward by the agitating parties.
Jwala Singh-led JTMM takes responsibility for attack on police post three missing police officers were in their custody and added that they were being held hostage according to the Geneva Convention. ..... The protesters brutally murdered Assistant Sub Inspector Naresh Jung Karki, who was leading a 13-member police team at Buddhanagar

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