Democracy For Nepal

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Madhesi Rights: Total Equality

The Madhesi issue is the number one social issue in Nepal. Just like there is casteism and sexism in the hills, there is casteism and sexism in the Terai, sure. There is poverty in the Pahad, there is poverty in the Terai. There is poverty in Kathmandu.

But the poor Madhesis who sell fruits and vegetables in Kathmandu don't feel like their poverty helps them attain some kind of solidarity with the poor folks in Kathmandu. They bear the brunt of some of the most explicit anti-Madhesi prejudice. It is ethnic. It is regionalism. We should think up a few more names to describe the phenomenon.

Janajatis are better off than the Madhesis. Look at their numbers in America. Ending up in America is a socio-economic achievement. Not many Madhesis have made it. The social filters in Nepal keep many behind.

The Madhesis in Nepal fare worse than the Dalit, Janajati and Mahila. Maybe not Dalit. There are even fewer Dalits in America than there are Madhesis. Maybe the Madhesi and the Mahila are comparable. But the Mahila who have made it are too busy asserting their ethnic identities.

Prejudice is like radioactivity: it can be measured.

It is about India, perhaps. India is big. No, it is huge. Wait, it is humongous. Nepal is small, tiny. A big chunk of Nepali false nationalism is based on anti-Indianism. But then it is not about India. Otherwise the Indians of Darjeeling and Assam would also be at the receiving end.

It is a cultural definition. And it is vicious.

Women are half the planet, but they don't have the associated power. Power is more than numbers. Power comes from solidarity. Numbers are not enough.

Madhesis are half of Nepal, some say 40%. What women are on the planet, the Madhesi are in Nepal.

Hate is an attack on the Madhesi identity. But you got to get along with the Pahadi to move about, and many Madhesis end up internalizing the hate. There is self-hate. It is hard for many Madhesis to get along with other Madhesis. You look at the other person, and you see a Madhesi face. And sometimes you don't like what you see. It is self hate at work.

The first step has to be to claim the identity. If you are born a Madhesi, you are pretty much stuck with the identity. You might as well claim it. You claim it and then you take pride. And when you take pride, and you assert the solidarity, then you are equipped to deal with the hate, the prejudice, the discrimination. You conquer the self hate, and then you attack the hate. Then numbers matter. But when you are still struggling with the self hate, numbers are no help. They feel like a burden.

The prejudiced Pahadis, they will not even utter the word. Their most vicious feeling is on this question, and they will tell you the identity called Madhesi does not exist. They will talk up the castes in the Terai. They will even talk of women. Women there are, Dalits there are, but they are all Madhesi.

And when they are not trying to break you up like that, they are trying to dissolve you. Why do you say you are Madhesi? Why don't you say you are a Nepali? To that you give my reply. You urge them to adopt the larger Desi identity and contribute to world peace.

Some will tell you people from the Terai are fine, it is Indians they don't like. So when they say "madisey," they don't mean the people from the Terai, they mean Indians. To them you give my reply. I am half Indian, how dare you!

The Pahadis are Madhesi in America. The Madhesis in Nepal are worse off comparatively than the African Americans in America. And the Pahadis are the Madhesi in America. That is a political observation. The only way they can better their situation in America is by forging an alliance with the larger Desi identity. That is where I come in. I am a Desi. The word Nepali never included me. I am half Indian. I am a Desi.

Maturity would be if Pahadis realized everyone is better off when prejudice is overcome. Whites and blacks are both better off because segregation was ended. Prejudice is disease. Disease is no fun. And so Pahadis should participate in the drive against anti-Madhesi prejudice. I am not being cynical. I am being matter of fact.

Suddenly a constituent assembly is on the horizon. And Madhesis now want to talk of Madhesi rights. Might as well.

Conversation matters. Talk matters. Discussions matter. Meetings matter. Get togethers matter. Have many of them. That is how political progress is made. Reach out to other Madhesis.

It will not be neat and tidy. Some Madhesis will want to talk caste. Let them. Some gender. Let them. Encourage them. Equality does not make sense only on the Madhesi issue. It also makes sense on caste issues, also on gender, especially on gender, extra true of the Dalit issue. I think all Dalits should convert to Buddhism. Give up on Hinduism, flat out. Enough is enough. Pull the rug from beneath their feet.

There is much political work to be done.

Step one would be to secure the constituent assembly. Step two would be to make sure the assembly is about one person, one vote. And all along we will have to work to marshall a platform. What do Madhesis want? And we are going to have to come out into the streets, peacefully. We are going to have to march. We just secured the right to peaceful assembly, now we are going to put it to use. We are going to march.

What could be our platform? I think federalism is one issue all Madhesis could agree on. That will also allow us to possibly forge an alliance with the Janajati. What I have to offer, I have already offered here: Proposed Republican Constitution 2006.

I have touched on federalism, on languages. If nothing, my proposed constitution is a framework for dialogue. I hope it is a productive framework.

As for my personal involvement. This blog is not journalism, this is political work. Howard Dean organized his entire presidential campaign in 2004 around a blog. This blog has been the only way I could reach out to a global audience of Nepalis, including those in Nepal.

Many people urge me to go back to Nepal. That is not in the cards. I hope to stay intimately involved all the way to the country getting itself a new constitution and even after, and I have invented an organization to that effect, Hamro Nepal, but I have to stay in New York City. It is a Global South thing. Nepal will benefit. (Hamro Nepal, Latest)

By the time you get to my level of involvement, the Madhesi issue is just one other social issue. I have to learn to get a little detached. And that is why I harbor a keen interest in the larger DaMaJaMa issues.

My Most Controversial Blog Post To Date: On Madhesi Issue
Aire Gaire Natthu Khaire Pahadis
First ANTA NYC Event, Times Square Marriott
Time For Madhesi Militancy Is Now
Madhesi
Madhesi Hum Lenge Sau Mein Pachas
Madhesi Rights: Abhi Nahin To Kabhi Nahin
Tibetans And Madhesis

ये तो क्रान्ित है
हृदयेश त्रिपाठी: मधेसी समस्या र राज्यको पुनर्संरचना
संघीय गणतन्त्र
अहिंसाका प्रश्न
मधेशी अधिकारको कुरामा पहाडीहरुको सहभागीता
मधेशी पहचान
अइ आन्दोलनमें मधेशी अधिकारके बात

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