Ambiguity Of Madhesi Politics [ 2007-12-20 ]

Editorial - Narayan Prasad Wagle
http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/popup_image.php?nid=33349

Dramatic changes in Madhesi politics have continued to unfold. In that series, some senior Madhesi leaders like Mahanta Thakur have quit the government, the parliament and resigned from the general membership of their political parties as well, adding fuel to the fire in the growing crisis in Madhes, in particular, and in the nation at large. Flaying the government and the parliament as well as their long-endeared political parties for their inability to resolve the problem of the Terai, they are prepared to form a new political party - one more force in a multitude of political outfits already operating in the land.

Beyond the surface

There is no doubt that the Madhesi people have long been marginalised and discriminated against by the state. In an open environment after the success of the April Movement, it is natural for them to raise voices for their proportionate representation in all state mechanisms and come to the street to further their cause. If these legitimate demands were the causes of the turmoil in the Terai, the politics in Madhes could be dealt in a straightforward way. But dramatic changes, secessionist voices and communal violence, including large-scale massacres, urge us to go beyond what floats on the surface.

If we look back at the parliamentary practice following the popular movement of 1990, we find that the so-called Madhesi parliamentarians were most vociferous about the issue of citizenship as if it would be a panacea to all the problems. Once the Loktantric parliament passed the bill meeting that demand, it went almost unappreciated. Most interestingly, those leaders did not raise any voice regarding the distribution of citizenship certificate to non-nationals as if that would do no harm to the Madhesi people.

When the Madhes movement flared up last year following the promulgation of the new interim constitution, many of their demands were addressed by the Interim Government within its capacity.

Thirty-five constituencies have been added; federal restructuring of the state has been promised; and the gradual inclusion of the Madhesis into the state mechanisms has started as manifested in the Civil Service Act.

All these developments do not seem to have reduced the violence and uncertainties in the Terai. Rather the political base of the major political parties has weakened in the Terai.

If Madhes remain tense and terror-stricken, it will be the Madhesi people who will suffer most. It is only peace and democracy in which the genuine demands of these people will be met. And if democracy and peace are to be ensured, the election to the Constituent Assembly must be held at the earliest.

But the politics in Madhes and crisis thereof indicate that the ulterior motif and Indian interests have infiltrated into it. The problems prevalent in Madhes, i.e., problems of marginalisation and discrimination are found in other parts of the country as well. Then why has Madhes alone become the centre of hot politics? Why is the problem of the Terai talked 10 times greater than the problems of other places and groups? And why are terrorists of the Terai free of any red corner notice? This deserves contemplation.

We know that India has not given up its policy of keeping the smaller nations in its neighborhood under its grip, which was fully expressed in the set of demands put forward to the declining Panchayat regime during 1989-90. Fortunately, she failed to meet her ends at that time. India may want to shift the centre of Nepali politics from Kathmandu to Madhes and keep it controlled by pro-Indian Madhesi leaders.

This is supported by the fact that Madhesi leaders never protest against cross-border crimes, border encroachment by the Indian side, inundation due to barrages built near the border and the 1950 treaty that encumbers our sovereignty. The dramatic unity of some armed groups on one hand and the unity of some unarmed groups on the other are also said to have taken place under Indian influence.

Therefore, the worrisome point is whether the warlords, feudal and pro-Indian forces are making false attempts to misuse the genuine demands of the people and converting the possibly peaceful, democratic and prosperous Terai into a conflict and death zone. At this juncture, the role of intellectuals and civil society in Madhes is very important. They should make every effort to prevent Madhes from being a centre of savagery like the northern part of Sri Lanka or a death spot like Kashmir.

However, the nationalist sentiments of the common people can hardly be underestimated. Ultimately, it is the common people who will win and those Madhesi leaders who fight for both the nation and the Madhesi people will establish themselves among the people. The forces that act against the people will gradually be isolated.

Racialism

Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the people from being misled. In this regard, it is the role of the major political parties, whose weaknesses have allowed the situation in the Terai to worsen, to defeat all kinds of regionalism, racialism and communal hatred. They should also try to bring, as far as possible, into mainstream politics those political forces that agree with a unified Nepal and inclusion of the Madhesi people in it: all should accept that the part must contribute to the whole.
Posted by narayanprasadwagle at 10:43 PM 0 comments

http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/popup_image.php?nid=33349