Not yet over !

– Anshuman Chaudhary

Dashain celebrations have ended and Madhes locals are anxiously waiting for Chhath. Janakpur celebrates this festival with great delight and uniquely to any other town in Nepal. The mood in Janakpur during this time of the year is euphoric and admiring the decorations gives aesthetic pleasure. This year there are speculations whether Janakpur would be able to continue this legacy.

Three months of protesting should have drained all the energy from the youth who constitute a majority of the organizing committee that prepares for these festivals. But no, the youth of Janakpur proved that theory wrong. The mood is temporarily joyous there with a thought prevailing at the back of their mind about the future course of their struggle. A close friend of mine from Mahavir Yuva committee (club that looks after Dashain management in the famous Rajdevi temple, Janakpur) had said during “Durga puja ke baad aaro josh sa andolan me lagake chhai Madhesh ke janta ke”, meaning after the worship, they will organize even more intense protests. The tone with which he spoke made me ponder- what urge to live with dignity in Nepal means for Madhesis. They are all ready to cross any barrier for this cause.

Madhes Andolan is a lot more than what politicians in Kathmandu interpret. The movement will not die before being properly addressed. Recently, a few elites in Kathmandu started feeding their banal theories to the main stream media and common people that Madhes Andolan is over because Madhesi parties took part in the PM election. But what they do not understand is that Madhes Andolan is not about the Madhesi Morcha, it is about the people in Madhes. What is more tragic is that these are the same people, who until few weeks back, did not acknowledge the fact that there were protests going on in Terai and termed it as India’s activity. Now, they are the first ones to call it as ‘bisarjan’ of Andolan.

One great thing to take pride about this protest is the unanimity among marginalized groups, not only inside Nepal, but in foreign lands, too.

The marginalized have challenged the structures of the PEON (famously termed by CK Lal) on all fronts whether it is Nepali diaspora, diplomacy, international or social media. Frustrations of our many Kathmandu elites can be seen on social media, since they are criticizing every other thing that speaks for the marginalized. Their frustration is justified, how can someone break their hegemony?

This protest is not about the Madhesi Agenda. Whatever issues Madhes are raising are inter-linked with the demands of other marginalized groups (Adivasi, Janjati, Muslim, Tharus, Dalit, women, etc.) in Nepal. Demand for proportional representation is needed for all marginalized groups of Nepal. The clause about proportional representation in the 2007 interim constitution benefited these marginalized groups. Electoral constituency based on population, considering geography in rural areas, is a genuine thing to ask for. This will not only benefit Madhesis but also Pahadis living in Madhes. Discriminatory citizenship clauses will create trouble for women and Madhesis. Federalism with proper demarcation, without gerrymandering, is not a radical idea. It is a necessity in a democratic society. Many of these demands (excluding federalism) were included in interim constitution but were removed due to ill will of people whose power would be slightly compromised. Thus, calling this protest parochial is unfair to the people fighting in the streets. What they dream of is a broader Nepal where no community feels excluded.

There is growing anger in Madhes and no end on sight for this protest until genuine demands are met in a dignified way. Madhes won’t accept or have a sense of belongingness in the new constitution in its vanilla form. The Madhesi youth are impatient, compared to their older generation. The idea of ‘Madhes desh’ is already sowing in their minds. One strong thing holding them back is the previous generation, which thinks the future of Madhes lies with greater Nepal. Perhaps they are right. But when the water rises above their noses, people tend to choose options in desperation. Let us all hope it does not go until that point and we start building a strong foundation for an inclusive Nepal.