- Sukhdev Shah
Over
the past year, when Nepal has just been recovering from the effects of a devastating
7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the country in April, the country faced another
catastrophe which, however, was man-made: a major crisis in the country’s #Madhesh region that runs along its India
border. According to official view, India incited the civil unrest by placing a
trade blockade against Nepal which caused widespread shortages of essential materials
while #Madhesi crowds fought running
battles with police for five-month through December. Civil disturbance caused dozens
of casualties, thousands wounded, and the economy came to a virtual halt.
However,
the underlying reasons for this civil crisis are much different than the
official view of calling it India-blockade. Deep down, the crisis represented situation
of an ethnic war that still is simmering and ready to blow up any time, with
the slightest of provocation from either side.
For
the background, Nepal is known for much of the world as a mountain country, abode
of Great Mount Everest, inhabited by famous warier #Gurkha tribe. This perception of the country is only partly true,
may be mostly untrue.
Nepal,
of course, contains lots of mountains along the Great Himalayas, world’s
largest mountain range. But a third of the country’s surface area is as flat as
pancake, rivaling the American Midwest and Canadian prairies. This flat terrain
comprising the county’s southern plains and known as Madhesh, stretches over 1,400 kilometers which marks the country’s
borders with India.
Because
of the open border with India, plains residents look much different from those
in the mountain regions and are inseparable from the Indians, in terms of looks
as well as culture, dress and language. The border line separating the two
countries is invisible and so the people living on two sides of the border
hardly can notice they live in different countries. Of the country’s 30 million
people, about half live in the plains, the other half in the hills.
India
and Nepal have existed peacefully for centuries, maintaining warm and good
relations. The countries have had separate administrations but the people
living in the plains have felt the presence of India much more than of Nepal,
in term of cultural association; religious rituals, and sharing of similar
economies.
#Discrimination: Differences in geography
and ethnic features of plains people from the hill people have contributed
massively to the plains people’s treatment by government, measured by their participation
in government services and integration into the national mainstream. For most
part, plains people are scantly represented in government administration and,
more alarmingly, aren’t accepted for military or police service, although there
is no formal prohibition of their entry into these services. More truthfully,
the tradition and practices have kept Madhesis
out of government participation.
In
crucial government services, such as administrative and foreign, very few
Madhesis are employed and, particularly in Foreign Service, no more than 1 or 2
percent are Madhesis but not in high positions like Secretaries or Ambassadors.
In this way, the exclusion of Madhesis from a role in government is almost
complete which makes the country’s government system belonging just to one
ethnic group called pahades, the hill
residents. Without much exaggeration, it can be said that Nepal government
system now as well as historically has belonged to #pahade #ethnic group, for pahades, run by pahades.
Discontent: Of course, in Nepal
as well as elsewhere, Government’s exclusionary practices of such magnitude
provides sufficient grounds for agitation, revolt, and finally, disintegration
which, exactly, what Nepal is experiencing now. As until now, Madhesis were not
quite aware of their status because of underdevelopment, isolation, limited
education and, most importantly, lack of access to information technology. All
these have changed over the last two decades and now the use of new devices
like cell phone and face book is common, even in Madhesh.
The
growth in knowledge about exclusion and discrimination has led to the explosion
of discontent about the status if Madhesh
citizens in the country. To look for a similar level of exclusion, Indians
under the British and Bengalis under Pakistan enjoyed much better status than
Madhesis do under Nepal’s pahade regime. For a close comparison, we need to go
back to South African apartheid.
Risks: For quarter of a
century, Madhesi leaders have campaigned for equal rights, opportunities,
accommodation, and have fought elections to share power in the Government.
Unfortunately, they have been utterly disunited and, because of their disunity,
most of them haven’t prevailed in the elections which, from all accounts, have
been fair and disciplined, open to all citizens, including to Madhesis.
Lack
of success at the polls has given rise to extremism, including the demand for
separation of Madhesh region from Nepal and declaring it an Independent
country.
The
separatist movement has received lots of attention from inside and outside of the
region that has made the Government increasingly nervous as to how best to
handle this menace. Despite a serious threat to the country’s democratic system
over the years—including a near sweep by Maoist guerrillas a decade ago-- the
country’s liberal system of open democracy has survived but the Maoist problem has
been preceded by a far greater challenge to continued existence of Nepal as one
country.
The
separatist movement had seen its ups and downs but Madhesis are learning quite a bit about discrimination and
exclusion, lack of rights and opportunities. Another conflagration and strengthened
fight for rights and freedom seem imminent which the Government has chosen to
downplay and suppress using force. The next phase of Madhesh movement then has
the great potential of turning into a devastating civil war; very much like the
Sudan faced recently. (,OUTLOOK.COM, April 23, 2016)
Mr. Shah,
economics faculty at Nova College, Virginia, is the author of recently book: Nepal’s Enduring Poverty: Non-Economic
Barriers to Economic Growth...
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