Tharus’ Movement Against Madheshi Label

By Siddhi B. Ranjitkar

Tharus have launched a protest against the government enlisting them on the list of the Madheshis. This protest has been a great blow to the dreamers of building ‘one Madhesh one province’ and to the dreamers of reviving the monarch. It also shows the political maturity of the Nepalis people and also indicated that nobody would be able to rule the ethnic groups without their consent. However, some politicians see it as the acts of the elements supporting the monarchy.

Talking to the radio anchor of the state-run Radio Nepal, Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Janardan Sharma said that the government had grouped various ethnic groups under one or another larger groups for the purpose of providing students with the government scholarships. The government has placed Tharus under the Madheshi group for that matter.

Talking to the reporters of the Kantipuronline.com, General Secretary of the Tharu Welfare Assembly and Member of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist and Leninist (CPN-UML) Raj Kumar Lekhi said that the Tharu community, and all the indigenous ethnic groups such as Rajbanshi, Dhimal, Santhal, Tajpuriya, Danuwar of tarai have felt the need for a peaceful protest against the enlisting of the indigenous ethnic groups on the list of Madheshis since the first amendment to the Interim Constitution included the territories that have historically belonged to the indigenous ethnic groups as the part of the Madhesh virtually erasing the independent identity of ethnic groups and causing the loss of the political rights they could enjoy as indigenous people. The state has used the clause in the Interim Constitution time and again to undermine the identity of indigenous ethnic groups. For example, the state has included the ethnic groups in the Madheshi group for the purpose of the election for the Constituent Assembly (CA) and finally the government has issued an ordinance enlisting all the indigenous ethnic groups on the list of Madheshis. This was the last straw to the tolerance of the ethnic groups and they set to protest against the ordinance for enlisting them on the list of Madheshis.

General Secretary Lekhi told that five days after the first amendment to the Interim Constitution, the Tharu Welfare Assembly had held an interaction program and invited 16 Tharu members of parliament belonging to various political parties to discuss the State dumping all indigenous ethnic groups into the Madheshi group. We asked them, “How could you have allowed the political parties to erase your identity? You should understand your duties. Otherwise the coming generations will view you as traitors to your community.”

General Secretary Lekhi told the reporters that thereafter they published and distributed appeals to the Prime Minister, the Speaker of parliament and other leaders of political parties to correct the mistake of making all ethnic groups the Madheshis. However, nothing happened. Then, they burnt the Prime Minister in effigies and staged rallies. They also informed all other ethnic groups in the Tarai that their identity has been at a greater risk at this time than any time in the past. Consequently, all indigenous ethnic groups have staged a protest rally together.

On Monday, March 9, 2009, members of the Tharu community and other indigenous groups assembled at Bhadrakali, Kathmandu to stage a protest rally. Speaking at the rally, coordinator of Tharuhat (means Tharu land) Struggle Committee (TSC) Laxman Tharu said that Tharus would not sit to talk with the government until the government annulled the ordinance that has enlisted them on the list of the Madheshis. Referring to the appointment of Minister for Physical Planning and Works Bijaya Kumar Gacchadar also a Tharu and member of the Madheshi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF) to the position of the coordinator of the talks with the representatives of the Tharu community, he said that Mr. Gacchadar needed to quit the position of Minister and the MPRF and join the protest rally of the Tharus.

On March 11, 2009, in the meeting of the representatives of the seven parties: five parties in the coalition government and Nepali Congress and Tarai-Madhesh Democratic Party held at the official residence of the Prime Minister, they agreed on amending the Interim Constitution and the law to meet the demands of the Tharus. However, some Maoist leaders said that the same political parties that had opposed the proposal made by the Maoist party for making all state affairs inclusive have called on the government to meet the same demands of the Tharus.

On March 13, 2009, talking to the state-run Radio Nepal anchor after the 7:00 A.M. morning news, leader of Tharu Liberation Front and Member of Constituent Assembly Indrajit said that some elements of the remnants of the feudal lords have been inciting the Tharus to the protest movement. For example, former minister in the cabinet of Gyanendra Shah, Gopal Dahit is one of the leaders of the ongoing Tharus movement. Also the same elements are attempting to provoke Madheshis to protest against the annulment of the ordinance that has enlisted Tharus on the list of Madheshis.

Some political analysts say that probably, leaders of other political parties such as Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML must have engaged in the Tharu movement to destabilize the current government. For example, Member of the CPN-UML Raj Kumar Lekhi and former Maoist Laxman Tharu have been leading the protest movement and have not stopped it even after the government has made commitment to meet their demands.

Some political analysts and Tharus questioned the government under whose pressure the government had placed them on the list of the Madheshis. Tharus had been saying that they were not Madheshis but the indigenous people of the tarai. They do not recognize the Madheshi province. They have been fighting against ‘one Madhesh one province’ put forward by some Madheshis.

Tharus have been living in tarai from the time immemorial. They have even developed immunity against malaria. Hill people could settle in tarai only after the eradication of malaria otherwise for hill people spending a single night in tarai meant death from malaria.

If you turn the pages of the Nepalese history you will find that the then autocratic rulers of Nepal brought some people from across the border to cultivate the areas newly made good for cultivation in tarai. They were from Madhesh Pradesh; so they called themselves Madheshis and their areas of living Madhesh; there is nothing like the whole tarai area as a Madhesh according to some analysts.

Most of the current Madheshis had worked on the land of the autocratic rulers and they did all sorts of menial work to keep the autocratic rulers happy. Some Madheshis said that the Madheshis earned while the hill people enjoyed their earnings. It was not true. The Madheshis worked for some landowners. All of the landowners are not hill people; some of them are Madheshis, too. Hill people as a whole have nothing to do with Madheshis concerning the earnings and the enjoyment of their earnings.

Some political leaders said that the previous government headed by Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala had issued millions of Nepali citizenships to non-Nepalis creating the current problem of ‘one Madhesh one province.’ Some people even doubted the citizenship of the current Minister for Local Development Ram Chandra Jha affiliated to the CPN-UML. The Minister went to the TV and showed his credentials to the TV anchor to prove the authenticity of his Nepali citizenship.

The Tharus’ protest against the government listing them on the list of Madheshi clearly indicated that nobody could rule various ethnic groups without their consent. It goes also against the bullying nature of the current government. It also says that the government needs not suppress the voices of others while trying to please others. So, it sends a clear message to the master craftsmen of a new constitution that none of the ethnic groups would be ready to negotiate for less than a state for every ethnic group.

It also sends the clear message to Nepalese politicians that none would be able to keep Nepal in one piece without giving the ethnic groups the statehoods. Politicians proposing a few states without considering the sentiment of the ethnic groups have clearly old mindset of domination and would be failures in keeping Nepal as a federal democratic republic. For example, Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala came out with a proposal for a few states not mentioning any ethnic groups. Some crazy politicians have been saying that Nepal would split into pieces if we create different states following the ethnic groups.

Tharus have shown political maturity not resorting to violence. Their protests have been serene and non violent except for the few cases of vandalism. They would surely win when they have a good cause of having their separate identity rather than living under the shadow of Madheshis.

Most of the Tharus had lived as bonded laborers in the past. Everybody exploited them. They had been made bonded laborers for generations for small loans their forefathers had taken. They had worked for generation but they never had been able to pay off the loans.  Only, recently, the government freed the bonded laborers and made the system of bonded laborers illegal. So, they would not tolerate any sorts of exploitation in the future no matter how long they have to fight for getting their separate identity and for the share of the national cake.

The Tharus’ revolution is another blow to the politicians that have been effortful to revive the dead monarchy although some politicians think that the Tharu movement is incited by the elements supporting the dead monarchy. It was a historical fact that nobody would be able to revive the despotic monarchy. However, some Nepalese media had been telling the public some politicians such as KP Oli and Nepali Congress Party President Girija Prasad Koirala were in New Delhi ostensibly for health check-ups obviously for hatching a plan on reviving the dead monarchy when Gyanendra Shah was still there. Obviously, such politicians had no future without the monarchy, as they had been heavily dependent on the monarchy for their survivals as politicians. They turned to Indian political leaders, as they have not been able to revive their political base in Nepal since the people rejected both of them in the election for the Constituent Assembly in April 2008.

Some people said that Prithvi Narayan Shah unified many small states into the current Nepal. No doubt he made the current Nepal by force at the high cost to the ethnic Nepalis. He put on hold the development of the highly developed civilization of the ethnic groups. He served the small groups of the ruling class ignoring the majority of Nepalis. Going against the common people’s aspirations for ending the remnants of the despotic monarchy, some so-called intellectuals including Modhnath Preshit have been putting a lot of energy on glorifying not so glorious Prithvi Narayan Shah.

Nepal would not accept any Prithvi Narayan Shah but we need a personality that could unify all ethnic groups into a single Nepal with their consent rather than forcing them to obey the order. Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala could not unify all ethnic groups, as he has the mindset of an old generation and was a strong supporter of the monarchy that had been the cause of the misery of poverty for Nepalis. Similarly, newly elected Chairman of the Nepal Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist and Leninist (CPN-UML) Jhalanath Khanal could not unify, as he had engaged in delivering the speeches of preaching to other political leaders rather than engaging in formulating visions of building a new state. So, Nepalis would accept anybody that could bring all ethnic groups together for making a federal democratic republic of Nepal a reality.

Some Tharu leaders said that the Tharu community had sacrificed more than 2,000 lives in the people’s war and brought the country to the current state of a federal democratic republic. They said that they had supported the Maoists, as the Maoists had promised them a separate state of the Tharus. So, they would not budge even an inch from having a separate state of the Tharus and from not staying under the shadow of anybody.

The current revolution of Tharus is the part of the process of the unification of all ethnic groups into a single Nepal. Tharus want to have their distinct place in the unified federal democratic republic of Nepal. They do not want to be in the shadow of anybody. So, they have been fighting for a separate identity in the unified Nepal.

It is also the clear indication of all Nepalese ethnic groups want to set their destiny by themselves not by somebody else from outside their community. They want to build their own lives themselves staying in the federal democratic republic of Nepal.

So, the government needs to revoke the ordinance that has enlisted Tharus on the list of Madheshi and give them the most deserved separate identify of the ancient dwellers of Nepal. The government also needs to send a proposal for the amendment to the Interim Constitution for clearly demarking the Tharu state rather than dumping them under the shadow of Madheshis. Nobody could deny them their rightful place in the federal democratic republic of Nepal. Current leaders at the helm of administration need to make balanced decisions and think of possible backlash of their decisions, as the regressive elements would be always looking for an opportunity of using such backlashes to create violence.

March 12, 2009.