Madhesi People’s Armed Rebellion in Nepal

Armed Madhesi Outfits Operating in Nepal along Indo-Nepal Border

By Divas

More than eight people have been reported to be severely injured in a powerful bomb explosion inside the Nepal Government office in a southern town of Janakpur. The incident, however, was not unanticipated. Human Rights activists and reporters working in the area had already expressed their concern over increasing violence and the delay in talks. Although the government has formed a commission asking scores of Madhesi armed outfits for unconditional dialogue regarding their “political” demands, some Madhesi outfits accuse that the government is not sincere for a meaningful dialogue and the call was just a ploy to fool the international community.

The explosion that rocked the hometown of Nepal’s president Dr. Rambaran Yadav took place just a day after the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Bamdev Gautam warned the armed outfits of stern actions in case the latter refuse government’s call for the dialogue. This shows, once again, that those in power need to focus on diplomatic & informal discussions with the outfits instead of provoking the “terrorist outfits” that operate along the cultural fault lines. DPM Gautam who has always advocated for engaging the Maoists to persuade them adopt the mainstream politics must understand that the state & the mainstream political parties have to adopt similar strategy while tackling the Madhesi armed outfits.

The role of some Madhesi leaders & intellectuals seems even more dubious who threaten of launching “another revolution” while bargaining with the government for key positions in the state machinery. India’s as well as China’s in the recent years, unnecessary involvement for a political mileage from Nepal’s conflict has also compounded the problem.

Why don’t the mainstream political parties mobilize their youth forces to conduct cultural programs that would be the most effective way to positively influence people’s mindset? Massive cultural awareness programs should begin from the capital Kathmandu where common Madhesis are humiliated with terms like madisey or marsya by Pahadi chauvinists.

The Madhesi armed outfits, too, better learn lessons from the swift rise to power by the Madhesi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF) largely through peaceful means of campaigning. Those outfits who have openly declared to have been inspired by Sri-Lanka’s Tamil Tigers, and have also incorporated names like LTTE, Madhesi Mukti Tigers, etc must understand how the Tamil people themselves are suffering in Sri-Lanka due to the insurgency, and the whole world including India finds itself helpless to condemn Sri-Lanka Govt’s offensive against the Tigers.