Just sharing the discussion continued in Nepal Democracy Forum. In this one, I am replying to a Madhesi friend's sincere questions regarding real feeling of Pahadi supporters to Madhesi movement. From: Deepak Khadka To: nepaldemocracy@googlegroups.com Sent: Monday, February 05, 2007 11:46 PM Subject: [ND] Re: Discrimination against Madheshi and Change of Heart XX-jee, Having met you during ANA 2006 and impressed by your sweet and sincere personality and having sensed a genuine sincerity in the profound and tough questions you have asked here, I am daring to answer each one of them with utmost sincerity and frankness. My answers might not be what you were expecting to hear and I might even appear alluding the specificity of the questions. However, I am hopeful that you will accept that I at least brought you to a fundamental place where you should get all the answers. My answer is going to be frustratingly simple and to the point. Of course I could have chosen the other way and tried to put together all knowledge from social science, social psychology, history, political science and just about any relevant shastra (to be honest, these are not my fields, however, I can easily act like I know a thing or two ;-) ) to find the answers you are looking for. However, I am choosing otherwise and you are going to easily see why I am doing so. So with this rather unnecessary bhoomika, I am getting to your questions. Although the actual list of the questions are not really necessary (to the answers I am going to give), let's refresh ourselves with the major questions. ● Is the support/sympathy of the Pahadis to the Madhesi movement genuine ? ● How come the same Pahadis were oblivion/ignoring the Madhesi issues until now ? ● Why the Pahadis practiced discrimination to the Madhesis for so long ? ● Do the Pahadis feel guilt about what they did to Madhesis ? And finally, ● Why Pahadis are not as willing as Madhesis to pledge to the fund for the victims of the Madhesi movement ? I will come to the final question at the end, so for now let's focus on the rest of the questions. Before I present my answers, I want to say an important thing about our understanding. From the list of the questions above, I need to assume that you (could be generic) understand the Madhesis (or their plight ) fully, but do not understand the Pahadis (or what or how they think). The assumption that you understand the Madhesis fully is important because I am relying on that to make you understand my answers. So, are we ready ? Since the case is about a relation between, to put rather crudely, a predator (the Pahadis) and the victim (the Madhesis), I am going to bring up a similar scenario from an area (inside the Madhesi group) you are familiar with. Yes, I am talking about the internal discrimination in the Madhesi group itself. (one can also use the internal discrimination among the Pahadi group as an reference for this purpose, there is no difference essentially). So, let's talk about, let's say, Caste/High cast Madhesis (as a predator) and the Dalit Madhesis (as the victim). It's true that Dalit Madhesis (or Dalit Pahadis, as I argued earlier) are yet to rise up against their predators. However, that is going to make my answers even more graspable. So, without further ado, let's ask your questions once again, this time replacing the Pahadis and the Madhesis respectively with the Caste/High Caste Madhesis and Dalit Madhesis. Since, as I said, the Dalit Madhesis have yet to rise up and the Caste Madhesis so have yet to show their solidarity/sympathy or a lip service, whatever would be true, to that kind of movement, we can ask even more agonizing questions. However, the purpose of this discussion is not to measure the agony, but to understand the psychology and the behavior of the predator group. So, let's ask the relevant questions. ● What are the caste/high caste Madhesis ARE DOING to the Dalit Madhesis even until this very minute ? ● If there is a Dalit revolt, would caste/high caste Madhesis support it and would thatsupport be genuine ? ● Do/will caste/high caste Madhesis feel guilt about their discrimination against the Dalit Madhesis ? Dear XX-jee, the answers to these questions are the answers to the questions you have asked. I just want to emphasize that, with these questions, I am not defending the Pahadis, simply because that will be as futile as a high caste Madhesis defending his caste group against the Dalits. I just wanted to present a perspective that helps us to find the truth about the things we are so sincerely curious. I will add one thing for sure. The agony you expressed in your message is understandable and good too (to wake up the still oblivion Pahadis for one). However, I also feel some kind (may be just a tone) of frustration. That too is fine. However, what is not fine is to fail to appreciate the fact that some (actually a vast majority, just count their numbers in Jana-andolan II) good Pahadis have been/are fighting with the bad Pahadis to hopefully establish a new and just Nepal for all people. This is not to offend anybody, but the fact is that these good Pahadis were far ahead (upto 12 years) of some of Madhesi leaders (note, leaders emphasized), in terms of the activism and conviction for a new Nepal with equal rights and dignity to the Madhesis and all marginalized groups. Recent Jana-andolan II (gloriously participated by all, the Pahadis, the Madhesis, the Himalis) was just a logical conclusion of that kind activism (of course Madhesi and other marginalized groups' activism whenever and wherever appeared included). It is Jana-andolan II that has liberated Nepal from it's old order and brought freedom to everybody to fight for more freedom and justice. Without this freedom (meaning had Jana-andolan remained yet to occur), the kind of Madhesis andolan we are having (both the style and the purpose) would have never been possible (even the "largest democracy" of the world, India, is yet to reach to our level of enlightenment and freedom to ask and fight for statehood of our choice and the right of self-determination. Let's be proud of that.) So, the point relevant here is that the Pahadis (of course along with non-Pahadis) fought, fully knowing, fully desiring, fully committing themselves to, for a state that would bring justice to non-Pahadis by reducing their own old privilege and power. Let's be proud of these Pahadis. And also, let's celebrate that these progressive Pahadis are slowly but still in a way that does not let us lose our hope are moving ahead to replace the remnants of the old order. This is exactly what Madhesi movement needs to connect to. Madhesis neither need nor should fight in isolation. And they definitely should not mistrust the progressive Pahadis. They are their friends. They are their comrades-in-arms. There is one more thing in which local Madhesi movements of future will need the support of the progressive Pahadis from the national stream. By future movement, I mean a movement to fight the internal discrimination within the Madhesi group. Frankly speaking, the current Madhesi leadership (both the GOP, Sadbhavana,and the fresh MRF and whoever are emerging) are yet even to raise, let alone work out remedies of, this terrible injustice. That brings me to a sub-topic I would like to have a little discussion. This is about the limitations or weaknesses if you like of the current Madhesi movement. I will be also presenting my explanation to possible reluctance of the Pahadis to pledge to the fund we talked about earlier. That will also complete my promise of the beginning to answer all the questions. I think, I rather take a break here. We already have enough material to keep the discussion going. And my fingers are also a bit tired. In the next concluding installment, I will talk about my frank views on the poor leadership, narrow scope and a looming danger of the degradation of the movement. One can wonder why I am so particular about the weaknesses of the movement. Well, I think the ongoing movement is POTENTIALLY a great movement for social justice for all marginalized groups in Nepal. That is why. But also equally important is that, this could be (actually already is being) a complementary movement to complete the revolution of Jana-andolan II, which is, for technical and other reasons (the guards of the old order happened to be the one holding the transitional power, ironically or realismically), is happening in a slow motion. There are so many bright dimensions to this movement. That for next installment. Best, D.. ___________ Nepe