One Nepal, diverse Nepalis!

This may read racist, or even “status quo – ist” to some, but let this it be clear right here right now. I am neither a racist nor a status quo-ist. There are some who have alleged that I have a “pahade machismo” attitude especially towards those Nepalis of Madhesi origin, but were those who accuse me of being to know of my relation and love for the southern plains and the communities there, they would think otherwise. The Tarai and the people who live there, and the indigenous communities of Nepal are as much Nepali to me as are the Himalaya and the Brhamins and Chettris. The bottom line to a modern Nepali is that every Nepali born in Nepal or of Nepali origin is a Nepali. It doesn’t matter whether the person is a Tarai basi (or Madhes basi or Madhesi), a Pahadia (hill origin) or a Bhotia from anywhere along the expanse of the great Himalayan chain or well even a westerner who loves Nepal to the extent of getting Nepali citizenship. We are all Nepalis.  

But why is that every time one wants to see all as equals, regardless of the caste, religion or place of origin one is labelled as being against progress. If you believe everyone should have equal rights and say so you are immediately reprimanded by the janjaatis because they want priority rights as per ILO 169. Yes there was a time when Madhesis were discriminated against by the state, but so were people of other communities. Isn’t that what we are trying to fix at the moment? Yet even today there are communities in the Tarai / Madhes who are still discriminated against by members of their own region, case in point, are the Musahars, the Dumars, Sadai treated equally by the Yadavs and the Chaudhary’s and other so called higher castes? No. A trip to the Tarai will reveal the extent to which Madhesi leaders continue to discriminate the so called lower caste communities. But Madhesi leaders are still rallying cries of discrimination by the rest.  

Yet when these same Madhesi leaders come to power, it is they who indulge in corruption and bad governance practices. This may not be true to every Madhesi risen to the post of a cabinet minister, but why is it that all one hears of them is the corruption scandals and bad governance practices they indulge in. Whether it was Ram Chandra Khuswaha recruiting hundreds and gobbling millions in the name of “relief quota” teachers, or Karina Begum slapping a CDO for not providing her with a Pajero, or the current Bijaya Kumar Gacchadar hobnobbing with wanted criminals, trying to promote police officers close to him so he can get his way, Madhesi politicians seem to have this suicidal desire to make wrong decisions and then blackmail the people (especially the Madhesis) into believing that the rest of “pahadia” Nepalis want to dominate, discriminate and oppress them. The demand for integrating 10,000 Madhesis into the Nepal Army did not come directly from the people so what were they trying to do? Equate themselves with the Maoist movement?

On the day Gacchadar took his oath of office he made a commitment to ensure zero tolerance to corruption. It wasn’t long before media reports started talking of Gacchadar was trying to promote certain police officers who did by his biding and transfer others who didn’t. Word is his activities have already raised eyebrows in the PMO with Comrade Laldhoj allegedly confiding to a senior police official that “those like him [Gacchadar] had to be slowly imprisoned.” But dare the PM ask Gachhdar for his resignation? With one section of the Madeshi politicians already pulling out their support to the government, and pressure from the Maoist party itself to change the guard, it is highly unlikely that the PM will take the step. But for the PM this is an excellent opportunity to prove to the people that he meant business, what with his popularity rating sinking like the Titanic struck by an iceberg.

This does not mean that Pahadia leaders are not susceptible to corruption. Of course they are and there are cases a plenty pending in the courts. But Madhesi leaders have got to grow up and make decisions that can earn them the trust of the rest of Nepali. At the moment had it not been for the fact that the President is of Madhesi origin, most other Madhesi leaders would score zero, in the trust factor, although so would most others of Pahadi origin.

For the modern Nepali ethnicity, caste or religious faith does not come in the way of progress. We would like every Nepali to be treated equally in the eyes of the law and the society. For the youth of Nepal, the country belongs to everyone. The Madhes belongs not just to the Madhesi, neither the mountains to just the Sherpas or Rai or Limbu or Bhotias. Kathmandu valley’s civilization would not have reached such heights had there not been such a mix over the centuries. Our diversity is what we should be uniting us and making us proud of instead of dividing us. But the elder generation of Nepalis, especially the politicians seem to be hell bent on dividing us along caste and ethnic lines. The youth of Nepal should be aware of these divisional politics and reject it.