The government has formed a nine-member taskforce under the chair of Moda Nath Prashrit to define who is a martyr and set out criteria for declaring martyrdom for anyone who has been killed.
The criteria, once enforced, is expected to discourage the practice of declaring martyrs mainly under pressure exerted from the streets and encourage the honoring of only those who sacrificed their precious lives in the cause of nation and people.
The decision is in line with the announcement by the government in its plan and policies for fiscal year 2066/67 BS to form a high-level commission to define, identify and duly respect the martyrs. It aims at maintaining a systematic record of individuals who attained martyrdom at different times in the past.
Officials at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers said the taskforce includes Prof Dr Amar Panta, Prof Dr Mina Baidya, lawmakers Purushottam Basnet and Jitendra Narayan Dev and one joint secretary-level officer each from the Ministries of Peace and Reconstruction, Finance, Law and Home.
The joint-secretary representing the Home Ministry will act as member-secretary of the taskforce which is to complete its work within a month of commencement.
Taskforce chair Prashrit said they will start work immediately once the government makes necessary arrangements for budget and other logistics. "They [Home Ministry officials] have told us that they will soon arrange these to facilitate our work," he said.
The governments formed after Janaandolan II in April 2006 have so far declared 100 martyrs. These include 25 martyrs of Janaandolan II and 30 martyrs of the Tarai Madhes movement. The remaining 45 have been declared martyrs under titles like teacher martyr, civil servant martyr, religious martyr, financial institution employee martyr and journalist martyr.
Many of these martyrs were killed by various armed groups operating in the Tarai.
Officials at the Home Ministry complain that the decisions of governments formed after April 2006 to declare martyrs mainly under pressure from the streets set a bad precedent. "The first demand that the family of a slain person makes these days is declaration of martyrdom," said an official, asking to remain unnamed. "This is an insult to those who really fought in the cause of nation and people."
The Home Ministry acts as coordinator in providing compensation and other facilities to families of the martyrs.
The government has been providing Rs 1 million to the family of anyone declared a martyr as well as various allowances including scholarships for the education of dependents.
Officials believe that the demand for declaring martyrdom is mainly guided by consideration of these facilities.
Martyrs declared post-April 2006
Janaandolan II Martyrs: 25
Tarai Madhes Martyrs: 30
Civil Servant Martyrs: 13
Financial Institution Martyrs: 3
Local Body Martyr: 1
Teacher Martyrs: 6
Agriculture Council Employee Martyr: 1
Nepal Police Martyr: 1
Armed Police Force Martyr: 1
Religious Martyrs: 4
Corporation Employee Martyrs: 4
Limbuwan Movement Martyr: 1
Journalist Martyr: 1
Student Martyrs: 2
Other Martyrs: 7
Total: 100
koshraj@myrepublica.com
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