On the other hand, the Khas-Aryas, who make up a third of the population of Nepal, have an overwhelming majority in mid-western and far-western hills. But they weren't given a state of their own, even though they spoke a single language (Nepali) and followed a common religion (Hinduism). Going against their norm for naming other provinces, the Maoists gave the areas where they made a majority of population names based on geography such as Khaptad or Karnali, which also constitute the most backward areas of Nepal. This is mainly because of their poor per capita income, lack of road connectivity and poor literacy.
This is a classic case of "reverse discrimination" practiced by the Maoists and other advocates of ethnicity-based federalism in order to get cheap publicity. This despite the fact that many of the Maoist leaders such as Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Baburam Bhattarai, Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Mohan Baidya are themselves Khas Aryas. When the constitution was promulgated by the second CA in September 2015, there was rejoicing in the hilly areas of the country whereas it wasn't welcomed in the south, which constitutes the "core area" of Madhesh extending from Kosi River in the east to Birganj in Parsa district.Maoists had earlier advocated "linguistic federalism" in the Tarai-Madhesh, suggesting one state in the entire Tarai extending from Mechi to Mahakali at one time. At other times, a number of states were proposed in the Tarai-Madhesh: Kochila in the far-east, Mithila in Janakpur area, Bhojpura in Birganj area, Awadh in Bhairahawa area and Tharuhat in Dang, Banke, Bardia, Kailali and Kanchanpur in the far-western Tarai.
The major reason for the ongoing agitation in central Tarai is due to the demand of Madheshi leaders for either a single Madhesh extending from Mechi to Mahakali (also called Ek Madhesh, Ek Pradesh) or an autonomous Madhesh province in the southern part of Nepal. The leaders of the current Madheshi Morcha later changed the demand for a single Madhesh to two Madhesh-only provinces. The first one would extend from Jhapa to Chitwan and the second one from Nawalparasi to Kanchanpur.
However, the newly promulgated constitution put three districts east of Kosi River (Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari) in Province 1 along with hill districts; Kailali and Kanchapur in the far-west were made part of Province 7 along with some hill districts; Tarai districts extending from Parasi to Bardiya were made part of Province 5 which also included densely populated Nepali speaking hill districts such as Gulmi, Palpa and Arghakhanchi.
What the Madheshi leaders haven't taken into account in their politics of blockade and demand for state demarcation is the great migration from the hills to the Tarai in the sixties, seventies and eighties that has changed the demographic profile of many of the low-lying districts. People from the hills now make an overwhelming majority in strategically located district of Jhapa, situated right next to Siliguri and to India's "chicken's neck" with north-eastern Indian states.
Compared to Jhapa, the proportion of hill migrants in Morang and Sunsari is less, but native Madheshis still don't form the majority of population there. Similarly, migrants from the hills make up large percentage of population in Kanchanpur whereas the hill population is less in Kailali. The proportion of hill migrants is considerable in Rupandehi and Dang-Deukhuri. Dang, Banke and Bardia districts also contain a large number of Tharus, many of whom don't like to be considered Madheshis.
A number of solutions have been suggested to solve the problem of demarcation of boundaries in the Tarai. These include holding referendum in the disputed districts so that people can decide for themselves whether they would like to be part of a state including the hills or if they would be happy with only Tarai districts in their province. There are instances of division of existing distrusts in South Asia, for instance during the partition of the sub-continent in 1947. This was done by Sir Radcliffe: several Hindu and Sikh majority districts were made parts of Indian states of Punjab and Haryana.
Muslim majority districts, likewise, were given to Pakistan. A similar award in the east resulted in Hindu majority districts of western part of Bengal being given to India, forming the Indian state of West Bengal and the eastern part of Bengal. The Sylhet district of Assam was given to Pakistan, but which became part of Bangladesh in 1971. After independence of India, the district of Purnea was divided between Bihar and West Bengal on the basis of linguistic differences. However, no referendum was held for this purpose. But that surely would have been the most democratic option.
If the ongoing talks between Nepal government and the Madheshi leaders cannot find solutions to existing problems with demarcations, referendum could be one of the options. If the majority of people in Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari want to be a part of a province that also includes hill districts, their wish should be respected. Similarly, the wish of people in Kailali and Kanchanpur, whether or not they want to remain part of undivided far-west, should also be respected. Again, there is no reason not to follow this democratic route of amicable settlement of disputes in democracies.
The author is the secretary of the Nepali chapter of International PEN
paraj85@hotmail.com
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