RAJBIRAJ, Dec 16: Stating that the four months long protest for 'rights' might leave deep scars in the hearts of Madhesi children and youths in the long run, civil society leaders and political analysts in Madhes have urged for safe landing of the Madhes agitation. Wide and active participation of the youths in the campaigns led by several Madhesi leaders clearly hints at the possibility, they said.
"If the ongoing Madhesh protest dies without proper result, it might be dangerous for the country," said advocate Bishnu Mandal, who is considered to have fair understanding of politics in Madhes. "Trying to divert matters without reaching to the root cause of the problem may trigger untoward happenings. If any particular community has deep level of dissatisfaction against the state, that has to be addressed with due seriousness," he added.
He further said that anti-state forces easily get role to play when a section of society is not happy with the establishment. "The entire country might fall in the grip of internal conflict and even other forces might get chance to cash in on the situation."
Dr Hem Kumar Mishra, another analyst, stated that similar threat was persistent even in earlier Madhes agitation a decade ago. "Look at the series of incidents then. The agitating party and other armed outfits had several rounds of talk. A middle ground was sought on time preventing any kind of unpleasant situation," he said.
Within the last four months of Madhes protest against the new constitution, not only the people of Madhes but also underground armed forces have gradually started to back the agitating parties. As there is a deep-rooted belief among the people that they have been denied their rights and the state is going to still treat them as second-class citizens, particularly the youths in Madhes have warned the state to fulfill the demands of the Madhesi Front. Citizenship and representation in the state mechanism, among other issues, have confused the Madhesi people and they have asked the government to follow the provisions of the interim constitution in the new one.
According to another analyst, Khushilal Mandal, there is a clear difference between the past and the present Madhes protests. Earlier, people of Madhes fresh from the victory over monarchy believed that the country was heading toward equality. However, this time, the new constitution has already been promulgated but the Madhesi people do not feel that they own it, which is more dangerous, noted Khushilal.
"Mainly, the attitude of the state has quite hurt the Madhesi populace, basically the youths who earlier had faith in the state," he added.
According to Khushilal, the rage among the youths has grown deeper also due to the lengthy protest period. "Madhes has been looked down upon. We have once against lost the battle for our rights. Madhesi youths are being haunted by such kind of psychology. This is a huge sign of danger," he warned.
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