When I called my sister in Nepal last week, she narrated the situation in Tarai that has left me unsettled. As she was describing to me about the daily protests and the police chasing away protesters, my three year old nephew blurted out in Maithili, "Police kehan pagal hai". This translates to "Police has gone mad". I was shocked to hear my three year old nephew say those words against the police that symbolize power, safety and justice. So I inquired further. She described that two days before, as police chased a group of protesters, a teenager was caught and had been beaten mercilessly by three members of the police.While thousands of Madheshis are on the streets, my sister and my nephew are among the these Madheshis who have locked themselves inside their homes for more than a month, fearing the police or a fleeing Morcha member might enter their homes. She does not understand or care about politics, but when police beat civilians as she watches helplessly and her milkman does not show up, she is forced to care. She is a Madheshi, not a Morcha.
As situation worsened, the government deployed Nepal Army in my town. My sister told me that for the first time, she saw some strange vehicles. The Army was patrolling the streets in armored vehicles. They pointed guns at anyone who dared to poke their head from the safety of their homes.
A few days before the Army was deployed, my cousin went into labor. She was rushed to the hospital despite curfew, the baby couldn't wait. While she stayed there for a week, her brother woke up every morning at 4 to make food and deliver it to her. He had to return by 5 in the morning because the curfew started at 6 am every day. He has neither participated in any protests nor violated curfews. He is a Madheshi, not a Morcha.
Millions of Madheshis are mere bystanders to the unrest that has gripped Tarai for more than a month. It started out with a few Morcha supporters calling for strikes. The police attempted to silence them by using the infamous 'lathi charge', this was the same tactics used in the protests that erupted in Surkhet and Jumla as well. After the situation exacerbated in Surkhet and three people died, the three ruling parties in Nepal added a state, announced 10 lakhs to every victim's family and the protests ended.
After this decision, political leaders representing Madheshis and Tharus were hopeful and intensified their agitation. Instead, they got more 'lathi charge', bullets, accusations of being anti-nationalists, and undemocratic among others. The agitation started by Morcha supporters started gaining momentum after civilians who were not part of the protests too suffered humiliation. In some cases, entire villages in Tarai started supporting the agitation after innocent children and elderly.
Rohan Chaudhary, 17, was killed in police firing in Bajrahi village, Jaleshwar as he was returning from tuition class. The next day, Ganesh Chaudhary, his 80 year old grandfather, was riding bicycle near a temple when he was also killed. Chaudhary was a social worker and was awarded medal for his service from late King Birendra. He was a good man and a popular one in his village. After these incidents, the entire village mourned. Did ordinary Madhesis who do not understand politics join Morcha to torch the police stations? Perhaps! Do you blame them?
Innocent civilians in Tarai have been killed but the media attention has been scarce. Some non-Madheshis have had the decency to show concern after two children in Bhairahawa were killed in their homes from police firing. "Don't send your children to the protests", others say. Still worse, some accuse Morcha of using children's death for political gains.
Many non-Madhesis argue that violent protests by Morcha are the root cause of the problem. Their rhyme is simple: stop the violent protests and then police killings will end. They point out that the police started killing protesters after the horrific murders of seven policemen in Tikapur and one in Jaleshwar. While these incidents are deplorable, that claim has little truth.
Tikapur incident occurred on August 25. Police killed three civilians on August 10 in Surkhet, one on 18, four on 20, and one each on 22, 23 and 24. In other words, 11 unarmed civilians were killed before Tikapur happened. All, except three, were killed in Tarai. Tikapur is not an isolated event or precursor of violence. The killing of civilians, both armed and unarmed, has continued. More than 21 people have died this month alone and only one of them was a policeman yet the media and some Nepalis continue to use that incident to justify police brutality.
The Supreme Court issued an interim order on September 15 to refrain from shooting at civilians during protests since it violates Local Administration Act-2028, Clause (6), sub-clause (b) and the UN Human Rights document, "Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials". Human rights organizations have documented several instances where police shot civilians on their back while they were fleeing. In other words, protesters posed no threat and yet they were killed.
Police have shot civilians on their head and chest, while the laws dictate that they should be shot below knees. But who cares about the law? Nepali media applauds as the ruling parties busy themselves with writing a constitution that is supposedly inclusive and democratic. The parties, media and most non-Madheshis sing in unison, "But it is Morcha that does not want a dialogue". Was there a dialogue when Nepal was divided from six into seven states? Was there any agreement? When three people died, it melted their hearts. I ask, "How is it that after more than 30 civilian deaths in Tarai, we are still debating about who is not ready for dialogue?" If a state chooses to treat its citizen differently, how will they feel equal?
Foreign powers like India and the US have showed concern about the violence in the South and expressed their desire to include voices of the dissenting parties. But Nepali media interpreted those statements as congratulatory notes and the ruling parties cared little because they command a two-third majority in the CA. Besides, why should a sovereign nation like Nepal care about foreign statements?
Morcha may care about proportional representation, how constituencies are determined and other details in the constitution. Ordinary Madheshis do not. Madheshis feel suppressed and ignored by leaders they elected even though the leaders were not from Morcha. They feel cheated. Millions are just ordinary Madheshis, not Morcha.
Twitter: @digitalsubway
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