Nepal cannot afford another bout of unrest
The fresh round of extensive Madhesi and Janajati protests organised by the Federal Alliance should force the KP Sharma Oli Government to re-think a plausible solution for addressing sectarian grievances. First of all, the coalition Government of Nepal has failed to bring the Madhesi leadership to the negotiating table, which eventually led to the current protest in the capital city. It underlines the fact that either the Government is not genuinely interested in finding a solution to the Madhesi issue or the alliance partners in the Government do not agree to a common agenda on the basis of which the group could be called for a discussion. The Madhesis are a marginalised minority with cultural and linguistic ties to neighbouring India, and have been struggling for greater rights as well as recognition for decades in Nepal. And when Kathmandu proposed a new Constitution in June 2015, which marginalised the group by establishing contentious new administrative divisions, dissent began to spill over into violence. The members of the Madhesi ethnic group are centered on the hotly contested Terai plains between India and Nepal, and have long accused Kathmandu of treating community members as ‘outsiders'. Keeping in mind the past fury and tempo of the Madhesi movement — a six month spasm of unrest throughout southern Nepal that brought the country to its knees — not to mention an economy by last year’s deadly earthquake, the Government must step in to a stage wherein both parties negotiate.
However, the ground reality is that despite deep resentment among the participants in the protest, the agitation has often failed to gather momentum mainly because of the rifts within the Madhesi leadership. Thus, the Government hopes, the protest may fizzle out soon. But the Federal Alliance said it would continue its agitation. The historic six-month movement which led to a blockade of goods vehicles coming from the Indian side, badly failed to exert enough pressure on the policymakers to re-write the country's Constitution. This has forced the Madhesis to align with the Janajatis, though they have contradictory demands, to come together for the agitation. The Madhesis want the eastern-most Terai districts of Morang, Sunsari and Jhapa in their Province, whereas the Janajatis stress they belong to their hills. It is strongly felt that the protests may not be powerful enough to force a re-write of the Constitution, but it could destabilise the coalition Government. While blaming India for encouraging the protesters, the Maoists might side with the National Congress and use the Madhesi issue to topple the KP Sharma Oil soon.
There is no option. The Oil Government must find a way to iron out the hurdles in locating a solution — by erecting amendments to the current Constitution of Nepal. Else, the Madhesis, now joined by the Janajatis, will remain a permanent bleeding edge for the Himalayan nation.