Democracy For Nepal: Madhesi people

Showing posts with label Madhesi people. Show all posts

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Right To Self Determination: Where CK Raut And The Madhesi Parties Meet

Federalism without the right to self determination is like democracy without political parties. We have tried that one in Nepal. It was not exactly democracy.

The Madhesi parties do not agree with CK Raut's idea of Madhesh as a separate country. But there is no way they can not agree with the idea of the right to self determination. That is where CK Raut and the Madhesi parties meet.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Dr. C.K.Raut Episode: Soft Landing Options

English: PM Bhattarai during a live talk show. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

His personal safety and health are my biggest concern.
The Supreme Court has given a small opening in a fundamentally unfair ruling. That opening is he can get medical treatment with a doctor of his choice at a hospital of his choice at his own personal expense. This opening has to be strategically utilized. Maybe we get a doctor that needs to meet him three times a week. Those will be three times a week when CK gets to communicate with the world out there. I am for some international fundraising for this effort.
The legal team has to do its utmost best. There has to be an in court strategy. But there is also a need for a robust media strategy. The unfairness and the injustice has to be called upon in specific detail each time it happens.
We have to figure out a soft landing to the fast unto death. The fast started because the police misbehaved with him in custody. Assurances have to be sought from the Home Minister that the misbehavior will not restart. And that should be a reason for the fast to end. That political action has to be taken.
The guy has a right to free speech, and a right to peaceful assembly. That is why he has to be released.
As for his stated goal of Madhesh as a separate country, it was conditional. As in, if the discrimination against Madhesis inside Nepal does not stop, it will be time to create a separate country. I can not argue against that.
But right now the fight is to eliminate that discrimination inside Nepal and to create a democratic, non-violent path to separation should the need arise. And there people like Baburam Bhattarai will have to put their money where their mouth is. Baburam has to come out saying he also believes in the right to self determination, that he has believed that for a long time, like years, like decades.
The Madhesi parties are also going to have to come along. You have to say you believe in the right to self determination. That does not mean you believe in the idea of a separate country. If you don't believe in Madhesh as a separate country, then you don't. And right now I don't think any Madhesi party does.
As long as we can ensure CK's safety and health, as long we can ensure his release from custody, as long as we can make sure the right to self determination becomes an integral part of the new constitution, that is all there is. If we can accomplish all these goals without organizing Madhesi Kranti (3), so much the better.
Let's coordinate well. Let's strategize well. Let's do the necessary political, legal and oraganizational work.

CK

(written for Vishwa Sandesh)

Partyless democracy is an oxymoron, but Nepal had it under King Birendra. Girija Koirala was “invited” to “participate” but he refused, and understandably so. The right to self determination is as integral a part of federalism as political parties are to democracy.

CK Raut’s arrest defies political logic, and flies in the face of the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights. Unlike the likes of Gagan Thapa who toe the line of octogenarians in his party, CK has challenged the existing Madhesi political parties and their leaders, and has elevated the political conversation in the country in ways that we have not seen since the April revolution of 2006 and the subsequent Madhesi movements of 2007 and 2008. There is hyperactivity online. The streets of Madhesh are warming up. You feel the lull before the storm.

Of the legislative, executive and the judiciary, the judiciary in Nepal is the most regressive, with the executive right behind it. The monarchy was the most regressive institution but it is gone. It was the judiciary that disallowed the use of Maithili in local governments in parts of the country where pretty much everyone speaks Maithili and the vast majority don’t comprehend Nepali. It was the judiciary that disallowed the Vice President, a Madhesi, to take oath in Hindi.

Hindi is at the very core of the Madhesi identity. Otherwise there are Maithils, there are Bhojpuri speakers, there are Marwadis. Hindi is probably better understood in all parts of Nepal than is Nepali. Nepal’s salvation lies in Hindi being recognized as the sixth UN language. Amitabh Bachchan speaks Hindi. Hrithik Roshan, yes Hrithik Roshan, speaks Hindi.

Bamdev Gautam is pretty much a “auntha chhap.” Sushil Koirala is basically in a wheelchair. He was missing in action for two straight months, and the country still kept running just fine. Why is he Prime Minister? He should be made constitutional monarch! Those are qualities of a constitutional monarch!

Nepal would be oh so fortunate if people like Bamdev disappeared, never to be seen again, and people like CK Raut came to hold offices of power. I know CK personally. He is easily one of the foremost intellects in all of Nepal and the Nepali diaspora. In CK Baburam Bhattarai might have finally met his match. CK, after all was born in the land of Janak, that most famous of philosopher kings.

Whereas Bamdev turned the entire country into a joke at a recent SAARC home minister level gathering. He spoke out a speech in English that he had had someone write in the Devnagari script. The jackal howled at the sight of the moon and got caught!

I don’t get it. The right to self determination is integral to federalism. If there is consensus on federalism, why is the right to self determination even an issue? Nepal has been declared a secular country, but Kamal Thapa still campaigns for a Hindu country. He can do that. It’s called freedom of expression. Govinda Raj Joshi and Khum Bahadur Khadka have both joined that Hindu nation chorus. Why are they still roaming around freely? Free speech! Ram Sharan Mahat talked of a federalism free constitution. That is highly irresponsible for someone in the cabinet to say, but it is still free speech. Never mind that Nepal has been declared a federal republic in the interim constitution already.

Is the state saying Pahadis are entitled to free speech but Madhesis are not? What is the message here?

I don’t sense a strong sentiment for Madhesh as a separate country in the Madhesh right now, but the CK Raut case mishandled would build such a thing at a rapid clip. But this is not about majority or minority opinion. This is about basic rights.

A state legislature would have the option to organize a referendum on the topic. And majority vote would decide, like just happened in Scotland. If sovereignty rests in the hands of the people, there is no other way.

Personally I am for federalism in Nepal with two states in the Terai encompassing all 22 of the Terai districts and a South Asian economic union. That is my prescribed solution to the 300 year old discrimination faced by the Madhesis that have 3,000 years of continuous history.

The most heartbreaking part is all this foot dragging on federalism postpones Nepal’s economic revolution by leaps and bounds. If there are 100,000 bureaucrats in Nepal, and 100,000 soldiers, and 100,000 police officers, that’s 300,000 people on the state’s payroll. If the Bahun Chhetri are 20% of the country of 30 million, there are six million of them. If they are currently 90% of the state, are you telling me 270,000 Bahuns Chhetris drawing state salaries meets the needs of the other 5.7 million plus of them? I doubt it.

Democratization and power devolution are also in the best interests of the six million Bahuns and Chhetris of Nepal. Most of them live in slave conditions.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

C K Raut's Arrest Is Illegal

I disagree with his idea of Madhesh as a separate country. I am for federalism in Nepal and a South Asian economic union. But he has a right to free speech and peaceful political organizing. This arrest is illegal and has to be condemned in the strongest terms. He has to be released immediately.

मधेश अलग्याउने अभियान चलाउने राउत पक्राउ

CK Raut has been engaged in peaceful politics. He has a right to free speech and peaceful assembly. Those are fundamental human rights. You do not have to agree with his agenda of Madhesh as a separate country. But you have no right to deny him his fundamental human rights. This arbitrary arrest of CK Raut is illegal and goes against all norms of basic democracy.

CK Raut does not have his rights because he is one of the most accomplished intellectuals in all of Madhesh and indeed all of Nepal. He is a computer scientist of world renown. But his global stature helps throw light on the ground reality of Madhesh from where one constantly hears the drumbeat of the excesses of the Nepal Police as if they were an occupying force in a colonized land.

This arrest is obviously the handiwork of the people in the topmost layers of the Nepal Government. It is a shame that political leaders and bureaucrats are engaging in this base behavior rather than engaging CK Raut in political dialogue.

The political dialogue will go on. The outcomes are uncertain. May the democratic process take its due course. But that CK Raut needs to be release immediately is urgent. And we demand that. This illegal arrest has to be undone at the earliest, and CK Raut has to be allowed to walk a free man. Nothing less is acceptable.

‘देश टुक्र्याउने माग राख्नेलाई’ रिहा गर्न अधिकारकर्मीहरुको माग -पदमरत्न, दमननाथ, खगेन्द्र संग्रौलासहित २५ जनाको माग
सीके राउतको भित्री योजना पर्दाफास: मधेस टुक्र्याउन सैनिक विद्रोह गर्ने -- राउतलाई भूमिगत सशस्त्र संगठनसमेतको सहयोग रहेको सुरक्षा स्रोतले दावी
देश टुक्रयाउने आरोप सहित पक्राउ परेका सिके राउतको बारे सदनमा जानकारी दिन माग
गान्धी, मण्डेला, मार्टिन, ओबामा र राउत–रोशनकुमार झा
राउतको अबिलम्ब रिहाई हुनुपर्ने , जितेन्द्र सोनल
सीके राउतलाई पक्रेर सरकारले गम्भीर गल्ती गरेको बाबुरामको आरोप
तराईमा सैनिक विद्रोहदेखि नाकाबन्दी योजना
Raut remanded to 6-day police custody

सि के राउतको विचारसंग हामी सहमत हुन सक्दैनौं तर उनलाई गिरफ्तार गरेर सरकारले गम्भीर गल्ती गरेको छ। उनलाई तुरुन्त रिहा गरियोस्!
— Baburam Bhattarai (@brb_laaldhwoj) September 14, 2014

Madheshis and Mandarins by CK Raut

Madheshis’ relation to their southern neighbour need not be told and to the northern one is rarely told. But their relation to the Chinese predates even the introduction of Buddhism in China in the first century CE. Ancient scriptures, Mahabharata and Manusmriti, have references to Chinese silk (cinamsuka) being given as presents. Kautilya’s Arthashastra, a treatise on economics and politics, written in the fourth century BCE, mentions silk trade from China. Earlier literature also mentions the contact of the people of Madhyadesh (Videha and Magadha) with Yunnan, China, which went by the name of Purvavideha.......... In the first millennium CE, hundreds of Chinese monks visited Madhesh. They translated many works of Buddhism and propagated it throughout China. Martial art is also believed to be brought to China by Madheshi Buddhist monks. In the 5th century AD, Faxian, a Buddhist monk and scholar from the Jin Dynasty of China, visited Kapilvastu and Lumbini. He had high praises for people, places, culture and erudition of Madhyadesh and he described several aspects of its lifestyle including the facility of ‘hospitals’. ....... One of the Chinese monks accompanying Faxian, Daozheng, was so impressed by Madhyadesh that he decided not to return to China. In the sixth century, Li Daoyuan described “Madhyadesh” based on Faxian’s Fo Guo Ji: A Record of the Buddhist Kingdoms: “Its people are rich. The inhabitants of Madhyadesh dress and eat like people in China.” Similarly, in the seventh century, Xuan-Zang, who authored The Records of the Western Regions Visited During the Great Tang Dynasty, and Yi Jing visited Lumbini. Xuan-Zang (Hiuen Tsang) brought back 657 Buddhist texts to China. ...... Emperor Harshavardhan of Madhyadesh in the same century had formal diplomatic relations with the Tang dynasty of China. After Harsha’s death, his minister Arjun wanted to forfeit a part of his empire to the Chinese. Yashovarman, a ruler in the eight century, too had diplomatic relations with China. ........ When Madheshi King Harisinghdev was dethroned from Simraungarh by Tughlaks in 1320s, he fled to Nepal (valley) and established his reign there. He ruled there for 28 years, followed by his successors Matisinghdev, Shaktisinghdev and Shyamsinghdev. It should be noted that these Madheshi kings of the Nepal valley had good relationship with China. According to the Annals of the Ming, in 1384, Chinese Emperor Hong-won had sent a bronze, a royal seal, to the Madheshi king conferring him the official investiture. In return, the Madheshi king had sent an ambassador to China with gold pagodas, books on Buddhism, horses and the productions of the country. The ambassador reached the Chinese capital in 1387. The Madheshi king at that time was “Ma-ta-na lo-mo” (Matisinghdev). Such exchanges took place in 1390 and 1399 too. ........ The relationship continued during the reign of Young-lo, the successor of Hong-wou. In 1413, the Chinese Emperor sent presents to “Cha-ko-sin-ti” (Shaktisinghdev). The emperor conferred the title of the ‘King of Nepal’ to the Madheshi king Shaktisinghdev and handed over a diploma conferring him this investiture and also a royal seal in gold and silver. In 1418, there were further new exchanges. Similarly, in 1427, the Emperor Hieun-te also attempted to keep this relationship alive. Though there were other petty kings in Nepal (valley) between 1387 and 1418, the Chinese did not recognize any other kings of Nepal but solely the descendants of the Madheshi King, Harisimhadev. .......... The modern diplomatic relations between Nepal and China started in 1955. In 1956, Nepal and China signed a treaty and China emerged as a major donor to Nepal’s development. But any effort to involve China in Madhesh is often perceived as playing a China card and put under a great pressure by India and the West. In 1960s, King Mahendra agreed to retract China’s development plans of building highways in the Tarai region upon the pressure from the then Indian ambassador Shriman Narayan. In return, India suppressed opposition political activities on the borders, including arrests and killings of several leaders of the Nepali Congress and the Tarai Liberation Front. ........ Such is the restriction and paranoia that in 1988 when Nepal decided to import a small quantity of arms from China, India imposed a crippling blockade on Nepal the following year and the Madheshis suffered the most. They were even deprived of basic commodities like salt and kerosene. That has not changed much in “new” Nepal too, as seen from the fate of Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation (APECF)’s ambitious plan to build ‘special development zone’ in Lumbini, and many other petty projects of Chinese in Madhesh. ......... But positive developments have also happened. Ever increasing numbers of Madheshis are flocking to China for higher studies. There has also been growing interest for learning Mandarin among Madheshis for they have realised that it is better to be foreigners than unknowns. Though Pushyamitra and Shankaracharya destroyed much of the heritage of Madhesh, it still survives at unusual places in China. The Thousand Buddha Cave and the Mogao Grottoes of Dunhuang, the Buddhism-inspired architectural art in Xinjiang, the Longmen Buddhist caves comprising of 100,000 statues, some 40 pagodas and 3600 tablets near Luoyang city in Henan province, the tens of thousands of Buddhist rock carvings in Dazu, about 1,000 grottoes and some 100,000 Buddhist statues of Datong in Shanxi province, the Wuta Si temple of Beijing with Sanskrit inscriptions styled as the Bodhgaya temple, the White Horse Temple (Baima Si) of Luoyang, the Big Goose Pagoda of Xi’an in Shaanxi province and Famen Si of Fufeng believed to house the finger bones of Buddha himself are just a few of the remarkable places in China that still preserve and promote the dignity and heritage of Madheshis. Ironically, it is no more the spiritual India’s Bihar but the communist China’s Tibet where the pride of Madheshis still fly high in the sky, everywhere, as prayer flags.

राउतलाई सार्वजनिक अपराधको मुद्दा --- बाबुराम भन्छन्, 'पक्रेर सरकारले गल्ती गर्‍यो'
The chauvinistic circle

In such a stultifying environment, what option does someone as brilliant as Dr CK Raut have to vent his frustrations? Madheshi parties were co-opted, defamed, defanged and then dumped. There is no Madhesh media worth the name. The military is intrinsically inimical to Madheshi aspirations. Interests of the corporate Hindu mendicants are closely tied with the establishment. The international community in strategically located countries is wary of upsetting the applecart of status quo. So Dr Raut goes around the countryside canvassing support for his vision of independent Madhesh. ....... Dr Raut has reportedly been charged with indulging in suspicious activities. Yes, suspicious activities are culpable in a republic that has no bananas to call itself one. The triad seems to be getting tired of democracy, human rights and governance. Rituals such as a political roundtable in Kathmandu or a speech at UN in New York are good shows worthy of a ceremonial government. But someone someday will have to stand up and own absurdities of this ‘nationalist-communist-democrat’ coalition.

CK Raut
CK Raut
CK Raut: Cambridge University
CK Raut
Dr. CK Raut: Why understanding southern Nepal's perspective is crucial
किन यति उग्र भए सिके राउत?
Nepal activist seeking right to secession in constitution arrested
Two Wrongs: UML guilty on two accounts: appointment of Mahesh Basnet and arrest of CK Raut
Activists‚ Madhesi parties demand Raut's release
अमेरिकामा महिनाको १४ लाख कमाउँथे सिके राउत
सिके राउत रिहायको चौतर्फि माग (फोटो फिचर र विज्ञप्तिसहित)
“देश टुक्राउनेको समर्थन गर्ने तैँ होस भन्दै प्रहरीले ग‍-यो गाली गलौज”
सीके राउतलाई पक्रेर सरकारले गम्भीर गल्ती गर्‍यो : बाबुराम
सीके राउतले भने – तराई छुट्याउनु मेरो आइडिओलोजी
देश टुक्राउन अभियान चलाउने सीके राउतको गिरफ्तारीलाई कसरी लिने ?
सिके राउतले भने,‘नेपाल आमा होइन,रन्डी हो’
सीके राउतको माग गलत छ – फोरम अध्यक्ष यादव
सीके राउतलाई राज्य विपल्वको मुद्दा लगाउने तयारी
राउतको बारे सरकारले जवाफ दिनुपर्ने गच्छदारद्धरा संसदमा माग
सिके राउतलाई रिहा गर्न माग गर्दै नागरिक समाजको धर्ना -- अपहरण शैलीमा राउतलाई पक्राउ गरिएको आरोप
CK Raut: Autobiography

Saturday, September 06, 2014

Beyond Federalism To Double Digit Growth

Nepal topography. The green/yellow zones hold the Inner Terai valleys. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(Article sent to Kantipur on August 6, 2014)

A few months after the king’s coup in 2005 I moved to New York City from the Midwest. I had no such plans, but I ended up putting full time work into Nepal’s democracy movement, and subsequently the Madhesi movement. I went on to become Barack Obama’s first full time volunteer in all of New York City. I also watched Modi’s campaign for hours each day. To this day I follow Nepali politics pretty closely.

It is a shame that Nepal’s constitution was not written during the first two years of the first constituent assembly. Nepal’s leaders failed its people. But here we are with six months to go. Not completing the task is not an option, because massive economic opportunities are knocking at the door.

During the Shivaratri mayhem around Pashupati, all you have to do is go stand in the middle and the crowd will take you forward. China has been growing at massive rates with no signs of slowing down. India is about to take off in a similar way. All Nepal has to do is provide basic political stability, basic law and order, and the economy would take off for being sandwiched between the two awake giants. This is precisely the point I made when I got to meet Prime Minister Sushil Koirala in NYC a few weeks back.

I think the recent electoral mandate was broadly for geographic federalism. We should move towards six states: East Terai (Chitwan and Udaypur included), West Terai (Surkhet included), Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, Karnali. The primary achievement of the Madhesh Movement was making sure the number of MPs from the Terai is in direct proportion to its population. That has to continue. Beyond that an electoral system fair to the DaMaJaMa (Dalit, Madhesi, Janajati, Mahila) has to be put in place.

205 seats in a lower house and 100 seats in an upper house might suffice. 7% of the 205 seats, or 15 seats should be reserved for Dalits. These would be constituencies where only Dalit candidates may contest. One third of all seats should similarly be set aside for women, or about 67 seats. Of those seats for women, 20% should be for Dalit women, 30% for Madhesi women, and 30% for Janajati women.

For the 100 upper house seats, it would be fully proportional. How many votes a party collects would determine how many seats that party gets. There would be provisions for the DaMaJaMa. One third for women again, as in every third name on a party’s list should be a woman. 7% for Dalits again. 10% for Madhesis, and 10% for Janajatis. The parties must submit lists before the election and make them public. The lists may not be amended after the election. So if a party gets 10 seats, the first 10 names on its submitted list get in.

A Prime Minister elected by both Chambers of the House would be the Executive Chief, free to form his cabinet with people from inside and outside the parliament, and a president elected by all elected leaders in the country at all levels, local, state and national, would serve as the constitutional head, and the Commander In Chief of the Nepal Army.

The six states would have unicameral legislatures. Every parliamentary constituency might be split into two state legislature constituencies. The 75 districts stay intact. There is the central government, there are the six state governments, the 75 district governments, and the city, town and village governments. It is important to come up with formulas such that the state, district and local governments end up with substantial budgets.

Nepal that is a federal country should have many fewer bureaucrats, soldiers and police officers than it currently has, because federalism is a more efficient form of government. A lot of stuff gets taken care of locally. Downsizing the Nepal Army from 100,000 soldiers to about 10,000 soldiers would free up resources for tens of thousands of teachers and health care workers. Policing is a state function and so Nepal Police will have to give way. Several ministries will have to be eliminated, all will have to be significantly downsized.

Modi during his recent visit said, “Nepal can become a developed nation by selling power to India.” That is true. Once the country has a new constitution and there are regular elections to all levels of government I am sure the country will see plenty of good leaders emerge who might do for Nepal what Nitish Kumar has done for Bihar.

An economic revolution would be Nepal growing at double digit rates year in year out for 30 years. That kind of growth rate is the best and fastest way to wiping out poverty in the country.

(Paramendra Bhagat is a tech entrepreneur based in New York City. His global team is working on an Augmented Reality Mobile Game.)

Saturday, August 16, 2014

East West Nepal Railway

Nepal topography. The green/yellow zones hold the Inner Terai valleys. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is talk of an East West Nepal Railway. The current talk puts that right next to the Mahendra Rajmarga, the East West Highway. I believe that would be a mistake. The rivers right south of Chure tend to be really wide. You go further south and they narrow down substantially. Bridges are the most expensive part of a road (or rail).

So if the idea is to build an East West Railways at the lowest cost possible, the best part to do it would be in Mid-Terai.

There is widespread feeling among Madhesis that the Mahendra Rajmarga was never built for Madhesis in the first place. It was built for the Pahadis. The highway that would most benefit the Madhesis would be the Postal Highway, or the Hulaki Rajmarga. It goes very close to the Indian border. Because the most dense clusters of the Madhesi population happens to be close to the Indian border.

An East West Railway that runs through the middle of the Terai would benefit the Madhesis a lot. That is true. But that can not be the reason why you not do it. You build it along a route that would be cheapest to build. And you build so as to benefit the largest number of people. That would put the East West Railway along the middle of the Terai.

But you also have to build it for India. India's North-East feels isolated from the rest of India. This East West Railway would connect that North-East to Delhi and mainstream India. The larger South Asian market is what would make this train route indispensable and highly profitable.

It will be easier, much easier, to find investors for the project if you draw in the larger picture. Not only is there a larger South Asian picture, there is also a larger Asian picture. China has plans to connect with India through Sikkim. That rail route could be connected to the Nepal East West Railway. Next thing you know a whole bunch of Indians are traveling through Nepal to get to China.

Such large scale thinking would make it possible to raise large sums of money with which to build something cutting edge. Like bullet trains, for example.