CHAPTER 17

Comprehensive Peace Accord and Madhesh aspirations

Chandra Kishore

There was a conflict between the collective political movement of the Madhesh and the former rebels, due to the views and behaviors of the Maoists during the Madhesh Uprising, which started on January 16, 2007, the day after the Interim Constitution was promulgated.The Madhesh uprising was searching for the logical conclusion to the Maoist civil war and complete, wholesome democracy. Following the Madhesh uprising, there is a new trend of political awareness in the Madhesh. It is a big enough challenge to channel the energy of growing awareness into nation-building from within the boundaries of democratic philosophies and conduct.

The Madheshi issue stems from an identity crisis. The Madheshis are demanding that they should get social, economic and political rights based on their identity as Madheshi. The Madheshis are indigenous people who are not from the hills, who do not speak Nepali as their mother tongue, and who have their own unique language, culture, clothing and lifestyle. There is a tendency in Nepal to define, as people of Nepali heritage, only people of hill heritage as Nepalis. Madheshis are generally not recognized as indigenous people of Nepal.

The centrist Madheshi forces are also a part of the mainstream transformative politics, and this issue involves them as well. There are still ways out. It is necessary to stop polarization in society so that we may convince everyone, including those that feel that the country is theirs but the state isn’t, that the state is theirs too. Regardless of where extremism is coming from, we should discourage it. For half a decade after CPA, there were armed struggles in the Madhesh, surrounding the Madheshi issue.

The peace process cannot be considered complete unless it is able to change society, and unless it is able to translate into the lives of common citizens. We can start practicing accountable politics in the future by carefully evaluating the (politics of) the last decade. We must understand that in practical terms, the people are a resource that will help build the country. The peace process must not be taken as a step that was taken to bring some armed force into power, or to bring the detested parliamentary parties back into the politics of power. The main intention of the peace process was to defeat all the factors that have limited Nepal so far and create a peaceful, self-respecting, prosperous and independent country. This is what common Nepali people mean when they talk about a New Nepal.