WHY NOT THARUHAT?
The Kathmandu
Post
4 September 2015
WHY NOT THARUHAT?
The ongoing protests and
continuous bandhas in Tarai districts have made daily lives of the common
people really difficult there. Observing the ego of major political parties, it
seems that these incidents will continue for a while. Why are leaders trying to suppress the voice
of the people who are expressing dissatisfactions at their unilateral decision
to demarcate the nation into six, and then seven provinces? The top leaders
need to take the discontents of the people seriously, and bring the agitated
forces on board for talks.
People have been killed each day
in the Tarai districts by the security forces in the name of maintaining law
and order (“Five protesters killed in police firing” 2 September, Page 1). It
is very sad and unfortunate to see the people dying while the new constitution
is being drafted. A constitution is a document of compromises. If major
political parties can satisfy one group of agitating people from one region by
re-delineating the boundaries and creating a new province, then why cannot they
do the same for other groups such as the Tharus? They should have involved all
the concerned stakeholders while demarcating the boundaries rather than abruptly
announcing their six province model. In a democracy, just having a simple
majority does not always work. Nepal
has been trying to draft a new constitution through the Constituent Assembly for
the last eight years. If the major political parties miss this opportunity, their
political future will be uncertain.
Rai Biren Bangdel
Maharajgunj
