1. Historical Background
    History of Madhesis   Madhes Movement    Origins and Objectives of the Madhes Movement    Madhes Movement I    Madhes Movement II    Madhes Movement III  

2. Major Events in the Issue
     2015 Economic Blockade    Implications of the Economic Blockade  

3. Key issues in the conflict

4. Causes of Conflict
     Constitution of Nepal    Citizenship    Representation of minority groups    Amendments to the 2015 Constitution  

5. Brief Outline of some major events
     1959-2006    2007-2017  

6. Post Conflict instability

7. References

The Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) – composed of the Madhesi population in Terai region of Nepal – launched violent protests (known as Madhes Andolan) after the end of the civil war in 2006. The Madhes movement was a political movement organized by MJF, joined with other national Madhesi groups such as United Democratic Janadhikar Forum (UDJF). They formed a coalition to voice for equal rights, dignity and identity of the Madhesis and other ethnic minorities such as Tharus, Muslims and Janjati groups of the country. The government's persistent failures to address the prolonged grievances of the population – especially after the promulgation of constitution in 2015 – led to the third Madhes Movement in 2015.

Amidst these conflicts between the Madhesi protesters and the state, more than 1600^[2] post conflict deaths were reported between 2007 and 2015. The conflict exacerbated after the first elected Constituent Assembly (CA) failed to draft a constitution even after multiple extension of deadlines were granted. The major issues of Madhesi protesters in conflict were over the current federal model and concerns around proportional representation of various political groups.^[3] The coalition that led the first Madhes Movement sought to create a federalist state system under which it would be able to transform Terai into a single, autonomous province.

Historical Background

The southern plains of Nepal, the Terai region, is also known as Madhes. According to the 2001 census, the region occupies 23.1%^[4] of the total land of Nepal and houses 48.5%^[5] of the total population. The term, Madhesi people, is often given to people residing in Terai region of Nepal, and comprises various caste groups such as Brahmins and Dalits, as well as other ethnic groups. The Madhesis comprise of 19.30 %^[6] of the population in Terai. Many of these people are closely associated with Indian states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal due to Terai's proximity with the northern side of India. They have close cultural, linguistic, and marital ties with the southern international border of Nepal. The census of 2011 does not provide any definition or the enumeration of Madhesis^[7], overlooking their identity and making it ambiguous.  The term ‘Madhes’ was used by politicians in the late 1940s to differentiate the political interests and lifestyle of the people of Terai to that of the hills (Pahadis).  

History of Madhesis

The term Madheshi people is defined in two different ways:

• Anthropologists use it for people of Indian ancestry residing in the Terai of Nepal and comprising various cultural groups such as Hindu caste groups, muslims, merchants and indigenous people of the Terai.^[8][9] Many of these groups share cultural traditions and marital ties with people living south of the international border in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.^[10]
• In recent times, some politicians and journalists have used the term for all Nepali citizens of the Terai.^[11]

Since the late 18th century, the Shah rulers of Nepal encouraged Indian people to settle in the eastern Terai through a series of subsidies granted to new settlers. A severe flood of the Koshi River followed by a drought caused famine-stricken Bihari farmers in the 1770s to 1780s to migrate to the Nepal Terai, where they converted forest to agricultural land. Immigration of people from neighbouring India increased between 1846 and 1950.^[12] They settled foremost in the eastern Nepal Terai together with native Terai peoples.^[13] In the mid 19th century, Muslim people from the Awadh region were invited to settle in the far-western Nepal Terai, where they received large forested areas for conversion to agriculture.^[14]

Since the 1950s, the Madhesis struggled to achieve recognition from the state as equal citizens with equal share in the political and economical development of the country.^[15] They were often regarded as second class citizens in Nepal. During the rana regime i.e. 1846-1950, political leaders in Terai were proactive in fighting against the rule and demonstrating strong support to other political groups for democracy, yet the Madhesis failed to get any recognition.

During the Panchayat system (known as the system of “guided democracy”)^[16] i.e. 1962-1990, the ethnic oppression felt by the Madhesis accelerated. This period was characterized by high degree of political, judicial, executive, and legislative power locked in the hands of King Mahendra. Under his rule, the notion of economic development relied on the cultural traits of those in power, i.e. the high caste - Pahadis.^[17] The Madhesis, and many other ethnic minorities of the country reacted and voiced powerfully to such exclusions made by the state.

In February 18, 1990^[18], Nepali Congress (NC), United Left Front (ULF), along with other parties led a multi party movement (People's Movement I)^[19] to restore democracy in the country. It eliminated the Panchayat system and drafted the constitution of Nepal. The 1990 constitution included discriminatory clauses – one language policy, unitary state and discriminatory citizenship policies – that impacted the Madhesis. The constitution was problematic given that Nepal has a very diverse groups of ethnic communities.

Madhes Movement

Origins and Objectives of the Madhes Movement

The multi-party democracy in 1990 brought many hopes for an inclusive and greater representation of the nation. The Panchayat model of homogeneous nation was challenged by the discussions around the issues of regional, linguistic, ethnic, and religious identity by the Constitution Recommendation Committee, that was formed in 1990. Although Nepal was a multiethnic and multilingual state, proclaimed by the constitution, religious freedom was prohibited. For instance, religious conversions were banned under the constitution to solely contain Nepal as a Hindu Kingdom.^[20]

The discussions around the 1990 constitution became crucial in encouraging the Madhes movement that aimed to abandon cultural and lingual superiority of the high castes. The aims of the Madhes movements included the inclusion of Madhesis in the state apparatus, demand for federalism, census before the Constitution Assembly election, and determination of electoral constituencies based on population.^[20]

Madhes Movement I

The first Madhes movement erupted in 2007 after the seven-party alliance of political parties and CPN- Maoist pronounced the interim constitution of Nepal. The constitution deliberately ignored the demands of Madhesis and other marginalized communities of federalism and equal representation of these ethnic communities. The mass movement brought ethno nationalism as a crucial issue in national discourse of restructuring the state. The first Madhes movement was successful in bringing constitutional identity, representation and political power to a certain limit.^[21] Janajatis, Women and the Dalits were offered some privileges but the Madhesis were given none. High caste of the hills (Pahadis) continued to dominate the highest positions in civil service and governmental positions.^[22] Madhesis were for centuries, denied citizenship until the first Madhes Movement in 2007. Without the citizenship certificate, the Madhesis were not able to obtain land ownership certificate, and without the Land Registration Deed, a Madhesis could not obtain a citizenship certificate. Almost a trap by the government, the Madhesis, along with minority groups faced issues of landlessness. Without citizenship, they did not have the right to vote, purchase and sell land, and apply for government jobs.^[22] Thus, the Madhes movement was a consequence of all such grievances of the ethnic groups against the state of Nepal.

Madhes Movement II

The second Madhes Movement broke out in 2008, led by Ramesh Mahato. The three political agenda of this movement were launched jointly by Madhesi parties which included: federalism, proportional representation, and election constituency based on population. Violent protests led to the inclusion of federalism in the constitution later.

Madhes Movement III

Despite the movement for social change, Madhesis remained to be treated unfairly and denied equal rights. Although the interim constitution of 2008 ensured the demands of Madhesis to be considered, the 2015 Constitution of Nepal failed to address any of those issues. The Nepali Times writes, “the mainstream parties wanted to pass the new constitution without determining the number and boundaries of provinces. As a result, protests broke throughout the southern plains, and more than 50 people were killed in violent clashes.” ^{[23] [24]}The third Madhes Movement was induced by the unfair formation of seven federal provinces under the new Constitution. It was considered discriminatory because only eight districts in Terai were given the status of a state while the remaining fourteen districts were from the Hilly region.

Major Events in the Issue

2015 Economic Blockade

The 2015 Nepal blockade began on September 23, 2015^[20] and lasted for two months^[25], according to The Diplomat. Madhes parties refused to sign the constitution and threatened to disrupt any elections in the state. The Unified Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) and Tharuhat Join Struggle Committee called an indefinite strike in the Terai region, the India- Nepal border, that disrupted all public and private services including schools, hospitals, transports, etc. The trade flow and supply of essential goods such as medicines, petrol, gas, and basic food items  from the Indian border were halted from this indefinite strike. In addition, frequent curfews were called off in Terai region that restricted the movement of people.

Implications of the Economic Blockade

The economic blockade was costly for the state of Nepal; it affected different sectors at all levels. Workers who depended on daily wages were living without any income for food and daily survival for two months. The protest disrupted the daily supply of fuel trucks, leading to a fuel crisis in Nepal and creating a black market for supplies.^[26] Being a landlocked country, and surrounded by India on three sides of its border, Nepal is largely depended on its Indian border for any supplies. Meanwhile, Nepal was struck by a massive earthquake that led to 9000 deaths and 17,866 people injured^[27], according to CNN reports. Essential medicines and relief material for earthquake relief were stuck in the border of Nepal and India as insecurity of the strikes restricted any flows of supplies into the country^[28]. As Terai, the roadway between Nepal and India, was completely blocked due to the strike, trucks that carried essential supplies from India could not enter the borders of Nepal due to lack of law and volatility in the region. Amidst all of this, an anti-India sentiment was created among the Nepali population, and accused India for imposing an unofficial blockade.^[29] India had expressed dissatisfaction with the constitution of Nepal stating that Nepal's constitution denies the rights of the Madhesis living in the border.

India backing up with the Madhesis created complication as it created a widespread perception of India being behind the economic blockade and perhaps doubted that Madhesi demands were framed by the strategic interests of India. Sushma Swaraj, the foreign minister of India denied Nepal's accusation regarding the blockade. She pointed out that India had been sending supplies; 4,310 trucks had gone to the border but they were stranded because Nepal could not take responsibility from that point.^[20]

Key issues in the conflict

Before the Constituent Assembly elections in 2008, the Madhesi parties formed an alliance of three parties: Terai Madhesi Loktantrik Party (TMLP), Madhesi Jan Adhikar forum and Nepal Sadbhavna Party. The alliance, named Democratic Madhesi Front, highlighted the key demands of the Madhesis which included:

1. Citizenship : Madhesis should be stopped being treated as second class citizens. Citizenship rights should be ensured regardless of it being acquired by descent or naturalisation. It should be passed on through the mother's name and not just the name of the father.
2. Federal demarcation : The current federal model separates five of the Madhes districts from the Madhes provinces and falls under the other proposed neighboring provinces. Madhesis demand for two federal provinces with all of their 20 districts under them.
3. Language : The mother tongue of people in Terai was recognized as a second language although the universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 says every community has the right to practice their mother tongue. Therefore, they demanded to accept hindi language as part of the 123 languages of Nepal and provide an official status for it.
4. Adequate representation of Madhesis and Tharus in decision making by promoting quotas, and reserve positions for indigenous communities, women, dalits, etc. to ensure proportional representation in all organs of the state. Employment quotas in sectors such as the army.^&91;30&93;
5. Divide electoral constituencies in proportion to population and geography.
6. Formation of local bodies and special structures as per the provincial laws.^&91;31&93;

Causes of Conflict

Constitution of Nepal

The current constitution is the seventh constitution written in the history of Nepal, after its promulgation in 2015.  It is guided by the 2007 Interim Constitution and the Peace Agreement of 2006. It has numerous provisions for economic, social, and political development such as supporting clauses for free market and international trade.^[32] Majority of the political parties, citizens and other interest groups have supported the constitution. However, certain ethnic groups and Madhesi parties have expressed dissatisfaction with some of the provisions.  According to The New York Times, “After a 10-year civil war between the Maoists and the government ended in 2006, the Constituent Assembly spent four years trying, unsuccessfully, to write a Constitution, a stalemate that led to political paralysis.”^[33] Madhesis and ethnic minorities have rejected the constitution, claiming it to be discriminatory. BBC reports that at least 40 people died of clashes linked to the constitution. ^[34] 

Citizenship

The new constitution is gender discriminatory as it denies single woman to pass on citizenship to their children.  According to Kathmandu Post^[35], clauses in the constitution draft say that both parents have to be Nepali to acquire citizenship. Likewise, a Nepali woman married to a foreign may not acquire citizenship but if the father is Nepali, the child is given citizenship regardless. Madhesi communities, who often have marital ties with Indians across the border, will be disproportionality affected because they are ethnically and socially connected with the northern Indians.

Representation of minority groups

Madhesi parties demanded for proportional representation in state organs, and guarantee constituencies based  on population because 20 out of 75 districts in Terai region house 50% of the population. ^[36] The provision of 165 members in the parliament was considered problematic because the Hilly and Mountain region were allotted 100 seats when their share of the total population was less than 50 percent while the Terai region, that inhabited more than 50 percent of the total population was allotted 65 seats.

The demand of protesters to redraw federal boundaries is for electoral benefits and access to natural resources. They are demanding two provinces horizontally delineated in the plains where they could get more districts in the eastern plains where access to Koshi barrage would provide irrigation opportunities and proximity to industrial centres such as Morang and Sunsari.^[37] Similarly, the west is also beneficial if gained authority as it is the business entry point to India, and resources such as forests and Mahakali river are situated there.

Amendments to the 2015 Constitution

The parliament of Nepal made the first amendments to its constitution on January 23, 2016.^[38] The amendments related to proportional representation and reservation in public jobs for the Madhesis and other underrepresented groups were validated by the major political parties - Communist Party of Nepal, Nepali Congress, and the Maoists.  In 2016, Economic Times quoted Indian politician, Bhagat Singh Koshiyari saying, “the recent amendments to the new constitution meets 99 percent of the Madhesi demands and the remaining 1 percent will also be fulfilled through dialogue”.^[39] Recent constitutional amendments to citizenship clauses proportional representation were seen progressive and positive to the ethnic minorities. However, opposing parties claimed the amendments to be “unilateral” and have organized massive protests since the amendments.^[40]

The Madhesis have expressed dissatisfaction with the amendments because it says that population will be the primary basis, and geography will be the secondary basis for forming the 165 electoral constituencies of the Lower House. Ethnic groups such as Madhesis and Tharu believed that they found strength in their population and that is what united them.^[36]Given that, the constitution fails to specify details regarding how geography is defined, and what proportion will population and geography be weighted. In addition, the constitution says each district will have one constituency. This again introduced the issue of proportionality of population, and the lines of geography because Terai has fewer districts and larger population relative to the hill and mountain regions which have more districts and fewer population.

The current boundaries of seven provinces maintains the unity of hill communities while doing the opposite for Terai region. Therefore, redrawing the province boundaries have been one of the major demands.

After the second amendment, the constitution of Nepal attempted to satisfy one of the key demands of the protesters - on participation and proportional inclusion. The Madhesi parties did not accept this amendment because this change again was ambiguous and did not specify rights in particular to the Madhesis. The constitution states that 45% of all jobs in state organs and public employment are reserved to 17 groups : “socially backward women, Dalits, Adivasis, Janjatis, Khas Aryas, Tharus, minority groups, persons with disability, marginalized groups, Muslims, backward classes, gender and secularly minority groups, youths, peasants, laborers, the oppressed and citizens of backward regions”.^[41] The issue with the amendment was this general division where the “youths” and the historically marginalized groups as Madhesis or the “Khas Arya”, the hilly upper caste community who are already dominant in politics, were under the same category.^[41]

The resistance to the current constitution and anti-constitution protests still since continues ever since the adopted ‘fast-track method’ in 2015 to promulgate the constitution under the expeding post earthquake pressure. Amidst all of this, the constitution has failed to meet some of the legitimate concerns of the Madhesis.

Brief Outline of some major events

1959-2006

1959 : First elected prime minister B.P Koirala made Hindi part of the educational curriculum in Madhes.

1960 : King Mahendra introduced a system of absolute monarchy based on partyless Panchayat System and bans political parties.^[42]

1979: Student protest which forced the monarchy to hold a referendum for a possible multi party system in the country.^[43]

1990 : People's Movement I restored the multi-party democracy to end the king's autocratic regime.^[43]

November, 2006 : Government signs the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) with the Maoists, ending the 10-year long civil war.^[44]

2007-2017

January 15, 2007 : The parliament passes the Interim Constitution.^[43]

January, 2008 : Series of bomb blasts in various parts of Terai region where activists are demanding for regional autonomy.^[2]

February, 2008: Second Madhes Movement led by an alliance of Madhesi parties, the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF), demanding for a greater degree of proportional representation.^[43]

July, 2008: Ram Baran Yadav and Paramananda Jha, both Madhesi, elected as president and vice-president respectively.^[43]

May, 2010 : The Constituent Assembly is allowed to extend the draft of the constitution of Nepal. It is exempted to extend only up to four times at the most.^[44]

May - November, 2011 : Supreme Court announces the tenure of Constituent Assembly to be extended twice by three months. The Constitution Assembly extends one last time for six months in November.^[43]

February, 2012 : State Restructuring Committee and minority groups submit two separate reports.

May, 2012: With no agreement, the Constituent Assembly is dissolved.

November, 2013: Second Constituent Assembly elected to draft the constitution.^[45]

April, 2015 : A massive 7.8 earthquake hits Nepal reaching a death toll of 9000.^[46]

June, 2015 : Followed by the massive earthquake and pressure to formulate the constitution of Nepal, three parties sign a 16-point agreement on contentious issues, including federalism, and agree to fast-track the constitution-drafting process. The first draft of constitution is presented to the Constituent Assembly.

August, 2015 : Madhesi protest against the constitution draft and boycott it when it was presented.^[47]

September, 2015 : Promulgation of the constitution of Nepal, defining it as a secular country.^[43]

September, 2015 : Imposition of an informal economic blockade and violent protests intensify in Terai region.

October, 2015 : Nepal Sadbhavana party criticizes Nepali media for blaming India for the blockade

November, 2015 : More than 25 protestors and 6 policemen injured during the petrol bomb and stone attacks in Birgunj.^[48][49]

January, 2016 : Constitution of Nepal is amended to address some of the issues of the Madhesis.^[43]

February, 2016 : Government lifts fuel rationing after a six-month long blockade imposed by Madhesis and partially backed by India.

May, 2017 : In three of the seven provinces of Nepal, first phase of local level elections were conducted after being held for the last time in 1997, before the Maoist insurgency.^[50]

August, 2017 : Rejection of the second amendment constitution bill after failing to garner two-thirds of the votes of the parliament. Despite this failure, it opened doors for Madhesi parties to take part in elections.^[36]  

November, 2017 : First local elections held in twenty years to elect a new parliament and form new provincial councils.^[50][51]

Post Conflict instability

Between 2008 and 2011, many intentional explosions, armed-conflict, and killings took place especially in Terai region.^[2] Madhesis have suffered long standing political, economic, and social exclusion.  Terai witnessed increased violence and proliferation of armed conflicts after the Peace Agreement in 2006. The Madhesi Front (UDMF) seeks to create a single, autonomous province and called for greater political rights.

In 2007, according to The Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), 90% of the killings were non state armed groups. 383 deaths in 2008 and 363 deaths in 2007 were reported, indicating a high post conflict deaths in Terai region.^[2]  437 citizens were killed or injured in 131 intentional explosion incidents in 27 of 75 districts in Nepal. 85.5% of the incidents and 86.7% if injuries took place in Terai.^[52] Human Right Watch reported deaths of 45 people in violent protests between August and September in 2015.  Out of the 45 deaths, seven policemen and one child were killed in the Tikapur Massacre.^[2] During the economic blockade between November 2015 and January 2016, 12 people were killed, according to International Crisis Group.^[2]  In 2016, the parliament introduced a constitutional amendment bill meeting some of the demands of the Madhesis, but unaddressed issues and grievances of the ethnic group led to violence during the national elections in 2017. Between February and June 2017, twelve people were killed in 400 violent election related incidents.^[2] During the political unrest in Terai, the state showed very little regard to human rights when five people were killed by an open police fire at crowds of Madhesi protesters.^[53]

References

• José Solís Ruiz
• José Soto
• José Soto (disambiguation)
• José Soutinho Testas
• José Souto
• José Suárez (baseball, born 1998)
• José Sylvio Fiolo
• José Sáenz de Aguirre
• José Sánchez Marco
• José Sánchez Mota
• José Tadeo Monagas (airport)
• José Tadeo Monagas International
• José Tadeo Monagas (international airport)
• José Talavera
• José Tamés
• José Targino Maranhão
• José Taveras
• José Tehuitzil
• José Teixeira Alves Júnior
• José Teles
• José Telésforo Paúl
• José Terrón
• José Testas
• José Thurler
• José Tiago Almeida Martins