Street protests in Kathmandu
The culture of strikes, ‘bandhas’, in Nepal dates back to before the first People’s Movement in 1990. It is a long standing tradition of raising issues by way of mass street action. A recent article in the Nepali Times1 showed that there was a bandha every single day in February 2009, either at local or national level, lasting from a day to one week or more until agreement was reached or compensation given. This culture of strikes can partly be attributed to the inability to address political, economic, cultural and social issues affecting the country through appropriate policies, the justice system, development and political dialogue.
Nepal is currently witnessing an increase in street action as a way to highlight ethnic issues and dissatisfaction. Madhesi, the main ethnic group in the Tarai, and Limbu ethnic groups have been calling for the right to self-determination and ethnic autonomy since long before the Constituent Assembly elections in April 2008. After unsatisfactory agreements or lack of implementation of agreements by the government, both ethnic groups started using bandhas to deliver their message, not always peacefully2.
After the Nepal Government allocated quotas for Madhesi inclusion in the public service sector in response to previous demands and protests of Madhesis, other ethnic groups reacted. In March 2009 the Tharu ethnic group blocked the Terai-Madhes region (all of southern Nepal) with an indefinite strike.
This series of protests was not always peaceful. In the mid-west Tharu activists torched several vehicles, including ambulances, for defying the bandha, while three Village Development Committee offices in the far-western region were burnt to ashes.3 After two weeks of the strike the government and representatives of agitating Tharu community signed an agreement4.
The Prime Minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, has previously expressed his concerns about the problems of the many strikes in Nepal: “How can we build a new Nepal by enforcing bandhas and strike with any pretext? We fought for long for the rights of self-determination, autonomy, federalism, and proportionate and inclusive system” stated the Prime Minister, “As a result the country is now a federal republic. The government has a policy for inclusive representation of women, ethnic communities, dalits, Madhesis, Muslims, physically challenged and backward communities and areas in the administration, police, army and health, judiciary and education sector.”5 Despite these affirmations in January 2009, the country is crippled by frequent bandhas and it is the Nepali public that suffers most during strikes, due to transport obstruction, and food, water, and fuel shortages, in an economy that is already unstable.
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1.Nepali Times, 6 Mar 2009, Everyday a bandha
2.Ekantipur, 12Mar 2009, Journos boycott Limbuwan news
3.My Republica, 8 Feb 2009, Banda Paralyses Life, Kathmandu Post, 9 Feb, Banda Paralyses life in Terai,
4. Nepalnew.com, 15 Mar 2009, Govt-Tharu representatives sign six point pact; Tharu agitation withdrawn
5.The Rising Nepal, 25 Jan 2009, PM stresses self reliance, end to impunity