I just started this thread to get ya'lls input....

what do guys think about the Madhesi ppl demanding their own state? Last couple a months, ppl have been bashing madhesis all over for their strike and uprising..... But seeriously, cmon guys, wot would you habe done if somebody had treated you like you did not belong in Nepal, mistreated you for ages, calling  you all kinda names and stuffs.

Identity crisis as a lotta ppl have put it..... and the uprising was inevitable, if u ask me... i knew that it would happen, was just waiting when....We mistreat them, think they are indians, while they know they are Nepali.

No matter all these, i did not support their demand for their secular state, that was a lil extreme, but we were the ones who were fueling all the anger. With great dismay, i was also one of the ppl who used to mistreat our Nepali brothers from Terai, but that was due to my immmaturity and partly ignorance, i must say... My sincere apology to all my Nepali brothers from Terai who use sajha; the guy who mistreated you couple of years back might easily have been me.

But, the Govt have already reached an agreement with Madhesi ppl, but why did they start the whole thing the first place.... They just want to be treated equally, and it is not the Govt who can solve this problem, it is us people, who need to be aware and realise that they are Nepali too. As long as we dont change and start treating them like a part of us, the Terai strike will come back, you can mark my words on that...

Lemme hear wot ya'll have to say.....

nothing more nothing less- some biharis misutilized dumbazzes

It is a different matter being a citizen of a country and belonging to a country. One may
have a citizenship certificate of a country and be entitled to equality and justice enshrined
in the constitution, but it is as well possible that it only remains in the book of law.
Madheshis constitute one third of the total population of Nepal (33%), but are meagerly
and inadequately represented in Nepal’s socio-economic and political front. Their
representation in government bureaucracies is only between five to ten percent, in police
force below five percent and in Army it is negligible.
The government policies were deliberately discriminatory against Madheshis, Janjatis
and other minorities since the Rana regime and during the Panchayat era. The Ranas
exploited the Hindu Caste codification to serve their ends, and the Panchayati era
government marched with King Mahendra’s "one-culture, one-language, one-religion,
one-country" definition of national unity to "Nepalize" all other ethnic groups.
Eventually, Madheshis were left out in the cold.
Even now, the Madheshis are not only barred from access to equal resources and
opportunities, but also don’t feel as mainstream Nepalese, because of the way they are
perceived, treated, and presumed. Madheshis grow up being called or referred to as
"Madise, Marsya, Kale, Dhoti, Hapsi, Indian…" by the so-called ‘true’ or ‘genuine’
Nepalese- the "Pahadis" and other hilly inhabitants. In Nepal, there are gender specific
discrimination, caste based discrimination and discrimination based on geographical
location. How can a country be developed when it is ruled only by the so-called few
‘elite’ groups- the men, the upper caste and the Pahadis and hilly people?
In Nepal, only Pahadis are considered to be ‘genuine’/‘ethnic’ Nepalese; people from
Madhesh are like "foreign invaders"! I must admit, many of the Pahadis and other hilly
groups are too naïve in their knowledge. They would simply call all Madheshis as Indians
(though there is nothing wrong to be an Indian), or dhotis, or vice versa! If Goddess Sita
and Lord Buddha are from Nepal in spite of belonging to Madhesh, it needs some
common sense to call Madheshis as Indians and Indians as Madheshis; bliss their
ignorance! In fact, except those from the Tibeto-Mongoloid races, all Nepalese had roots
from India- the Karnataka dynasty kings ruled Kathmandu, and the Ranas have migrated
from Rajasthan in India.
We derive our identity from the world around us. Our self-image is developed through
what we see and what is shown to us or what we think and what people think of us. When
one is viewed negatively and is insulted time and over again because of the way they are,
the way they look or because of their origin, there is some sort of discomfort that sets in

contd.........................

the mind. Imagine a Madheshi child being raised outside of Madhesh/ Terai community
amidst the Pahadis, and who grow up being name called, laughed at and projected as
inferior than the Pahadi counterparts.
Good self esteem comes from being treated positively and getting positive reinforcements
not only by significant others but also by the society they counteract with. Consequently,
there are Madheshis who do not allow the negative reinforcements from the society affect
their lives, there are others who would turn hostile towards their counterparts and call
tooth for a tooth. There are still others who use "denial" (completely rejecting the thought
or feeling- I am not angry with them, or they don’t put me down!) and "reaction
formation" (turning the feeling into opposite- I think they are really great!) as their
defense mechanisms and try to change themselves ‘outwardly’ to gain acceptance in that
community that looks down upon them. They shape themselves through the desire of
others, to be ‘seen’ in the society they live in- though the self-styled image is only a fraud
or an emotional wound to hide from their own eyes.
This later category of Madheshis living in the Pahadi community seem to be in a real
‘identity crisis’ in an attempt to ‘become’ or ‘look’ Pahadis themselves. They consciously
and deliberately let go (and even ‘forget’) their language, culture, tradition and roots in
order to gain acceptance by the Pahadis and/or to be superior to the "orthodox"
Madheshis! I understand, who would want to be called a ‘Madise’ or ‘Marsya’ which are
pejorative connotations for Madheshi, ‘like Nigger (offensive name for a black person),
Kike (offensive term for a Jew) or Faggot (offensive term for an openly homosexual
man)? But however cosmetic changes one would bring about outwardly, it would only
remain a piece of paper pasted over a gaping hole. Racism is not a biological, but a
sociological problem which cannot be solved by doing ‘cut’ and ‘paste’ by those
discriminated, but has to be ‘deleted’ by those who discriminate.
Forgetting ones identity need not necessarily command esteem; there are many
Madheshis who have earned a lot of name, fame, respect and esteem within and even
outside the Madheshi community in spite of remaining closely bound to their roots and
land; in spite of speaking their own Madheshi language; following their own rituals and
culture; and in spite of proclaiming that they are proud Madheshis.
I have seen Madheshis turned Newars/ Paharis of Kathmandu who find arranging
matrimony for their children a distasteful task, because they are either of both are neither
of one- accepted by both yet unaccepted by any. However generally, the ‘genuine’
Madheshis take over the preference when it comes to matrimony, because they would not
want to be name-called, all over again! Inter-caste marriage is still unacceptable in Nepal,
and when it comes to the Pahadi- Madheshi matrimonies, it still is big news. However,
love is blind, and Pahadi-Madheshi matrimonies do take place, because ‘Kale’ Hain to
kya hua Dilwale Hain!
In a country so obsessed with characterizing what it means to be a genuine Nepali,
Madheshis who endured the insanity of the Hritik Roshan episode knows what it means
to be a ‘lesser’ Nepali; or those who face hassles getting citizenship certificates knows
what it means to be born in Terai Nepal; and those who change their surname, their
language and their attire, their culture and tradition… knows what it means not fitting
into the concept of the so-called "Nepalipan". However, Madheshis cannot go about
living under a veil by letting their rich culture and tradition slide thoughtlessly- to be
‘promoted’, or to be ‘demoted’? No comments. I would rather admire a culture that
would allow me to speak of myself in high terms and where I would not have to eclipse
myself to prove I am worthy.
Of course, one need not be ashamed of one’s roots, thanks to the significant number of
Madheshis who are proud of who they are and speak their mother tongue, respect their
culture and observe their festivities and rituals amidst the non-Madheshis. The equation is
simple- if you accept a label, it is yours; and if you don’t, it isn’t really yours- you do not
have to ‘fit in’ to be accepted. Sum and substance, the so-called self-acclaimed ‘greater’
and the ‘higher’ and the ‘powerful’ need to come out of their comfort zones to broaden
the sense of ‘Nepaliness’ to embrace the whole population of Nepal. A Nepali does not
have to be a Pahadi or a Himali to be a Nepali. A citizen cannot be a ‘genuine’ or a ‘notso-
genuine’ citizen.
(Published in The Telegraph Weekly, August 25, 2004)
(http://www.nepalnews.com.np/contents/englishweekly/telegraph/2004/aug/aug25/views.htm#2)