In Fear of the Future

The relative peace in Kapilvastu at present could be broken any time.

Limited shelter is one of the many immediate worries that local refugees face in Kapilvastu. Photo: Mohan Rai

Seven months after the Kapilvastu riots in September, 2007, not less than 47 families are still languishing in shacks and tents-like houses made out of plastic sheets and wooden staff in this dry piece of land. In some of these shacks, the plastic sheets used for roofs are torn or fallen and some are open, without walls.

Having left behind their land on which they worked and as all of them cannot find other work, some adult men and women idle their time away. Many cannot afford to send their children to school. They wander here and there in settlement. About 250 pahadi families from Khururiya, Devipur, Jadishpurhad and Bishanpur among others had settled here after they were displaced from those places in the aftermath of the murder of Moid Khan, a courteous but notorious Muslim landlord and local strongman.

Some families have returned and others are planning to return. According to Salikram BK, 18 families displaced from Jagdishpur are planning to return. But not all are in the mood to return. “This is not the first time we have been victimized. They did it in 2044 B.S. and again in 2051 B.S. I am ready to die here but will never go back to the same place”, says Dhan Bahadur Rasiali.  

In total 15 people were killed and at least 11 injured in the unrest that lasted for several days. Vehicles, petrol pump, mill and cotton factory were torched and shops, hotels and houses looted, destroyed, mostly in Chadrouta in Birpur vdc, the epicentre of the incident, a small town near Moid Khan's home. But the violence soon spread to several other vdcs. The pahadis tried to retaliate. In Khairi in Shivapur vdc, a mosque and dozens of houses were burned down.

There are mixed opinions as to whether the violence was a spontaneous outrage of the madhesi and particularly Muslim community over the death of a local leader who was a Muslim or an instigated riot.  

In Devipur, a village not far from Moid Khan's, only the wooden pillars stand erect, reminding one of the community that existed there. Despite this, 117 families have returned and are staying under open sky. Caritas in collaboration with Sahaj Nepal, a local NGO, plan to build small houses for the victims. The day these scribes visited the village, local government officials had reached there to formally inaugurate the building of houses for them and bricks were being unloaded from a tractor. The first house to be built is for Tulasari Sunar. A new though smaller but perhaps nicer house than the one she had before it was burned down, but she can never forget what she had to go through in the morning of 16th September, 2007 when her husband Shovaram Sunar and brother-in-law Dil Bahadur Sunar were killed before her own eyes.  Six people were killed in this relatively small settlement within an hour of the murder of Khan. 

But the damage and pain has not been less for madhesi families. Many were and are still displaced to nearby places in neighbouring India. And according to a human rights activist, actually more people have left the district to stay in India after the CA poll, where the Maoist have emerged as the largest party in the country.

Family, subject to the violence in Kapilvastu district

Tip of the iceberg

Nobody in Kapilvastu knows for sure who killed Moid Khan. Some think the Maoists killed him. Others argue one of the armed groups could have killed him. Some even think it could be a family feud. Whoever killed Moid Khan and for whatever reasons, the unrest that ensued after his murder is perhaps only one manifestation of the multi-faced and deep-rooted conflict in Kapilvastu.

The conflict between the landlords, mostly madhesi and landless pahadis is a major one. The conflict between the Khans and landless pahadis residing in Birpur, Shivapur and Bisunpur is one specific case. Long before the Maoists came to the scene, the Khans and the Chaudharis, two landlord families in the district, were intolerant of the latter who settled or rather was made to settle in open lands around their locality. In 1983 the then district chairperson Dr. Guruprasad Rajauriya made these landless people residing on the banks of Barnganga in Bhalbaad to settle in Bisanpur, Patthardehiya, Ramnagar and Kuhuruhuriya. According to Ravindra Thakur, a human rights activist of Madhes Human Rights Home based in the district, the conflict arose because the Khans and Chaudharis were not really consulted before settling the landless people. The landless people also began to perceive the landlords as oppressors. The conflict intensified later when the Maoists began their war. They started building their organisation in these settlements and used them as shelters. Some of these lands were being used as pastures by the landlords and some people claim that they were also used as routes for smuggling.  

Ironically, many landlords joined the Maoists. But they later formed and led retaliation groups against the former, especially when the government during the royal regime encouraged the formation of such groups and provided them with weapons. This unleashed a new spiral of violence. On 2004 the maoists attacked Moid Khan in his fortified home in vain. This is perhaps the only battle the Maoist lost to a single family in their decade-long war. After the incident a garrison of 200 army was stationed at his residence. The retaliation groups mostly targeted the landless people, where the Maoist took shelter. The Maoist, on their part, targeted many madhesis, accusing them of involving themselves in the retaliation groups. Some of these displaced families are still taking refuge in Tauliahawa.  

You can find people who do not consider ethnicity a problem and blame political actors for exploiting it for vested interest in post 1990 period, especially after the Maoist began their war, the latent conflict among different ethnic groups, particularly between the madhesis and pahadis do exist. Though subtle, it is even older and more deep-rooted. Ethnically, there are mainly three different groups in the district: the madhesis, who are in the majority, the pahadis and the Tharus. Though there were few cases of violence between the groups in the past, they were never quite integrated as one society. They were parochial, and divided by language, customs and areas of habitation. The social structure is feudalistic with land distribution grossly uneven, with few families possessing hundreds of acres of land. Mostly such landlords are madhesi. Settlements are clustered around or near a landlord--referred to as 'babu' and many claim the nature and extent of exploitation of the pheasants by 'babus' is no lesser than is shown in many Hindi films of 50s and 60s. Thus, some vehemently argue that Madhesis have been exploited and suppressed most by no other than the Madhesis themselves.

Political leaders exploit the conflict for vested interest making things worse. Organisation of political parties, especially in the madhesi-dominated southern parts of the district is weak, leaving it to the feudals to determine the fate of politics—and of the common people there. 'The political leadership of the district is still in the hands of the feudal,' observes Pom Narayan of Siddhartha Social Development Center (SSDC), an NGO working in the district. 'Hardly anyone votes for principles here; they vote for a party or candidate as per babu's diktat. And the political parties turn a blind eye to the misconduct of the local strongman for the sake of votes', complains a youth. Observers note that violence and intimidation was a key determining factor in the outcome of the CA elections in the district.     

Politics, vendetta, crime and ethnic conflict mingle here, at time so complexly that when an incident occurs it is difficult to find out what caused which. “It is very easy in Kapilvastu”, says a local in Taulihawa. 'If you don't like someone, take a gun and shoot him. And politicise the killing. You don't have to stand trial once you politicise it.' People here also talk about the rampant smuggling and other underworld activities that take place along the border areas. The Hindu-Muslim dimension also exists to some extent. In 1990 when Babri Masjid was demolished in Ayodhya, it had its repercussions here.  

Kapilvastu now

The situation in the district was neatly reflected in the outcome of the recently concluded CA election. The candidates from a madhesi party won from the constituencies where madhesis are predominant and a candidate from a pahadi party from a constituency where the pahadis are in majority. People did not go for the party but for ethnicity. Ethnic polarisation of this extent was something not witnessed before. “The Chandrauta incident was a setback for the Maoists. After the incident the madhesi community began to perceive them as a pahade's party”, observes Ravindra Thakur.

It is quite likely that Kapilvastu will witness more unrest and violence in the near future. “Armed groups, in particular Samukta Janatantrik led by Pawan, plan to intensify their movement after the CA commences in Kathmandu. At the moment, they are collecting donations in the district. There is at present the terror of forced donations here”, he observes and cautions: “India could use these groups against the Maoists as India itself is being more and more troubled by the Maoists there”.  

Indeed people do not feel secure, especially pahadis going to madhesi-dominated places. “I fear going to madhesi communities”, says a local journalist. Worse, many think reconciliation and regaining communal harmony is very difficult, if not impossible. Many pahades want to migrate elsewhere. “We did not experience much trouble in Taulihawa. But still people want to migrate elsewhere”, notes Sanjay Lamsal, a (pahadi) resident in Taulihawa. Pahadis accept that madhesis have been excluded. But even moderate pahadis are not completely at ease with all that is happening in the name of madhesi people. “The human rights organisations are fuelling the conflict”, argues a youth in Taulihawa.  

Exclusion and stigma

The conflict in Kapilvastu is also the result of years of exclusion of the madhesi community.” madhesis have been excluded from almost every sector. They have become aware of that. Maybe the way they expressed their discontent is wrong but they are not wrong in expressing it”, says a pahadhi local.  

Lack of an inclusive civil society has not helped much. Particularly, the NGOs have not been able to reach to all the communities. Most target areas that are easily accessible and are less risky.' Our approach has been segmental and episodic', admits Gunanidhi of SSDC. “To take an example, even now there is no single NGO in area number four and five except Sahaj Nepal”.  

And there are other problems too. 'There is this stigma that NGOs are engaging themselves in 'dollar business'. Also there is no policy and mechanism to coordinate the efforts of various actors. NGOs do not have a structure endorsed by the people on which to base their work and the local government is not in a position to own it”, Gunanidhi opines.  

Way ahead

Many pahadis want or at least wish to migrate to a safer place, where pahadis are predominant. What they want is to avoid the conflict rather than confront and resolve it. But on a longer term, there is no alternative to confronting and resolving the conflict, and reconciling, however difficult that might be.  

People like Ravi Thakur underline the need for dialogue between the conflicting communities. “What we have also found is that the conflict has increased in lack of dialogue. We organised programmes, where people from both communities came together and shared their feelings and opinions. There is a need to take such dialogue to the grassroots level. The solutions to the problems should come from the very people who are facing the problems”, he says.  

Ravi has been involved in dialogues with four armed groups on different occasions, including the Terai Janatantrik leader Goit. He says dialogue is the only way ahead to address the armed groups. “First, they demanded the mediation of the UN and nothing less. Then they wanted the resignation of Peace and Reconciliation Minister Ram Chandra Poudel. When we said that they would perish once the CA election would be over, they became ready to sit for talks with the same minister”, he recalls. “If a group demanding UN mediation eventually agrees to talk to a minister, isn't that positive?” he questions.

“Also we have to change ourselves and that is we have to become inclusive”, concludes Ravi. “Words alone will not yield anything. The wound is deep. We need to include and work with the very people from the community we target”, complements Gunanidhi.

Silver lining  

However, it is not that nothing has changed in Kapilvastu. The women here led the people's movement II. And some argue that it is likely that the women will lead the local level politics in the future. An NGO official claims that about 10 percent of delegates elected in the CA election are from those empowered by NGOs. Shanti Devi Horizen, elected through proportional representation from Nepal Communist Party United Marxist-Leninist is one of these women. 

'Notwithstanding all the problems, things are changing in Kapilvastu, even if slowly,' says Pom Narayan.