The Terai in Turmoil

As political groups lash out at each other as well as local officials the Nepal government seems to be losing control in the Terai region. As a result many aid and development projects have been hit hard.

By Prasanta Kumar Pradhan

Police and the Government officials in Nepal admit that they are losing control over the situation in the Terai region, along the country’s southern borders with India. On November 13, 2007, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Nepal, made public its findings on the situation in the country since the signing of the peace pact between the Government and the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist). The report said that at least 115 persons had been killed in 2007, till July, with most deaths occurring in the Terai. In an earlier report released on November 7, 2007, the eastern region office of the NHRC had disclosed that the security situation in the Terai region was steadily worsening, with one person killed every other day and two people abducted each day. The report also stated that most of the incidents of violence had occurred in the Siraha, Saptari and Dhanusha Districts of the Terai region.

Killings, abductions, violence, and disruptive political demonstrations and strikes continue in the region without any sign of relief for its beleaguered people. According to the Institute for Conflict Management database, 11 persons were killed by the Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha faction led by Jaya Krishna Goit (JTMM-G) and another two by the Nagendra Kumar Paswan a.k.a. Jwala Singh faction (JTMM-J) between August and November 15, 2007, with a combined total of 37 incidents of violence by these groups. The Madheshi Janadhikar Forum (MJF), which is now registered as a political party, has also been involved in armed violence, though the total number of incidents associated with this group is a relatively low four over this period. 23 incidents involving various armed Terai groups were reported in July 2007, and another 14 in June 2007. In addition to the groups named above, a number of smaller armed groups operate with their own violent agenda, and the NHRC Regional Chief, Subarna Karmacharya, has indicated that over 20 such armed groups have been expanding their activities in the Terai. Karmacharya disclosed, further, that "at least two complaints are lodged at the NHRC office a day", and that most of the cases remained unreported due to the fear of reprisal by the armed groups. A similar concern was raised by the Nepali Congress Siraha District President, Sitadevi Yadav, who said that, "Police have lost control in the Terai Districts, and the victims don’t lodge complaints with the police because of its inefficacy."

The armed groups particularly target Government officials who hail from the Hill Region, openly threatening them to leave the Terai, or face dire consequences. Reports indicate that at least six civil servants have been killed in the Terai in 2007, and the inability of the Government to provide security to officials in the region has triggered widespread resentment in the bureaucracy. At least 415 civil servants in the Saptari District have resigned en masse, as a result, saying they were forced to do so after the continued killing of their peers and the Government's failure to provide security to its own employees. Employees of the Sarlahi and Siraha District administrations are similarly distressed. Protesting against the increasing insecurity, extortion and targeted abductions and killings, the Village Development Committee (VDC) secretaries based in Sarlahi District had warned of mass resignation on November 18 if their concerns were not addressed by then. On November 7, the VDC secretaries had disclosed that four different Terai outfits had demanded NPR 5.8 million from them – NPR 2.5 million by the Samyukta Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (SJTMM), NPR 1.5 million each by the JTMM Jwala and Goit factions, and NR 300,000 by the Nagraj group of the Terai Cobras. With no significant response from the Government, 63 VDC secretaries resigned on November 18 in the Sarlahi District, citing the prevalent insecurity due to extortion and threats by various armed groups and the indifference of the authorities. Similarly, civil servants and teachers in the Siraha District decided to shut down all Government and non-government offices and educational institutions in the District for 11 days, commencing November 19, after their talks with the District Administration ended inconclusively. VDC secretaries in the Bara and Rautahat Districts also resigned en masse on November 19, citing the growing security threats from the various armed groups. All 98 VDC secretaries in Rautahat announced their resignation complaining of threats of physical attack, intimidation and extortion. Citing similar reasons, 70 VDC secretaries in the Bara District have also tendered their resignations.

Frequent strikes and violent incidents in the Terai are creating increasing difficulties in implementing development programmes. In October 2007, activities of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), which assists needy families living across 30 Districts in the country, were badly affected, as food items could not be transported over the National Highways because of frequent strikes called by the various armed groups in the Terai. The WFP even warned that it would be forced to suspend its activities after one of its trucks was burnt on September 19 in the Dang District in the inner Terai region along the East-West Highway. On September 26, another truck ferrying 12 metric tons foodgrain to Dadeldhura for the WFP food aid programme was attacked and set ablaze by a mob in Dang.

Similarly, some education projects in the Terai, being implemented by European donors, have been affected due to strikes, with school projects disrupted by absenteeism whenever a strike is announced. Some foreign trainers who arrived in Kathmandu for educating national election observers also felt insecure, and refused to go to the Terai Districts to conduct regional training programmes. The Siraha Chief District Officer, Bal Krishna Panthi, is on record that the local administration "can’t control violence in the District", and that, "Special laws should be enforced here immediately". Panthi alleged, further, that politicians were patronising criminals. The Superintendent of Police of the Saptari District, Milan Basnet, had complained of the insufficiency of resources and manpower to control the situation in the District. Normal life has been badly affected across the region, particularly in Districts such as Saptari, Siraha, Mahottari, Dhanusha, Sunsari, Bara, Parsa, Kailali, Rautahat, Taplejung, Panchthar, Ilam, Jhapa, Dhankuta and Morang.
In order to mobilise the sympathy and support of the people, the armed Terai groups declared a ‘cease-fire’ during the popular Dashain and Eid festivals in October 2007, subsequently extending these to November 17, in view of Deepawali and Chhath festivals, giving the further assurance that they would not stage any general or transport strikes during this period.

In a troubling new development, however, the Chairman of the Anandi Devi faction of the Nepal Sadbhavana Party, Rajendra Mahato, had declared on November 5 that his party was forming a joint front with the armed outfits in the Terai to launch a ‘decisive movement’ in the region by mid-December 2007. He claimed that the movement would enforce Article 33 of the Interim Constitution to ensure proportional representation of the Madheshi people in all the organs of the state and would secure their rights through the Constituent Assembly elections. Mahato stated, "Now, we are conducting a Mechi-Mahakali programme to form the front and battalions to defend the Madhesh." He said that youth were being recruited in the ‘battalions’ and deployed to avert the agitation from turning violent and communal, as in the past. Mahato further indicated that such ‘battalions’ had been formed in 12 Districts, and one hundred youth were associated with each ‘District battalion’, and the number would be increased according to requirements.

In its efforts to regain some control over the situation, Kathmandu has been making overtures to the Madhesi armed groups. On October 25, the Minister of State for General Administration, Ramchandra Yadav, stated that the Government was ready to hold talks with the factions of the JTMM at any time and that the Government had sent invitations for talks to the Jwala Singh faction. No significant progress has, however, been made in this regard till now.

As a result, and in view of the deteriorating law and order situation, the Government decided, on November 13, to provide special security to leaders of political parties and to Government employees working in the Terai Districts. The Home Ministry has also directed the concerned District Administra-tions to request Government employees, political party leaders and activists to stay within a certain security perimeter and to make special security arrangements at public offices such as Courts, Land Revenue and Land Reform Offices. The Government has similarly decided to increase police patrolling and enhance co-ordination among security units in the Districts.

These measures, however, can hardly be expected to have decisive impact, considering the quantum of additional resources that have been made available for these tasks. The Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police in the Eastern Regional Police Headquarters, Ravindra Pratap Shah, disclosed that the Government had deployed an additional 854 Police personnel because of the increasing incidents of crime in the region, including a Superintendent, a Deputy Superintendent, 17 Inspectors, 42 Sub-inspectors, 55 Assistant Sub-inspectors, 137 Head Constables and 536 Constables. Area police offices in Jhiljhile in the Jhapa District, Pakali in the Sunsari District and Kalyanpur in the Saptari District have been upgraded from B to A category. DIG Shah said a new riot control company had been posted in the Sunsari District, while a Police office at Sitagunj and a Ward Police office in Rajbiraj in the same District had been ‘reinforced’. With the addition of three Police Posts in the region, the number of Police units has gone up to 402. A ‘Rapid Action’ riot control contingent, comprising 600 personnel led by a Superintendent of Police is also deployed to patrol the East-West highway to ensure that there are no traffic obstructions or strikes on the highway, and to curb criminal and anti-social activities in urban areas in the region. Interactions between the Nepal Police and the Indian police have also been stepped up after Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala observed that armed groups in the Terai were in contact with Indian extremist groups.

Despite these ongoing steps, the turmoil in the Terai continues unabated. The Government’s efforts to initiate a dialogue with regional groups have failed, and the sheer number of such groups, as well as their capacities for subversive and violent activities, has augmented continuously. Security responses have been far from adequate, with Kathmandu hoping for a ‘political’ solution that will help it avert the necessity of a law and order approach that it has little capacity for, and less of a stomach to implement. Given the perverse power dynamics that have emerged between the radical Madheshi groups and the Maoists, the ruling Seven Party Alliance (SPA) can hope for little relief from the disorders in the Terai.