Views of a Nepali Economist

Indigenous struggle

by: Mukesh Khanal

Like Nepal, Canada does not have an independence day. Nepal was never ruled by a foreign force. Canada’s Head of State is still the Queen of England i.e. it is still not an independent country, technically. Therefore, every July 1st is celebrated as Canada Day, a celebration of its confederation i.e. the birth of the modern federal Canada. This year Canada marks the 150th year of its confederation. The federal government is intent on celebrating this milestone, and “Canada 150” signs have popped up across Canada. Celebrations are planned throughout the year.

Amidst the celebrations, a small coffee shop in rural Nova Scotia province posted a photo in its Facebook page that said “Canada 150, Mi’kma’ki 13,000.” Without saying much, the sign said a lot and made many Canadians reflect on what the celebrations meant. For example, the Mi’kma’ki are indigenous people that have lived in Canada for over 13,000 years. That is also true of all other indigenous groups in Canada. Therefore, celebrating Canada’s 150 years as a country does not sit right with most indigenous groups, whose people have lived in the land for thousands of years. Several indigenous groups have publicly boycotted the celebrations. Others have resorted to counter-programming, such as highlighting important indigenous individuals that have shaped modern Canada, or bluntly stating that the Canada 150 celebration is a celebration of indigenous genocide at the hands of the white man.

The lesson here for Nepal is to know and realize that even Canada—the shining liberal beacon of a country that most other countries aspire to become—struggles to reconcile its past with its future. White European settlers invaded the land and murdered its indigenous people to the brink of extinction. Up until 40 years ago, the Canadian government forcefully took indigenous children away from their parents and put them in what were called the “residential schools” to strip them off their socio-cultural identities and make them “Canadian.” Scholars claim the residential school system did more damage to Canadian indigenous people than centuries of colonization.

How and to what extent should these grievances be addressed without hurting the country’s movement forward? The same question could be asked of us in Nepal, too. There is a large section of the population in Madhesh that believes it has been wronged. Nobody knows what every single Madheshi thinks, but Madheshi leaderships have raised the issue of Khas dominance and centuries of marginalization as a grievance that needs to be redressed. I do not think the Khas leaders and citizens deny the fact.

Nepal has taken positive steps in the right direction to right the historical wrongs. Reservations for marginalized and excluded groups on government jobs and scholarships is an example. Another example is the path towards federalization that we have embarked upon. However, Madheshi leadership does a disservice to its own base when it keeps asking “Are we there, yet?” No, we are not there, yet, and will not be for years to come. That question presumes the end destination is clearly marked and laid out. It is not. It is a process, and it takes time to even figure out what it is that we want, how soon can we get it, and how far will we need to go to get it.

As with the good people in Canada attempting to right the historical wrongs, those in Nepal also do not appear to have their solutions at hand. That will require time and resources. Centuries of systemic oppression and negligence cannot be resolved in a whim. It is a process and should be seen as such. Demands for instantaneous fix to issues that need a long and tiring process does a disservice to the cause.

In the meantime, it does not help the cause if the ruling establishment keeps describing the Madhesh agitation as “foreign sponsored” or “anti-national” or “a problem.” Madhesh being situated next to India is a geographical fate that no Madheshi had any hand deciding. However, as with the Mi’kma’ki in Nova Scotia, Canada, the indigenous people in Nepal’s Madhesh have been here for a long time. It is utterly amoral to label them anti-national and question their love for the land.