Defying the myth

• The Madhesi identity, among other things, is also at stake in the upcoming CA election

NOV 01 -

With hundreds of youths and men of different age groups lined up in the backdrop, three middle-aged women candidates are seen giving their physical fitness tests for temporary police that the government is going to deploy for security in the upcoming Constituent Assembly (CA) election. These women appear enthusiastic and eager in a revealing photo published by Kantipur daily on its cover page on October 7. 

However, the reason that photo appeals to me so much is not just that these were three women among all the male candidates but that they were from the Madhesi community! Though those women candidates don’t seem have the physical fitness and flexibility required for the security job, probably due to their age, normative gender roles and life conditions, they appeared passionate and dedicated enough to try out for it. 

That photo not only describes the ambience of the second CA election in the Tarai-Madhes but also shatters the myth that Madhesis are reluctant and have unsuitable dispositions for security jobs. On the contrary, thousands of enthusiastic Madhesi youths, and even a number of Madhesi women, applied for temporary police, notwithstanding the threats and challenges from the CPN-Maoist’s decision to boycott the polls, the categorisation of 12 districts in the Tarai-Madhes as ‘highly sensitive’ areas in terms of security and the killing of Mohammad Alam, the CPN-UML candidate from Bara. It would be unfair to dismiss their exuberance for temporary cop positions by claiming that they might be cadres of political parties and therefore, might have applied to influence voting or that they might simply want to make some money. Rather, their application shows their positive attitude towards the CA elections and their belief that it can address, through an inclusive constitution, their aspirations for federalism, equity and a dignified identity. Similarly, it also reveals their readiness and intent to take up security jobs in order to defend their causes. 

There is a definite under-representation of Madhesis in the Nepal Army and the Nepal Police. Instead of exploiting this inadequacy and negatively stereotyping Madhesis, the reasons behind this fact need to be explored and addressed. Many Madhesi youths, even after higher secondary education, cannot speak the fluent Nepali required for interviews and trainings. Difficulty in writing correct Nepali is another stumbling block for them in written tests. For example, on March 29, 2012, the Nepal Army announced vacancies for 120 cadet officers, allocating 15 seats for Madhesi under the existing reservation policy. Thirty-one Madhesi candidates passed three levels of examinations, including the IQ test, but none of them passed the written test. 

Furthermore, taunts about their Madhesi accent while speaking Nepali also work as a dissuading factor. Along with the lack of networks and role models who can inspire and encourage them to join the Army or Police, discriminatory attitudes about and stereotypical perceptions of Madhesis are major reasons for their under-representation in Nepal’s security agencies. This is hard to establish, however, as there is obviously no discrimination in the rules of recruitment at the formal level. But there could be discrimination in interviews and practical exams. Whether true or not, the fact is that a large number of Madhesis harbour perceptions of discrimination against them in security jobs. 

Negative stereotypes and myths about Madhesis—the largest excluded group in Nepal and the Other of the typical Nepali Self—abound in Nepal. They are negatively stereotyped as corrupt, unreliable and araastriya. Often pejoratively referred to as marshiya, dhoti, bhaiya and kale, they are perceived as outsiders. 

Stereotypes categorise and represent individuals without any regard for their personal traits and historical and cultural realities. Problems arise when a particular stereotype turns from an identifier into a degrading and dehumanising image. “Manu makhu, marshya,”—it’s not a man but a marshya!—is a Newari phrase used for Madhesis in Kathmandu. This phrase doesn’t just mock Madhesis but degrades and dehumanises them. Such phrases and terms arise not only because of the ethnic arrogance of powerful ruling groups but are due to prejudice in its worst form. 

The formation of a self-identity starts, according to social identity theorists, in our childhood. We try to make sense of the world by categorising and evaluating different social groups surrounding us. However, our socialisation and prejudices hinder neutral categorisation and transform it into a discriminatory practice: judging Others as innately inferior based on ethnocentrically determined differences. Social psychologist Henry Tajfel posits that an in-group often tries to enhance its own identity by creating negative stereotypes about out-groups. It can go the other way too: out-groups creating stereotypes about the in-group. But here lies the crucial role of the mainstream media, which always supports and justifies the perceptions and attitudes of the dominant class. For that reason, when one Madhesi politician is sent to prison for corruption charges, it leads to a perception across mainstream media that all Madhesis are corrupt.

Changes in stereotypes of a community, according to psychologist Joshua Fishman, occur in response to changes in its political, social, and economic conditions. The 2007 Madhes Movement and the rise of revolutionary and pro-change political parties in the first CA elections changed the socio-political dynamics of Nepal. The most representative and inclusive structure in the history of Nepal—the first CA—catapulted historically excluded social groups to decision-making levels for the first time. Their emphatic performance in the first CA election was a major boost for the confidence of those groups. It would not be an exaggeration to say that it was due to the ambience of the changed political scenario that a Madhesi became the first President of Nepal. Those who might have felt embarrassed to be called Madhesi in the past now proudly assert their identity. They do not seem to care much about being called ‘Nepali,’ which is more a cultural than a national identity marker in Nepal. 

The charm and power of this new Madhesi identity is reflected in the fact that even Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal go to the Madhes with a gamacha around their neck. This simple act seems to claim, “I’m also a Madhesi!” The Madhes—a nation within the nation—already has rich cultural and historical heritages, though subdued, for a dignified identity; what it needs now is the success of its politics. Therefore, among many other things, it is the Madhesi identity that is also at stake in the November 19 CA election. 

Labh is research and advocacy coordinator at the Terai Human Rights Defenders’ Alliance