Madhes Movement

The second Madhes Movement took place in 2008, jointly launched by Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum-Nepal, Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party and Sadbhawana Party led by Rajendra Mahato with three key agenda: federalism, proportional representation and population-based election constituency, which were later ensured in the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2008. The three political agenda of this movement were launched jointly by Madhesi parties which included: federalism, proportional representation, and election constituency based on population. Violent protests led to the inclusion of federalism in the constitution later.

Despite the movement for social change, Madhesis remained to be treated unfairly and denied equal rights. Although the interim constitution of 2008 ensured the demands of Madhesis to be considered, the 2015 Constitution of Nepal failed to address any of those issues. The Nepali Times writes, “the mainstream parties wanted to pass the new constitution without determining the number and boundaries of provinces. As a result, protests broke throughout the southern plains, and more than 50 people were killed in violent clashes.”[8][9]The third Madhes Movement was induced by the unfair formation of seven federal provinces under the new Constitution. It was considered discriminatory because only eight districts in Terai were given the status of a state while the remaining fourteen districts were from the Hilly region.

However, The Constitution of Nepal 2015 backtracked from those issues, that were already ensured by the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2008. Supreme Court of Nepal Advocate Dipendra Jha writes in The Kathmandu Post: "many other aspects of the new constitution are more regressive than the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2007. Out of all its deficiencies, the most notable one concerns the issue proportional representation or inclusion in all organs of the state."[10] This triggered the third Madhes Movement by Madhesis[11][12][13] in Nepal. Although the first amendment to the constitution was done, the resistance over the document by Madhesi and Tharus in Nepal still continues[14][15]

After the second amendment, the constitution of Nepal attempted to satisfy one of the key demands of the protesters - on participation and proportional inclusion. The Madhesi parties did not accept this amendment because this change again was ambiguous and did not specify rights in particular to the Madhesis. The constitution states that 45% of all jobs in state organs and public employment are reserved to 17 groups : “socially backward women, Dalits, Adivasis, Janjatis, Khas Aryas, Tharus, minority groups, persons with disability, marginalized groups, Muslims, backward classes, gender and secularly minority groups, youths, peasants, laborers, the oppressed and citizens of backward regions”.[16] The issue with the amendment was this general division where the “youths” and the historically marginalized groups as Madhesis or the “Khas Arya”, the hilly upper caste community who are already dominant in politics, were under the same category.[16]

The current constitution is the seventh constitution written in the history of Nepal, after its promulgation in 2015.  It is guided by the 2007 Interim Constitution and the Peace Agreement of 2006. It has numerous provisions for economic, social, and political development such as supporting clauses for free market and international trade.[17] Majority of the political parties, citizens and other interest groups have supported the constitution.

The new constitution is gender discriminatory as it denies single woman to pass on citizenship to their children.  According to Kathmandu Post,[18] clauses in the constitution draft say that both parents have to be Nepali to acquire citizenship. Likewise, a Nepali woman married to a foreign may not acquire citizenship but if the father is Nepali, the child is given citizenship regardless. Madhesi communities, who often have marital ties with Indians across the border, will be disproportionality affected because they are ethnically and socially connected with the northern Indians.

Madhesi parties demanded for proportional representation in state organs, and guarantee constituencies based  on population because 20 out of 75 districts in Terai region house 50% of the population.[19] The provision of 165 members in the parliament was considered problematic because the Hilly and Mountain region were allotted 100 seats when their share of the total population was less than 50 percent while the Terai region, that inhabited more than 50 percent of the total population was allotted 65 seats.

1959 : First elected prime minister B.P Koirala made Hindi part of the educational curriculum in Madhes.

1960 : King Mahendra introduced a system of absolute monarchy based on partyless Panchayat System and bans political parties.[20]

1979: Student protest which forced the monarchy to hold a referendum for a possible multi party system in the country.[21]

1990 : People's Movement I restored the multi-party democracy to end the king's autocratic regime.[21]

November, 2006 : Government signs the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) with the Maoists, ending the 10-year long civil war.[22]

January 15, 2007 : The parliament passes the Interim Constitution.[21]

January, 2008 : Series of bomb blasts in various parts of Terai region where activists are demanding for regional autonomy.[23]

February, 2008: Second Madhes Movement led by an alliance of Madhesi parties, the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF), demanding for a greater degree of proportional representation.[21]

July, 2008: Ram Baran Yadav and Paramananda Jha, both Madhesi, elected as president and vice-president respectively.[21]

May, 2010 : The Constituent Assembly is allowed to extend the draft of the constitution of Nepal. It is exempted to extend only up to four times at the most.[22]

May - November, 2011 : Supreme Court announces the tenure of Constituent Assembly to be extended twice by three months. The Constitution Assembly extends one last time for six months in November.[21]

February, 2012 : State Restructuring Committee and minority groups submit two separate reports.

May, 2012: With no agreement, the Constituent Assembly is dissolved.

November, 2013: Second Constituent Assembly elected to draft the constitution.[24]

April, 2015 : A massive 7.8 earthquake hits Nepal reaching a death toll of 9000.[25]

June, 2015 : Followed by the massive earthquake and pressure to formulate the constitution of Nepal, three parties sign a 16-point agreement on contentious issues, including federalism, and agree to fast-track the constitution-drafting process. The first draft of constitution is presented to the Constituent Assembly.

August, 2015 : Madhesi protest against the constitution draft and boycott it when it was presented.[26]

September, 2015 : Promulgation of the constitution of Nepal, defining it as a secular country.[21]

September, 2015 : Imposition of an informal economic blockade and violent protests intensify in Terai region.

October, 2015 : Nepal Sadbhavana party criticizes Nepali media for blaming India for the blockade

November, 2015 : More than 25 protestors and 6 policemen injured during the petrol bomb and stone attacks in Birgunj.[27][28]

January, 2016 : Constitution of Nepal is amended to address some of the issues of the Madhesis.[21]

February, 2016 : Government lifts fuel rationing after a six-month long blockade imposed by Madhesis and partially backed by India.

May, 2017 : In three of the seven provinces of Nepal, first phase of local level elections were conducted after being held for the last time in 1997, before the Maoist insurgency.[29]

August, 2017 : Rejection of the second amendment constitution bill after failing to garner two-thirds of the votes of the parliament. Despite this failure, it opened doors for Madhesi parties to take part in elections.[30]  

November, 2017 : First local elections held in twenty years to elect a new parliament and form new provincial councils.[29][31]