Nepal, one of the underdeveloped counties of South Asia with a population of 26.5 million, used to be a zone of peace. But the recent history of Nepal is full of violent political upheavals. Within the last two decades Nepal experienced some violent political uprisings. After a decade long brutal Maoists insurgency in Nepal, Madhesh (also known as the “Terai” region of Nepal, touches the border of India in the western, eastern and southern region of Nepal) launched a violent political campaign called ‘Madhesh Uprising’ in 2007 demanding complete regional autonomy, rights of self-determination, and a single Madhesh province (Ek Madhesh Ek Pradesh). The Madhesh uprising not only took lives and damaged properties, it also disturbed the ethnic harmony and social cohesion in Madhesh. Millions of Madheshis (the inhabitants of Madhesh who are basically Maithali and Bhojpuri speaking population) actively took part in this movement against the government and mainstream political parties. The whole Madhesh become more aware and united. As a result, political parties registered from Madhesh for the 2008 constituent assembly election secured majority votes from Madhesh and became the fourth and fifth largest political parties in Nepal’s first constituent assembly. They changed the political landscape. The mainstream political parties were forced to choose Madheshi candidates in the presidential election. What happened next became the history in Nepalese contemporary politics. The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal got its first president and vice-president from Madhesh with few milestone political as well as legislative changes.
The Madhesh uprising came as a total surprise and shocked national as well as international actors who have been working for Nepal’s peace process after the Maoist insurgency. The Madhesh uprising was different than the Maoists insurgency and happened after the comprehensive peace agreement between the Maoist and the government of Nepal. The Maoist insurgency was more a class struggle, while the Madhesh uprising was clearly an ethnic and racial rebellion. The Madhesh uprising established Madheshi nationalism as a significant part of the emerging ethnic and political landscape of Nepal. Analyzing the historical, socio-economic development, and the contemporary politics of Nepal, this paper argues that the Madhesh uprising was an inevitable outcome of a deep-rooted discrimination based on identity and ethnicity. This paper shows how the deep-rooted discrimination based on identity and ethnicity generates violence. The result of this paper supports the claim that deep-rooted social discrimination generates violence and political unrest. This paper also shows how issues of identity and ethnicity can be used for political purpose.
Key words: Madhesh Uprising, Identity Conflicts, Grassroot Movements, Political Violence, Social Discrimination, Nepal, etc.