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“Politicians sell the names of martyrs to get on top. They don’t care about martyrs and their families. I am not voting.”  This is a remark made by Magati Tharu, of Bardiya district, when asked about the upcoming elections. Tharu’s husband disappeared by the state security forces 21 years ago. He was arrested on the suspicion of being a Maoist rebel. Magati last saw her husband in Bardiya prison in April 2002. The couple has two children, both adults now and both unemployed.    “I am extremely hurt by the attitude of these politicians,” says Magati, who has had enough words of assurances from the country’s leaders about finding the status of her husband.   “They can’t even tell me whether he is dead or alive.”  This is the fourth election since her husband’s disappearance. Magati says many political parties and their leaders have come to ask for her vote and promised to help conflict-affected victims and survivors like her. “There has been no improvement in our condition. There is no point voting for them now,” she says.     Magati represents hundreds of people in Bardiya district who were affected by the decade-long Maoist armed insurgency. One record shows there are more than 700 conflict victims and survivors in the district. They include victims of enforced disappearance, those maimed and injured and family members of those killed by the Maoist combatants as well as security forces.  Like Magati, Nayaram Khadka also has no intention of voting during this election. He was abducted by the Maoist rebels from his house, tortured and then left for dead.  “Doctors had to insert steel rods inside both my legs so that I could stand upright. My ribs still give me pain and I cannot walk properly,” says Khadka. “The only facility I get for voting is that I don’t have to wait in a long queue. Other than that, I get nothing for voting.” He is convinced that political parties, their leaders and representatives are not going to address his concerns.   Khumananda Chaudhary, another Bardiya resident, also says there is no reason to be excited for the elections. The Maoist rebels killed his father, Hariram, and to date, the family has not received any justice.  “The Maoists tortured and shot my father dead, accusing him of spying agaist the party. The government gave Rs 300,000 to my family and that’s about it. What we demand is justice,” he says. Niranjan Kumar Chaudhary, of Conflict Victims’ National Network, says there is a widespread resentment and anger among conflict victims and survivors against the political parties. “Parties, both big and small, have promised to address the concerns of conflict victims and survivors in their election manifestos, but it is one cannot be assured they will deliver on it,” says Chaudhary.   Ideally, he adds, the state should and the concerned political actors should take the initiative to address the demands raised by the victims and survivors of conflict.  “But this has not happened. There is no consensus among the parties on dealing with the conflict-era cases.”

The landless people of Bardiya have announced a phase-wise agitation against the federal government, alleging it of delaying the formation of a district-level commission to solve their land-related problems. A federal commission was formed for the same purpose under the chairmanship of NCP leader Devi Gyawali in March 2020.

Agitators have accused the federal government of needlessly postponing the district commission’s formation under the pretext of the covid pandemic.

Kesh Bahadur BK, chairman of the Land Rights Forum Bardiya, rues lack of initiative to solve the problems of the district’s landless people.

BK cites the rivalry among NCP cadres to join the proposed district commission as the main reason for the delay in its formation.

Chairman BK also argues that a district level commission should be formed by identifying people who think more in favor of the landless than in favor of the land mafia. Reminding that the problems of the landless have remained intact even after the formation of many land commissions, BK says, “A new local-level commission should be immediately formed to solve our problems.”

“In the first phase, we will undertake a peaceful protest with our four-point demand,” BK adds. He warns that if their demands are still ignored, the agitation would intensify even amid the pandemic.

The main demand is formation of a district level commission to resolve land disputes in the area. Other demands include providing ownership certificates of the lands currently occupied by the landless and adhering to government’s ‘Land Use Policy 2076’ by making local levels more active in making and executing plans. They have also asked for an end to the excesses being committed on the landless people living near the forests, reservations and buffer zones. 

A press conference and a meeting of municipality level leaders and cadres have already been held in the phase-wise agitation. If the Nov 20 deadline for commission’s formation is not met, a delegation of the agitators will visit the Kathmandu office of the ruling NCP. And if the demands are still not heeded, the agitators will take out processions and do sit-ins at district headquarters Gulariya, informs Homendra Thapa, coordinator of Bardiya Land Rights Forum.