Please let me express a few thoughts on the present crisis.

1. No negotiation under Indian Guns with Indian Agents. No negotiating away our Sovereignty. We all Nepalese, across political and ethnic spectrum, must stand united against the aggression.

2. If Nepal can stay put and survive, India will not win. It is not just a matter of India vs. Nepal, but its ramification on India in the larger international scale. Other nations and even within Indian political system an aggression is not appreciated. Indian direct aggression will have bigger negative effects on India. This aggression is ad hoc decision of a few officers, not a well thought out plan. As we speak, many officers / leaders in Delhi must be sweating bullets.

3. We must publish and honor the people’s wish expressed in the July poll on the draft constitution. It is the ratification process and cannot be suppressed. It will solve many of our problems. The poll is clear that overwhelming majority of Nepalese is for Hindu rastra and against Sanghiyata / Federalism.
4. No to Ethnic states, including Madheshi state.
It will lead to unprecedented ethnic friction and division of the nation. We have more than 100 ethnic groups. We all are minorities. No ethnic group is majority. We just cannot have ethnic states / Jatiya rajya / Sanghiyata. If we give in to violent groups, we are inviting more violence from many others. There can be no privilege for any one group, especially violent and instigated by foreign countries.

Top 10 ethnic groups by percentages (Census, 2011): Khas-Chhetri - 16.6, Khas-Bahun - 12.2, Magar - 7.1, Tharu - 6.6, Tamang - 5.8, Newar - 5.2, Khas-Kami - 4.8, Muslim - 4.4, Yadav - 4.0, Rai - 2.3. Next over 100 ethnic groups are less than 1 %.

5. Let us keep the 5 Economic regions and 14 Anchals. It is designed by professional geographers, sociologists and others; and never had any problem. We may modify it and decentralize the administrative structure as per the need and research by our ‘National Planning Commission.’

6. Let political leaders and technical experts come together and design short and long term policies on resources, self-reliance and development programs.

7. Let us identify our Lendups and Quislings, and render them ineffective. Let us stop the practice of every leaders going to Delhi and doing ‘Sastang Namaskar.’

8. India has to show which part of our constitution is discriminatory against any of our citizens, including Madheshi. Matter of fact, Nepalese constitution is much more progressive than Indian. The constitution is approved by over 90% of the legislators, including Madheshis. Which constitution in the world is approved with this majority? Indian?
9. All people living in Terai are not Madheshi.
There are indigenous people: Tharu, Dhimal, Rajbanshi, Satar, Danuwar, Darai, Kumhal, Majhi, Raji & others; and hill people moving south within own country. They do not call themselves Madheshi. Even within Madheshis there are different castes including Dalits. None of them want Jatiya Rajya. The core of agitators is only a small fraction of Madheshi group made up of the recent immigrants and yesterday's Landlords / Jamindars, who lost their privileges in the King Mahendra’s land reform program.

10. The real reason is the Indian desire to control Nepal in their vision of the single Indian sub-continent South of Himalaya and Nepalese Natural Resources, especially Water.
11. How bad is the Indian blockade?
Let us remember the battle of Nalapani, the bombing of Vietnam, the battle of Thermopylae between Spartans against Persians, the battle of Stalingrad, the battle of Alamo, and others. Let us fight, survive and leave legacy for our children.

12. Let us remember who helps us. Friends in need are friends indeed.

Thanks!

Tilak B. Shrestha, Ph.D.

Tilak B. Shrestha, Ph.D. Research Associate Alabama A & M University. Applied remote sensing and photogrammetry consultant, research proposals writing, application of remote sensing in county level database creation

Reference:

1. Indian Politics and Propaganda against Nepal, Aparajita Acharya

Setopati, Oct. 25, 2015

http://setopati.net/opinion/9903/Politics-and-Propaganda/

2. New Delhi pundits should read Nepal's constitution first, Post B. Basnet

Setopati, October 6, 2015

http://setopati.net/opinion/9647/#sthash.jV2v11k0.dpuf

3. India Exposed, Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani, Former Minister

Republica, November 2, 2015

http://www.myrepublica.com/opinion/story/30260/india-exposed.html

4. Nation-wide poll conducted by Himal Media, Ayesha Shakya

Nepali Times, August 14-20, 2015

http://nepalitimes.com/page/himalmedia-poll-outcome-august-2015

5. Nepal: Ethnicity-based Federalism - a Disaster, Bihari K Shrestha

South Asian Outlook, June 2012

http://www.southasianoutlook.net/index.php/issue/2012/june-2012/191-nepal-ethnicity-based-federalism-a-disaster

Hastakshep