The tenant farmers cultivating land under the Swargadwari Guthi have warned of boycotting the House of Representatives elections scheduled for March 5 unless political parties make a written commitment to address their long-standing demands.

The farmers, who claim tenancy rights over land owned by the Swargadwari Ashram, complain that repeated assurances from successive governments have yielded no tangible outcome.

“We have submitted our demands to the government and all major political parties several times,” said Prabin Chaudhary, spokesperson for the Swargadwari Guthi Victims Tenant Farmers’ Struggle Committee. “Yet there is no seriousness in addressing the problem. Our issues are not even mentioned in the parties’ election manifestos.”

Chaudhary added that the group would participate in the election only if parties express a written commitment guaranteeing their demands would be fulfilled. “If that does not come, we will not cast our votes,” Chaudhary said. “We have been misled time and again.”

According to the struggle committee, more than 10,000 affected voters are linked to the Guthi land issue in Dang, a district of Lumbini Province.

Swargadwari Ashram, a revered shrine in Pyuthan district established in 1941, owns 1,034 bigha and 17 kattha (over 700 hectares) of land in Dang. Tenant farmers have been tilling around 753 bigha (510 hectares) of the trust land for generations. Originally, 289 tenant families tilled the land, but that number has since grown to more than 3,500 households due to family expansion, with more than 15,000 individuals dependent on tenant farming.

The dispute centres on dual ownership of Guthi land—land belonging to religious trust—where tenant farmers have tilled fields for generations but lack formal ownership certificates. The farmers argue that their tenancy rights must be recognised and converted into full ownership under a reformed legal framework.

Their agitation intensified in early 2024. From February to April that year, they staged protests in Ghorahi, sleeping on the streets, banging utensils, ploughing roads and holding round-the-clock sit-ins outside the District Administration Office. When they attempted to surround the Land Revenue and Survey offices, police used batons and tear gas to disperse them.

Subsequently, 39 farmers travelled to Kathmandu and staged demonstrations at Maitighar Mandala in January and February 2025, seeking to pressure the federal government. Following negotiations at the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, the government agreed in principle to initiate the drafting of a new integrated Guthi law to address their concerns. The talks were led by a committee headed by then joint secretary Krishna Prasad Sapkota. The then minister Balaram Adhikari publicly committed to ending dual ownership through legislation.

However, the bill failed to move forward before Parliament was dissolved, leaving the agreement in limbo.

Delays in passing comprehensive Guthi legislation have perpetuated uncertainty for tenant farmers across Nepal, particularly outside Kathmandu Valley, where disputes often receive less attention.

Frustrated by the lack of implementation, the farmers organised a national conference in Ghorahi in May 2025, issuing a nine-point declaration. They demanded immediate enactment of a Guthi law after meaningful dialogue, conversion of Guthi land into raikar (tax) land with ownership certificates for tenants, reinstatement of evicted farmers, and formal recognition of land records in cultivators’ names. They also called for residential land rights for families living on Guthi land for generations and reform of rent collection procedures.

As election campaigns gather pace, the farmers insist that their ballots will depend not on speeches but on signatures. “Without legal ownership, we live in constant insecurity,” Chaudhary said. “Our movement is for dignity and justice.”