Some have interpreted the formation of another group to voice Janajati issues as a symptom of Nefin’s weakness and its inability to lead the Janajati movement.

Nefin is a common rights-based organisation of Adivasi/Janajatis. It is not a sister organisation of any political party. So it does not need to tail any struggle committee or organisation opened up in the name of Janajatis. Nefin is a guardian organisation of other youth, student, women, and professional organisations. So how can an organisation with a history of over two decades follow a group formed by a handful of people? Nefin has not become weak, but various groups deliberately want to weaken the organisation. They want to overshadow Nefin’s demands and destroy its agendas. Nefin and its member organisations need to be aware of it and Nefin itself should lead the Janajati movement. On my part, I cannot lend support to a movement that does not even mention the demands of Tharus.

How are the demands of the current struggle movement, led by Padma Ratna Tuladhar, and Nefin different?

Nefin and its member organisations want identity inclusive federal states. But the group led by Padma Ratna is demanding single identity-based federalism. We, on the other hand, are protesting because a single identity state has long discriminated against the Adivasis/Janajatis, women, Muslims, and other marginalised communities. We demand a federal, identity inclusive state. Moreover, when the Tharus were also dubbed Madhesis around seven years ago, when the Tarai was renamed Madhes, and when there was the Madhesisation of the identity of Adivasi Tharus, no Pahade Janajati leader spoke out against it. So, why should we join this movement? Are these handful of Pahade Janajati leaders our jamindars and we their Kamaiyas?

How is identity inclusive federalism different from single identity federalism?

Nefin and Adivasi/Janajati communities want a federal, inclusive state with identity and equality. There are five bases for identity: caste/ethnicity, language, culture, geography, and historical background. Single identity-based federalism, on the other hand, implies states belonging to only one ethnic group, where the identity and rights of that one group are recognised and they rule. We are not seeking Baise-Chaubise rajyas of single ethnic groups. Our demand is that Nepal should not remain a nation of one ethnic group, one culture, and one religion.

Moving on, what are the agendas of the Tharu community?

Tharus are against discrimination and for equality. The agendas raised by the Tharu movement are to not divide the country, nor to take away the rights of Brahmin-Chhetris, and neither to chase other communities away from Tharuhat Tarai. Tharus have been living together with communities that migrated to the Tharuhat Tarai from both the north of the country and from the south for centuries. The Tharu community seeks its inclusion in different bodies of the government—the executive, judiciary, and legislature, in the Army, the police, and in government service. We demand inclusion and a proportional electoral system.

What about federalism?

Our demand is that since the population in the hills and the Tarai is about the same, the number of states in both geographical regions should also be the same. For the past seven years, we have been saying that if there are five states in the hills then there should be five in the Tarai. Now, there is talk of One Madesh One Pradesh, or a maximum of two provinces in the Tarai and five provinces in the hills. This will perpetuate discrimination. The seven-province model of federalism proposed by the NC and UML has international powers behind it. The model will only invite further unrest and conflict in the country. This model will not work, as it is still a centralised, unitary model of Singha Durbar. In fact, we are opposed to the models of federalism proposed by all four forces: the NC, UML, Maoists and Madeshi parties.

Do you not find your demands closer to the agendas raised by any one of these parties?

No. These forces are only fighting for power, not working for Tharus. Had they raised our concerns, we wouldn’t have had to start a different movement. They are still opposed to giving rights to Tharus and treat us as fifth class citizens. The NC, UML, Maoists, Madhesis and a handful of Pahade Janajati leaders do not want to give rights to Tharus. I am also critical of the 10-20 Rai, Gurung, and Magar Pahade Janajati leaders who portray themselves as elites and do not want to give rights to Tharus.

Why exactly are you opposed to the One Madhes One Pradesh model?

We do not support One Madhes, One Pradesh and we are not in favour of only two provinces in the Tarai either. Carving out only one or two provinces in the Tarai is equivalent to shooting a Tharu in the chest. In any case, what sort of pointless argument is it to say that seven and even 10 provinces in the hills are economically viable and more than one or two in the Tarai are not? What kind of federalism are we seeking? So we are ready to be shot at, be charged with police boots and batons, but we will not accept one or two provinces in the Tarai under any condition. There are 22 districts from Jhapa to Kanchapur in the Tharuhat Tarai. There need to be multiple provinces in this region. If there can be a Tamsaling, Magarat, Newa, and Limbuwan provinces in the hills, why can’t we have a Tharuhat autonomous province?

The Maoists initially proposed the names of the provinces you just mentioned.

The Maoists have definitely used those names, but this is only a ploy to use Janajatis to suit their own ends. The UCPN (Maoist), along with the NC, UML, and Madhesi parties, gave up its demand for federalism three years ago. The leader of the 22-party alliance, the UCPN (Maoist), is suffering greatly as it is currently out of power and its cadres have lost their allowances. We do not believe that they will fight for our rights. Had they been serious about our fight, Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Baburam Bhattarai would have addressed the issues of Tharus, Madhesis and Dalits while in power. Instead, now that they are powerless, they have gathered a bunch of toy parties to lead. We are no fools not to understand what they are seeking. They need to understand that we are fighting for our rights, not to be their political kamaiyas.

Is there any room for an agreement with these parties?

The NC, UML, UCPN (Maoist), and Madhesi parties seek to push the country back to the Panchayat era and the Rana oligarchy. There has already been an agreement among some leaders of these parties to propagate a constitution and federate the country without giving rights to minorities. So we believe that Adivasis/Janajatis, Madhesis, and other minorities should unite against it.

Lastly, do you think that the constitution will be promulgated on January 22?

The constitution will be promulgated on January 22, 2015 only if the sun rises from the west on that day. But it could be written in the next two to three years.