Encroachment on Indigenous Sanctity – Political or Cultural?

This 15^th of Baisakh (28 April, 2021) the local administration unleashed bulldozers on a piece of land at Mechi Municipality Ward No. 6 of Jhapa, on the vicinity of the Mechi bridge, with the stated intention of flattening the land to build a Border Outpost (BOP). The bulldozed land has historically been a burial site for the local indigenous people – the Rais, the Limbus, the Magars and the Gurungs among others.

"Our government is utterly insensitive to the language, culture and heritage of 'other' communities. This is a trend prevalent right from the center to the local government level"

While it is difficult to pinpoint as to whether this incident was an intentional oversight on the part of the local authorities, they have been forced to retract their steps and apologize to the community after facing a strong backlash. The land has been restored to its rightful purpose – serving as the burial grounds for the indigenous dead. The locals have performed corrective rituals (chhama puja) seeking forgiveness of the ancestral spirits and have since erected protective fencing around the land.

This is definitely not the first incident of the kind in Jhapa where sites holy to the indigenous people have been ransacked in the name of developmental work. The indigenous burial site at Padajungi of Kamal rural municipality (then known as Lakhanpur V.D.C.) was similarly bulldozed in the name of constructing an international stadium in its stead.

Eventually, the project got abandoned after uprooting hundreds of graves of the indigenous people, leaving the local community in limbo: they neither have the promised international stadium nor could they save the sanctity of the sacred grounds.

The story of the proposed international stadium at Ward No. 5 of Kamal rural municipality near Damak, which happens to be the constituency of PM K.P. Sharma Oli, took roots in the year 2066 B.S. It was set in the sprawling 30 Bigha (50 acres) land covering the Ratuwamai Tree Plantation near the highway, adjacent to the Pathivara Division of the Nepal Armed Police Force (APF).

This piece of public land also happens to be the burial site for the local indigenous people since ancient times. That is why the local indigenous community voiced strong opposition to the project at the onset. They consented to the construction plans only after an agreement was reached with the government that the said stadium would be named "the Indigenous International Stadium" to commemorate the indigenous dead occupying the hallowed ground.

The tombstones of the parents of well-known Bhutanese neurosurgeon Dr. Bhampa Rai, then residing in the locality as a refugee family, also stood there bearing the inscriptions: "Although your bodies lie here in this foreign soil, your spirits shall forever roam the villages, the gorges and the forests of our native Bhutan". Recalling the fateful decision they had to make at the time, Dr. Rai says, "I felt truly bitter agreeing to the proposal, but we had little say as the land did not belong to us. It hurts even more today given the state of things".

It is evident that people had not consented to have their loved ones' and ancestors' graves uprooted lightly. To them it was a compromise worth making because the "Indigenous Stadium" would stand as a monument in place of all the 745 tombstones removed at the time. The ground clearing work had begun after the then defense minister Bidhya Devi Bhandari broke ground and the government released an initial fund of 10 million Rupees in the fiscal year 2067/68 B.S.

The local community was so cooperative that they formed an "Indigenous Stadium and Memorial Park Committee" to assist the project from a community perspective. The fiscal years 2070/71 and 2071/72 B.S. also saw some more budget poured into the project. By that time steps such as ground flattening work, maintaining statistics of relocated tombstones, erection of memorial pillar had been completed when the story took a different turn – it was proposed that the stadium should be renamed. This unprecedented move eventually resulted in the freeze of the whole project.

The twist happened when the then Member of Parliament of the constituency and Chairman of CPNUML Mr. K.P. Sharma Oli suggested that the stadium should be renamed "Madan Memorial International Stadium" after the party leader Late Madan Bhandari, with an eye to attracting foreign aid for the construction. The locals were not ready to buy his argument. Reiterating that they had agreed to say goodbye to their beloved sacred land based on the promise of a monument for the indigenous people, they were resolved to fight back against his idea, and they remain steadfast to this day.

The controversy gradually became politicized and went on to occupy a national stage, drawing opinions and counter opinions from all political spheres. The CPNUML became so entangled in it that its leadership became adamant further funding for the project would pass the parliament only if the name "Madan Bhandari Memorial Stadium" materialized.

Thus the proposed Indigenous International Stadium at Jhapa started gathering dust only three years after its first conception and is bound to be a relic of political tomfoolery. As of this writing, the government is said to be on the lookout for other avenues to build a Madan Bhandari Memorial International Stadium. 

Proposed Indigenous International Stadium Area, Photo: Chulachuli Media, Surya Limbu

 It is not that there have not been a myriad of attempts at resolving the controversy surrounding the name of the stadium. The local committee invited the Chief Minister of Province 1 to the spot and updated him on the whole story about the project. They held press conferences drawing attention to the plight of the project and maintained that it should not be left in a limbo for the sake of the name alone. They petitioned the government for continued funding, but to no avail.

In Falgun of 2075 B.S. a roundtable of indigenous leaders, local committees, and local authorities was held in the convenorship of then UML leader Devendra Dahal with the agenda of naming the main stadium after Madan Bhandari but the remaining infrastructure being dedicated to the indigenous people. An indigenous memorial park, an indigenous museum, a pillar bearing the names of all the indigenous dead that were displaced, a sacred ground for the indigenous within the premises etc were included in the talks.

The proponents of "Madan Bhandari Stadium" present at the meeting have ever since trumpeted that an agreement was reached whereas other participants maintain that discussions were held without reaching a conclusion.

When the aboriginal and indigenous people started raising their voices regarding their identity, language and culture in or around 2062/63 B.S., the mainstream ruling class began to view it as a challenge to the norm.

There were even a few talks held in the presence of Prime Minister K.P Oli himself but the locals remained rightly adamant. Mr. Oli then directed the local authorities to look for an alternative land to construct the stadium. As a result, the local authorities identified the 27 hectares at Damak-3, occupied by Hansedumse community forest, as appropriate. This was the area where the Bhutanese Refugee camp was previously stationed, and it is home to longstanding trees, especially of the Teak and Sesame varities.

The sub-division Forest Office, Damak contends that the land can be used for the construction, but it would result in the cutting down of about 1,924 trees. This has attracted criticism from the public and rightly so because the site that housed the Bhutanese Refugee camps was indeed a longstanding forest covering 66 hectares of land. Of this, 45 hectares have been freed after the refugees were resettled overseas but trees are still standing there and they need to be destroyed should a stadium be constructed there.  

The whole saga of the international stadium has given rise to a good many questions that seek answers.

Supporters of Oli's viewpoint may be capable of providing an alternative site for the Madan Bhandari Memorial International Stadium in the click of fingers, but what of the indigenous people that closed their eyes to the uprooting of the graves of their loved ones for the sake of local development? Who is going to compensate for that loss and how?

What about the lost pride and honour on the part of the indigenous people? Can it be restored? How?

Who is responsible for the lost taxpayer money that went into the ravaging of the indigenous land in the name of building an international stadium? Who gave them the right to waste so much public money on a vanity project? Will they ever be accounted for it?

As the party in power, UML needs to reflect on the veracity of and justification for naming monuments/national projects after a personality albeit it be a great leader like Madan Bhandari. Will they?

The CPNUML came to power with a twothirds majority riding on the waves of the principle of 'People's Multi-party Democracy' propagated by none other than the late Madan Bhandari who also happens to be the late husband of Mrs. Bidhya Devi Bhandari – the president of Nepal. Would the late Madan Bhandari approve of the stalling of a project that was meant to benefit the local economy because it couldn’t bear his name? Will the common man consent to such buffoonery in the days to come?

The common man will now be forced to ask whether the scene playing out in Jhapa is a result of the highly touted "People's Multi-party Democracy" leading to the question whether the name embroiled in this controversy is a hero or antihero for the country. The question is justified when the torchbearers of the great leader Madan Bhandari are perceived as ready to sell out the country in a heartbeat for their own personal ego and benefit.

The common man has been a silent witness to the torchbearers dawdling to commission agents and mafia bosses. It is no surprise that people lose faith in "People's Multi-party Democracy" when they see it being blatantly misused giving rise to questions about the propagator's intent albeit he is no more.

The bulldozing of the sacred land of the indigenous people at Mechi is a matter shrouded in mystery because even people like Mr. Lalit Tamang- the ward Chairperson of the very ward where the land is located- and former people's representative Mrs. Usha Gurung, both of whom belong to the indigenous community, never got wind of the plan until it was executed.  Both opine in unison: "No matter the community, it is a grave matter when you are planning to bulldoze a graveyard. It is a direct assault upon the sanctity of the community, of the families. We can never envisage any authority doing this to any community anywhere!"

The biggest of irony is that the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor of the Municipality responsible for ordering the bulldozers in place were elected from the very locality where the indigenous burial site in question lies. For once, let’s assume it was an honest oversight on their part.

Similarly, as far as the question of the indigenous stadium goes, we can always assume that its abject failure was a result of a certain political party leader's selfish motives. The escape route of political hues remains always open. However; there ever lingers the question about the true machinations behind robbing the indigenous people of their beliefs and their sacrosanctity. It is a continuation of the mainstream cultural intervention and encroachment prevalent since ages, only that its ugly head is more visible today. The PM's statement regarding 'demolishing Khuwalung' is a living testimony to this fact.

Milung waterfalls which derived the name from the local Limbu dialect got changed to the Sanskrit version – Mridunga and Tingbung Pokhari in Limbu dialect meaning completely full – got christened as Bishnu Pokhari.

Asked to opine on the situation in Mechi, local resident and author Mr. Ujjwal Prasain says, "Our government is utterly insensitive to the language, culture and heritage of 'other' communities. This is a trend prevalent right from the center to the local government level". When the aboriginal and indigenous people started raising their voices regarding their identity, language and culture in or around 2062/63 B.S., the mainstream ruling class began to view it as a challenge to the norm. The question of identity began to be wrongly characterized as a question of nationality.

It is ironical to note that the highest number of communal harmony rallies happened in Jhapa where the voices of identity politics rang the loudest too.  Although the ruling elites often rang alarm bells, there never occurred a situation where the communal peace was threatened at the local level because the marginalized were pursuing their rights vis-à-vis their identity, language and heritage. It is sad that the very organizers of the rallies appealing for "communal harmony" were blindsided to the bulldozing of the sacred lands of the indigenous people. 

The concern today is not limited to demolition of Khuwalung alone. It is a matter of grave unease that the demolition of indigenous culture and sanctity has been a long, incessant trend. A case in point is the renaming of Mukkumlung, a religious sanctuary of the tribal people, which got 'Hinduized' to Pathivara during the Panchayat era.  As of this writing there is a boiling controversy at Pathivara of Taplejung because vested interests are on the verge of constructing a cable car ropeway without any consultation with the local communities. They have scant concern to the damage it can cause the local environment or livelihoods.  

History has it that Fatanglung was renamed Kumbhakarna and contrary to the norm that local heritages should carry their local names, the Milung waterfalls which derived the name from the local Limbu dialect got changed to the Sanskrit version – Mridunga.

Similarly the lake situated between Panchthar and Taplejung popularly known as Tingbung Pokhari – Tingbung in Limbu dialect meaning completely full – got christened as Bishnu Pokhari. The place not only got a new name but also new a Temple dedicated to the Hindu god Bishnu nearby thanks to the efforts of Mr. Yogesh Bhattarai the then minister of tourism. There is little regard to the fact that the concrete temple built adjacent to the lake has distorted the natural splendor of the place.

Such examples of blatant disregard for the heritage and sanctity of the marginalized people in eastern Nepal alone abound, so it will be inconvenient to assume that these acts of cultural sacrilege are mere accidents or oversights on the part of so and so person or entity. The demolition of indigenous heritage has been a long time in the making, and it looks like it is here to stay.

Translation by: Shyam Bhandari, Contributing Editor, The Margin.