KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 26
Madhes is riled up after the conflict between Muslims and the Hindu community in Malangwa during the immersion of Lord Ganesha Idol on September 21. However, local authorities have stepped up efforts to maintain peace and harmony in Madhes.
On the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, (September 21), a Hindu festival to commemorate the birth of lord Ganesha, Hindus install Ganesha's clay statue on the first day, and on the last day, the idols of Ganesha are immersed.
During immersion devotees come out in a large numbers in public procession with music, group chanting and dancing. The idols are immersed in a nearby river, lake or ponds.
When the idol was passing through a Muslim community populated area in Malangwa, the conflict erupted and stone pelting started. To control the chaos, police resorted to baton charge. More than a dozen people, including security personnel, were injured during the clash between the two communities.
Meanwhile, a Muslim man came out of the house with a dagger and attacked twentyfour-year old Rulpesh Kumar Yadav, a resident of Musaili, Malangwa. He was stabbed multiple times and has been admitted to Nepal Mediciti Vayodha Hospital, Birgunj, in critical condition.
Since then, Malangawa has been under constant pressure. Curfew was imposed instantly following the incident.
Yesterday, the prohibitory order was lifted during the daytime after a five-day curfew. However, the order remains unchanged for nighttime.
A meeting held at the District Administration Office, Malangawa, decided to enforce curfew from 8:00pm to 4:00am in the morning.
CDO of Sarlahi Indradev Yadav said that the prohibitory order has been eased.
However, any type of gathering, meeting, demonstration and rallies are restricted in the Malangawa area due to potential risk to the safety of the general public.
Following the Malangawa incident the Hindu community of Birgunj tried shutting the market and other places on Saturday. They also rallied and demonstrated.
"Following the incident in Malangawa, Hindus in Birgunj protested and tried closing the bazaar," said Mohammad Aftab Sheikh, a resident of Birgunj.
"Local authorities intervened in the activities and said if anything occurs to create chaos in the society, the culprits will be punished as per the law." Similarly, Birgunj metropolis also organised an amity rally yesterday.
People from various sectors of society participated. At the end of the rally Mayor Rajesh Man Singh reached the District Administration Office and handed over a memorandum to the acting CDO Shiva Prasad Lamsal.
Talking to THT, Birgunj Mayor Rajesh Man Singh said, "People of Birgunj metropolis, including me are confident that we won't let communal riots occur in our community. We have a history of maintaining harmony and living peacefully, we are not going to be disturbed by a few self-centred people."
He further said," Authorities have already found out the culprits. We are going to deal with them robustly and serious action will be taken against those who are trying to spread hate speech, misinformation and disinformation through various social media platforms." Likewise, another municipality of Sarlahi is all set to organise an amity rally tomorrow.
Due to disruption of religious and communal harmony in various places including Malangwa, violent incidents have exacerbated, hence, on September 25, the all-party meeting of Barahathawa Municipality decided to organise an amity rally to disseminate a positive message to maintain peace and harmony at the local level, according to the municipality.
It has also appealed to representatives from across the parties, elected representatives, leaders of various religious organisations, social workers, intellectuals, workers, farmers, and bureaucrats to attend the rally.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 27, 2023, of The Himalayan Times
