KATHMANDU, JANUARY 19
Etymology and the theft of history
Madhes is the evolved form of the Sanskrit word Madhyadesh or the Pali term Majjhim Desh, signifying the Middle Land. Even Nepali historians such as Baburam Acharya acknowledge Madhes as a linguistic derivative of Madhyadesh. Because it is situated in the heart of the Indian subcontinent, ancient scriptures refer to it as Madhyadesh. Descriptions of this region are found in numerous religious texts, including the Manusmriti, the Mahabharata, and the Rajatarangini. However, the modern Nepali state has systematically attempted to erase this history, replacing a millennia-old civilisation with a manufactured, singular nationalism that treats the plains as a peripheral footnote.
The imperial transaction and internal colonization
The map of Madhes within Nepal was drawn through the transactional caprice of imperial powers, not the democratic will of its people. In 1816 and 1860, the British donated and gifted the eastern and western stretches of Madhesh to the Gorkhali monarchs as rewards for subserving British interests and crushing the 1857 Indian Uprising. From the moment these lands were annexed, the Nepali state initiated a sinister project of internal colonisation. The Madhesi were never embraced as equal citizens; they were managed as subjects of a captured territory.
The paradox of national pride: Buddha and Sita
The tyranny of the Nepali state is best seen through its staggering cultural hypocrisy. The state screams the nationalist slogan "Buddha was born in Nepal" to harvest international prestige, yet it treats the Awadh descendants and the indigenous inhabitants of the Lumbini soil as aliens or second-class citizens. Similarly, the state proudly proclaims Sita as the daughter of Nepal, yet it remains hostile to the language, culture, and political aspirations of Mithila, the very land that gave her birth. The state feeds on the icons of the plains while dehumanising the people who guard those legacies.
Ecological plunder: The Chure as a weapon
The colonisation extends beyond politics into a deliberate ecological warfare. The Chure range, the smallest and most fragile mountain chain, has been turned into a tool for encroachment. Under the guise of settlement, the state has facilitated the destruction of the forest belt, cannibalising the hills for stone and sand to enrich the Kathmandu elite. It is a bitter cruelty that while Nepal markets itself as the second richest country in water resources, the people of Madhes face chronic water scarcity. By stripping the Chure, the state is orchestrating the slow-motion desertification of the Madhesi heartland, proving it covets the resources of the Terai but harbours a murderous indifference toward its people.
A history written in blood and the execution of law
The struggle against this tyranny is a long, blood-soaked trail. From the 1935 blood oath in Janakpur to the peasant uprisings of 1953, the state has answered the call for justice with the barrel of a gun. Asarfi Sah, Bahadur Sada, Mungalal Mahato, and Aghori Yadav are names that serve as indictments of a state that rains bullets on its farmers. The execution of Durganand Jha remains the ultimate symbol of colonial malice. In an era where the law exempted Brahmins and women from capital punishment, the state specifically amended its own laws to ensure a Madhesi youth was hanged for protesting autocratic rule.
The betrayal of 2007 and Balidani Diwas
Despite the sacrifices of thousands during the 1990 movement and the Maoist insurgency, the state's character remained unchanged.
The 2007 Interim Constitution was the final insult, a document that erased federalism and identity from the national map. On Magh 5, the state's mask fell off entirely in Lahan, where the blood of student Ramesh Mahato ignited a fire that the state could not extinguish. More than fifty Madhesi youths were martyred in the days that followed. We observe Magh 5 (January 19 this year) as Balidani Diwas because it is the day the Madhesi spirit refused to be silenced.
The persistence of state violence
The colonial character of the state remains intact today. Recent extrajudicial killings, such as those of Laxmi Mukhiya in 2023, Dip Narayan Mandal, and Jay Shankar Sah in early 2024, prove that the state still views a Madhesi life as a cheap casualty for crowd control.
The state continues to suppress the voice of Madhesh with the gun, ignoring the deep-seated rage of a people who have been cheated by seven constitutions in seven decades.
The uncomfortable truth
This is an uncomfortable article for many because no fabricated national words are included. Until we recognise unity with diversity, we cannot get anything other than solidarity. And if, for that solidarity, we are asked to forget our own history of marginalisation, then that would not be comfortable for either. Rest in peace to all the martyrs of the different Madhes uprisings as well as the Gen-Z uprising. The Madhes Uprising is an unresolved revolution in the history of Nepal, and it is time to depart from the discussion of ruler-to-ruled perspectives.
Anjali Sah is an aspiring Lawyer and Intersectional Feminist. Sah is also president of Women LEAD Nepal and an Executive Member of the Madhes Library and Research Centre.
