KATHMANDU: The Madhes-based parties — Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum, Tarai Madhes Democratic Party and Sadhawana Party — have been raising the issue of inclusion in the Nepali Army, lamenting that there is not enough representation of the Madhesi community in the army.

In the eight-point agreement reached between the then government and Joint Madhesi Democratic Front on 28 February 2008, Madhesi parties had raised the issue of bulk entry of Madhesi community in the Nepali Army. They want immediate implementation of the eight-point agreement.

However, no initiative has been taken to ensure group entry of Madhesis in the army. However, a source at army headquarters said there was no possibility of group entry in the Nepali Army as demanded by certain parties.

In the recent past, the army

had taken an initiative to recruit the Madhesi people. However,

fewer than expected turned

up to take the recruitment test. The eight-point agreement with the Madhesi parties has a provision that states: Proportional, inclusive and group entry (entry in the army as a group) of Madhesi and other communities shall be ensured in order to give the Nepali Army a national and inclusive character.

Parties also talk about making the army inclusive but no one

has any clue about how they

can give inclusive character to

the Nepali Army.

However, the Nepali Army claims that it is already inclusive and there is no need of bulk entry. Army prepared a report some time ago about the inclusiveness in the Nepali Army. It states that the army already has inclusive character.

The report adds, “At a time when the government of Nepal had no policy on inclusion in the state organs, the Nepali Army was the only institution in Nepal that had a system of reservation for five ethnic communities — Magars, Gurungs, Tamangs, Kiranti/Limbus and Madhesis. The total strength of the five battalions reserved for this process is about 3,950, i.e 4.4 per cent of current strength. In the rest of the formations, units and sub-units, all castes and ethnic communities, religions and regions are given equal opportunity based on open competition.”

The report adds that among

several castes and ethnic

communities, Chhetris seem to have domination in the military. Magars, Newars, Rais, Gurungs, Damais/Dholis, Ghartis/Bhujels, Thakuris, Sanyasis, Kumals, Hajams/Thakuris, Darais and Jirels are also slightly over-represented compared to their respective population ratio.

The army data adds, “Brahmins, Tamangs, Kamis, Limbus, Sarkis, and Tharus are slightly under represented. Of the 18 posts at the decision-making level (ranks of major general and above, including two technical), as of July 2008 Chhetris accounted for eight posts, Limbus two, Brahmins two, Gurungs two, Thakuris two, Ranas one, and Newars one. Even during the unification of Nepal, Jayantha Rana, an ethnic Magar, was one of the most successful commanders of King Prithivi Narayan Shah.”

However, Madhesi parties are not satisfied with the present policy of inclusion in the Nepali Army. On many occasions, Chief of Army Staff Rookmangud Katawal claimed that Nepali Army was already inclusive. According to the army, it hasn’t adopted any discriminatory measure to stop any community from being recruited in the Nepali Army.

However, Sarita Giri, leader of the Sadbhawana Party (Anandi Devi) dismissed the army’s claim that it was already inclusive.

She said, “If we want to transform the Nepali Army into a national army, group entry is a must.”

She claimed that out of NA’s total strength of 95,000 hardly 1,000 Madhesis are in the Nepali Army. She said, “To encourage the Madhesi people to join the national army, we need to create a different battalion of Madhesis. We need a mechanism that satisfies all.”

She added that communities who had been excluded should get a chance to join the Nepali Army.

However, military expert Deepak Bhatta reasoned that group

entry in the Nepali Army from

any particular region would

badly affect the army and it should be discouraged.

He said, “If we want to ensure

inclusion in the army, a long-term policy should be formulated.”

He denounced group entry as a

totally political demand.

He claimed that it was not

necessary that there should be regional reflection in the national army. He said, “We should make NA a professional, democratic

and inclusive institution. Group entry for any community will be a step in the wrong direction.”

CoAS take on inclusiveness

While addressing army personnel at Panchkal, Kavre, Chief of Army Staff Rookmangud Katawal claimed that the Nepali Army had always been an inclusive institution. Any Nepali citizen who sits in an open competition and satisfies the minimum standards stipulated is considered a probable candidate to join the army, he added.