By Our Reporter
A possible communal clash in Dharan, Koshi Province, was averted on Saturday. However, the local administration had to clamp down on a 24-hour curfew in the city to thwart a demonstration planned by different pro-Hindu religious groups against the cow slaughtering by a Christian community belonging to the Janajatis.
Dharan had remained tense for days after a few locals not only slaughtered a cow but also launched a social media campaign that ‘cows should be slaughtered in Dharan’. This sparked anger among the Hindus, who worship the cow as Laxmi, take its urine, and use dung to clean their houses.
When the social media campaign intensified, the Hindu priests, Gurus, and others had made a plan to demonstrate in Dharan on Saturday and thousands started preparing for the march-pass, compelling the local administration to clamp the curfew. However, the police prevented the large groups of Hindus from moving towards Dharan from Itahari and other areas and avoided clashes.
Janajatis, who have adopted the Christian religion and are backed by Christian missionaries are blamed for inviting the tense situation. Had they not slaughtered the cow and launched the social media campaign, the situation would not have arisen. Even Mayor Harka Sampang of Dharan was dragged for fueling the tense. But he later issued a statement urging people to remain calm.
However, it was Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal who had instigated the conflict situation first by telling the people, during the insurgency period, that they would create states based on ethnic identities. He built organisations based on ethnicity like Tamsaling, Newa and Limbuwan and sowed the seed of communal conflict for his benefit.
Even a few weeks ago, PM Dahal stated that his party would name all the provinces based on ethnic identity if his party was given votes to form the government. Coincidentally, Dharan witnessed the situation of communal conflict days after his statement. And he had to issue a statement urging people to refrain from unwanted activities.
Similarly, the increasing activities of Christians and the row over the naming of the Koshi Province had pitched the ground for the conflict situation in Dharan. The Janajati parties, who were denied votes in the elections held in November last year, had been launching a protest against the naming of the Province as Koshi. They have been demanding that the province’s name should reflect their identity. The entire province witnessed demonstrations until the monsoon began. Several leaders were targets of the Janajatis while one man died in a protest in Biratnagar on March 19. These all culminated in the Dharan incident.
Now the government should learn a lesson from the Dharan incident and should try to avert similar incidents in future by controlling activities that spark communal disputes in any manifestation.
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