Possibilities of Reconciliation: Studying Violence & Enforced Disappearances from the Post-Conflict Tharu Communities of Nepal

Abstract

Enforced disappearance is an extreme form of violence that causes prolonged uncertainty and hinders the post-conflict peace process. In Nepal, enforced disappearance occurred owing to a decade (1996-2006) long armed conflict (violence) that has left deep societal and political wounds. Violence gradually turned to ethnic cleavage whereabouts 17,000 people were extrajudicially killed, leaving behind 2,500 enforced disappearances. More than one-third of the total number of enforced disappearances were the Tharu people who were victimized by both the conflicting parties: the State and the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) Maoist. The Tharu communities of Nepal are indigenous ethnic groups (scheduled caste) who have been living in the lowlands (southern Terai) of the Himalayan foothills of Nepal for centuries. The Nepali state recognized the Tharu people as an official nationality of Nepal. The general objective of this study is to examine the common trends of violence and enforced disappearances in a decade-long armed conflict and their consequences that occur mainly in Tharu communities. The specific objectives of this study are: (1) to find out why and how the indigenous ethnic Tharu communities made victims the most and why the issues of enforced disappearances are yet to be resolved; (2) to explore how post-conflict Tharu communities are dealing with the issues and consequences of enforced disappearances, and (3) to study the possible means of reconciliation in the local context. The findings of this study are prepared based on participant observation and field studies performing networking tracking method (snow-ball techniques) for four months (November 2021 – February 2022) in the fourteen Tharu communities from five highly violence-affected Dang, Banke, Bardiya, Kailali, and Kanchanpur districts in Nepal. The findings are analyzed and interpreted, followed by a qualitative single case study method. The triangulation method was used to increase the validity and reliability of the findings. The study follows the medical metaphor of conflict (violence) analysis and transformation introduced by a famous peace scholar Johan Galtung. Galtung's medical metaphor, followed by Transcend theory, includes the diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy (DPT Model) to understand violence and work on its transformation. The diagnosis supports investigating why and how the highest number of people enforcedly disappeared from the Tharu communities. The prognosis helps to understand the contemporary situation, and the therapy refers while developing a community based reconciliation method (model). The findings of this study are discussed in three different ways. At first, this study found three primary reasons for having the highest enforced disappearance in Tharu communities, based on Galtung’s medical metaphor of diagnosis. First, historical injustices and structural and cultural violence in Tharu communities that have existed for generations provide sufficient background to keep them marginalized and vulnerable. Historically, Tharus’ land was captured by the elite hill migrants and, even worse, forced to work as bonded labor (Kamaiya). Similarly, they were forcefully evicted from their original habitat and discriminated against based on ethnic identity kept them marginalized and vulnerable, causing the highest number of enforced disappearances. Second, during the armed conflict, everyday violence committed by both conflicted parties, the State (securities) and the Maoist, caused the highest number of enforced disappearances. Tharus had soft and sympathetic ties with the Maoists because Maoists’ slogans of respect, dignity, inclusion, self identity, and a strong commitment to abolish existing socio-cultural and economic hierarchical practices, such as bonded labor, attracted poor and disadvantaged Tharus. While the state security with large numbers visited the countryside, they captured/arrested whomever they met along the way and made them disappear by considering all Tharus associated with the Maoist. A few Tharus joined the Maoist to escape the state-launched atrocities and brutalities that occurred, suspecting all Tharus and anti-bonded labor movement demonstrators were Maoists. Hence, they were detained, tortured, and made disappear mainly by state security. Third, strategic geographic location of Tharu communities was used as a transit to supply war-related materials by the Maoist. In response, the heavy mobilization of state security forces caused the highest number of enforced disappearances from Tharu communities. Second, this study finds a considerable gap between the national agendas of the post conflict peace process of Nepal and the individual-community needs, expectations, and desires while examining the present situation, following Galtung’s medical metaphor of prognosis. The issues of enforced disappearance are complex-web and interconnected with the historical, cultural, economic, and political context, in which the government seeks quick remedies delivering interim relief in cash as part of the reparation. However, Tharus' needs are private and urgent, deepening with communities' structural and cultural practices. Their priorities are beyond the modern definition of justice to punish the (alleged) perpetrators. The families of Tharu victims expect to get rid of the sufferings, ambiguities, pains, and grievances through healing, reparation, and psychosocial counseling to find out the truth about the whereabouts of their loved ones. Because the (alleged) perpetrators are unified, whereas the victims are divided, the justice movement has been weakened. They want to close the enforced disappearance issues forever. Finally, this study proposes a pyramid model of reconciliation based on three significant elements: healing, closure, and prevention while seeking possibilities of reconciliation as a means of Therapy suggested by Galtung. This pyramid model seeks to heal the sufferings, close the ambiguities and dilemmas, and prevent repeating similar harms in the future. It helps rebuild sociocultural trust, repair a fractured justice system, empower the war-turned communities, and increase economic opportunity and livelihood support. It also seeks to address the personal and public needs, and expectations of families of enforced disappeared persons and develop a self participation in the democratic system of governance. In conclusion, the causes of the highest number of enforced disappearances from Tharu communities and their consequences are context-specific, deeply rooted, and intertwined with the structural and cultural elements, leaving the painful past unresolved as an open wound. This urges a home-grown reconciliation approach that can offer healing, prevention, and closure of the issues and promotes a peaceful co-existence of indigenous minorities in the post-conflict peace process of Nepal.