Madheshi people

The word madhesh is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit madhya desh (मध्य देश), literally the middle country, which refers to "the central region, the country lying between the Himalaya and the Vindhya Range". However, in the context of Nepal, Madhesh refers to the Madhesh Province in the Nepal Terai located south of the Siwalik Hills. ==History ==

Since the late 18th century, the Shah rulers of Nepal promoted conversion of forests in the Terai to agricultural land and encouraged people from northern India to settle in this region through a series of subsidies granted to new settlers. In the 1770s to 1780s, famine-stricken Bihari farmers migrated to the Nepal Terai following a severe flood of the Koshi River and subsequent drought. To promote the economic development of the Nepal Terai, people from the hills were invited to settle, but only a few moved to the Terai. Between the 1860s and 1951, people from India immigrated and settled in the region. Immigration of Indian farmers and labourers was particularly high during the rule of the Rana dynasty between 1846 and 1950. In the mid 19th century, Muslim people from the Awadh region were invited to settle in the far-western Nepal Terai, where they received large forested areas for conversion to agriculture. People of at least 21 Indian ethnic groups immigrated between 1933 and 1966. In 2006, the Nepal Citizenship Act was amended to the effect that people born before 1990 and residing permanently in the country obtained the right to Nepali citizenship. About 2.3 million people received citizenship certificates. The Constitution of Nepal 2015 contains provisions for a Nepali citizenship by naturalisation, which can be acquired by: • foreign women who are married to a Nepali man. • children of a Nepali woman and a foreign man. Demographics of the Nepal Terai With , the Nepal Terai constitutes 23.1% of Nepal's land area. As of 2001, about 48.5% of Nepal's population lived in the Terai, which had a population density of , the highest in the country. As of June 2011, the Nepal Terai's human population totaled 13,318,705 people comprising more than 120 different ethnic groups and castes. The Madheshi people constituted 32% of Nepal's population by the 1991 census. Of these, 16% belonged to various Hindu castes, 9% belonged to other ethnic groups, including 6.5% Tharu people. ==Culture==

The culture of Madeshi people is complex and diverse. The Muslim and indigenous peoples speak their own languages and have distinct cultural traditions that differ from the Hindu caste groups. Latter comprise at least 43 distinct groups. Muslim people in the Terai constitute about 96% of all Muslims in the country. Their cultural traditions are interlinked with those of Muslim people in northern India; popular destinations for their ziyarat pilgrimage are the shrines of Ajmer Sharif Dargah and Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, respectively. They are influenced by the hierarchy of the Hindu caste system, with the difference that it is not based on the principle of pollution and purity, but on occupation. Both Muslim and Hindu Madheshi parents place more emphasis on the education of boys than of girls. Languages Madheshi people speak Maithili, Bhojpuri, Bajjika, Urdu and Awadhi languages. Religions The following religions are practised in the Terai according to the National Population and Housing Census of 2011: Muslim Madheshis practise the traditional nikah marriage, which is recognised by law. Many Muslim Madheshis practise endogamy. Cuisine In 1989, a study on food consumption patterns was conducted with 108 people in a village in Chitwan district. Results of this study showed that the people consumed seven food items on average. Rice constituted almost half of their daily food intake, supplemented by vegetables, potatoes, milk and dairy products. Less frequently they consumed meat, fish, eggs and fruit. About 13.7% of the total food intake of men was alcohol, whereas females consumed far less alcohol. Fruit commonly grown in the Terai include mango, lychee, papaya, guava, banana and jackfruit. ==Politics==

Since the late 1940s, the term 'Madhes' was used by politicians in the Nepal Terai to differentiate between the interests of the people of the Terai and of the hills. At the time, Indian and Madheshi people needed a passport to travel to Kathmandu, a requirement in place until 1958. After the Panchayat regime was abolished following the People's Movement in spring 1990, disadvantaged groups demanded a more equitable share of political resources such as admittance to civil service. Madheshi people are disadvantaged in regards to access to education; literacy rate among Madheshi people is lower than among other groups in Nepal, The Nepal Sadbhawana Party is the oldest Madheshi party, which started lobbying for socio-cultural, linguistic and political rights of Madheshi people in the 1990s. The discussions on rights and demands of Madheshi people increased after the end of the Nepalese Civil War, in particular among Madheshi intellectuals and political elites. The political parties Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha and Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum, Nepal advocated the idea of an autonomous Madhes province stretching all over the Terai and organised violent demonstrations in 2007 to enforce their demands. The United Democratic Madhesi Front formed by Madheshi organizations pressured the government to accept this concept of autonomy under the motto "One Madhes One Pradesh". Several ethnic and religious groups in the Terai opposed and resisted this policy under the leadership of Madheshi parties, foremost Tharu and Muslim people. The Tharu people were initially comfortable with the Madheshi identity in the eastern part of the Terai as of 2007, but in the central part, they claim a distinct Tharu identity. Armed groups like Terai Army, Madhesi National Liberation Front, Terai Cobras and Madhesh Mukti Tigers pursued this aim of autonomy using violent means. Some members of these organisations were responsible for acts of terrorism including bombings and murders. The Alliance for Independent Madhesh also demands independence of the Terai. In 2013, more than 24 Madheshi political parties were registered for the Constituent Assembly of Nepal election. Indian influence After the 2008 Nepalese Constituent Assembly election, Indian politicians kept on trying to secure strategic interests in the Nepal Terai, such as over hydropower energy, development projects, business and trade. It has been alleged that by supporting the 2015 Nepal blockade, India tried to dominate Nepal's internal politics and foment the conflict in the Nepal Terai. ==See also==