Nepal’s Terai Region — With Half the Country’s Population — Wants “Sovereign Status”

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NEPAL, January 28, 2009: An armed group, which has stepped up pressure on the government to declare Nepal’s Terai plains a sovereign state, on Tuesday demanded that the country be rechristened as “Union of Himalayan States.” Smyukta Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (SJTMM), which is currently engaged in a dialogue with the Maoist-led government, demanded that Nepal be converted into ‘Union of Himalayan States’ as the Madhesis living in the plains feel the word Nepal does not represent them. Terai should be declared a sovereign state, adopting a federal system like that of Switzerland, and the country’s name be changed to Union of Himalayan States, said Kautalya Sharma, coordinator of SJTMM. Nepal’s Terai lowlands are home to about half of the country’s 27 million people, and the residents of the region, known as Mahadhesis, have long complained of discrimination by the Himalayan nation’s hill communities.