Calling on both the sides to stop further aggression in Tarai, disgruntled Tharu leaders have urged the government and major parties to seek through talks a “political solution” to the problem.

In a meeting with Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on Tuesday, Tharu lawmakers asked the government to take initiatives to bring all the disgruntled forces to the negotiating table.

The call for talks comes a day after a clash in Kailali that resulted in the death of seven security personnel and a child. Tharu leaders said the incident was unfortunate and against their principle, voicing their commitment to “peaceful and non-violent” protests to secure their rights.

“The major parties should be serious to our demands and find a political solution through negotiations. We have been awaiting an invite for talks for two weeks but the government does not heed our call. Both the sides should learn from yesterday’s accident,” said Dhaniram Chaudhary, coordinator of the Tharuhat Struggle Committee.

The leaders, however, said the protests for a Tharuhat/Tharuwan province would not stop. A meeting of Tharu leaders on Tuesday decided to carry out their scheduled programmes of “peaceful protest” but appealed to protesters for restraint. Tharu activists have demanded that Tarai districts west of Chitwan should be declared a Tharuhat/Tharuwan province.

During the meeting with the PM, Tharu leaders also drew the government’s attention to what they called “deliberate attempts of violence on common people including women”. “We told him to issue a formal invitation for dialogue to all the disgruntled communities including Tharus, Janajatis and Madhesis. It would be a great mistake to allow this deadlock to linger,” Ram Janam Chaudhary, Tharu lawmaker from Kailali, told the Post.

Janak Raj Chaudhary, another Tharu lawmaker from Kailali, asked the government to ensure peace and order. A group of protesters burnt down his house and those of other prominent Tharu leaders in Tikapur on Tuesday.

He told PM Koirala that he had informed the local administration before the incident occurred. “The local administration is doing nothing even when protesters from other communities are holding rallies and vandalising public property during curfew,” said Janak Raj.

Tharu leaders claimed that the Tikapur incident was a “conspiracy” to deny them rights. “What happened is unfortunate but it could have been avoided had the police refrained from using force,” said Raj Kumar Lekhi, former chairman of the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities. Tharu leaders also decided to form a committee to probe the incident.

The Tharu leaders say the Tikapur incident was unfortunate and against their principle, voicing their commitment to ‘peaceful and non-violent’ protests.