On Monday evening, there was a long line of over 50 Tharu men in Trinagar, Kailali, near the Nepal-India border. The travelers, mostly between the ages of 20-40 years, were all from Tikapur in Kailali and on their way to Ratnagiri, India. One of them, a 56-year-old Radheshyam Chaudhary, told a Kantipur reporter that ever since eight policemen—including a senior police official and a toddler—were killed in Tikapur, he feared for his safety. And as he could not find work due to the curfew, he was on his way to India. Another man, Purna Bahadur Chaudhary, had also rushed to the border as soon as the authorities lifted the curfew in Tikapur for two hours in the morning.

The atmosphere in the Far-Western town has remained tense since the police killings last week. Yet, even after local authorities imposed a curfew immediately, it did not stop the protestors from setting the properties owned by Tharus along the road from Tikapur Hospital to Manuwa—including a TV showroom and a bicycle repair shop—on fire. Thakur Singh Tharu, a reporter with the Post, wrote in a blog that while on his way to report the incident, he was stopped on the road by three men, one of whom asked him if he was a Tharu. The man then threatened to sprinkle petrol and set him on fire. It was only after another protester intervened that the reporter was later allowed to go unhurt.

As of now, the local authorities have gradually begun to relax the curfew. Yet, they have done little to address the deteriorating relations among the Tharus and Pahades after the incident. Furthermore, the mobilisation of the Army in Kailali has stoked old fears among the Tharus who suffered greatly at the hands of the security forces during the conflict. Neighbouring Bardiya recorded the largest number of state enforced disappearance during the decade-long war, most of whom were Tharus. Currently, over 400 Nepal Army personnel remain deployed in and around Tikapur.

As prolonging the curfew will only delay efforts to reconcile the two communities, the major party leaders should work to find a lasting solution by consulting with local leaders. The local authorities should first take steps to reduce the fear in the general populace. Political parties at the centre, while condeming the killings, should acknowledge the political nature of the problem. They should assure the Tharu community that they will not be targeted in the name of security as in the conflict years and quell the fears of the Pahades too. This could assure the Tharus leaders to sit for much-needed talks. And if need be, the top leaders should also consider extending the time for submitting the amendments to the consitution to address the demands of the Tharus. Only then, perhaps, could Tharu men be persuaded to stay back.