Much has been written about the alienation felt by large sections of the Madhesi population and other groups in the aftermath of the constitution’s promulgation. Sufficient attention has not been paid to the Tharu community, which too had risen up in protest against the federal map in the constitution. Large-scale protests were held by Tharu groups last year. During one such protest in August 2015 in Tikapur, Kailali, eight security personnel, including a senior police officer, were killed.

The incident caused much shock and anger in Kathmandu. The protestors were rightly criticised for engaging in extreme violence. However, it was unfortunate that the political class and much of the establishment continued to look at the Tharu protests only through the lens of the Tikapur incident. After a few weeks of outrage, the demands of the Tharu groups were almost forgotten.

In one of the few efforts to follow up on what happened in the western Tarai after the Tharu protests, Amnesty International released a report this week detailing police actions after the Tikapur incident. The report describes how the administration used arbitrary and excessive force against many members of the Tharu population. Of the 19 detainees that the organisation interviewed for the report, all, except a senior Tharu politician, said they were tortured in custody. They also said they were forced to sign “confessions”.

Reports from other sources also indicate that the actions of the state in western Tarai could have been limited. There are eyewitness accounts of how people burnt down houses and the police stood by watching. Such incidents have led many Tharus in the region to feel that the state authorities have ignored their community.

Many local leaders also allege that the people detained by the police for the Tikapur incident were not at the site of the killings when they occurred. Rather, the police seem to have arrested a group of people who are acknowledged leaders of the community. For many Tharus, it has seemed as though the state has collectively punished the entire community for the killings of security personnel in Tikapur.

It has been almost a year since that incident, yet the wound continues to fester. It is the responsibility of the state to ensure that all of its citizens, both police and private citizens, are equally protected by the law and that all of them feel equally secure within the country’s borders. Clearly, a number of steps will have to be taken to reach out to the estranged community and assuage their anger and alienation. Steps will also have to be taken to investigate and take action against those involved in torture and ill-treatment; it is equally important that ground-level investigation also brings to light what caused the rampage against the police and what could be done about such incidents in the future. On the political front, the government, major political parties and the civil society will have to reach out to Tharu leaders, provide compensation and address grievances. It’s in everyone’s long-term interest to take serious lessons from Tikapur.