Ram Sharan Mahat's piece ('Incremental appeasement', #138) while rightly considering the Maoists as opportunists (like any other political party), misses the validity of what they have been asking for the in last seven years. The root cause of the Maoist revolution is the alienation of the poor and rural communities from the national government. Although the means the Maoist used is debatable, their motive and sincerity is as honest as the revolution of 1990. One must, however, acknowledge that what the Maoist achieved in such a short span of time would not be possible if violence wasn't one of their means.

Rewriting the constitution and altering the political priority is absolutely necessary. It should be the government's utmost priority to ensure that all communities of the country are treated equally on both paper and in practice. What the elite considers kheppas have shown just how powerful they can be if they find a good leader. Madhesis might just be waiting for a Baburam Bhattarai of the tarai. If the people drafting the constitution and making changes to political priorities have any vision, they should start recruiting madhesis in the army and if they have vision they should declare Nepal a secular state.

Anand Jha,
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