Nepalese students protest against blockade of Indian border | World news | The Guardian
Thousands of students waved banners and chanted slogans in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, yesterday to protest against a border blockade that has caused severe fuel shortages and pushed up the price of food.
Students lined the city’s ring road to demand a lifting of the blockade by members of the Madhesi community, who have been protesting about Nepal’s new constitution.
The Madhesis say the new constitution unfairly divides the Himalayan country into seven states, whose borders cut through their ancestral homeland. They would like the states to be larger and to be given more autonomy.
For weeks the Madhesis have been blocking the main southern border crossing with India, preventing fuel and other essentials from entering the country. At least 50 people have been killed in the protests since August. Meanwhile talks to resolve the dispute have shown little progress.
India, which has close cultural ties with the Madhesis, has restricted supplies to Nepal, which relies on its giant neighbour for most of its fuel. Nepal accuses India of imposing an “undeclared blockade”, which India denies.
Shortages mean there is no fuel for private cars and the Nepalese authorities have rationed petrol for taxis and buses. Schools have been forced to extend holidays and cut down on classes because of the fuel shortage.
“We are here to say education is our right,” said one protesting student, 13-year-old Pramod Basnet.
Thousands of students waved banners and chanted slogans in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, yesterday to protest against a border blockade that has caused severe fuel shortages and pushed up the price of food.
Students lined the city’s ring road to demand a lifting of the blockade by members of the Madhesi community, who have been protesting about Nepal’s new constitution.
The Madhesis say the new constitution unfairly divides the Himalayan country into seven states, whose borders cut through their ancestral homeland. They would like the states to be larger and to be given more autonomy.
For weeks the Madhesis have been blocking the main southern border crossing with India, preventing fuel and other essentials from entering the country. At least 50 people have been killed in the protests since August. Meanwhile talks to resolve the dispute have shown little progress.
India, which has close cultural ties with the Madhesis, has restricted supplies to Nepal, which relies on its giant neighbour for most of its fuel. Nepal accuses India of imposing an “undeclared blockade”, which India denies.
Shortages mean there is no fuel for private cars and the Nepalese authorities have rationed petrol for taxis and buses. Schools have been forced to extend holidays and cut down on classes because of the fuel shortage.
“We are here to say education is our right,” said one protesting student, 13-year-old Pramod Basnet.
.Indian strategic planners are extremely capable and because of them we still have got an independent foreign policy unlike some of our dear neighbors
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