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Look, one day my younger daughter will become a big person,' Litiyadevi Tharuni would say to those around her in a proud voice, puffing out her chest. To become a big person, you have to study. Many letters have to be spelled out. She wanted, 'Education is wealth, my children should read.' She was illiterate. Litiyadevi also felt the pain of being illiterate. The struggle of a mother of seven children was against this in a society where daughters are not taught much. The five daughters could not read as much as they wanted. Mother and daughter's eyes were wet with tears when they left school. Litiyadevi's prayer was that the study journey of her younger daughter Bhagwati Chaudhary (54) should not come to an end.
The mother who prayed for her daughter lost her hands two decades ago. MP Bhagwati, who is carrying the pain of living without a mother, is haunted by the scenes of Litiyadevi every now and then. She had attended her brother's son's wedding a few days ago. Even in the midst of the hustle and bustle, he felt pale. "Somewhere mother is sleeping," he continued. But the mother who has become 'June on the hill' is only in memory. Sometimes she comes in dreams and gives blessings.
Many hands contributed to Bhagwati becoming an MP and a minister. Among them, mother's hand of blessing, she finds most dear. "Whether it's standing in Parliament or taking oath as a minister, I see my mother extending her hands in front of my eyes," says Bhagwati.
Bhagwati Sunsari is an elected Member of Parliament from Constituency No. 3. Earlier, she became a Member of Parliament from proportional quota in 064. She was also the state minister at that time and was defeated by Nepali Congress leader Vijay Gachchadar in the elections of 070 and 074. She defeated Gachchadar in the third contest in 079. An active leader of CPN-UML, she was also the Minister of Women, Children and Senior Citizens in 1980. Everything is there. But my mother, who was proud that my daughter would grow up, could not see my progress. It keeps spreading,' says Bhagwati.
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Bhagwati was born in a middle-class family in Auravani, Sunsari. Five consecutive daughters, then a son and finally Litiyadevi gave birth to Bhagwati. Due to the birth of her daughter, Litiyadevi had to suffer mental torture at home. Grandparents used to advise their son Veeranlal Chaudhary to marry again. A daughter is a daughter. Get another marriage for your son,' Bhagwati's grandparents used to say to Ba. Even the child sometimes tormented the mother with the same thing. However, he did not marry again.
Bhagwati remembers, mother used to wake up with a whisper. She was engaged in housework. His hands were not empty until he went to sleep at 10 pm. However, 3/4 of the working people were kept in the house. However, Bhagwati did not see her mother's hands empty. Mother Litiyadevi used to get lost in the world of imagination while threshing paddy in the threshing floor, "I wish my children had read more."
Like Bhagwati, her sisters could not read. My grandparents did not give me the opportunity to go beyond 7th and 8th grade. The father also wanted his daughters to study. But he could not speak against the decision of his grandparents. Big sister was always first in school. I wanted to read a lot. But she cried a lot when she missed her studies,” says Bhagwati. When going to school, boys were friends. Bhagwati still feels uneasy when she remembers that she left her sisters' studies at home to start walking with boys. Litiyadevi was very sad after stumbling on her dream of teaching her daughter. She tried to wipe away the pain that turned into tears.
Bhagwati's study journey did not hit a wall. However, ever since I passed the 'inter', my grandmother was under pressure, 'Now that I have finished my education, I must get married.' The other sisters were married at a young age. The mother disagreed. But where did his decision go? Bhagwati also got the same pressure after passing 'Inter'. She took a stand. Addi tightens. When she was 22 years old, her grandmother used to say, 'Everyone your age is already married. When will you do it?' Bhagwati didn't marry, at that time she wanted to fulfill her dream.
She graduated from Mahendra Morang Campus. She completed her Masters in Sociology from Shankardeva Campus, Kathmandu.
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Bhagwati's mother was sensitive. She considered someone else's pain as her own pain. She was happy to help in suffering. Mother used to give piglets to raise some of them. If someone was hungry, he would feed them. No one was loud,' she remembers.
When she was little, Bhagwati used to see friends of her own age sitting on the bed. They were deprived of education. There was a settlement of Mushars on the way to school. Sisters my age were carrying babies. I used to ask my mother why they don't go to school. They used to say that their fathers were not able to teach them, assuming that their mother was not their mother,'' she remembers. Even when Bhagwati embarked on a social and political journey, this vision kept coming. She used to think, 'May the days come to an end when no parent can educate their children.'
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Even in her school life, Bhagwati was a articulate speaker. Those who listened to her speech in the program praised her and said, "You will become a leader one day." The mother used to listen to her daughter's speech. Mother used to repeat the same thing, 'My daughter will become a big person one day.' She used to gather people from all over the village and tell the story. Bhagwati was not only a skilled speaker but also a skilled story teller. When people from all over the village gathered, she wished, 'If only mother had come.' Mother was not free from household chores.
From the year 046, Bhagwati began to be filled with political consciousness. At that time we also used to hold secret meetings in Biratnagar. We had formed a coordination council in the college itself. I was the vice president,' she remembers. At that time, the presence of women in the organization was low. She became active by setting up a Tharu Coordination Council in the campus. I used to do some important work like helping the helpless to read, providing books from the council. When he saw his sister being active in the campus, the elder brother would say worriedly, 'Did you come to study or to do politics?'
Then, without the elder brother knowing, she started going to the Sutuk program. Around the year 048, she went to listen to Madan Bhandari's speech. That speech brought upheaval in Bhagwati.
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Bhagwati had reached the international Tharu cultural event. Present Congress leader Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary came to her with a marriage proposal. "Dineshji is a good person."
Bhagwati met Dinesh Chaudhary of Dang in 047. At that time, he was very fond of Dinesh. Good at speaking. He had a grasp on cultural knowledge. He made a powerful speech at the Tharu conference in 047. Once in a conversation, Bhagwati said, 'Your dialect is Bhojpuri. Tharu says. How come your language is Tharu?' Dinesh immediately replied, 'Then your language is Maithili too.' Bhagwati, who was hesitant, suggested to talk at home. From Saptari they went to Sunsari and spoke to Baama. Baama agreed. Bhagwati also agreed. On 11th February 050, they were interrogated. Dinesh could not be contacted for several days after the
was posted. Bhagwati started to feel fear, "Would you marry or not?" She asked a brother in Kathmandu to understand. Dinesh was planning to get married in Baisakh. They tied the knot in Baisakh.
Be it in his political life or social life after marriage, Dinesh was supported by Dilojan. After marriage, Bhagwati went to Kathmandu and started working in social welfare. She came to Sunsari after leaving social welfare work in 054. She then started Forward Microfinance Laguvitta Financial Sanstha Limited.
Even in starting microfinance, Bhagwati used to get her mother's hand somewhere. At that time, she felt the pain that her mother had to face, the struggle that women had to face due to not being independent. She started this organization to make women independent. After surveying the villages, we started thinking about what can be done to advance women. I was determined that they should be made aware and empowered,' says Bhagwati about the idea of making them self-reliant.
Now there is more than 22 billion investment in microfinance. A year after starting
organization, Dinesh also came to Sunsari. Both of them started running the organization together. But that same Dinesh left Bhagwati forever on 12 June 064. Dinesh's son was 10 years old when he died. Dinesh's father had kidney disease. Bala was brought to Kathmandu during treatment. While returning from Kathmandu and taking them to Dang, the ambulance in which they were traveling was hit by a truck. Dinesh and Ba died before reaching the hospital.
The pain of losing a fellow traveler convulsed him for many years. For a long time, Bhagwati remained paranoid. Dinesh's love and support was very dear to Bhagwati. After losing a loved one, many days became unpleasant for him. "For a long time, I couldn't go anywhere, I couldn't go to events," remembers Bhagwati. Ba also changed the chola in 072.
Before that, Bhagwati had lost her mother Litiyadevi, who loved her deeply. When Bhagwati was studying at school, her mother was suffering from burning feet. Later, during the 'checkup', it was found that Litiyadevi was suffering from diabetes. Even when she was in pain, she used to say, 'No one should serve me. This is what I pray to God.' That day the mother had changed the chola. That day, mother went to Innerwa for a check-up. Returned home at one o'clock. Looking for eggs at home to eat. Bhagwati is emotional when she remembers the death of her mother, who never got up after that, when she was bringing eggs from the neighbor after not finding them.
Sometimes mother Duhbi came and lived with her daughter-in-law. Mother wanted to celebrate Tihar with Bhagwati. But Bhagwati had to go to Dang with Dinesh. Even now Bhagwati regrets remembering it. In a tone of self-pity, she says, "Even if I had fulfilled that wish of my mother's." When she was going to college, her mother used to go as far as a kilometer to take her to Bhagwati. After knowing that her daughter would come home, she waited on the road. Even now, Bhagwati feels like her mother is waiting for her. Remembering the
, Bhagwati finds that her mother's nature has come to her. Sometimes his son taunts him, "I don't do politics." At that time, Bhagwati remembers her mother, "You are not a mother." But I have his nature.'
Bhagwati feels happy in her heart.
