The residents of Susta, who are living amidst lack of citizenship and red documents, insecurity, and Indian encroachment, came to Kathmandu on 15th Ashad to draw the attention of the government.
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83-year-old Nabijah Khatun's last wish is one - 'I want to get Nepali citizenship before I die.' Like her, dozens of Susta residents protested in Kathmandu for four days with this hope. After receiving a written commitment from the government, they are returning home. But there is still uncertainty as to whether the assurances that have been repeated for years will be implemented this time.
Susta residents, who are living amidst lack of citizenship and land titles, insecurity and Indian encroachment, came to Kathmandu on 15 Ashad to draw the attention of the government.
In the protest led by the 'Save Susta Campaign', their demands were - concrete diplomatic initiatives should be taken to stop Indian encroachment, border security should be strengthened, Nepali citizenship should be immediately granted to the squatters and the land titles of the land they have been occupying should be distributed.
Stating that they have received a written letter from the Home Ministry addressing the demand, Jayaprakash Chaudhary, the secretary of the 'Susta Bachao Abhiyan', said that they will return to Susta on Saturday.
An 83-year-old woman from Susta had also joined the Susta Bachao Abhiyan team in the hope of obtaining citizenship. She cannot even walk properly due to a leg problem. 'I am an old woman and cannot walk due to a knee problem. But I and my children do not have citizenship. I had come with everyone in the hope of getting a birth certificate,' she said.
Khatun said that she lost her husband when she raised her voice for Susta protection years ago. 'My husband was shot in the forehead by the Indian police in Susta,' she said. 'We feel very sad.'
She said that she raised her children by farming. She said that even now, when the police come to her village, it is difficult for her to remember her past. She said that she did not even get allowances because she did not have citizenship. 'If I had citizenship, I would have received allowances.' She said that I would have received relief for household expenses and medicine,' she said.
Those who came to the Save Susta campaign are staying in Gaushala Dharamshala. 'Susta is Nepal's land', 'What a tragedy, refugees in their own home', 'Give justice, not mercy', 'Give citizenship to Susta residents', they were protesting in Maitighar Mandala till Friday.
With the pamphlet 'Rights in our homeland, citizenship is our basis' in hand, Bechni Yadav was at Maitighar in the hot sun of Tantalapur on Friday. The 45-year-old says she came to Kathmandu not only for her family but also to ensure the rights of all the residents of Susta. She said, ‘We have nothing. We don’t even have a certificate.’
She complained that every government only gives assurances but shows no interest in the residents of Susta. ‘We have come 12 times to make our demands. But no matter what government comes, they say they will do it,’ she said, ‘they have done nothing except show hope. That is why this time we have come with written documents anyway.’
She says that the police from India come to ask for citizenship and proof. ‘If the Nepal government doesn’t give it, how can we give it?’ she said, ‘We are suffering from everything.’
Awadesh Kushwaha is the president of the Save Susta campaign. The 28-year-old, who lives in Susta-5, says that they have been neglected in every way. ‘There is no peace and security in Susta. They say that you came from India and don’t have citizenship or a birth certificate. You haven’t been able to get any kind of facilities since you don’t have citizenship,’ he said, ‘It is difficult to find anyone who has studied above 8th in the village.’
A few days ago, he said, he had also submitted the soil of Susta to Home Minister Sudhan Gurung.
Campaign coordinator Babu Khan, 27, says that he has been tortured since childhood for being a resident of Susta and is still suffering. ‘When we were young, we went to help two people who came from ‘Base Nepal’ to help with pens and books. The Indian police caught us and beat everyone up. Even now, I feel bad when I remember that,’ he said, ‘I felt bad since I was young.’ It still hurts my heart why we are not able to become citizens of our own country.’
He said that he was not able to study as he wanted because he did not have citizenship. ‘I had a birth certificate. I did not have citizenship. I had a dream of doing engineering. I was not able to study because I did not have citizenship,’ he said.
He says that his grandfather passed away with the hope of getting citizenship. ‘My grandfather passed away before his dream of getting citizenship was fulfilled.’ My father still has a bullet scar on his leg from fighting for Sushta. How long will we keep fighting for rights like this?’ he said.
His daughter is three years old. He said that he is worried about her future. 'I have come to raise my voice so that the day when we live in fear like our childhood does not come,' he said, 'this government now wants to do something for the people of Susta.'
He also said that they felt even more afraid after the Prime Minister's statement. 'We were always afraid of what would happen in Susta.' But after what the Prime Minister said, we felt more afraid than before,' he said, 'Whatever he said in Kathmandu happens. The trouble is for us living there.'
Prime Minister Balendra Shah had stated in the House of Representatives that Nepal had also encroached on Indian territory in many places.
60-year-old Madan Yadav and 65-year-old Abdullah Musalman also came to Kathmandu to join the campaign.
They say that they came to Kathmandu to protest so that their children would not have to suffer. 'I have the birth certificates of my sons. They are currently studying in school. If they do not get citizenship when they grow up, they will not be able to get a job or study much. In their future, they will have to suffer the same pain as we did without getting citizenship,’ said Madan.
Abdullah says that the purpose of joining the movement is to protect the land. ‘We have to save our place at any cost. We want to get the land title deeds and citizenship for our family,’ he said, ‘We have come so that the government can see our pain.’
He says that he sold goats and raised donations to come to Kathmandu. ‘We have nothing except goats, buffaloes, and farming. I had come by selling goats because I had no money. We all raised donations,’ he said, ‘We have come like this, the government should fulfill our demands until we return home.’
Only five days after the movement, the government has sent a letter to the Nawalparasi West administration. The letter mentions the deployment of additional security personnel in Susta and the distribution of citizenship after completing the process.
Campaign Secretary Jayaprakash Chaudhary says that he is hopeful after receiving the written document from the Home Ministry. 'We hope that we will get justice now,' he said, 'That is why we will return to Susta this evening and after reaching there, we will all go to the CDO office.' He said that he hopes that this government will do something for the people of Susta. 'Only if issues like security, citizenship, and red papers are addressed, the demands of the people of Susta will be fulfilled,' he said.
