The Musahar-Majhi community of Nawalpur celebrates Asare Barna (Puja) in the month of Asar by worshipping the land, water goddess, crocodile, lion, tiger, rhinoceros and nature. The people here believe that those who understand, recognize and respect nature will not suffer any sorrow or trouble. The indigenous Majhi-Musahar community, who worship and protect nature, are forced to be landless. Land is the breadwinner of people. Humans need land to live and make a living. If there is land, then the livelihood of animals can be sustained.

There are hardly any people in this world who do not love their land. Those who have knowledge and financial resources own a lot of land. The situation of the Majhi-Musahar community of Bardaghat Susta East, Nawalparasi, who create fertile land for others but are forced to live a landless life without their own land, is very sad and painful.

Despite being known as indigenous people, the Majhi-Musahar here are suffering due to lack of land. Chitwan National Park has taken most of the land here under its jurisdiction. Before the construction of the Narayanghat bridge, our ancestors used to sit on the ghat and ferry people across the Narayani River in wooden boats. We are the descendants of indigenous people who earn their living by fishing, collecting vegetables, sisno, and tubers.

The certificate issued by the state with a red seal for running a ghat on the river is still safe with the residents here. This evidence provides sufficient basis to say that our ancestors are permanent residents of this place. However, now, after being enclosed in the park and buffer zone, the traditional occupation of the indigenous people here has been taken away.

Most of the Majhi-Musahars have to live in small houses like tin sheets, straw, and huts on small plots of land. They are forced to live as joint families by making fences with cloth and sacks. Some of their houses do not have toilets. They have to raise chickens, ducks, goats, and livestock in the same narrow space. Their livelihood and daily life are very difficult.

The people here are in a situation where they have to move from the land they live on. The buffer forest committee is trying to move them. The buffer has not spoken about the rights, entitlements, and settlement security of the Majhi-Musahars. They forget that ‘they have been living here since ancient times’ and cause suffering. 

In 2056, in the former Kumarbarti VDC Dhakaha, the army and police, under the direction of the then CDO, burned down the hut settlements in the Majhi-Musahar settlement. In the former Agyuli VDC Ward No. 5, Shergunj, forest officials and rhino patrols set the entire settlement on fire and caused suffering. In the former Kawasoti VDC Ward No. 8, Ratwal, in 2042, both men and women were arrested and taken to the Forest Division Office, Kawasoti, while cultivating illegal land. Our community has had to face such incidents from time to time.

Sometimes, from a place where we have lived for generations, we are accused of crossing the forest boundary, sometimes expanding roads, sometimes stealing crops, and causing damage. We must be flood victims because of the river. The government has never shown any interest in the problems of fishermen and fishermen dependent on the river. 

We are telling the parks and buffer zones – ‘We are the indigenous people here, give us the right to the land, protect our habitat, open the fishing profession in the river that we have been enjoying since our tradition.’ But they are not willing to do that. They are trying to displace us from there. To some extent, while fishing in the Narayani and Rapti rivers, the army and administration of the park abuse, abuse, scold, and threaten us as soon as they meet us. Sometimes, they take us to the park office, detain us, and even charge us a fine.