When I read the news titled 'Kohi kin anagarik?' published in Kantipur on Thursday, my heart became heavy and my eyes filled with tears. The story of Motiram Sada of Siraha, Dasiadevi Sada of Sarlahi, Jhulan Majhi and Urmiladevi of Parsa is not limited to the news pages, it is the pain written by the blood and tears of thousands of Nepalis who have become identityless even though they were born in the soil of our country.

This news raised a serious question in my mind – Whose country is this? Why should those who are born, sweat and live in this soil struggle so much to get recognition? This question is not only mine, it is also the cry raised in the heart of every sensitive Nepali. District administration offices say 'Go to the Ministry of Home Affairs'. But where is the Ministry of Home Affairs? How to reach? For illiterate, poor and marginalized communities, this process is very complicated. Ranjita Sada and Jhulan Majhi tried the administration several times, but did not get citizenship. The reason is the same – there is no citizenship with ancestry. What kind of management is this, which forces its own citizens to be humiliated again and again for their existence? The people's representatives go to the election villages and say, 'We will build citizenship', but those promises prove to be hollow. In such a situation, the question arises - is the leader really the representative of the people? Or just a rank-and-file businessman infatuated with the lust for power?

Statelessness is not a simple administrative problem, it is also a reflection of deep socio-economic inequality. Dalits, Mushars, Majhis and landless communities are at the bottom of the social ladder. Their poverty, illiteracy and exclusion perpetuates this painful cycle. 
Dashiyadevi Sada and Jhulan Majhi lost ownership of land due to lack of citizenship. Their children had to drop out of school, their dreams were left unfulfilled without a passport when they wanted to work abroad. Is this country only for the rich and the wealthy? Non-citizenship is non-identity, and non-identity is a violation of human rights. 

The problem of statelessness is not only administrative or legal, it is also a crisis of human rights and social justice. The tears of Motiram, Dasiyadevi, Jhulan, Urmiladevi question our silence. Until every Nepalese gets the right to their own identity, our democracy will remain incomplete. 

– Santosh Simkhada , Tokyo, Japan

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Deepak Sapkota of Kantipur has really exposed a serious social problem. The real and poignant picture of statelessness is reflected in his reporting. The suffering of millions of Nepalis, especially the landless, Musahar and Dalit communities of Terai-Madhesh, who have been forced to live like stateless people for generations, has been strongly exposed in this reporting. 

The struggle of these citizens who have become 'invisible in the eyes of the state' for their identity and their miserable condition has shocked many. Even though the Citizenship Bill has been passed, the problem of those without citizenship and without birth registration for generations and being sent back by government agencies saying 'go to the Ministry of Home Affairs' has raised questions about the sensitivity of the state.  Thank you very much to Kantipur for bringing the