When the Kantipur team reached Mauraniya, Tikapur-4, Kailali, 34-year-old Som Bahadur Chaudhary was cleaning the flag printing machine. He had just printed a flag with the election symbol of the Civil Liberties Party Nepal, Chakia (grinding mill). Then he was preparing to print the flag of the NCP. The Civil Liberties Party belongs to Resham Chaudhary, while the NCP is affiliated with Ranjita Shrestha.

Even though they both have their own flags, Som Bahadur Resham and Ranjita are unhappy with both. ‘We were excited when they formed a party on the issue of the Tharu community, but they ended the party due to domestic disputes,’ he said, ‘Our issue was also overshadowed.’ Som Bahadur’s 70-year-old mother Suwansi, who is sitting next to him, is also sad. ‘Even if a new party comes, keep your own sorrows to yourself,’ she made a brief comment. 

In particular, the background of the Civil Liberation Party is linked to the Tharuhat movement. The discussion of the ‘Tikapur incident’ that took place on 7 Bhadra 2072 during the movement has not subsided even now. On that day, 7 policemen, including SSP Laxman Neupane of the Nepal Police, and 1 minor were killed in Tikapur, Kailali.

A case was registered on 30 Bhadra 2072 in this incident, making Reshamlal Chaudhary the main accused. When the 2074 House of Representatives elections came around, Resham was still absconding, but in this situation, he ran as an independent candidate from Kailali-1 in the Tikapur area and won by a margin of about 21,000 votes. 

Three months after the election, Resham surrendered before the court and was sent to prison for trial. While in detention, he took the oath of office as an MP, but was suspended and could not work as an MP. While he was serving a life sentence as ordered by the court, in December 2078, on his initiative, the Nagarik Unmukti Party was formed under the chairmanship of his wife Ranjita Shrestha, raising the concerns of the Tharu community.

In the 2079 House of Representatives elections, Resham himself ran for Bardiya-2, but his candidacy was rejected due to the life sentence he had been sentenced to. Three people from Nagarik Unmukti won the election for members of the House of Representatives. In Bardiya-2, where Resham's candidacy was rejected, his father Lalbir Chaudhary, an independent candidate, also won. 

Resham, who spent 6 years in prison, was released from prison after receiving a pardon for the remaining sentence, but now his party is also in disarray. Ranjita has merged the Civil Liberation Party with the Nepali Communist Party (NCP). Resham is active in politics by opening another party called 'Civil Liberation Party Nepal'. Resham himself had also filed his candidacy in Kailali-1 for the upcoming elections, but the Election Commission rejected his candidacy on Thursday because he was sentenced to life imprisonment. 

Kailali-1 is an area dominated by the Tharu community. According to the 2078 census, there are 37,066 families living in this area, with a population of 166,859. There are 18,491 voters, of whom 52,857 are men and 55,633 are women. 

Civil Liberation Party member Ranjita Shrestha had won from this area in the last election. Her vote was 30,404, while her closest rival, Ramjanam Chaudhary of the Nepali Congress, got 18,081 votes. Along with Ranjita, 4 members of the Civil Liberties Party were elected to the House of Representatives. But the dispute between party chairperson Ranjita and her protector Resham over whether to join the government, which coalition to join, and who would be a minister became public knowledge. Their dispute also reached the court over who would lead the party. That is why Resham has now started a new party by adding ‘Nepal’ to the name of the old party.

Ranjita also became the Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation on 19 Chaitra 2079. However, a case was filed against her in a special court last Asoj for the crime of bribery for the land grab of a litchi orchard in Batulechaur, Pokhara.

Firulal Chaudhary, former coordinator of Tikapur Civil Society, says that the residents of this place had great hopes and trust in the Civil Liberties Party, but it has been a disappointment. ‘Cigar Unmukti had moved forward with the Tharu issue. The tribal community had great trust in them, but that has been shattered,’ he says, ‘Cigar Unmukti Party merged with the NCP, Resham formed another party. In such a situation, how can voters trust them now?’

In fact, Resham was jailed when the movement for the rights of the Tharu community turned violent. While the capital Kathmandu considered Resham to be the mastermind of the killings, the Tharu community considered him their ‘messiah.’

When the country’s administrative restructuring was reaching a decisive stage during the writing of the constitution, there were two types of movements in the Far West region. One group was demanding a unified Far West, while the other group was demanding Tharuhat. Those in favor of a unified Far West had taken out a procession in Dhangadhi, Attariya, Tikapur and other markets on the evening of 26th July 2072. This same group started an indefinite general strike from 28th July.

While the strike of the Akhand supporters was ongoing, the Tharuhat supporters held a large public meeting in Dhangadhi on 32 Shrawan. There was a clash between the Tharuhat and Akhand supporters, but there was no major damage. After the major political parties agreed on the outline of the federal structure to keep the Far West intact, the Akhand supporters called for a 'Vijay Aam Sabha' in Tikapur on 5 Bhadau. On the eve of that, the Akhand supporters also took out a Sadhva motorcycle rally in Dhangadhi-Tikapur. During the rally, a clash broke out between the two sides in Tariya of Dugauli. After that, Tikapur became restless. 

Anticipating that violence would break out, the local administration had issued a curfew order from 11 am to 5 pm. Amid the curfew order, the Tharuhat supporters called for a demonstration in Tikapur on 7 Bhadau. 

At least one person from each household was called to participate in the movement. On that day, when protesters tried to break the curfew, a clash broke out with security personnel. The then zonal chief of Nepal Police, SSP Laxman Neupane, inspectors Balram Bista and Keshav Bohara, constable Laxman Khadka, and private Lokendra Chand were killed in the attack by the protesters. Armed Police Constable Lalit Saud and private Ram Bihari Chaudhary, and a 2-year-old child Tek Bahadur Saud were also killed. 

Meanwhile, protests, repression, and violence were also taking place in eastern Madhesh. On 21 Shrawan 2073, the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government formed an inquiry commission under the chairmanship of former Supreme Court Justice Girish Chandra Lal. The commission included former Deputy Attorney General Surya Koirala, former AIG of Nepal Police Nawaraj Dhakal, former AIG of the National Investigation Department Sukh Chandra Jha, and senior advocate Sujan Lopchan. The commission included the member secretary of the Peace and Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs. 

The report prepared by the commission after 14 months has not yet been made public. Even though the government formed after the Gen-G movement said that all commission reports would be made public, the Lal report is still kept 'secret'. Prime Minister Sushila Karki herself had also said that all commission reports would be made public. 'If the report is made public, everyone will know the truth. The government should make the report public. Whoever likes the report's findings says it is good, and whoever likes it bad says it is bad,' says Lal. 

The government had registered a case in the Tikapur incident, naming Resham as the main planner. He was absconding. On 22 Falgun 2075, the Kailali District Court found Resham, including 11 others, guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

The district court had sentenced Hari Narayan Chaudhary, Rajkumar Katharia, Sundar Lal Katharia, Brijmohan Dagoura, Rajesh Chaudhary, Bir Bahadur Chaudhary, Pradeep Chaudhary, Sitaram Chaudhary, Shravan Chaudhary, Gangaram Dagoura Chaudhary and Resham to life imprisonment. Since Shravan Chaudhary was a minor, he was sentenced to only 10 years in prison as per the Children's Act. Twelve others were sentenced to 3 years and one to 6 months. Three others were acquitted by the court. 

After the district court sentenced him to 3 years and 6 months, Resham went to the High Court. The high court upheld the district court's decision on 19 Poush 2077. The Supreme Court also upheld the lower court's decision on 2 Jestha 2080. On the occasion of Republic Day in 2080, on the recommendation of the government, Resham was released after receiving a pardon from the President. Kailali-1 was without a public representative for five years from 2074 BS. 

Former coordinator of Tikapur Civil Society, Firulal Chaudhary, says that Resham won the 2074 BS elections after receiving sympathy votes because he was in jail. 'At that time, he received sympathy votes not only from the Tharus but also from the general public.

On the basis of that, he also launched a new party, Civil Liberation. The people of this place voted well for that party. But the Civil Liberation Party did not seem to respect public opinion,' he said, 'Dhakiya (the election symbol of the Civil Liberation Party) gave birth to Chakiya (the election symbol of the Civil Liberation Party Nepal), but the Tharu issue is still there.' 

Firulal's analysis is that in the 2079 elections, the voters of Kailali-1 won Ranjita because of their sympathy for Resham. According to him, the main issue in this area is still identity and inclusion. He says that opportunities should be provided proportionally according to the population in every part of the state, and the backward/backward communities should be uplifted. 

Researcher Krishnaraj Sarvahari says that there is dissatisfaction among the locals because Resham and Ranjita are focused on Kathmandu. 'They do not go to the villages and listen to the issues of the locals, they go to the district and stay in the hotel and return,' he says, 'Ranjita's campaign was only to get Resham released from jail. They did not prioritize understanding the condition of those who were imprisoned along with Resham.'

Sarbahari alleges that the federal capital has also done nothing other than showing sympathy for the Tharu community. 'There are few who understand the condition there and how the Tharu community is living. When you go there and understand, everything becomes clear,' he says, 'but the Kathmandu lens is only looking at it superficially.'

Tikapur is also adept at changing its leaders. Ganga Bahadur Kunwar of the Congress won the election from this area in 2048. He came here suddenly after doing politics in Achham. 'In the mid-term elections of 2051, Himanchal Raj Bhattarai resigned from the post of manager of Nepal Bank Limited and won the election from the UML,' says journalist Yogesh Rawal. 'In 2056, Sushila Swar won the election from the Congress, she resigned from the Kailali Multiple Campus and entered the election fray.'

Rupa Chaudhary won the election from the Maoists in 2064. In 2070, Janakraj Chaudhary won the election from Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (Democratic). He resigned from his teacher's post and became a candidate. In 2074, Resham Chaudhary won the election as an independent candidate. In 2079, Ranjita Shrestha, a new party of civil liberators, won. There is a lot of interest in whether the new party will win the election in the upcoming election or whether the old one will repeat itself. 

This time, Ramlal Dagoura Tharu of the NCP is also supporting Ranjita. He has resigned from the post of mayor of Tikapur Municipality and is contesting the election. Similarly, Janakraj Chaudhary from the Congress, Dwarika Neupane from the UML, Komal Gyawali from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and Pradeep Kumar Chaudhary from the Ujjain Nepal Party are in the fray.