From kafila.org
Stop Interfering in Nepal : Statement in Protest Against India’s Interference
OCTOBER 5, 2015
After seven tumultuous years following the overthrow of the more than two century old monarchy which led to elections to form a Constituent Assembly, and many governments failing to fulfill the task of finalizing a Constitution, at last on 20th September the President of Nepal has promulgated the new Constitution amidst support from overwhelming majority of the CA and people. The Constitution creates seven states in a secular, federal system.
At the same time it is opposed on the one hand by the religious fundamentalists who want to make Nepal a Hindu state and on the other hand by the leaders of Madhes and Tharu sections in the Terai region bordering India, who demand recognition of more rights and representation in the Constitution.
Nepal is a small country of 29 million people sandwiched between its two bigger neighbours, China and India. While China has welcomed the Constitution, India has expressed unhappiness that it does not fulfill the aspirations of the Terai people. This has further embittered the relation between the two which is already not satisfactory due to the big-brotherly attitude of the consecutive Indian governments which the Nepalese people see as an expansionist policy. It is the right of the sovereign people of Nepal to elect their representatives, to decide what ruling system they should have, to frame the Constitution and to make any changes in it. The Indian government has violated this principle of peaceful co-existence between neighbouring countries.
We, the undersigned extend full support to the people of Nepal on the occasion of the promulgation of their Constitution. We oppose the interference of the Indian government in the internal affairs of Nepal. It is the right of Nepalese people including the people of Terai region to make any changes in the Constitution promulgated on 20th September. We extend warm greetings to the people of Nepal in this important phase in their struggle.
Asad Zaidi/ Poet, editor
Anand Patwardhan/ Film maker, Human Rights activist
Akhilendra Pratap/ Gen. Secy. All India People’s Front
Amarjeet Kaur/ National Secy., Communist Party of India
Anil Sadgopal/ Educationist
Amit Bhaduri/ Academician
Anand Swaroop Verma/ Journalist, Editor ‘Samkaleen Teesari Duniya’
Anoop Saraya, Physician
Aurobindo Ghosh/ Advocate, Human Rights activist
Amalendu Upadhyay/ Journalist, Hastakshep.co
K. Arun/ Editor ‘Yuva Samvad’
Anil Chaudhary/ Social Activist
Anwar Jamal/ Filmmaker
Ashok Kumar Pandey/ Poet
Arun Tripathy/ Journalist
Abhishek Srivastava/ Journalist, ‘Junputh.com’
Atal Tewari/ Journalist
Amit Shukla/ Advocate
Avinash Pandey/ Journalist
Bhupen Singh/ Journalist
Bhasha Singh/ Journalist
Bhaskar Upreti/ Journalist
P. Jha/ Journalist
Debbrat Biswas/ Gen. Secy.,All India Forward Block
Dinkar Kapoor/ All India People’s Front
Dulali Nag/ Lecturer
Dilip Khan/ Journalist
Digambar/ Writer, Social Activist
Dharmanad Lakhera/ Writer, PWA
Feroz Mithiborwala/ Human Rights activist
Faisal Anurag/ Social Activist
Gautam Navlakha, Author, Journalist
Girish Mishra/ Economist
Govind Pant Raju/ Journalist
Himanshu Kumar/ Social Activist
Harsh Kapoor/ Journalist South Asian Citizens Wire
Hiranmay Dhar/ Social Scientist
Himanshu Ranjan/ Journalist
Ish Mishra/ Jan Hastakshep
Jaya Mehta/ Joshi-Adhikari Instt. Of Social Studies
Javed Naqvi/ Journalist
Javed Anis/ Journalist
N. Ramchandran/ Gen. Secy. CPI (M.L.-Red Star)
Kumar Sundaram/ Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP), INDIA
Kuldip Kumar/ Journalist
Kishan Kaljayee/ Poet
Kamal Nayan Kabra/ Economist
Krishna Pratap Singh/ Journalist
Kumar Rajesh/ Journalist
Kaushal Kishor/ Poet, Cultural Activist
Kamta Prasad/ Translator
Kumar Narendra Singh/ Journalist
Mangalesh Dabral/ Poet, Journalist
Manoranjan Mohanty/ Former Prof. Delhi University
Musarraf Ali/ Journalist
Mallika Shakya/ South Asian University
Moinuddin Ahmad
Meher Engineer/ Political Commentator
Madan Mohan/ Novelist
Mohini Bhoj/ Poetess
Mahendra Pratap/ Lecturer
Manoj Kumar Singh/ Journalist
Manoj Pandey/ Poet
Nityanand Gayen/ Poet
Nirmalangshu Mukherji/ Academician
Neelabh/ Poet, Journalist
Prashant Tandon/ Journalist
Peeyush Pant/ Journalist
Panini Anand/ Journalist, Cultural activist
Palash Biswas/ Journalist
Pranav Priydarshi/ Journalist
Pankaj Singh/ Poet, Journalist
Pankaj Srivastava/ Journalist
Pramod Mallik/ Journalist
Pankaj Bisht/ Novelist, Editor ‘Samyaantar’
Qurban Ali/ Journalist
Raghu Thakur/ President, Loktantrik Samajvadi Party
Rahul Pandita/ Journalist. Yale World Fellow
Reyaz-Ul-Haq/ Journalist, ‘Haashiya’
Rajendra Sail/ Social Activist
Ramu Siddharth/ Journalist
Ram Shiromani/ Journalist
Ravi Hemadri
Ravinder Goel/ Lecturer, Activist
Rabin Chakraborty/ Weekly Frontier
Ramji Rai/ Editor ‘Samkaleen Janmat’
Ranjit Verma/ Poet
Ramendra Tripathi/ Former Civil Service
Sudhakar Reddy/ Gen. Secy., Communist Party of India
Swapan Mukherji/ Polit Bureau Member, CPI-M.L (Liberation)
Shivmangal Siddhantkar/ Gen. Secy., CPI-M.L.(New Proletarian)
Shiv Joshi/ Social Activist
Seema Azad/ Political activist, Dastak magazine
Sandeep Rauji/ Journalist
Shekhar Pathak/ Historian, PAHAD
Shahnaaz Imrani
R. Darapuri/ Dalit thinker
Shamshul Islam/ Cultural Activist
Sudhendu Patel/ Social Activist
Shastri Ramchandran/ Author, Journalist
Suvrat Raju/ Scientist
Tanveer Alam/ Academician
Ujjawal Bhattacharya/ Poet, Journalist
Vishnu Khare/ Poet, Critic
Vijay Singh/ Editor ‘Revolutionary Democracy’
Virendra Yadav/ writer
Vineet Tewari/ Gen. Secy., Madhya Pradesh Progressive Writers Association
Vishnu Nagar/ Poet, Journalist
Vidya Bhushan Rawat/ Social Activist
Willy D’costa/ Social Activist