DANG, Nov 30: “The Maoists have always neglected the birthplace of their rebellion. The Maoists have always deceived Thabang. They are doing it once again,” said Thabang locals, who seemed to be in deep pain when they uttered these words.
In fact, this belief is engraved in their heart, they say. Now, the changes in the boundaries of Province 5 overnight have simply hurt the sentiments of Thabang, further infuriating the already outraged locals. They say that the decision cannot be accepted.
“This place from where the decade-long 'People's War' had actually begun is utterly neglected. We have been deceived time and again,” said Santosh Budha, a senior leader of Thabang. “During war, they lured people here to take up arms. They sold dreams to the innocent ones.”
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The new decision of 'throwing Thabang in a state of confusion' by redrawing the boundary of the province has badly hurt the sentiments of the locals and they cannot let go of such an intense deception, Buda said. “And this has happened when the commander of the war himself is the prime minister,” he said.
According to Budha, Thabang locals, who were closely watching the rise and later 'the gradual fall' of the Maoists leaders had figured out their 'fake moral standards' much earlier. However, they had not imagined that the leadership could do injustice to them up to this level.
“Those who helped them rise to power have been mercilessly crushed under the leaders' feet,” Budha noted. “This grave mistake is going to end the political career of Prachanda and the party,” he warned.
During the first Constituent Assembly election, the Maoists had flouted the idea of declaring Thabang the province's capital. This slogan quite excited the locals. They were pretty sure that Rukum, Rolpa, Salyan and Pyuthan would come under one province and Thabang would be the capital. Maoists won a landslide victory in the election, thanks to the promise. However, soon after the election, Thabang locals realized that they were simply cheated by the leaders.
“Gradually, the mass here turned against the Maoists. There was no point in supporting them,” said Amar Jhakri, another leader from Thabang.
He added that over 700 youths of Rolpa died during the 10 years of People's War. Many injured are still living the life of disabled. “But the leaders did not acknowledge their sacrifice,” Jhakri said.
Though many other things had disappointed them, Rolpalis were fine with the federal demarcation earlier. Rolpa falling in Province 5 and along with Dang was a matter of welcome for the locals. However, Rolpa now being proposed to be merged with Surkhet has extremely disturbed them, Jhakri stated. “No wonder, this is a calling for another violent protest,” he said.
