Everywhere a Bandh

Children enforce a bandh by deflating a bicyclist's tires.

"Aaja, bandh chha" (today, there is a bandh) is a fairly common phrase these days. "Bandh" is a Nepali word that literally means closed. And this is a fairly literal description of what happens when one group or another calls a bandh. With over 50 ethnic groups, 103 languages and a still prevalent caste system, Nepal as a country has a long history of giving opportunity to a few, and excluding many. At some point, these groups realized that their voices would not be heard by conventional methods of democratic participation. They turned to bandhs as a way of getting what they wanted. For the most part, the bandh has proven to be a successful method of raising awareness about an issue, receiving compensation for an injustice or getting the government to agree to a list of demands. Unfortunately, many groups now view bandhs as the only viable option to achieving their goals.

This is how a bandh typically works. A political party, ethnic group, union or some other type of group with a grievance calls a bandh. Sometimes, these are announced days in advance and sometimes they happen without warning. During a bandh, shop keepers are not supposed to open their businesses and transportation is limited to walking. The organizing group usually employs young men and sometimes even boys to enforce the bandh. They roam the streets, harassing shop keepers who attempt to defy the shutdown and position themselves at major intersections to block any vehicles who venture onto the roads. In recent months, the enforcement of bandhs has become quite strict, and violence is often used as a way of punishing those who attempt to resist these closures. A few weeks ago, a bus, carrying school children, was attacked. Thugs threw rocks, smashing the windshield, while the frightened children attempted to escape. Last week, a surgeon who was on his way to a local hospital was stopped. He tried to reason with the bandh enforcers, attempting to persuade them to let him through so he could perform a surgery that was waiting for him. Instead, they burned his motorcycle. Some bandhs shut down a city for a day, others basically shut down the country for weeks on end. Although bandh perpetrators burn vehicles and basically terrorize innocent civilians, it's rare that anyone is arrested, and in most cases, the organizers gain something from the bandh.

Bandhs have become so commonplace in Nepal that they are now almost a part of the culture. In the current calendar year, there have been 511 bandhs, according to the website www.nepalbandh.com. The demands of these strikes range from requesting the resignation of the President to collecting money for a football trophy. Like so many other inconveniences, Nepali people tend to take these protests in stride, as an annoying but necessary part of life. Having said that, it's beginning to feel like even the most gracious and accommodating of Nepali people have had about all the bandhs they can take. For Heidi and me, these shutdowns are sometimes a welcome break from the noise and craziness of Kathmandu. During a strike, we can actually walk down the street without being assaulted by horns and traffic. However, the increasing frequency of bandhs has been devastating for most Nepalese and for the economy in general. Many people here have to work every day in order to feed their families. Missing several days of work a month due to strikes is seriously jeopardizing their ability to survive. Aid agencies have not been able to deliver supplies which are desperately needed by many rural communities in Nepal- communities that have been devastated by war, famine and now a loss of access because of bandhs. Children cannot regularly attend school. Sick people are prevented from accessing medical facilities. Many bandh organizers claim to be working for the common people, but it is quite clear that the average person is the one who suffers the most from these frequent disruptions.

What will it take for Nepal to move beyond the current bandh culture? It seems two things will need to happen. The people of Nepal will need to create other systems which allow those with grievances to be heard in a meaningful and participatory way. There simply needs to be viable alternatives to the use of bandhs- alternatives which are now non-existent in Nepal. In addition to these alternatives, there will need to be a coordinated effort of resistance. Ordinary citizens, business owners, civil society leaders, government officials and many others will need to join together and non-violently resist the demands of the bandh organizers. This effort needs to include appropriate law enforcement. Although it doesn't appear that bandhs will end anytime soon, it looks like the seeds of a bandh resistance are being planted.

Empty street during a recent bandh.