Incident Reports

Conflict-weary teachers in Dang

2016-08-29

Lumbini, Dang, Tulsipur

The left side of the body does not move, he has to wear crutches. Teacher Kiran Yogi is being punished for being a so-called 'bourgeois' teacher. The bullet that hit him on the head years ago has not come out. It keeps on tickling. There is no shortage of painkillers. "It was the result of the conflict, 17,000 people have died, I survived," he said, normalizing his condition. The pain is more of a heartache than physical pain. His question is, 'I became disabled after being targeted by the Maoists, why did the state remove me from my job?' He has been asking this question from the lower level to the upper body of the concerned government body for a long time. 'But all become quiet,' He said. Yogi of Bardiya (now Dang Narayanpur), who entered the teaching profession in 2009, I used to teach in Nepal National High School in Bardiya Dhondari. In Bardiya, the then rebel CPN-Maoist was gaining ground. Although Yagi was intimidated by the Maoists, he was not too skeptical that something bad might happen to his relatives. He turned down repeated offers to join the Maoists. "As a teacher, I refused to join the Maoists," he said. "I didn't think anything bad would happen ." Attempts to make him a Maoist lasted for years, but to no avail. Eventually, the insurgents shot him for not accepting their offer to becoming a Maoist. He was teaching in the class on August 20, 2008. Some young people entered his classroom. When the young man called out saying, "I have work to do," he left. ' At that time, I did not think that they were Maoists, 'he said. He was taken out of the school and shot in the head. "There was no conversation," he said. "I was just trying to sit on the floor when I was shot." Unconscious, he was taken to Nepalgunj for treatment. After failing to get treatment there, he was shifted to Lucknow, India. "After 23 days of being taken to Lucknow, I finally regained consciousness," he said. "I remained in a coma for 23 days." He remained in the hospital for treatment for a long time. The pain subsided, but the bullet hit him in the head. "The doctor said it would be risky to have an operation," he said. The left side of the body was unable to move due to the bullet. After treatment, he returned home. He started coming to school again with the help of others. The District Security Committee, after reviewing his condition, transferred him to Bangalamukhi Secondary School in Gulariya on March 19. He started teaching there. After three months, the school was closed. He went back to Kathmandu for treatment during the kharif holiday. "I had a bullet in my head," he said, "but even the doctors in Kathmandu did not dare." After a month of kharif leave, he returned to school. The school said that his term was over and asked him to contact the district education office. The then District Education Officer Rakesh Srivastava told him to go to the District Administration Office. As soon as he entered the room of the Chief District Officer, the then Narendra Dahal said, 'A disabled person like you cannot be given a job or security. Make your own arrangements. ' The yogi expressed dissatisfaction with being fired from his job without any reason but nothing happened. The state also removed him from his job and gave him more pain. "I was not even given a letter of dismissal," he asks. "What was my fault and why was I fired by the state?" Is it my sin? ' He asked the same question to the Ministry, Education Department, and other agencies but have not received any answers. The state did not even pay for his treatment. He said that the then government led by Lokendra Bahadur Chand did not pay for the treatment of those who were treated abroad. "What sin did I commit by getting treatment in India when there was no treatment in Nepal?" His question was, "I have not received a single rupee from the state in the name of treatment." Displaced after the Maoists seized all the houses and lands, he now lives with his in-laws in Dang Narayanpur. Dev Prasad Budha, an 'alleged bourgeois teacher' from Rolpa, Rangkot-7, who is now running a 'garment industry' in Ghorahi, was punished for being a teacher and had to leave all his possessions. Budha was the headmaster of the local Tamlami Danda Primary School. His wife also taught in the same school. The guru of 'bourgeois education' declared by 'Jansatta' should have been compelled to follow every gesture of the Maoists. Repeated threats to leave the teaching profession and enter Maoist politics. "By the time we got the salary, the Maoists would come," he said. "When the teachers were paid, the Maoists came and took their salary."He was accused of being a "Maoist supporter" by the state at the time. The local administration kept him on the date. "I was also given a date by the district administration office," he said. "The Maoists kept threatening to kill me if I did not comply." The old man, who was hurt by both sides, asked his wife to resign from the teacher. The Maoist dominance over him was also increasing. "I couldn't live in the village," he said. "Then I resigned from the teacher in 2058, and started living in Dang." He left his job at the behest of the people and fell in love with his ancestral property in Rolpa. Since then, he has not dared to climb Rolpa. During the conflict, teachers were harassed from various quarters. Some bourgeois teachers were persecuted by the Maoists. Some rebels were persecuted by the state for being allies of the Maoists. Some teachers lost their lives. Some are crippled and suffering. Many lost their jobs. Narjit Basnet of Rukum, People's 3 'Jipu' was also found guilty in the eyes of the then Maoists while teaching children. The Maoists cut off his left hand. "Congress has cut off my hand as a teacher," he said.  He has been teaching since 2046 BS. He was a teacher in Pokhara. Despite repeated pressure to join the Maoists, he did not respond positively. That is why his hand was cut off. His family was pro-Congress. His hand was amputated on March 29, 2008, while returning home from school. "The Maoists, who were hiding on the road, grabbed me and took me to the side," he said, "and cut off my left hand and threw me off the cliff." He was treated at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu for 15 days. He could not go to the village after treatment. "I started living in the district headquarters," he said. "I was afraid to die after going to the village." He is currently working at Saraswati Secondary School in the district headquarters. After some relief, he returned to the village in 1964 BS but his house and property were seized by the Maoists. It is still under the control of the Maoists. During the armed conflict, teachers had to follow two different policies. One of government and the other of people's power. Another teacher from Rukum, Shervir Dahal, says, ' On the one hand, there was the order of the Maoist people's power, on the other hand, there was the policy of the state. Teachers had to pay a certain percentage of their salary to the Maoist. Otherwise, the Maoists would have been targeted in the name of bourgeois teachers. "I used to pay 10 percent of my salary to the Maoist," he said. "I was worried about how to save my life with my job." The state was perceived as supporting the Maoists by forcing the people to pay. For this reason, accusing him of being a Maoist ally, the district administration put Dahal on a six-month date and suspended him for nine months. He says, "During the people's rule, we were able to save the life of the so-called bourgeois teacher." During the conflict, 23 people from Rukum were fired from teaching. Nine teachers lost their lives. The number of teachers leaving the teaching profession due to the conflict is more than three hundred across the country. The government has called for justice for teachers forced to quit their jobs during the conflict through the School Education Act. Under the Act brought by the previous government, teachers who were forced to quit their jobs during the Panchayat period, 'armed people's war' and Madhes movement will be reinstated. According to former education minister Giriraj Mani Pokhrel, the inquiry committee to be formed under the act will work to bring justice by understanding the facts about such victimized teachers. "This act has been prepared to bring justice to the teachers who have been wronged," Pokhrel said in a telephone conversation. Pokhrel said that justice would be given to such victims through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. But conflict-affected former teachers are not convinced that the state will create an environment for them to return to the teaching profession. Dharma Bahadur KC, a former teacher of Rukum, says about this policy of the government, "Don't be surprised if the crows are ripe." He was fired from the then state party and is not convinced that he will be reinstated. "I was fired by the state," he said. "I don't believe the state will reinstate me now." He has been in the teaching profession since 1990. He was removed from his job in 1998. He was the headmaster of Janajagriti Mavic in Rukum. After that, he was forced to engage in Maoist politics. 

National/Online Media

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