A wedding procession’s exuberant beats triggered a cascade of events in Nepal’s Rautahat district, transforming neighborly discord into communal strife and prompting a curfew. Sunday’s landmark all-party meeting in Gaur united political factions and community leaders in a fervent push for de-escalation.
The spark on Thursday—objections to baraat music—ignited stone-throwing skirmishes. Friday’s six-point resolution hinted at truce, but Saturday’s vehicle torching escalated fears, leading to curfew from Lalbakaiya Bund to Gaur’s customs checkpoint, upheld through the weekend.
DAO head Dinesh Sagar Bhusal attributed the unrest to unchecked tempers in this poverty-stricken, India-adjacent area rife with historical tensions. The joint communique from the meeting hammered home the virtues of patience, solidarity, and dialogue to nurture religious amity.
‘Violence rebounds on us all,’ the leaders asserted, beseeching residents to uphold peace proactively. Nepal’s Home Ministry chimed in with a robust statement, committing to monitor provocateurs and enforce law rigorously against hatred peddlers.
Rautahat’s saga underscores the thin line between festivity and feud in Nepal’s Terai belt. With curfew lingering, the onus lies on communal resolve to prevent a repeat, fostering a stable environment vital for the district’s vulnerable populace.