Reform ANTA

MaMaMaMa
Frustration, Chemical Imbalance, Mental Imbalance

I look forward to the NYC ANTA meetup on Saturday at the Nepali Mandir. I must admit the talk of another Madhesi organization in America resurfaced, but I don't think that is the best way ahead. There are too few Madhesis in America for that to be a viable option.

But I do think there is an urgent need to reform ANTA.

1. There should be extensive use of the word Madhesi within the organization. A Pahadi living in the Terai is a Teraiwasi. A Madhesi is different. A Madhesi living in Kathmandu does not become a Pahadi. Madhesi is a cultural term, and we have to learn to take pride in the Madhesi identity. Hindi is at the center of that identity.
   
2. Membership should be made free. As it stands, the organization is biased against the blue collar Madhesis. That is flat out wrong. And if not that, we must substantially reduce the membership fees. Perhaps $5 a year. We have to become mass based.
   
3. There are five kinds of members right now: founding, life, family, individual , student. There should be only two kinds: life and general. $100 for life, $5 a year for general. The attempt should be to become an egalitarian organization.
   
4. Frankly the founding member category smacks of casteism. Six of the seven of them have high caste names. That is a deficiency. That category of membership has to be abolished altogether. The family membership idea is also troublesome. That is to suggest husbands can speak on behalf of their wives. That is sexist. Individuals become members.
   
5. All officers ought to be directly elected by the members through open voting. Open as in who you vote for is public. That way members do not necessarily have to show up at a ANA convention to be able to vote.
   
6. I propopse a five member executive committee, all directly elected: President, two Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer.
   
7. Any town or city that has at least two Madhesis can form a local chapter. Those with less than five members will have only one officer: Coordinator. Those with less than 10 members will have two: President and Vice President. 10-15 would be three. 15-20 would get you four Officer positions. More than 25 and you can have a full fledged five member executive committee for the local chapter.
   
8. The thing about local chapters is, it should be a ground up effort. A state with many local chapters can also form a state chapter, if felt necessary. A state with at least two local chapters may form a state chapter. As to how many Officers that might get is to be decided similary as for the local chapters. Less than five local chapters gives the state one Officer position and so on.
   

And I think it is a big deal Upendra Mahato will be with us on July 1. The Pahadis have Gyanendra, the Madhesis have Upendra, only Mahato is self made. Some Pahadis have been making a fuss about his business investments in Nepal. Well, did Coca Cola shut down its plants in Nepal after the king's coup? Pahadis are not used to seeing successful Madhesis, and some of them have heartburns.

Madhesi Manch
Time To Reorganize The ANTA Perhaps

Madhesi Rights 1
Madhesi Rights 2
Madhesi Rights 3
Sajha: Madhesi Rights
SEBS: Bhagat's Vocal Blog On Madhesi