Mission Madhes

The decision to launch the organization Mission Madhes has already been made. But we have not formally launched it yet. Homework is being done. I expect the formal launch to take place in a few weeks. We will issue a press release when that happens. Everyone who joins before the formal date of launch will have been a founding member. We want there to be many founding members, preferably in many countries. We will register the organization in a few months.

This is to be a global organization, not a diaspora organization. We will have chapters also in Nepal. Each national chapter will be autonomous, but will have the same name. Mission Madhes (US), Mission Madhes (UK), Mission Madhes (India), Mission Madhes (Nepal) and so on.

Right now it looks like I will be president, and Amit Shah will be Vice President of the US chapter. We ar

Image by paramendra via Flickr

e also looking for someone to be Secretary, Treasurer, and so on. And there will be members of the Executive Committee. But this will be an ad hoc committee. The first elections will be duly held in June 2010. The elections will be open, transparent. All members will have the option to vote by email, or phone even. Who voted for whom will be kept transparent. We would want as many members as possible to vote. That elected committee will host the picnic on Roosevelt Island the first Saturday in August, weather permitting.

This is not ANTA splitting. We will want to work in close cooperation with ANTA, ANMUK, AIMSA and all other Madhesi diaspora organizations. We will not be affiliated with any Madhesi political party, but we will actively work with all political parties that might be working for the equality, dignity and prosperity of the Madhesi population in Nepal.

The first draft of the constitution of the organization will be circulated soon enough. Please give feedback.

There will be an international coordination committee. The president and vice president of each national chapter will be ex officio members. The committee will ensure that the basic principles of the organization like democracy and transparency are being respected by all the national chapters.

We will have a major event in New York City to coincide with Holi. That will be our biggest event of the year. We will invite non Madhesi Nepali guests, and also non Nepali guests for that event.

Our annual picnic on Roosevelt Island will be our biggest event of the year for the Madhesis. Madhesis from outside New York who might want to attend, we will try and find local Madhesi hosts for them for the weekend.

We will also do events for the visiting Madhesi dignitaries.

• Membership is to be free and global.
• All book keeping it to be kept transparent and online.
  
• Maximum use is to be made of digital technology and social media.
  
• It is not just about what we can do for Madhes. It is also about what we can do for the members of the organization in terms of leveraging the network for them.