By NNN-PTI,
Kathmandu : Indigenous ethnic organizations in Nepal on Monday revived the anti-Hindi protest triggered by Vice President Parmananda Jha taking oath of office in Hindi, with normal life disrupted across 22 districts in the Terai plains bordering India.
Normal life across 22 districts in the southern Terai region was affected following a general strike call by the Tharuhat Struggle Committee, an association of Tharu community, in protest against newly elected vice president’s decision to take the oath of office in Hindi on July 23.
The Tharuhat Struggle Committee affiliated eight other organisations also expressed solidarity with the one-day strike. The protesters claimed that Jha had “disrespected” the interim constitution by the taking oath in foreign language.
Protesters blocked traffic and held demonstrations disrupting normal life across the Terai districts, including Morang, Sunsari, Siraha, Dang, Rupandehi and Rautahat, the Kantipur online said on Monday.
The protest revived the language row that had calmed down following the Vice Presidents statement on July 29 apologising for unwittingly hurting the sentiments of non-Hindi speaking people.
Jha is a member of the ethnic Mahadhesi community that dominates the southern plains bordering India, and for whom Hindi is the most common language.
Nepal’s Supreme Court had issued notice to the Vice President and the Prime Minister’s office on a petition filed by Nepali lawyer Bal Krishna Neupane demanding the oath be invalidated.