Can Nepals new president help his people?
West Lafayette, IN, United States, — Nepal elected its first president , with Dr. Ram Baran Yadav of the Nepali Congress Party clinching the country´s highest office with a comfortable majority. The significance of Yadav´s victory is further highlighted by the fact that he is from Nepal´s troubled Terai region. Residents of the Terai known as Madhesis have long been ignored by the establishment in Kathmandu. Their cultural, linguistic and geographic proximity to India put them in a difficult position. The national mainstream randomly labeled them as “India sympathizers,” questioning their patriotism and allegiance. Their accent, way of dressing and supposed lack of sophistication made the Madhesis favorites of the comics, who routinely mocked them with racist and biased undertones. Even after a multiparty democratic system was installed in 1990, the Terai remained ignored. The region acts as a main corridor for the majority of trade between India and Nepal and is the country´s breadbas
