Tharu-led Strike Ends With Proposed Legal Changes

This was originally found at xinhuanet.com.

Nepali gov’t, agitating ethnic groups ink deal

KATHMANDU, March 15 (Xinhua) — Agitating Tharus and other indigenous organizations have withdrawn their protest programs following a six-point agreement with the government signed late Saturday.

The two sides agreed to amend the constitutional and legal provisions which “overshadowed” the independent identities of indigenous nationalities, including Tharus, Madhesis, Dalits (people belonging to lower caste), Muslims and other minorities, local newspaper The Rising Nepal reported Sunday.

“We have withdrawn all the protest programs with this agreement, but we will wait and see whether the government will be sincere in its implementation,” president of the Tharuhat Joint Struggle Committee Laxman Tharu told journalists after signing the deal.

Indian Parliament Schedules Elections

This article originally appeared on Daily Times.  Lok Sabha is the Indian Parliament. Currently the center-left UPA alliance runs the federal government, with the Congress Party at the head of that alliance. The other two groupings contending are the center-right alliance led by the BJP, and then the leftist alliance of various communist parties.

Lok Sabha Polls From April 16 to May 13

By Iftikhar Gilani

NEW DELHI: The Indian Election Commission announced on Monday that Lok Sabha elections will be held next month – with a record electorate of 714 million in the world’s costliest Rs 100,000-million 15th polls staggered from April 16 to May 13. With vote counting scheduled for May 16, the state assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Sikkim will also go to polls. As many as 15 states and seven union territories will have single-day polling, and these include Chhattisgarh (April 16), Goa (April 23), Gujarat (April 30), Rajasthan (May 7) and Delhi (May 7). The last round of polling on May 13 has been scheduled for Punjab (two rounds on May 7 and 13) and West Bengal (three rounds on April 30, May 7 and 13), in addition to India-held Kashmir (IHK) and Uttar Pradesh, which have polls in all five phases.