Madhesh Province

The word madhesh is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit madhya desh (मध्य देश), literally the middle country, which refers to "the central region, the country lying between the Himalaya and the Vindhya mountains".^[8][9] However, in the context of Nepal, Madhesh refers to the region in the Nepal Terai located south of the Siwalik Hills.^[10][11]Madhesh has also been defined as the cultural and linguistic space existing as a basis for identity among the people of the Terai.^[12]

Madhesh Province was founded with the provisional name Province No. 2 in September 2015 in accordance with Schedule 4 of the Constitution of Nepal.^[13] It received its current name on 17 January 2022, when the provincial assembly declared Janakpur as its capital.^[14]

According to the 2021 Nepal census, the province has a population of 6,114,600: 3,065,751 males and 3,048,849 females. The province with 20.97% of the country's population has the second-highest population after Bagmati Province in the country, and is the densest province in the country with a density of 633 people per square kilometre.^[3]

Ethnic groups

Maithils are the largest ethnolinguistic group. Yadav is the largest group among the Madhesi people in the province making up around 15.2% of the population. Muslims are the second largest group making up 12.9% of the population. Teli (5.10%), Koiri/Kushwaha (4.56%), Chamar (4.22%), Musahar (3.02%), Kurmi (2.83%), Dusadh (2.79%), Mallaah (2.26%), Maithil Brahmin (2.2%), and Karan Kayastha (1.5%) are other Madhesi pandit (8.0) groups in the province. Bahun and Chhetri are the largest Khas Arya groups in the province making up 2.34% and 1.99% of the population, respectively. Tharu (5.27%) and Dhanuk (3.49%) is the largest non-Madhesi, non-Khas Arya group followed by Tamang (2.17%).^[15]

Languages

Maithili language is spoken by 45.36% of the total population of the province. Bhojpuri language is spoken by 18.59% and Bajjika language is spoken by 14.68% of the population. Despite being the province's official language, Nepali is spoken as mother tongue by only 6.56% of the population. Urdu (5.88%), Tharu (3.77%) and Tamang (1.94%) are other languages spoken by a minority of the population.^[16]The Language Commission of Nepal has recommended Maithili, Bhojpuri and Bajjika as official languages of the province. The commission has also recommended Urdu, Tharu and Tamang to be additional official languages, for specific regions and purposes in the province.^[17]

Religion

Hinduism is the most followed religion in the province being followed by 83.75% of the population. Islam is the second largest religion with 12.9% of the population being Muslims and Buddhism is followed by 3.01% of the population.^[16]

As per Central Bureau of Statistics, Madhesh Province covers about 9,661 km² (3,730 sq mi) of Nepal's total area of 147,516 km² (56,956 sq mi). With 6,114,600 inhabitants as of 2021, it is Nepal's second most populous province.^[3][18]Madhesh Province is surrounded by the Chitwan District to the west, Makwanpur District and Sindhuli District and Udayapur District to the north, Sunsari District to the east, and India to the south.^[19]It is located in the Inner Terai Valleys of Nepal. Koshi River on its eastern side is a natural border with Koshi Province. Madhesh Province has eight districts. Koshi River, Bagmati River, Kamla River, Lakhandei River and Bishnumati River are the main rivers of the province.^{[citation needed]}

The province has 574,360 hectares of arable land, making it the country's most agriculture-dominated province. The west of the province contains part of Parsa National Park, while part of Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve lies within the east. The province is biodiverse, and is crossed by migrating elephants.^[20]

Largest cities or towns in Madhesh Province Central Bureau of Statistics [1]
	Rank		District	Pop.	Rank		District	Pop.
Birgunj Janakpur	1	Birgunj	Parsa	240,922	11	Bardibas	Mahottari	66,354	Kalaiya Jeetpur Simara
	2	Janakpur	Dhanusha	159,468	12	Ishwarpur	Sarlahi	59,986
	3	Kalaiya	Bara	123,659	13	Lalbandi	Sarlahi	59,395
	4	Jeetpur Simara	Bara	117,496	14	Jaleshwor	Mahottari	58,549
	5	Lahan	Siraha	91,766	15	Mahagadhimai	Bara	54,474
	6	Siraha	Siraha	82,531	16	Golbazar	Siraha	51,137
	7	Chandrapur	Rautahat	72,059	17	Garuda	Rautahat	50,481
	8	Barahathwa	Sarlahi	69,822	18	Mirchaiya	Siraha	50,079
	9	Rajbiraj	Saptari	69,086	19	Simraungadh	Bara	49,939
	10	Gaushala	Mahottari	66,673	20	Manara Shiswa	Mahottari	49,692

Climate

Executive

The Governor acts as the head of the province while the Chief Minister is the head of the provincial government. The present Governor and Chief Minister are Hari Shankar Mishra and Saroj Yadav respectively.^[22][23]

Legislative

The province has 107 provincial assembly constituencies and 32 constituencies.^[24]

Madhesh Province has a unicameral legislature, like all of the other provinces in Nepal. The term length of provincial assembly is five years. The Provincial Assembly of Madhesh Province is temporarily housed at the District Education Office in Janakpur.^[25]

Judiciary

The Chief Judge of the Janakpur High Court is the head of the judiciary.^[26] The acting chief justice is Binod Sharma.^[27]

Administrative subdivisions

Madhesh Province is divided into eight districts, which are listed below. A district is administrated by the head of the District Coordination Committee and the District Administration Officer. The districts are further divided into municipalities or rural municipalities. The municipalities include one metropolitan city, three sub-metropolitan cities, and 73 municipalities. There are 59 rural municipalities in the province.^[28]

Local level government

Transport

Madhesh Province has no difficult terrains which seems to be good for infrastructure development however it is prone to flooding and submerging. It is the only province with a passenger serviceable railway line in Nepal.

Roadways

The major connecting link for the province is the Mahendra Highway, which runs longitudinally across the province. All major cities of the province remain disconnected from this highway. Janakpurdham, Rajbiraj , Birgunj and Gaur lie 25,10, 24 and 42 kilometres south of the Mahendra Highway, respectively.^[29] The Tribhuvan Highway does not cross as much of the province as the Mahendra Highway, but it is most important link as it connects the province to Kathmandu and to the India.^[30] The starting point of Tribhuvan Highway i.e. Birgunj is the most important International Gateway and trade way for this province and entire country and hence known as "The Gateway of Nepal". In terms of revenue generation, Birgunj custom point is the largest. Birendra Highway which is connected to Mahendra highway from Headquarter of Rautahat district Gaur to the Chandranigahapur is 42 km (26 mi) in length.

• Mahendra Highway (East West Highway) - Part
• Postal Highway - Part
• Tribhuvan Highway - Part
• BP Highway - part

Railways

A few other railway projects are under progress in the Madesh province All these projects are of Nepal Railways. Government of Nepal has proposed Janakpur as a Main Station for 1024 km east–west Metro Railway project and further be extended to India and China for connecting Nepal Railways with Indian Railways and China Railway for business and tourism promotion.^[31]

• Birgunj (Nepal) to Kathmandu (Nepal)
• Birgunj, Parwanipur (Nepal) to Raxaul (India)
• Birgunj (Nepal) to Kerung (China)
• Janakpur (Nepal) to Lhasa (China)
• Bardibas, Janakpur (Nepal) to Jainagar, Bihar (India)
• Janakpur (Nepal) to Kathmandu (Nepal)
• Janakpur (Nepal) to Biratnagar (Nepal)
• Janakpur (Nepal) to Birgunj (Nepal)

Domestic Airports:Madhesh province has three domestic airports in use which are the busiest among the country.

• Rajbiraj Airport in Rajbiraj
• Janakpur Airport in Janakpur
• Simara Airport in Pipara Simara (BARA) close to Birgunj and Kalaiya

International Airport:

• Nijgadh International Airport in Nijgadh is under construction.

Mithila Paag

The Paag is a headdress in the Mithila region of Nepal and India worn by Maithil people. It is a symbol of honour and respect and a significant part of Maithil culture. The Paag dates back to pre-historic times when it was made of plant leaves. It exists today in a modified form. The Paag is wore by the whole Maithil community. The colour of the Paag also carries a lot of significance. The red Paag is worn by the bridegroom and by those who are undergoing the sacred thread rituals. Paag of mustard colour is donned by those attending wedding ceremonies and the elders wear a white Paag.

Paintings

Madhubani art is practiced in the Mithila region. It was traditionally created by the women of different communities of the Mithila region.^[32] This painting as a form of wall art was practiced widely throughout the region; the more recent development of painting on paper and canvas originated among the villages around Madhubani, and it is these latter developments that may correctly be referred to as Madhubani art.^[33]

Artists create these paintings using a variety of mediums, including their own fingers, or twigs, brushes, nib-pens, and matchsticks. The paint is created using natural dyes and pigments. The paintings are characterised by their eye-catching geometrical patterns.

Cuisine

Gujiya

Curd/Yoghurt

Machher Jhol

Ghughnee

Maithil cuisine and Bhojpuri cuisine are part of Nepalese cuisine. Maithil is a culinary style which originated in Mithila while Bhojpuri cuisine originated in the Bhojpuri region of Madhesh.^[34] Some traditional dishes of Madhesh are:

• Curd-flattened rice
• Litti Chokha^[35]
• Vegetable of Taro
• Ghugni
• pickles made of fruits and vegetables which are generally mixed with ingredients like salt, spices, and vegetable oils and are set to mature in a moistureless medium.
• Tarua of Coccinia grandis
• Bada
• Badee
• Yogurt
• Irhar
• Pidukia ( also known as Gujia) which is basically dumplings.
• Foxnut payas
• Anarsa
• Bagiya

Dances

Jhijhiya

Jhijhiya is a cultural dance from the Mithila region.^[36]

Jhijhiya is mostly performed at time of Dusshera, in dedication to Durga Bhairavi, the goddess of victory.^[37] While performing jhijhiya, women put lanterns made of clay on their head and they balance it while they dance.^[38]

Domkach

Domkach is a folk dance performed in Mithila and Bhojpur regions of Madhesh Province.^[39]

Jat Jatin

Jat Jatin is based on folk songs of Mithila and Tharu community which they perform from Shrawan Purnima to Bhadra Purnima. It is based on the love story of hero jat and heroine Jatin and their lives.^[40]

Gauna dance

The Dance is based in Mithila Tradition and popular in Janakpur region of Nepal. This dance is performed in the religious occasions.

As a political center of the country, Madhesh Province is home to prominent leaders like Ram Baran Yadav, Bimalendra Nidhi and Pradeep Giri from the Nepali Congress, Mahantha Thakur from Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, Nepal, Matrika Yadav from CPN (Maoist Centre) and Dharmanath Prasad Sah, Bansidhar Mishra, Ram Chandra Jha from the CPN (Unified Socialist) who have been ministers at various point of time and are still active at National level.^[41] In local level, Nepali congress remains the single largest party.^[42]

• Ruby Rana, First Miss Nepal
• Ram Baran Yadav, First President of Nepal
• Bimalendra Nidhi, MP and Former deputy prime minister
• CK Raut, MP of Saptari and Head of Janamat party
• Madhav Kumar Nepal, Former Prime minister
• Upendra Yadav, Former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister
• VTEN, Rapper
• Pradeep Giri, Former socialist politician
• Bina Jaiswal, Nepalese Politician, Rastriya Prajatantra party
• Aashiq Ali Mikrani, martyr of the Terai/Madhesh movement

• Provinces of Nepal
• List of districts in Nepal
• Mahendra Narayan Nidhi Awas Yojana
• Nepali Congress, Madhesh Province.
• Madhesh Province cricket team

Works cited

• Gaige, F. H. (1975). "Migration into the Tarai". Regionalism and National Unity in Nepal (Second ed.). Delhi: Vikas Publishing House. pp. 58–86.
• Kabir, H. (2013). Education, Nationalism, and Conflict in Plural Society in Nepal: Terai Region in the Post-Maoist Context. Discussion Paper Series. Vol. 19. Hiroshima: Hiroshima University Partnership Project for Peace Building and Capacity Development.
• Pradhan, Kumar L. (2012), Thapa Politics in Nepal: With Special Reference to Bhim Sen Thapa, 1806–1839, New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company, p. 278, ISBN 9788180698132

Madhesh Pradesh