Post-war memorialisation as everyday peace? Exploring everyday (dis-) engagements with the Maoist martyrs’ gate of Beni Bazaar in Nepal

Abstract

The academic debates on postwar memorialisation and everyday peace tend to appear in relative isolation from one another. Yet, there is arguably much to gain from integrating them, by exploring howand to what effectpost-war monuments are incorporated into everyday life. To this end, this article studies the everyday interactions that residents of Beni Bazaar, Nepal, have developed in relation to the recently erected Maoist martyrs' gate. As such, narrative ellipsis, local cooperation and popular culture are identified as three distinct ways in which the gate has become entangled with everyday life in the city. I argue that these everyday interactions represent inherently political acts, which in subtle ways serve to destabilise the politically divisive 'message' of the postwar monument. Hence, it makes sense to think of these everyday interactions as a form of bottom-up peacebuilding in their own rightalbeit to varying degrees.

Nep-hop for peace? Political visions and divisions in the booming Nepalese hip-hop scene

“…This popular tendency has been documented in several previous studies (e.g. Lundqvist, 2019; O’Neill, 2016).…”

“…Since 2006, Nepal has been formally at peace following a decade-long Maoist insurgency. The stated aims of the insurgents were to abolish the monarchy; establish a people’s republic and elect a constituent assembly which would draft a new, more inclusive, constitution for Nepal (Lundqvist, 2019: 479). The civil war ended through a negotiated settlement between the belligerent parties, resulting in the 2006 comprehensive peace agreement.…”

“…Several top-down programmes have been initiated by Maoist political leaders which seek to portray the civil war as a justified and heroic struggle for social justice. This can be seen in the many martyrs’ gates that have been erected across cities and villages in Nepal, honouring those Maoist combatants who died during the insurgency and lauding its Maoist ideology (Lundqvist, 2019; Robins, 2014). The Maoist party also holds a public function each year to celebrate the civil war which is generally well attended by Maoist politicians ( Himalayan Times , 2019).…”

“…Thus, this verse contains a strong critique of the political actors who made the Nepalese citizens suffer from the civil war, as well as the politicians’ inability to build a functioning post-war state with adequate social welfare provision. The political vision that the song conveys, then, is a kind of anti-politics (see also Lundqvist, 2019: 489), where grassroots movements are called upon to secure basic welfare provision, while rejecting conventional party politics for only bringing violence and disorder to the nation and its people. Hence, the song may help Nepalese citizens ‘imagine a future of cooperation; an alternative to the long years of the conflict’ (Press-Barnathan, 2017: 176).…”

Jocular Ethnography: The Productive Work of Humour in Fieldwork on Migration

“…al. (2007) have dubbed "serial hanging out"; repeatedly, but over short periods, spending time in the same place with the intent of removing one or several layers of "outsiderness," making me more approachable, engendering informal interactions (Lundquist 2021). In more practical terms, this has entailed walking around the hallways talking to people, writing or reading on my own in the cafés and restaurants, socialising over dinner with friends and colleagues, and buying my groceries in the Burmese shops.…”