Oli’s portrayal of Madhesh districts as culturally inferior draws criticism

Kathmandu: Former prime minister and CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli has once again drawn criticism for remarks widely described as insensitive and racially derogatory toward Madhesh and Madheshi communities, reviving a pattern that has followed him for nearly a decade.

In a recent interview with Kantipur Daily, Oli compared Damak, a city in Jhapa district, with Mahottari and Dhanusha districts of Madhesh Province, portraying the latter as culturally inferior. The comments were made in the context of the upcoming House of Representatives election scheduled for March.

The 71-year-old, who has served three terms as prime minister, described Damak — part of his electoral constituency Jhapa-5 — as clean, organised and “advanced,” while contrasting it with Mahottari and Dhanusha in disparaging terms.

“Damak is among the clean cities, among the organised ones. It’s not like Mahottari or Dhanusha. It’s much more advanced, cleaner, more decent, and different,” Oli said. He went on to invoke the use of guintha (cow dung cakes used as cooking fuel), saying, “They come from that culture… what are they going to do… teach how to burn guintha?”

Cow dung cakes have traditionally been used in parts of Madhesh as an affordable and accessible source of fuel. By framing this practice as a defining cultural trait and using it to draw a contrast with Damak, Oli’s remarks were widely interpreted as demeaning towards both the region and its people.