Kathmandu, Jan. 22 -- When a small group of Madhesi activists from a little-known socio-intellectual organisation burned copies of the interim constitution on January 16, 2007, few could have imagined that their actions would set the entire country down a path of deep structural change.

The spark ignited by the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum and its leader Upendra Yadav would spread across the Madhes. On January 19 that year, 17-year-old Ramesh Mahato was killed during the protests in Lahan. This was the first Madhes movement and it was followed by the second in 2008 and the third in 2015, with each iteration demanding that which Madhesis have long desired-equitable representation for the politics, culture and language of the Madhes. Mahato wa...