Members of Adivasi-Janjati staged demonstrations in front of Constituent Assembly (CA) building at Baneshwor on Tuesday, demanding federalism based on ethnic-identity.

The indigenous people launched the protest movement named as ‘Occupy Baneshwor’ to put pressure on the parties to name the federal provinces so as to reflect the identities such as Limbuwan, Kirat and Tamsaling, among other ethnic groups.

Claiming that the state has undermined the ethnic population that accounts for 37 percent of the total population bearing their own historical place of living, language, culture and identity, the demonstrators expressed their anger over nation’s discriminatory policy against the indigenous people and demanded inclusive and proportional representation of their communities in each of the state organs.

The Adivasi/Janjati Rastriya Andolan has entered into second phase of its protest programme with their nine-point demands including institutionalisation of secularism and proportional electoral system, among other issues.