The Terai

Terai

The Terai is a belt of marshy grasslands, savannas, and forests located south of the outer foothills of the Himalaya, the Siwalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and their tributaries. The Terai belongs to the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion...

 (Tarai) Army is a relatively unknown militant group that demands greater rights for Nepal

Nepal

Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

's Madhesi

Madhesi

The Madhesi are the native people of Nepal who reside in the southern, plains region the Terai which they refer to as Madhesh. Madhesis comprise about 40% of the total population of Nepal...

 minorities primarily based in the southern plains

Madhesh

Madhesh is a term given to areas of the Nepali outer Terai or to the outer Terai as a whole inhabited by peoples who are racially, culturally and linguistically related to people on the Indian side of the border. These peoples are referred to or refer to themselves as Madheshi...

. Demands may include autonomy

Autonomy

Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...

. Authorities blame the group for murder, bombings and abductions. The Tarai Army has claimed responsibility for bombings in Kathmandu during September 2007 that killed three as well as a bombing in the southern Rautahat district

Rautahat District

-Village Development Committees :*Ajagabi*Akolawa*Auraiya*Badharwa*Bagahi*Bahuwa Madanpur*Bairiya*Banjaraha*Bariyarpur*Basantapatti*Basatpur*Basbiti Jingadiya*Bhalohiya*Bhediyahi*Birtipraskota*Bishrampur*Bisunpurwa Manpur*Brahmapuri...

 in June 2008 that killed two.

The group was one among many that refused to participate in the 2008 election

Nepalese Constituent Assembly election, 2008

A general election for the Constituent Assembly was held in Nepal on 10 April 2008 after having been postponed from earlier dates of 7 June 2007 and 22 November 2007. The Nepalese Constituent Assembly will draft a new constitution; it will therefore decide, amongst other things, on the issue of...

 that brought former Maoist rebels to power and facilitated the end of the Nepalese monarchy

Nepalese monarchy

The Kingdom of Nepal , also referred to as the Gorkha Kingdom, was formed in 1768 by the unification of Nepal. Founded by Prithvi Narayan Shah The Kingdom of Nepal , also referred to as the Gorkha Kingdom, was formed in 1768 by the unification of Nepal. Founded by Prithvi Narayan Shah The Kingdom...

.

Recently Nepal Police have shot dead Kaushal Sahani alias Mr. John, the chief of underground armed outfit Terai Army, on 30th of August 2008. Sahani along with his bodyguard were shot dead by police in Raghunathpur area of Rautahat district on Friday night, say reports. Sahani has been accused of masterminding several explosions in the capital and elsewhere in the country in the past.