Maintain Harmony  

The death of a young man in Sunsari district cannot simply be another story for headlines. It is a harsh lesson of how fast a small difference can turn into fear, aggression, and loss. Though investigators will reveal the truth behind the incident, it is obvious that no society can completely depend on its government in ensuring peace. In case of communal conflicts, the community should engage in managing the dispute at first to ensure peace and harmony. Nepali society consists of people with different beliefs, traditions, and culture. Festivities and religious processions can both unite the society and provoke misunderstandings between the members of the community. Differences and disputes are normal things in a pluralistic society. The question is what people choose to do once these differences and disputes appear.

Following the Sunsari incident, there was a lot of speculation about what actually happened on social media. There were those who made attempts to turn the matter into a communal dispute even before everything was sorted out. This is an extremely dangerous behaviour. Each message forwarded and each statement made can easily fuel distrust between long-time peaceful neighbours. It is imperative to stop and ask the following question before spreading any information around: Is it true? If the answer is not certain, it is better to keep silent.

However, being responsible for verifying the information that one has received is only part of our duties. The bigger task is to learn to look at each other first of all as fellow citizens. In times of crisis, people tend to go back to religion, ethnicity or politics. While it feels natural, it is important to understand that this undermines the very fabric of communities. People will be able to live in peace only if each person decides not to allow any labelling and will refuse to give his or her neighbour up due to certain beliefs or belonging to certain groups. 

Harmony cannot be established after violence occurs. It is achieved by respecting differences, settling disputes through dialogue and refraining from getting involved in any kind of hate speech. Parents must teach children to view diversity as an asset, not a threat. Leaders of religions must use their powers to cultivate harmony and not division. People in the community must get acquainted with each other during peaceful times since it is this trust during peaceful times that saves from conflict during troubled times. People in Sunsari, just like all other people in Nepal, deserve peace. But peace is not just the lack of violence. It is the presence of mutual trust, empathy and responsibility for each other. 

Investigations and legal procedures have their importance, but they do not restore relations themselves. Healing starts when people dispel rumours, fight hate and show compassion to each other. The most important lesson learned from this tragedy is that people should unite in times of conflict despite their religion, ethnicity, or other factors to maintain peace and harmony in the community. Regardless of the differences in religious, cultural, and political perspectives, there is always one identity that should unite everyone – the identity of being Nepali.