Eight police officer and one boy died when demonstrators protesting against proposals for administrative reform clashed with police in Tikapur of Kailali district on Monday. Scores of others were injured in the incident. Identity politics, whatever form it takes, always carries with it a risk of violence and thus must be navigated very carefully. However, while identity politics (or ethnic politics) may not be palatable to everybody because of its potential for creating communal strife, the idea of ethnic politics itself is not wrong; especially if the group in question is marginalized, discriminated against, or subjugated.