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Racial Discrimination Toward the Indigenous Peoples in Nepal

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Racial Discrimination Toward the Indigenous Peoples in Nepal Racial discrimination toward the indigenous peoples in Nepal: nongovernment report for the third world conference against racism (WCAR) Mahendra Lawoti Indigenous Country Paper Preparatory Subcommittee 2001 [email protected] Keywords: indigenous communities, ethnicity, ethnic groups, racial discrimination, policies, guidelines, women, Gurkha, Nepal. Introduction The Nepali state has not recognized the Indigenous Peoples of Nepal. It has only partly recognized the Indigenous Peoples by identifying them as nationalities, and according recognition of their difference. It recognized 61 nationalities communities only in 1999. However, the state has defined the nationalities conservatively by calling them groups that face socioeconomic and cultural backwardness. Most of these nationalities' communities are Indigenous Peoples as well, and Indigenous Peoples define themselves as nationalities as well. Social scientists believe that there are more Indigenous Peoples / nationalities' communities than recognized by the state. An in depth anthropological-sociological survey is necessary for ascertaining the truer number of such communities and Peoples. Nationalities define themselves as Indigenous Peoples and those with distinct cultural identities, languages, traditional religions, customs and cultures, traditional territories, and those who do not fall under the traditional four-fold Hindu varna classification. According to the 1991 census the nationalities'/ Indigenous Peoples comprised 35.6 percent of the total population. However, the Indigenous Peoples and nationalities allege deliberate undercounting of their communities and tempering of the census to project a larger Hindu and Khas-Nepali speaking population.2 In fact; many indigenous activists claim that they form a majority. The fact that the 1991 census recorded only 26 of the 61 Indigenous Peoples/ nationalities' separately and remaining small communities were lumped in the 'other' category is an example of systematic undercounting of Indigenous Peoples. 2The largest group is Magar is 7.2%. Most of the nationalities groups comprise of small population, and many of them, such as the Kusundas, Hayus, Bankariyas, Surels, and Chhairotans, are on the verge of extinction. The smaller Indigenous Peoples face dire consequences in terms of discrimination, because of their small population as well as due to historic and current discriminatory treatment by the state and society. The recognition accorded by the state to 61 nationalities' communities does not recognize many linguistic communities within some of those groups and other not well-known communities. For instance there are more than 30 linguistic groups within the Rai community. Many of these smaller communities were treated as mashine or eliminable or enslavable by the old civil code. Such treatment resulted into ethnic cleansing. The Indigenous Peoples/ nationalities' communities follow Buddhist, Kiranti, Bon, and Primer (nature worshiping) religions. Due to centuries long assimilation policy of the state, many members of nationalities communities follow some of the Hindu rituals and practices. However, with increasing assertion of identities in the last decade, the Indigenous Peoples are rediscovering their own traditions and practices, and reformulating their community identities accordingly. Reasons for Racial Discrimination in Nepal The group responsible for racial discrimination in Nepal is a minority in terms of population: a minority population is dominating a majority of the people. The dominant group consisting of male parbatiya (hill) Bahun and Chhetri consists of around 15 percent of the population only.3 Despite its minority population status, it is dominating rest of the society by controlling the state and societal apparatus with constitutional and legal manipulations and historic and current imposition of parbatiya Hindu Ideology, which severely disadvantages other communities, on the society. For instance, by declaring the state as Hindu in the Constitution, and following Hindu jurisprudence in laws of the country, it has imposed parbatiya Hindu value system in the society that facilitates domination of Indigenous Peoples, non-Hindu religious, dalit, madhesi and women groups. 3The Bahun-Chhetri population is around 31 percent. Since women are dominated, more so in the Bahun-Chhetri group, the dominant population, in reality, is half of it or approximately 15 percent. Bahunbad: The main factor of discrimination toward the marginalized groups, including the Indigenous Peoples, is Bahunbad. Bahunbad is defined as domination of hill 'upper-caste' Hindu males in the state apparatus and society, including the supposedly progressive realms such as media, academia and human rights groups, and formulation, implementation and legitimization of public policies and social attitudes that favor the dominant group through such domination in most of the influential realms of the society. Extensive domination has been made possible by adopting the hill Hindu religious ideology by the state, and communalization of the society by Hindu norms and values. Historical Factors: With the 'unification' of Nepal, Hinduization was promoted actively by the state under lands brought under its control. It continues even today but in a lesser degree and more subtly than before. The Indigenous Peoples term this phenomenon as internal colonization. Dominant group members were encouraged to migrate to the territories of the Indigenous Peoples, lands of the Indigenous Peoples were confiscated, and their cultures and practices were eliminated. For instance, beef eating was prohibited even though many Indigenous Peoples ate beef. In 1854, PM Janga Bahadur introduced the first civil code in the country that attempted to bring the Indigenous Peoples into the Hindu hierarchical fold. It categorized the Indigenous Peoples into enslavable and non-slavable matwalis, or alcohol drinking communities. The former could be slaved, and hence suffered more than the latter groups. The Hinduization process was imposed through the Civil Code in Nepal whereas even in India, the modern states never did so (Sharma 1977). Promotion of one language, one religion, one dress and mono-cultural nationalism by the state not only hurt the culture of the Indigenous Peoples but it effectively marginalized them in economic, political and social realms. Some scholars have termed this phenomenon of imposition of dominant values, norms, and traditions on other communities of the society as cultural imperialism, which continues even today in lesser degree and in less explicit manner. Current Legal Discrimination: The current democratic Constitution and laws discriminate against Indigenous Peoples in various ways. Declaration of Nepal as a Hindu state, treatment of Khas-Nepali language as the language of the nation (and according it primacy) while calling other native languages as national languages, restriction of instructions in native languages up to primary level only, and prohibition of political parties based on religion, caste and community are some of the examples of constitutional discriminatory measures (Gurung et. al., 2000; Subba et. al.). According to the Nepal Federation of Nationalities (NEFEN) there are more than 25 constitutional and more than 40 legal provisions that are harmful to the Indigenous Peoples (NEFEN 2000, Subba et. al., 2000). In some cases, discrimination through omission has occurred: for example, in the equality provision, among the various spheres mentioned, language is not mentioned, facilitating discrimination between native languages. Laws based on individualistic norms and parbatiya Hindu jurisprudence have superseded many of the customary laws of the Indigenous Peoples (Shrestha 2000, FWLD 2000). Inheritance, criminal, marriage, divorce and citizenship laws, based on Hindu value systems discriminate the Indigenous Peoples, especially the women. Current Political Structural Discrimination: In a culturally plural country like Nepal, adoption of the Westminster model that work in homogenous societies has contributed in facilitating continuance of dominance of the social-cultural elite group. In the Westminster model, government structures are selected in such a way that they enable the party that gets a plurality of votes to have overwhelming control over the executive. This allows for the policies and programs of that party to be implemented all over the country. This becomes harmful to minority groups if one social-cultural group dominates the political parties, as is the case in Nepal. The dominance of the caste Hindu elite groups in political, civic, cultural and economic spheres in Nepal has created a situation whereby the Westminster model of democracy has enabled the dominant group to impose their values and norms to rest of the society through public policies. Lack of accommodative and power sharing governance structures has excluded the Indigenous Peoples from governance. Rights of autonomy and self-determination are denied in Nepal Current Social Structural and Attitudinal Discrimination: Social hierarchy, following the Hindu norms, that assigns the Indigenous Peoples lower than the 'upper caste' Hindus, and pervasiveness of such norms in the society has discriminated Indigenous Peoples in their daily encounter with the caste Hindu elite (CHE) group members. Imposition of dominant cultural values on Indigenous Peoples has threatened their culture and traditions and Hindu religious hegemony has rendered other religious groups and
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