International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Volume 12, Issue 1, January-2021 932 ISSN 2229-5518 Migration of Buddhist Population for Right Livelihood: A Case study from Sindhupalchock in Nepal Awadhesh Kumar Tripathi Abstract— Many people migrate to different place and even countries for many reasons. This article presents the patterns of movements of the Buddhist population in Sindhupalchock district of Nepal. Disaster impacts societies and people are forced to move and in the course of the movements from place of destination people’s livelihood and professions are impacted and significantly changed. This paper shows an analysis how the people have moved, what been their impacts and their status after the migration. Index Terms— Disaster, Migration, Buddhist population, Nepal Livelihood. —————————— —————————— 1 INTRODUCTION Nepal is a country of a multi-religious and multi-ethnic state. In the two dominant groups in Nepal have never engaged in any the past Aryan community migrated from the south, and Mongols overt religious conflicts. Buddhism in Nepal dates from the birth migrated from the north and formed a mixed ethnic state - Nepal. of Siddhartha Gautam himself. Nepal is the meeting point for Religious affiliation is an essential characteristic of many coun- Indian and Tibetan Buddhist teachers. The country became a re- tries with immense significance in their socioeconomic and polit- pository of Buddhist Sanskrit literature and famous for its pro- ical life (Chaime 365)1. duction of fine Buddhist art. Religion in Nepal is not only a sys- The Buddhist population has increased substantially since 1981. tem of social coherence based on certain rituals and beliefs. It is There was an increase of 100% between the 1981 and 1991 cen- the binding force that ties this country together. suses and 70% between the 1991 and 2001 censuses. However, Of the three demographic processes: birth, death and migration, both the absolute number of Buddhist population and its percent- the latter remains the least understood and researched area in age have declined by 1.9% (46,421 in number) between the 2001 Nepal. Yet some researchers have shown that in Nepal, economic and 2011 censuses. Adibasi/Janjati groups mainly follow Bud- and political problems are intricately woven with both the pattern dhism, and it has become theIJSER religious symbol for many Adiba- and magnitude of internal and international migration. Most mi- si/Janjati groups in Nepal today. Most of them belong to Tamang, gration studies attempt to prove migration occurs from a desire to Newar, Bhote, Magar, Gurung, Thakali, Chantel, Jirel, Lepcha, convert poverty into relative prosperity by moving either from Yehlmo, and Sherpa ethnic groups (Dahal 20)2. rural to another rural area or from rule to urban area or from labor The Buddhist religion specifies a specific fundamental set of be- surplus to both surplus and deficit areas (KC 209)3. liefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons Nepal has been experiencing an increasing volume of internal or sects. Religion is the set of beliefs, feelings, dogmas and prac- migration since the control of endemic malaria in the Terai and tices that define the relations between human being and sacred or inner Terai areas in the early 1950s. The first modern census of divinity. A given religion is defined by specific elements of a Nepal, take in 1952/54, recorded 216,853 persons or 2.6 percent community of believers: dogmas, sacred books, rites, worship, of the total population as being absent from home for more than 6 sacrament, moral prescription, interdicts, and organization. The months. Out of absentee populations 8.6 percent resided within majority of religions have developed starting from a revelation the country. based on the exemplary history of a nation, of a prophet or a wise The trend of internal migration has been increasing in Nepal man who taught an ideal of life. since 1971. In 1971, 445, 128 people migrated within the country, Religion occupies an integral position in Nepalese life and socie- which accounted for 3.9 percent of the total population. It in- ty. In the early 1990s, Nepal was the only constitutionally de- creased to 9,295,855 in 1981, comprising 6.2 percent of total clared Hindu state in the world. There is, however, a great deal of population. Similarly, in 1991, volume of internal migration in- intermingling of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs. The fact that Hin- creased by 32.1 per cent as compared to a decade back, to make dus worshipped at Buddhist temples and Buddhists worshipped at the number of migrants to 1,228,356 which is 6.6 percent of total Hindu temples has been one of the principal reasons adherents of population. In 2001, the number migrants within the country was 1,727, 350 which was 7.46 percent of the total population which 1 Chaime, J. Religious Differential in Fertility. Population Studies, 1977, 31 (2), pp. was increased by 40.6 percent compared to 1991 census (Nepal 365-382 2 Dilli Ram Dahal, P. P. Social Composition of Population:Caste/Ethinicity and Religion in Nepal. In C. Goverment of Nepal National Planning Commission, 3 KC, B.K. Migration, poverty and development in Nepal. Asian and Pacific Migra- Population Monograph of Nepal (Economic Demography ed., Vol. II, p. 20), 2014. tion Journal. 1995, 13(2):205-232 Kathmandu, Nepal: Central Bureau of Statistics. IJSER © 2021 http://www.ijser.org International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Volume 12, Issue 1, January-2021 933 ISSN 2229-5518 population report, 2004, p. 55). Migrants in 1961, which in- religion in Nepal. This study mainly concentrates on Buddhist creased to 3,788,049 in 2011. This shows nearly a nine-fold in- population, which consists of 10.8 per cent in Nepal. Previously crease in the number of inter-district migrants during 1961-2011 studies assume that economic factors are the core driving causes in Nepal. The 19715 census counted a total of 506,925 inter- of migration, while migration processes, causes and consequenc- regional migrants, which, with an increase of 5.2 fold reached es may also be determined by cultural factors. Thus, this study 2,654,047 in 2011. By eco-development region, the volume of will bring both economic and cultural factors in understanding of lifetime migrants constituted 4.5% of the total native-born popu- migration and poverty linkage, drawing case from Buddhist pop- lation in 1961, which increased to 10% in 2011. The volume of ulation in Nepal. inter-zonal migration increased from 4% in 1961 to 8% in 2011 (Dahal 23). Some of the major questions raised and answered for this re- Since the 1816 agreement between Nepal and British India, Nep- search study: What are right livelihood pattern of Buddhist mi- alese males from mountain and hill regions started emigrating for grant? Who are the characteristics of Buddhist population? What employment in British India. Initially this number was rather is their ritual – births, marriage and deaths – and festival practic- small, it started gaining momentum in the latter years. According es? What are the assets of the Buddhist population - physical, to 1981 census, 2.7 percent of Nepal's population i.e. 4, 02,977 social, financial, natural and human capital? What are other live- persons had immigrated to India in between 1971-1981. Out of lihoods practices of Buddhist population? Why migration is one these emigrants, 89.3 per cent come from the mountain and the of the crucially important livelihoods??and what are the relation- hill regions. The number of emigrants increased 6, 58,337 in be- ship between poverty and livelihood of the Buddhist population? tween the period 1981-91. This amounts to 3.6 percent of the What are the patterns of the migration and impacts of the migra- total population of the country. Out of these emigrants 89.2 per- tion on right livelihood? What is the impact of individual migra- cent went to India. Similarly, the census of 2001 revealed that the tion? Or, has the migration contributed to change the values of number of emigrants during the 1991-2001 period were 762181. any cultural or religious aspects in Buddhist Population? Out of these emigrants 77 percent went to India. The trends of international migration of Nepal in relation to place 2 PROCESS AND METHODOLOGY of birth indicated that it increased from 337,620 persons in 1962 to 608,092 in 2001, an increase of 370,472 persons or 110 per- cent within four decades (KC 229)4. 2.1 Methodology Migration is process of changing the usual place of residence, started with the beginning of the humankind is a very prominent The paper is Exploratory and descriptive in design: field of research in the academic discourse. Focus is made on the Exploratory – it attempts to explore the livelihood strat- assumption that people move from the place of origin to destina- egies of the Buddhist population, its linkage to migra- tion in search of means of subsistence and for the betterment of tion, processes, causes and impact. life. In other words, it is considered as the most important phe- Descriptive – it also describes the assets of the migrants nomenon of human life, for the further development of their so- and non-migrant households, characteristics, rituals and cioeconomic capability becauseIJSER economic growth is the engine of cultural practices. human development (UNDP 71). No doubt, one of the most sig- Sampling procedures and sample size nificant aspects of recent demographic changes in the developing Table no: 1 Sampling size and survey size countries is the rapid growth of urbanization due to unprecedent- S. Dis- Num- HHs per Num House- ed rural to urban migration (UNDP 98).