Time for a true population census: The case of the miscounted Thangmi Mark Turin To cite this version: Mark Turin. Time for a true population census: The case of the miscounted Thangmi. Nagarik (Citizen), 2000, 4 (2), pp.14-19. 10.17613/45tm-2914. halshs-03083395 HAL Id: halshs-03083395 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-03083395 Submitted on 27 Jan 2021 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. ‘imfl’i” (CITIZEN) Voi.I4No.4 Aug.OO-Qct.OO 0 g,q/* (CITIZEN) VoLII,Na4 Aug.OO-OcI.OO C in fact nearly double the official the months of Kartik and one another. The number of Time for a True Population Census: figure. Phagun 2054, by Mr. Meghraj Thangmi houses in each village. Simi Rishmi Thami. editor and and the breakdown of men. The Case of the Miscounted Thangmi Disparity in Figures publisher of Dolakhareng women and children, is - Mark Turin According to the 1991 (pages 38-44). (See Fig.l) common knowledge to all who (Mark Turin is a linguistic the Thangmi (Nep. Thami) workers involved in the census, the total Thangmi live n the area. According to the anthropologist and has been population of Nepal and of demanding process of statistical population is 19.103 (1999, As can be seen from the above figures then, there are working on the Thangmi Northeast India I would support recording. Having said this, the page 52) and there are 14.440 above figures. there is a great almost three times more language since 1996. He was these criticisms. disparity between the total people who spoke Thangmi as disparity between the official Thangmi people living the trained in Social Thangmi population a mother tongue (1999, page statistics and those provided by eastern districts of Nepal than Anthropology at the figure provided by the 22). Ofequal interest, however. thej ournal Dolakhareng. Some the official census suggests. University of government and the is the official breakdown of the of this difference may ofcourse Cambridge, UK, and more realistic figures Thangmi population by district. be attributed to natural The Thangrni Population is presently a member which I will present This is where the comparative population growth in the six or of Dolakha of the Himalayan cannot be explained material provided by the seven years hetwcen the two According to the Stc,tisuiccil Languages Project at solely by difficult Charikot-based NGO surveys (1991 to 1997). This Yearbook of Nepal. the district Leiden University, topography. tnt egr alec! Co toni it iii ty could well account ibr the small of Nepal with the largest the Netherlands. I-fe Development Movement and the increase in districts like Morang Thangmi population is has published various Introduction: first volume of the yearly (from 129 to 150 people) or Dolakha. with II .000 Thangmi articles on aspects oi In this short article ournal Dolakhareng most Bhojpur (from 157 to 200 (1999. page 53). Whilst the the Thangmi aim to set the record clearly show the inaccuracy of people). Moreover, it is of focus on Dolakha as containing language as well as straight with regard to the governments data. Below is course possible that the largest Thangmi population short ethnographical the Thangmi. a much a table showing the Thangmi Dolakharcnç’ too miscalculated in Nepal is correct, the figure is studies of other Asian population in the eastern overlooked and the total population figures. My a vast underestimate as I will communities. I-I is oppressed Tibeto districts of Nepal. first on feeling is that this is quite show below. The Charikot— grammar should be Burman ethnic group according to the official unlikely because the Thangmi registered NGO, Integrated completed by 2001 of Nepal. By statistics (from page 52 of the communities in the eastern Community Development and he is preparing a contrasting the official Yearbook) and then according to districts of Nepal are tightly knit Movement has been conducting full Thangmi-Nepali statistics from the the survey conducted hctcen as well as in close contact with extremely detailed profiles of English word list in 1991 population the VDCs in Dolakha district Diffcrcnt Estimates of the Total Thangmi Population in the Devanagari which he census as presented over the past lèw years. The in Eastern Districts of Nepal will publish in the Statistical Fig. I Belgian sociologist, Philippe de Nepal.) Yearbook Nepal Patoul, understood the need for of District Official Statistics, Survey Rcsults from (1999) published by 1991 Dolakhareng, 1997-99% accurate statistical data in the Preamble: His Majesty’s area to facilitate grassroots The 1991 Population Census Mitigating circumstances? Government, National Planning .Jlnrpa 148 development programmes. of Nepal conducted by His Conducting an accurate Commission Secretariat, Ilani 715 3,000 Realising that there as neither Majesty’s Government has been census in a country like Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics Alorang 129 150 accurate data nor suitable Ldayapur 162 widely criticised for being is admittedly a challenging task. with careful and accurate 221 software for this task. de Patoul k’hotang 54 inaccurate and heavily weighted The lack of infrastructure, grassroots population data 160 modified Microsoft Access to Bhojpur 57 200 in favour of Nepal’s dominant coupled with the remoteness of collected by individuals and an make it both Nepali language 1S’z,nsari 21 50 1-lindu hierarchy. Based on my some districts present a NGO, I will show that the compatible as well as suitably own research Thud: 1,386 4,081 findings among veritable challenge to field Thangmi population in Nepal is i titer—relational for collating C. __ ginf, (CITIZEN) VoL ll,No.4 Aug.OO-Oct.OO 0 ruq)Rq, (CITIZEN) VoL I4No.4 Aug.OOOct.QO data from various villages. The specific need (namely accurate district has not yet been Whilst the number of Thangmi Sindhupalcok. According to the populations. As a conservative result is a self-standing software ëensus statistics) and has made established, three VDCs with people as a percentage of the Statistical }‘eurhook of Nepal, estimate, let us take Chokati to package named I’emus (Nepal a serious step in the direction of substantial Thangmi total \‘DC population varies there were 3.173 Thangmi in be a VDC with a high Thangmi Census), and four profiles of rectifying the abundant populations have been widely, one thing is Sindhupalcok during the 1991 population density, and posit VDCs in the Dolakha district misinformation in Nepal. For meticulously studied and the unmistakably’ clear: in just three census (1999. page 53). Whilst that the six other VDCs have no have been completed to date: this alone. if not for more, the profiles made available. The VDCs there are 5.656 Thangmi accurate and detailed more than 800 Thangmi each. namely Alampu. Bulung. NGO should he applauded. following table displays the men, women and children. The population statistics are not in this scenario, we still arrive Sundrawati and Orang. To these More important for my own salient information from these implications ofthese figures for available for Sindhupalcok in at a figure of 6,000 Thangmi in four should be added the 1998 research however, is the direct respective village profiles. the total Thangmi population of the way they are for Dolakha or Sindhupalcok, once agan Lapilang Village Profile (V. S. application this has for the The findings summarised in Nepal are crucial. 2054), conducted before the Thangmi. Whilst the total the table (Fig.2) are of At a rough estimate. establishment of the NGO, the Thangmi population of Dolakha considerable importance. let us sa that thure are JO VDCs in the Fig. 2 Population Statistics from three Village Profiles in I)olakha district Do lakha district ;hich have Alampu Sundrawati Lapilang Total a sizeable population I’ear Conducted 1999 1999 1998 ofThangmi people. Thin! Population 2.228 3.424 5.025 10,677 Moreover, based on Thangnii Population 2.025 1.177 2.454 5,656 0/ the above figures i/IL/fl ,gnu aS zo of / hich range from Tofu! Population 90.9% 34.4% 4X.9% 58% 1,177 to 2,454 Thangmi per VDC. success of which let its lake an convinced the average oi’2.000 hr concerned parties 0] , our esti mated the need for calculations. i.ith complete statistical these figures. then. in lhrmat ion. arrive at a total My detailed of 20.000 l’hanumi Iiuiiuini - - I (‘hildrcn at ok;iti siinIIitipaIchok P/ui,, Sun: ,SI,,,’idcrnuz,, description of the just ithi ii l)olakha origins and district (2.000 people in each of lorthe eastern districts of Nepal. double the official number. establishment of the the 10 VOUs = 20.000). already I believe that the ligure of little NGO Integrated more than the oflicial ligure of over 3.000 ‘l’hangmi in Why this I)isparity? 0 /77 U? LI II i I •i the total 1 ‘hangm i population Sindhupalcok is also a vast In my opinion, there are two i’ e Ui C ii D c 1 o p I within the whole of Nepal underestimate. During my long main reasons for the Movement is (19,103 iwople). The official stay in Chokati VDC in 1998. 1 discrepancy between the official intentional.