OPINION: Will Minorities Be Better Off In Nepal Now?

In Nepal's politics, there has been little space for the development of its minorities. Prime Minister of Nepal Pushp Kamal Dahal must think big. Nepal is a modern, democratic republic. It is a signatory to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Kathmandu must care for its minorities and take steps to foster their multi-faced development.

Speaking at a dinner hosted by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at Indore on June 3, Prime Minister of Nepal Pushp Kamal Dahal said that "a new history" had begun in India-Nepal relations through the consensus he reached with Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding connectivity, water resources, energy and border issues. Will this qualitatively change the lives of minority communities, such as Maithils, Lepchas, Sherpas, Bhotiyas/Rungs, Rautes, Chepangs, Kusundas, Thakalis, Majhis, Dumas, Meches, Surels, Hayus, Jirels and Thamis, in Nepal ?

Observers say the consensus reached between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Dahal needs to be translated into reality. Improved ties between any two nations always prove beneficial to their peoples. India-Nepal ties cannot be an exception. The resolution of the border controversy between the two nations would surely help the entire populace in the region, including the minorities in Nepal. In the past the boundary dispute caused disruption in trade and affected adversely Bhotiyas/Rungs of Byas valley.

It is, however, very hard to predict what awaits the Nepalese minorities in general. Nepal is largely a conservative Hindu society. Over 81.3 per cent of Nepalese are Hindus. The politics in Nepal has long been focused on the development of its most populous social groups, such as Chettris and Bahuns. Upper caste Newars are the most over-represented community in terms of socio-political access in the country.

In Nepal's politics, there has been little space for the minorities. The successive dispensations in Nepal have ignored their multi-faceted development. Several ethnic rights groups have occasionally demanded greater autonomy, more seats in the national legislature and a guaranteed number of representatives in the administration. But in vain.

The previous government of K.P.S. Oli in Kathmandu had been even harsher to the minorities. In his first premiership, the Oli government got passed the representation in National Assembly Bill meant to marginalise people from the Terai region. The Bill provided hill communities, especially the elites (Bahuns and Chettris), with the largest number of seats.

In 2020, the Oli government passed a citizenship Bill. The Bill hurt very much Nepal's minority communities such as Maithils, Lepchas and Sherpas. It made harder for the Nepalese minority citizens to marry Indian women from the communities, with which they have shared a common ethno-linguistic-cultural and economic history, or what is known as "roti-beti" relationship, since time immemorial. There was no such problem of citizenship earlier. In 2011, 1,20,891 Indians, 57,132 women and 63,759 men, acquired Nepali citizenship without much difficulty.

Needless to say, Maithils in Southern Nepal have had very close ties with their counterparts in Northern Bihar in India. Janakpur (Dhanusha, Nepal) continues to serve as an important religious site for Maithils across the Milthilanchal in Bihar. It is considered to be the birthplace of Devi Sita (Lord Rama's wife), a Maithil.

Cross border marriages between Nepal and India have been common. Many Nepalese citizens are having matrimonial connections in Pithoragarh and Chamapawat (Uttarakhand, India). In the Sailani Goth village of the Champawat district, over 60 out of 250 families have familial ties with people in Nepal. The Rongkup/Lepchas of Ilam district (Nepal) share many cultural similarities with their contemporaries in Sikkim, Darjeeling and Kalimpong. Many Sherpas from Darjeeling trace their origins to Khumbu (Solkhumbu) region of Nepal.

The successive dispensations in Nepal have ignored even some of the basic rights of the minorities. For instance, the Maithili language, which used to be the court language during the reign of the Malla dynasty in Nepal, is no longer so.

The observers say it may be hard for Prime Minister Dahal to change the policy Nepal's successive dispensations have followed on the minorities. Importantly, Prime Minister Dahal is a leader of a shaky coalition in the country today. He has formed his government with the support of his predecessor Oli. Given the politics of the coalition government, Prime Minister Dahal might ill-afford to function in a way that would displease Oli.

The observers add the current Dahal government in Kathmandu would do well to think and act big. Nepal today is a modern democratic republic. It is a signatory to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Kathmandu must care for its minorities and take all appropriate steps to foster their multi-faced development.

(Jagdish N. Singh is a senior journalist based in New Delhi. He is also Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, New York)

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