Minorities in the Context of Nepal

General Overview

Although there are different kinds of minority groups, the major types of minority groups were presented as follows:

Racial

People in terms of race are simply known as groups which are classified as per the skin colour, height etc.

Ethnic: Generally those groups which are distinguished in terms of culture such as language, food; the US minority group. For example, Puertoricians, Chicanos, Cuban; Jews are also considered cultural minorities instead of religious minorities.

Gender

Simply Males are dominants, the social majority whereas women demonstrate four out of five characteristics of minority status.

Religion: Groups that have a religion other than the dominant faith; e.g., US Religious minorities- Muslims, Amish, Mormons, Roman Catholics.

There is another types of minority which are created by linguistic minorities. The main logic of the linguistic nationalism is obtainable to minorities as a way of battling the power of the majority. Language revitalization movements are replication on a demographically smaller scale of the nation- building movements in Europe in the ninetieth and early twentieth centuries. And of course, they create their own minorities, since groups are perfectly homogenous.

While many scholars doubt the genuineness of the accurate presentation of the different castes,  ethnic, linguistics, and religious groups as reported in the Census (Gurug, 2000b), the figures cited give an approximate picture of the extent of ethnic diversity in Nepal (Pradhan, & Shrestha, 2005,) 

According to the 2001 Cencus, pahadis constitute 66.2% of the population, Madhesis 28.4%, others (including religious groups such as Muslims and Sikhs) 5.4%. The caste groups (9 in the Hill and 43 in the Terai) comprise 58.6% of the population, the ethnic groups (25 in the Hills and 19 in the Terai) 36.4%, and others 6.2% (Gurung 2003a).

The reality of Nepal in terms of ethnic group is that there is not a cast or ethnic group in the majority. Chhetri, is in top with 3.5 million, and constitutes only 15.8% of the population. The hill Brahamins (Bahun) are in second position, with 12.7%. The other groups after Chhetri and Brahamins are Magar (7.1%) , Tharu (6.7%) Tamang (5.6%) Newar (5.5%), Kami (3.9%), Yadav (3.9%). Rai (2.8%), Gurung (2.4%), and Limbu (1..6%).

The other smaller number of the Dalit population is not certain but it is estimated that they constitute about 12.9% of the population, of which 55% live in the hills.

There is no agreement concerning the exact number of Dalit castes making it difficult to estimate the exact population of Dalits.

In this regard, National Dalit Commission (NDC) lists 28 Dalit castes, whereas the Census of Nepal (2001) lists 16 Dalit castes. Such anomalies arise because some Newar Dalit castes refuse to be called Dalit.  The largest Dalit caste is Kami (blacksmiths) with 30%, and Chamar (sweepers) 9% (Gurung, 2000a as cited in Pradhan & Shrestha, 2005, p.3).

The discussion is primarily incorporated only those minority groups that are classified on the basis of ethnic/racial group. Generally, Dalit and Janajati groups are characterized as minority groups. Nationally, the total percentage of Dalit is 46% and pahadi janajati (Magar, Gurung, Rai, Limbu,) is 44%. Nawalparasi district is the combination of the Terai and Hilly region. Regarding inclusiveness, the density of Dalit and Janajati is big. In Nawalparasi, the presence of hilly Janajati is 20%, the presence of Dalit (Terai+ Hilly) is approximately 15% and the density of Tharu community is 16.48%. The Magar has the highest population in number. On the basis of population Census 2058, there are 92 kinds of ethnic groups, 40 languages and 7 religions in Nawalparasi district.

Dalits: An Introduction

The dictionary meaning of Dalit is ‘state of economic deprivation’. Dalits are treated as ‘untouchable’ since long ago they are religiously discarded, socially oppressed, economically exploited, politically suppressed and educationally deprived who may belong to different languages and ethnic groups. As a whole, Dalits can be defined as those communities who, by virtue of caste discrimination and so called untouchability, are most backward in the social, economic, educational, political and religious spheres, and deprived of human dignity and social justice. Due to the reasons, Dalits have been lagging behind in socio-economic life. Moreover, the patrimonial society did not let them to grow in an equal footing. Consequently, they remained backward and far from modern development initiatives. Some Dalit activists such as Mr Padamlala Biswakarma, (Dalit leader) prefer to use word ‘untouchable’ in the definition of ‘Dalits’ (BK, 2005, p. 29).

Despite their significant numbers, because of their caste status in the society, Dalits continue to suffer from discrimination and human rights abuses. Legal protection for Dalits has been poorly implemented, and discrimination against Dalits is still very much a part of everyday life in Nepal. Dalits face a powerful social discrimination and violence because of which it force them to live a like a second class status. Similarly, the academic status of Dalits was limited to some high caste people in Hindu- Buddhist society of Nepal, particularly in ancient years.

In the past, the schooling system was based on the Vernasram model. There was deliberate denial of schooling to Shudras. Therefore, education was prerogatives of the high caste Hindus, particularly, Brahmins. Only after the overthrow of the Rana regime, there had been access to formal education to all groups including Dalits in Nepal. However, due to the deep- seated Hindu values in Nepalese society for centuries, Dalit children faced many problems while admission in the  school, sitting and eating together with other students and affording schooling in terms of finance, which prohibited them from getting education. 

The literacy rate of Dalit is only 22.80% in comparison to the nation average of 39.6% (Dahal et al. 2002) in the 1991 Census (BK, 2005, p.7). The reason is existing discriminatory practices in educational institutions, poverty and inaccessibility of scholarship. There are only three Ph. D. holders from the Dalit community, while, there are little over 30 Master’s degree holders among Dalits (BK, 2005, p.7). Furthermore, from the beginning of civil services, some low level menial jobs like street sweeping and toilet cleaning in the municipality and government offices have been offered to special sub-caste of Dalits and this type of job has been regarded as hated one .The situation is still the same except some upper caste people joining in the same job due to the unemployment. Traditionally, the relations between Nepali state and society were based on state centered orientation supported by patrimonialism, personalism and state intervention (BK, 2005, p.11). In the Panchyat regime the king appointed some Dalit leaders in the Rastriya Panchyat. At that time, the government had no polices for Dalits. Even after the restoration of the democracy, the political participation of Dalit population as a whole is low.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the age-old caste practice and concomitant discrimination in the socio-political and economic life of the people are so deeply rooted in the society that it is not a matter that will wither away through mere permissible requirements. If non- discrimination between cases is to be achieved, it is only possible by assimilating different caste members together. Constitutional provisions cannot bring behavioral changes neither does the strong speech by political leaders do. Social and political awareness however is growing among the educated members of the Dalit groups. Even though the reservation  (quota system) has been practical in many countries for representative governance yet mere reservation may not do full justice to some large or some small groups. For substantive equality andequity, the government and local bodies should design affirmative actions policy. Special measures are required in political representation, employment, education, housing and access to and control over national resources. Thus, an effective action plan with feasible implementation modalities and monitoring arrangement backed up by good technical analysis and public support should be put in action for the longer term. No society can be forcefully changed overnight social and political mobilization need to be excited to transform the transitional society gradually into the modern one.

References

Nepal Dalit Commission