N Chet Ram Paudel
Nepal is multi ethnic multilingual and multicultural country. It was acquired by brave ancestors. Although Nepal lies between two big countries as 'yam between two boulders' it has its own sovereignty from origin. Nepal was ruled by the monarchs in different periods. As majority of the Hindu people it was only Hindu Kingdom.
Nowadays Nepal has been practicing Republican System after abolishing the kingship. Many kinds of movements and comflicts were held in the past however there is religious tobrance and 'unity in diversity' in Nepal. As Buddhas birthplace Nepali people believe in peace as well as harmony for the sustainable development. The poverty situation of economy and lack of technology have disturbed to develop us rich variety of nature and culture. The tallest Mount Everest as the cap of the world is pride of Nepal. Many people from the north and south entered in to Nepal and ocupied so there is rainbow of various castes creeds and culture in this country.
Nepalese society was ethnically diverse and complex in th. early days. ranging in phenotype (physical characteristics) and culture from the Indian to the Tibetan. Except for the sizable population of those of Indian birth or ancestry concentrated in the Tarai bordering India, the varied ethnic groups had evolved into distinct patterns over time. The Nopalese population can be classified into three major ethnic groups in terms of their origin: Indo-Nepalese. Tibeto-Nepalese, and indigenous Nepale'se. ln,the case of the first two groups, the direction if their migration and Nepal's landscapes appeared to have led to their vertical distribution; most ethnic groups were found at particular altitudes The first group, comprising those of Indo- Nepaleso origin, inhabited th. more fertile lower hills. river valleys, and Tarai plains The second major group consisted of communities of Tibeto-Mongol origin occupying the higher hills from the welt to the east The thIrd and much smaller group comprised a number of tribal communltis. such as the Tharus and the Dhimals of the Tarai. they may be remnants of indigenous communities whose habitation predates the advent of Indo-Nepalose and Tibeto-Mongol eIements
Even though lndo-Nepal.se migrants were latecom.rs to Nepal relative to the migrants from the north, they have come to dominate the country not only numerically, but also socially, politically, and economically. They managed to achieve early dominance over the native and northern migrant populations, largely because of the superior formal educational and technological systems they brought with thorn. Consequently, their overall domination has had tremendous significance In terms of ethnic power structure
Within the Indo-Nepalese group, at least two distinct categories can be discerned. The first category Include's those who fled India arid moved to the safe sanctuaries of the Nepal hills several hundred years ago. in the wake of the Muslim invasions of northern India. The hill group of Indian origin primarily was composed of descendants of high-caste Hindu families.
According to Joshi and Rose, "These families, mostly of Brahman and kihetriya status, have spread through the whole of Nepal with the exceptIon of the' areas immediately adjacent to the northern border They usually Constitute a significant portion of the local elites and are frequently the largest landowners in an area" This segment of the IndoN .palese population. at the apex of which stands the nation's royal family, has played the most dominant rol. in the country. Other ethnic groups, including those of Indian origIn that settled In the Tarai. have been peripheral to th. political power structure.
The second group of Indo-Nepalise migrants includes the inhabitants of the Tarai. Many of them are relatively recent migrants. who were encouraged by th. government of Nepal in the older monarchy system, Particularly Malla dynasty, shah dynasty, Rana regime and panchayat system there was influence of southern polics which has been deep roted in the changed form of politics nowadays also.
Most of the Tlbeto-Nepal.se groups traditionally could be considered agro-pastoralists. Becaus. their physical environment offered only limited land and agricultural possibilities, the Tibeto-Nepaleso group. who occupied the high mountainous areas, such as the Bhote and particularly the Sh.rpa, were almost forced to rely more on herding and pastoral activities than on crop farming. They also participated in seasonal trading activity to supplement their Income and food supply, However, those peoples inhabiting the medium and low hills south of the high mountains-- particularly the Gurung, Magar, Tamang. Ral, and Limbu groups-- depended on farming and herding In relatively equal amounts because their environment was relatively more suitable for agriculture. Among these groups, the Gurung. Magar, and Ral historically have supplied th. bulk of the famous Gurkha contingents to the British and Indian armies, although their ranks have been augmented from the Thakuri and Chh.trl castes of the Indo-Nepales. Paharis. The term Gur*ha was deriv.d from tho name of the former pnncipality of Gorkha, about seventy kilometers west of Kathmandu, and was not an ethnic designation
One integral aspect of Nepaleae society is the existence of the Hindu caste system. modeled after the ancient and orthodox Brahmanic system of the Indian plains. The caste system did not exist prior to the arrival of lndo-Aryans Its establishment became the basis of the emergence of the feudalistic economic structure of Nepal: the high-cast. Hindus began to appropriate lands-- particularly lowlands that here mor. easily accessible, more cultivatable, and more produc?ive..iricludlng those belonging to th. oxsting tribal people, and introduced the system of individual ownership. Even though the cultural and religious rigidity of the caste system slowly has been eroding, its introduction into Nepal was one of the most significant influences stemming from the migration of the Indo-Aryan people into the hills. Tho migrants from the north later were Incorporated into the Hindu caste system, as defined by Indo-Aryan migrants, who quickly controlled the positions of power and authority. Tibetan migrants did not practice private ownership; their system was basod on communal ownership.
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