Paper short abstract:

The purpose is analyses of movement of new Nepal in the global through Thakali are well known as the merchant ethnic in Nepal-Himalaya. Thakali aims aggressively positioning by themselves as an indigenous ethnic, moreover facilitate interactions with other.

Paper long abstract:

The purpose of this study is to analysis of the movement of Nepali people in the global society by the Thakali. Thakali are well-known merchant ethnic group in Nepal-Himalaya. They made historically use of consciously disadvantages, has been overcome by changing the joint area with the out. Now Thakali community is formed process of two ways. One, the process is to aim aggressively to self-positioning as an indigenous ethnic group in Nepal, moreover facilitate interactions with other ethnic groups. Second, the process is resilience to construct the ethnic association branches at home and abroad. As specific case, Thakali has ethnic association for aid. The association has head office at Kathmandu, some branches in Nepal and overseas. They constructs of network, after middle 1980's, Nepal people migrant to foreign lands, made community, cohere in terms of each ethnic group, they took the lead to joint networks. In the flow of confusion of Nepal politics from Nepalese Civil War by the Maoists, globalization of Nepal was making progress. In the flow towards the new constitution, import to Nepal and practices theory of liberation of indigenous peoples in the international community, each ethnic group is, different values of Nepal traditional society, the ethnic view they led the section the case of the concept. Their process examination shows new face of Nepali ethnical society.

Paper short abstract:

This paper focuses on the transformation of marginality in the Badi community, historically considered as a "prostitute" caste, in western Nepal, by examining their attempts to secure safe living environment and political inclusion through the transformation of their reproductive practices.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines the collective struggle for inclusion by the Badi community in Nepal after their association with prostitution became a matter of public policy and community controversies. For many residents and activists, a series of events following the introduction of AIDS prevention projects and the prostitution eradication campaign in the 1990s marked a turning point for the community, with the emergence of new collective actions and self-representations that transformed their marginality. In their efforts to achieve social and political inclusion, many men and women began to portray themselves as people who seek to establish respectable families, and politicized the problems of unstable marriage and unrecognized children as the result of historical discrimination by the state. Along with the efforts to change public discourses and representations, they transformed their own practices of marriage, birth, child-raising, and school education of children. Community leaders and parents made efforts to consciously create a new generation, not only for better future of their children, but also for the collective efforts of Badi people to be recognized and treated as dignified Nepali citizens. As the formation of respectable families became the aspired goal, men, women, youths, and children negotiated with new subject positions within the immediate social relations and material conditions. This paper considers the question of inclusion in the 2000s by exploring the consequences of the collective struggles to legitimate families in the simultaneous engagement of political and judicial institutions, as well as families and local communities.

Paper short abstract:

This paper examines local people’s identity choices and political preferences in a multiethnic town in eastern Nepal and argues that local people’s identity politics and political preferences are qualitatively different from those of urban ethnic activists and leaders.

Paper long abstract:

Ethnic debate in Nepal has taken a polarizing turn in the aftermath of the recent political change that ushered in a republican order. Types and nature of federal states, in particular, have become the major bone of contention among the ethnic activists and political party leaders. Despite voluminous scholarly as well as activist publications on national and macro issues, little has been said about the ordinary citizens' engagement in ethnic politics in local settings. Based on filed research in a multi-ethnic emerging Tarai town in eastern Nepal, this paper examines how the people a bit far off the national capital make sense of the latest phase of ethnic politics, particularly of the debate surrounding ethnic identity and its derivative ethnic vs. non-ethnic ethnic federal states. It argues that the local people actively use the tropes and idioms of inclusion available in the national politics to make sense out of the current ethnic debate, but the people's ethnic identity expressions and political preferences are powerfully shaped and informed by their lived experience and history. This calls for a greater attention to local power structures and lived experience in analyzing Nepal's contemporary ethnic politics. This paper underscores the fact that in local settings both "ethnic" and "non-ethnic" local leaders from all political persuasions shun polarizing positions and that their positions are qualitatively different from most activist and scholarly accounts of ethnic debate in Nepal.

Paper short abstract:

This paper proposes and argues that Nepal is struggling to develop a political model on its own reflective social and cultural repertoires rather than normative one. The argument, primarily, is derived analyzing two Constituent Assembly elections' manifestos of the major political parties of Nepal.

Paper long abstract:

"Form of federalism" and "Model of government" emerged as highly contentious issues while drafting a new constitution, thus, first Constituent Assembly (CA) of Nepal was dissolved on May 27, 2012. Primarily, political parties were divided into following notions first, what are identities? Second, what is an inclusive state? &, Third, how to develop an inclusive state? Therefore, apparently, the II-CA was a referendum on these issues. Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist (UCPN (Maoist))) including "identity ideology" parties promised for "federalism with identity and rights-to-self-determination". On the other hand, Nepali Congress (NC), Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML)), Ratriya Prajantra Party (RPP), and other political parties campaigned for "federalism with multi-identity, respect for diversity, and communal harmony". I & II-CA elections remarkably shifted: first, identity issues were dominant over the traditional form of polity in the I-CA election but reversed mandate came out in the II-CA election. NC emerged as first party and Maoist pushed down in third one with 12.7 and 14.3 percent less votes in first-past-the-post (FPTP) and proportional representative (PR) results respectively in the II-CA election. NC, UML and RPP have secured near about two-third-majority in the II-CA. Second, political parties, intellectuals, academicians are grappling to delineate loktantra in relation with these peoples' directives. Analyzing major parties' CA elections' manifestos and election results, the paper argues that, first, Nepali loktantra is evolving within the ontology of its social repertoires and, second, identity issues can't be overlooked, however, "identity ideology" wouldn't substitute for the political ideology.

Paper short abstract:

This presentation attempts to analyze the process of the re-interpretation of caste brought about by the every-day commercial practices at buffalo markets in Kathmandu, where process of inclusion into global markets are prevailed.

Paper long abstract:

This presentation attempts to analyze the process of the re-interpretation of caste brought about by the commercial practices at buffalo markets of Kathmandu, where process of inclusion into global markets are prevailed. Focusing on the members of Khaḍgī caste who have been engaged in slaughtering, processing, and trading of livestock as a caste-based role in the Newar society, I will describe the individual negotiations between Khaḍgī and other castes from Newar society and Muslims in their daily commercial practices, and the collective activities of Khaḍgī though their caste association.

By analyzing the process, I try to propose alternative views to assess the cultural politics which are often based on given categories such as ethnicity or caste and emerged as ethnic identity politics. In the meat market, Khaḍgī negotiates individually beyond their caste and ethnicity, creating their local rules. However, on the other hand, Khaḍgī works collectively as well through their caste association Nepal Khadgi Sewa Samiti which was formed in 1973, as the first caste association in Newar Society. Recently, especially after 2000s, this caste association has enlarged its role as an agent for re-interpreting caste-image to ensure the category of caste which helps to maintain their advantageous positions in the market. I try to propose the process of their re-interpretation of caste as the cultural politics in the markets, and present its features by contrasting it with the identity politics in the political fields.

Paper short abstract:

This presentation aims to depict changing lives of the musical caste Gandharbas who have been recognized as wandering minstrels providing news in Nepal, and examine their practices for “inclusion” through subsuming their musical practices as a sort of cultural identity, or commodity, into globalization.

Paper long abstract:

This study attempts to examine how the social 'inclusion' in Nepal goes on through depicting the changing life world of the Nepalese musical caste Gandharbas who have been wandering about from place to place to make their lives with their songs.

As a dalit jaat, they have been marginalized and excluded from opportunities in Nepalese society. After 1990 Democracy, some Gandharbas got economic opportunities from international tourists directly in a tourist area, then their lives have been changed not only in their home villages but also in Kathmandu. To a certain extent, they have been released from pre-modern discriminatory society by democratization.

However, during People's War, the Gandharbas gave up wandering about villages because villagers had taken precautions against strangers whether they were Maoists or some dubious characters. Since the mid of 1990s, the number of Nepalese people who went abroad for seeking jobs began to increase. Some Gandharbas also got jobs in Middle East countries and Malaysia and so on.

On the other hand, after People's War, the Gandharbas living in villages started to wander about villages again. Because the number of domestic tourists is growing up and they get chances to sing songs and rewards from passengers on the buses that usually move very slowly because of heavy traffic jams.

This study also attempts to examine an aspect of globalization in contemporary Nepalese society through such an experience of the Gandharbas.

Paper short abstract:

In this presentation, I shall report the mushrooming of multiple Protestant Umbrella Organizations, in Nepalese Protestantism, that were established to achieve legal inclusion, and will examine their struggle over the unification initiative and also the cynical response of ordinary believers.

Paper long abstract:

Protestantism was first practiced in Nepal a few years after the country became opened to foreigners in 1951. During this time, however, Christians were the object of both private and public persecution, leading to a strong sense of unity among Protestants and a gradual increase in Protestantism over the next 40 years.

It was the success of the democratization movement in 1990 that lessened public persecution and triggered the expansion of Protestantism. This expansion, however, has brought inner confusion to the Protestant Community. As Protestant population grew rapidly and various denominations and organizations from foreign countries started to provide aid to local churches, inner friction and antagonism appeared among Protestants, resulting in continuous schism or church splitting and loss of unity. In such a situation, to achieve ektā, or unity, again, and to raise one voice for social and political rights of the oppressed Protestants, some of the leaders have attempted to form umbrella organizations under which all Protestants could reunite. With multiple self-appointed 'umbrella' organizations being established and all struggling to control this initiative, the reunification of Protestants has ironically been impeded and a kind of cynical narrative concerning the activities of these organizations has spread among Protestants.

In this presentation, I shall report and analyze some of the struggles between several umbrella organizations regarding legal inclusion of Protestants into the new constitution, and also the cynical narratives and involvements of ordinary believers.

Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the mechanism of the counter-movements towards the particular national development projects in Nepal which are organized by the Tibetan refugee communities in conjunction with the Nepalese Buddhist's nationalistic activities based on their newly formed Buddhism identity.

Paper long abstract:

In the post monarchy era, while Nepal government raised "Inclusion" policy and groping for the framework of a new country, they deployed China-friendly diplomacy under Maoist's initiative. Formerly, Chinese government regards Nepal as "a hotbed" of the Tibetan secessionism against China, and has demanded to accept the "One China Policy" in exchange for the benefit of development. It means the Nepal government is approached by the necessity to show the clear attitude to the Tibet issue, so that it receives the huge development assistance from China. Thereby, the pressure for reducing the domestic Tibetan refugees' living space arose with progress of development. But, the Tibetan Diaspora monasteries in Nepal have already established influence tacitly into various Himalayan societies over five decades, and Tibetans cannot part with this important foundation easily. This paper explores the strained relation between the Tibetan refugee communities and the Nepali government under the new environment in contemporary Nepal where the political deformation has been caused by the Chinese development capital while there is great change of the political architecture of "De-Hinduisasion and Inclusion democracy."

Through the actual survey result on the Tibetan refugee communities and Nepalese Buddhist associations, I examine the mechanism of the counter-movements towards the particular national development projects which are organized by the Tibetans' anti-China development movements in conjunction with the Nepalese Buddhist's nationalistic activities based on the Buddhism identity which rises among them today. And it will show the excluded peoples' unique practice to influence the Inclusion policy by indirect means.

Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the issues on which the Nepa Rastriya Party, the party raising the concerns of Newars, stands to make their presence and contribute to the national polity of Nepal.

Paper long abstract:

The concept of inclusion is perceived to have evolved from the concept of social inclusion, a tool of social welfare policy to contain the deprived people in the safety-net through the process of inclusion and emancipation so that they could become the equal memebrs of the society, hene create a life world smoother for everybody to live peacefully. However, the end results of the policies were not as expected. The concept became more a tool for identity politics in the Nepali life world of plural identity. With the politicization of the concept of inclusion, awareness building, right base concerns growing, there have been movements through out the country, mostly ethno-centric (ethnicity, caste, religion, region based) to claim for their share in the state affairs to enhance their life world. In such a condition, how Newars, around half living in and around the Kathmandu valley and the rest scattered through out the country, with inbuilt caste system and multi religion, history of struggle against the state power for their livelihood world; language, culture and era position themselves is important to understand the ongoing ethnicity centered movemnts in the formation of the new constitution, which would mirror the Nepalese pluralistic society. This will be done by interviews and discussion with the rank and file of the party and the local dwellers and examining the basic principles and manifesto of Nepa Rastriya Party and how it intentds to contribute in the constitution making and nation building thereafter.

Paper short abstract:

This paper attempts to clarify why a Chhetri social organization, the Chhetri Samaj Nepal, has chosen to advocate for Chhetris to be classified as Khas Arya Adibasi, as many people of Khas origin have stated that they dislike being addressed as khas.

Paper long abstract:

The Constitution Assembly was dissolved without completing a constitution on 27 May 2012. In the last eleven days, from 17 May to 27 May, the haste and chaos took place outside the Constitution Assembly rather than within it.

The Chhetri Samaj and the Brahman Samaj had taken to the streets demanding the Khas people which were placed in the 'other' category in the inclusion bill be recognized as indigenous communities. The 'other', as per the bill, is not entitled to affirmative actions. The government of Nepal announced on 17 May that it would categorize the Brahman, Chhetri, Thakuri, Dasnami, Sanyasi and Dalits as 'Khas Arya Adibasi'. Members of the Khas Arya Adivasi group could be able to avail themselves of the benefits of the various policies on inclusion.

The Chhetr Samaj is established in 1998 in Pokhara and developed into a national organization, the Chhetri Samaj Nepal, in 2008. Original purpose of the organization is mutual aid at rituals and festivals among the Chhetri people. The organization is transformed to mobilize the people to assert their rights in responding to the Janajati movements.