Need for Ethnicity and Regionalism in Nepal

The idea or call to ‘let’s talk about nation and nationality, not ethnicity and regionalism’ seems as idealistic and popular as it is sensitive. Failure to manage the issue of ethnicity and regionalism creates conflict in some places. The frightening environment it creates is having an adverse effect on the natural development of human society. Failure to manage any subject deteriorates, but the responsibility for this should not be understood as the subject but as the weakness of management. As long as this weakness persists, the talk of nation and nationality becomes nothing more than a pretentious, crooked trick that ignores the truth.

Since ethnic and regional conflicts affect the nation and nationality, dismissing it as insignificant, narrow-minded and divisive and calling for concern for the nation and nationality seems at first glance to be very liberal and broad-minded, as well as highly thoughtful and far-sighted. However, this is an incomplete and dangerous way of thinking. In the context of Nepal, it needs to be viewed from a slightly different perspective. Others may have different opinions, but in the context of Nepal, the foundation of nationhood and nationality is ethnicity and regionalism. It is impossible to imagine anything else by ignoring the foundation. Therefore, Nepal's perspective should rise above populism.

Not all countries in the world have the same characteristics. In the construction of some countries, one or more elements are working. Those elements should be called unique. Their problems are also different. In this sense, it is a wrong perspective to see and understand everyone in the same way.

The issue of ethnicity and regionalism is raised from time to time in Nepal. Even during the narrow and liberal political system of the Rana period and the Panchayat period, which did not allow free thought and discussion like now, we can understand how sensitive this issue is. If such issues are already being raised, then it is natural for ethnicity and regionalism to arise in a liberal and democratic system, unlike in the past. Keeping in mind the sensitivity, the words of the aspiration that we should not talk about ‘ethnicity’ and ‘regionality’, let’s talk about Nepal and introduce ourselves as Nepalis may seem very poignant, attractive and very necessary, but it is absolutely necessary to break this aspiration. This article is for this purpose.

The discussion of the literal meaning and historical background of the two words Nepal and Nepali is a separate aspect, but in constructing the meaning it carries today, we cannot forget the various regions and ethnic structures. We cannot talk about Nepal by ignoring any geographical region. We can never forget the ethnic structure of Nepali society, which is made up of more than a hundred ethnic groups such as Brahmins, Chhetri, Newar, Tamang, Rai, Limbu, Gurung, Magar, etc. Similarly, there are more than a hundred languages. Many customs, cultures and traditions are the identity of Nepal and Nepalis. It is also a united heart. In this situation, it is not only a very abstract thing to carry the ideal of talking about Nepal and Nepalis by setting aside ethnicity and regionalism, but also a tendency to consider the heart as secondary. In fact, doing so means not understanding one's own characteristics and makeup. And, living by weakening one's own foundation.

Nepal is a political geography made up of diverse ethnic groups. According to statistics, more than a hundred different ethnic groups with separate existences are found here. No one ethnic group is more than a quarter of the percentage. Even if we talk about race, they are not of the same race. Ethnically diverse Nepalis, Mongols, Aryans, Dravidians and others are found flowing in their blood. Communities that have developed separate species through blood mixing are also found in Nepal. Some ethnic groups are found to speak the same language, while the same community is found to speak more than one language. Similarly, there is diversity in culture. Nepalis are also divided into different religions adopted according to faith and belief. This is the real picture of Nepal.

Even when divided naturally, Nepal is divided into Himalayas, Hills and Terai. But the historical and cultural backgrounds of the various geographies within it are different. The political geography of present-day Nepal was formed by the merger of more than fifty independent states. The work of subordinating small states and merging them into a single state was started by the then King Prithvi Narayan Shah of the Gorkha Kingdom, and his successors continued it and created the present geography. It is impossible to move forward by ignoring this background of Nepal's ethnicity and regionalism.

Present-day Nepal is the Himalayas, Hills and Terai and various social, cultural and political units within them. Talking in the interest of any geographical unit is not regional communalism. In the past, due to visual impairment or other reasons, your region may have been backward, but now it is not unfair to demand that it should be developed. Those regions may have been backward from the right opportunity, and there may be dissatisfaction and anger among the residents of the concerned region. The demand or request that it should now get the right opportunity or special attention should not be taken in a negative sense. If no region is against another region and wants the development of its own region, what kind of opportunity would there be for the development of the country? But its own region is being ignored in policy terms.