INDIGENOUS FEDERALISM
If we listen to an astro-physicist talking about the origin of the universe, he would enlighten us with the Big Bang theory which states that some 13.7 billion years ago the universe was created with a cosmic explosion. There was nothing (a matter-less vacuum) and then, with a bang, something was created out of nothing. Now this may sound weird, but such are the wonders of heavenly bodies that the stellar laws as devised by scientists truthfully reflect every iota of reality no matter how abstract they appear to a lay mind.
At the opposite side of the spectrum, human society and its creations are not bound by galactic laws of nature; so saying something was created out of nothing is nonsense. Metaphorically, saying that modern Nepal was created out of a big-bang like cosmic event out of nothing would sound moronic. Therefore if the unified 75 districts of our country today is the result and yield of the founding fathers of the bygone Shah dynasty then to a curious mind this question definitely emerges: “What was here before the conquest of Prithivi Narayan Shah?’
If we listen to an astro-physicist talking about the origin of the universe, he would enlighten us with the Big Bang theory which states that some 13.7 billion years ago the universe was created with a cosmic explosion. There was nothing (a matter-less vacuum) and then, with a bang, something was created out of nothing. Now this may sound weird, but such are the wonders of heavenly bodies that the stellar laws as devised by scientists truthfully reflect every iota of reality no matter how abstract they appear to a lay mind.
At the opposite side of the spectrum, human society and its creations are not bound by galactic laws of nature; so saying something was created out of nothing is nonsense. Metaphorically, saying that modern Nepal was created out of a big-bang like cosmic event out of nothing would sound moronic. Therefore if the unified 75 districts of our country today is the result and yield of the founding fathers of the bygone Shah dynasty then to a curious mind this question definitely emerges: “What was here before the conquest of Prithivi Narayan Shah?’
As we look towards federalism and the future we cannot afford to overlook our history and heritage. About 250 years ago (some time in mid 1700s) an ambitious young king embarked on a campaign of conquest and unification with his cavalry men. He defeated chieftains of 24 Gurung fiefdoms and Magar principalities adjoining his kingdom in Gorkha.
The infantry marched further east and eyed the valley of Kathmandu, then ruled by four Newar Malla rulers. The kingdom of Kathmandu had the monopoly identification of the term ‘Nepal’ at that time.
With his shrewd combination of military acumen and cunning diplomacy he eventually invaded the four kingdoms in the valley. His troops penetrated further deep into the hills east of Kathmandu valley and annexed little fiefdoms in numerous battles.
The last battleground for the Shah rulers was Limbuwan in the far-east. In 1774 AD the Limbus signed a treaty with the Gorkha army after the deaths of General Kangso of Limbuwan forces and General Raghu Rana of the Shah army. General Kangso killed General Raghu Rana in one-on-one combat but he himself was killed in an ambush by Gorkha warriors. In August 1774, Prithivi Narayan Shah’s representatives Abhiman Singh Basnet, Parath Bhandari, Kirti Khawas and Bali Bania signed a truce with Limbu officials in Bijaypur, Morang the old capital of Limbuwan. Prithivi Narayan Shah agreed on the Limbus’ right to kipat land and autonomy and in return the Limbus agreed to recognize the Shah ruler. (I.S.Chemjong, et al).
The infantry marched further east and eyed the valley of Kathmandu, then ruled by four Newar Malla rulers. The kingdom of Kathmandu had the monopoly identification of the term ‘Nepal’ at that time.
With his shrewd combination of military acumen and cunning diplomacy he eventually invaded the four kingdoms in the valley. His troops penetrated further deep into the hills east of Kathmandu valley and annexed little fiefdoms in numerous battles.
The last battleground for the Shah rulers was Limbuwan in the far-east. In 1774 AD the Limbus signed a treaty with the Gorkha army after the deaths of General Kangso of Limbuwan forces and General Raghu Rana of the Shah army. General Kangso killed General Raghu Rana in one-on-one combat but he himself was killed in an ambush by Gorkha warriors. In August 1774, Prithivi Narayan Shah’s representatives Abhiman Singh Basnet, Parath Bhandari, Kirti Khawas and Bali Bania signed a truce with Limbu officials in Bijaypur, Morang the old capital of Limbuwan. Prithivi Narayan Shah agreed on the Limbus’ right to kipat land and autonomy and in return the Limbus agreed to recognize the Shah ruler. (I.S.Chemjong, et al).
The rough boundary of Nepal was charted by the late 1700s, however, the final demarcation of the frontiers were decided only when the treaty of Sugauli was signed with the British East India Company in 1816 AD.
The khas kura dialect spoken predominantly in western Nepal till that time spread eastward together with military, political and administrative annexation. However, Newari still flourished as lingua franca in the valley for many more years.
Throughout history the regions were named after the predominant linguistic community dwelling there. The eastern hills beyond Bhotaykosi river were termed Kirat Pradesh. They were subdivided into three regions whose names were assigned on the basis of their proximity to Kathmandu valley, an important consideration for administrative and tax purposes.
The area from Bhotaykosi to Likhu was termed Wallo Kirat (near kirat). The area from Likhu to Arun river was named Manjh Kirat (middle kirat). And the region from Arun river to Tista river, Pallo Kirat (far kirat).
Similarly, the region west of Kathmandu valley till Kali Gandaki river was termed Gandaki. The area further west till Karnali basin was called Magarant (colony of Magars).The deeper west region from Karnali baisin till Gadhwal and Kumaon was called Khasaan (land of Khas).
The mountain areas north being inhabited by people speaking dialects derived from Tibetan was historically termed as Bhot Pradesh.
Traditionally vast swathes of land in Tarai plains in patches were termed Tharuwan (soil of Tharus). Later on, the southern plain came to be known as Madhesh.
The present day Gurung communities dwelling in Rumzatar and farther east of the country are the descendants of Prithivi Narayan Shah’s soldiers who were stationed there to tame Kirat warriors during successive invasion drives.
For centuries different racial groups have co-existed, mostly in harmony. Nepal has been a melting pot. The Kirats (Mongoloid stock), originally from north-east Asia, who spoke Tibeto-Burman dialects and inhabited the eastern region of the country, are believed to have arrived there 4,000 years ago. They moved farther west to Kathmandu valley and subsequently to the Magarant area. This group of people practiced shifting cultivation, preserved grounded rice, kept domesticated pigs, buffaloes and preferred warm and fertile lower hills. The Khas speaking Indo-Aryan language were pastoralists originally from central Asia who kept goats, cattle and cultivated barley and millet. They arrived in the far western reaches of Nepal in second millennium B.C. having crossed Hindu Kush and moving on from Khashmir. (D.B. Bista, et al)
The third equally important group is the Australo-protoloid Dravidians who migrated from south peninsular India and came to reside in the Taral plains. They were the Santhals, Dhangads and Jhangars.
After the unification conquest of the Shah rulers, the wonderfully diverse fabric of ancient Nepal was destroyed. The ruler thought that the previous ethnicity-based identity names of the regions would foster separatist feelings within his recently expanded kingdom. He erased the indigenous nomenclature of the previous principalities for the sake of his territorial integrity.
The Shah rulers initiated a homogenization drive in a country that had always been richly heterogeneous and fascinatingly diverse. It was a crafty move from a monarch who wanted to psycho-socially demolish the diverse socio-cultural identities, indigenous values and aspirations of the natives.
Hence Kathmandu became the socio-political, military, administrative and economic epicenter of the country. The unitary statehood and centralized rule that we still possess as of 2012 AD had its genesis during the establishment of the Shah dynastic rule following the invasion campaign.
The US was established on Judeo-Christian European values by their founding fathers in late 1700s; at around the same time modern Nepal was also established on Sanskrito-Hindu values of the hilly Khas who were predominant by that time.
Henceforth the khas kura was promulgated as the state language and Hinduism as official state religion. The socio-cultural values and perceptions of the Khas community were by and large perceived as the muldhaar (mainstream) Nepali identity.
This ‘one religion-one language-one culture’ policy cemented the geo-political stability of the Shah rulers’ strategic security which was ambiguously perceived as Nepal’s sovereignty and unity.
The homogeneous policy of the Shah initiators was continued by the hereditary Rana prime ministers’ repressive regime for 104 years till mid 20th century. Later the hypocritically modern-faced Panchayat regime sustained and did not budge an inch from homogeneous state policy for another 40 years.
By the end of 20th century, sadly, there had been two and a half centuries of homogeneous policy that snuffed and smothered the beautifully diverse ancient Nepali heritage of Khas, Kirat, Dravidians and Madhesis who had been dwelling in the respective regions for thousands of years.
In 1990 AD the Panchayat regime collapsed, which ushered in an era of democracy. The constitution of a multi-party system was drafted but to the dismay of many communities, the conservative, orthodox and latent Apartheid-like repressive homogeneous policy that had once been implemented by a feudalistic medieval era monarch was sub-consciously sustained with superficial alterations prima facie. The constitution engineering process in 1990 totally excluded the Madhesis, Indigenous (mulvasis), Muslims, Dalits and even the Maoists. Thus the legacy of the 1700s continued.
A nation that has historically been a wonderfully diverse reservoir of varied culture and 108 different languages had turned obsessively mono-lingual and mono-cultured in outlook even as we entered 21st century.
After the establishment of democracy in 1990s, a disgruntled political force that took up arms and started an insurgency is an event that we are all aware of in our recent memory.
This is the first of a two-part article on ethno-federalism. The second part by the same author, a medical doctor by profession, will appear next week
The khas kura dialect spoken predominantly in western Nepal till that time spread eastward together with military, political and administrative annexation. However, Newari still flourished as lingua franca in the valley for many more years.
Throughout history the regions were named after the predominant linguistic community dwelling there. The eastern hills beyond Bhotaykosi river were termed Kirat Pradesh. They were subdivided into three regions whose names were assigned on the basis of their proximity to Kathmandu valley, an important consideration for administrative and tax purposes.
The area from Bhotaykosi to Likhu was termed Wallo Kirat (near kirat). The area from Likhu to Arun river was named Manjh Kirat (middle kirat). And the region from Arun river to Tista river, Pallo Kirat (far kirat).
Similarly, the region west of Kathmandu valley till Kali Gandaki river was termed Gandaki. The area further west till Karnali basin was called Magarant (colony of Magars).The deeper west region from Karnali baisin till Gadhwal and Kumaon was called Khasaan (land of Khas).
The mountain areas north being inhabited by people speaking dialects derived from Tibetan was historically termed as Bhot Pradesh.
Traditionally vast swathes of land in Tarai plains in patches were termed Tharuwan (soil of Tharus). Later on, the southern plain came to be known as Madhesh.
The present day Gurung communities dwelling in Rumzatar and farther east of the country are the descendants of Prithivi Narayan Shah’s soldiers who were stationed there to tame Kirat warriors during successive invasion drives.
For centuries different racial groups have co-existed, mostly in harmony. Nepal has been a melting pot. The Kirats (Mongoloid stock), originally from north-east Asia, who spoke Tibeto-Burman dialects and inhabited the eastern region of the country, are believed to have arrived there 4,000 years ago. They moved farther west to Kathmandu valley and subsequently to the Magarant area. This group of people practiced shifting cultivation, preserved grounded rice, kept domesticated pigs, buffaloes and preferred warm and fertile lower hills. The Khas speaking Indo-Aryan language were pastoralists originally from central Asia who kept goats, cattle and cultivated barley and millet. They arrived in the far western reaches of Nepal in second millennium B.C. having crossed Hindu Kush and moving on from Khashmir. (D.B. Bista, et al)
The third equally important group is the Australo-protoloid Dravidians who migrated from south peninsular India and came to reside in the Taral plains. They were the Santhals, Dhangads and Jhangars.
After the unification conquest of the Shah rulers, the wonderfully diverse fabric of ancient Nepal was destroyed. The ruler thought that the previous ethnicity-based identity names of the regions would foster separatist feelings within his recently expanded kingdom. He erased the indigenous nomenclature of the previous principalities for the sake of his territorial integrity.
The Shah rulers initiated a homogenization drive in a country that had always been richly heterogeneous and fascinatingly diverse. It was a crafty move from a monarch who wanted to psycho-socially demolish the diverse socio-cultural identities, indigenous values and aspirations of the natives.
Hence Kathmandu became the socio-political, military, administrative and economic epicenter of the country. The unitary statehood and centralized rule that we still possess as of 2012 AD had its genesis during the establishment of the Shah dynastic rule following the invasion campaign.
The US was established on Judeo-Christian European values by their founding fathers in late 1700s; at around the same time modern Nepal was also established on Sanskrito-Hindu values of the hilly Khas who were predominant by that time.
Henceforth the khas kura was promulgated as the state language and Hinduism as official state religion. The socio-cultural values and perceptions of the Khas community were by and large perceived as the muldhaar (mainstream) Nepali identity.
This ‘one religion-one language-one culture’ policy cemented the geo-political stability of the Shah rulers’ strategic security which was ambiguously perceived as Nepal’s sovereignty and unity.
The homogeneous policy of the Shah initiators was continued by the hereditary Rana prime ministers’ repressive regime for 104 years till mid 20th century. Later the hypocritically modern-faced Panchayat regime sustained and did not budge an inch from homogeneous state policy for another 40 years.
By the end of 20th century, sadly, there had been two and a half centuries of homogeneous policy that snuffed and smothered the beautifully diverse ancient Nepali heritage of Khas, Kirat, Dravidians and Madhesis who had been dwelling in the respective regions for thousands of years.
In 1990 AD the Panchayat regime collapsed, which ushered in an era of democracy. The constitution of a multi-party system was drafted but to the dismay of many communities, the conservative, orthodox and latent Apartheid-like repressive homogeneous policy that had once been implemented by a feudalistic medieval era monarch was sub-consciously sustained with superficial alterations prima facie. The constitution engineering process in 1990 totally excluded the Madhesis, Indigenous (mulvasis), Muslims, Dalits and even the Maoists. Thus the legacy of the 1700s continued.
A nation that has historically been a wonderfully diverse reservoir of varied culture and 108 different languages had turned obsessively mono-lingual and mono-cultured in outlook even as we entered 21st century.
After the establishment of democracy in 1990s, a disgruntled political force that took up arms and started an insurgency is an event that we are all aware of in our recent memory.
This is the first of a two-part article on ethno-federalism. The second part by the same author, a medical doctor by profession, will appear next week
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