Nepal and Himalayan Studies – serie

This book studies post-war instability in Nepal and its effect on human security. It looks at Nepal’s Maoist People’s War, the Nepali peace-building process, and political development in Nepal. Drawing on in-depth interviews, the book discusses multiple issues of the peace-building process, including education, health, economics, income, gender inequality, human rights, and the sociopolitical inclusion of marginal people and backward communities. The author also explores the relationship between peace-building and the broader concept of freedom, examining factors that affect Nepali determination.The book will be useful for students and researchers of politics, peace and conflict studies, sociology, development studies, strategic and security studies, contemporary history, international relations, Nepal studies, and South Asian studies.

This book provides a systematic analysis of China's rise to power. It traces the complex contours of its relation with India, with the Himalayas prominently figuring in the discourse. Drawing on myths, legends, classical literature, archival resources and contemporary political and international affairs, it brings to the fore several critical issue

Democratisation is a formidable task in the Himalayan region owing to its immense cultural heterogeneity. The process of democratisation has accentuated ethnic competition, assertion of identity, and demand for ethnic homelands to protect, safeguard, and promote political and development interests of various groups. This volume discusses competing interests; identity politics that permeates political formations, the transformations in the traditional forms of governance and their adaption to democratic institutions; the genesis and periodic eruptions of ethnic assertions, and attempts to resolve ethnic conflict. It shows how recent efforts at deepening democratic values and implementing social justice have been resisted and contested. The book argues that the play of ethnicity, the creation of political parties and interest groups, the emergence of social movements, and the voice of protest and opposition do not indicate a crisis in democracy but comprise the instruments by which the state is pushed towards reform, welfare, and inclusive politics, and is obliged to listen to the people. Rich in ethnographic research, this volume will be useful to scholars and researchers of social and political anthropology, political studies, South Asian studies, Nepal and Himalayan studies, sociology, and development studies.

This book explores ‘sex work’ in Nepal as a social and analytical category. Narrating stories of those subsumed under such definition, it examines changes as well as continuities characterising socio-cultural norms and perceptions through an analysis of sexual consumption. It also highlights the ways in which the development sector, media, and local community discourses frame ‘sex work’ as a distinct category.How does the work of development aid projects affect the understanding of the sex worker category? How are visual and media images employed to mark spaces of perdition in the Nepalese urban setting and what forms of imagination do they trigger? How are intimate practices and relations transformed by imported notions of love, and how do standards of propriety related to such interactions shift? This book attempts to answer some of these questions.An in-depth and intimate ethnography, the book deconstructs the sex worker category against the backdrop of global influences within local urban surroundings and points to the contradictions therein. Furthermore, through thorough descriptions of the experiences, agency, decision-making processes, and lives of those labelled as sex workers, the book challenges concepts such as deviance and victimhood. It proposes a counternarrative by rethinking ideas of gender, objectification, marginality, symbolic violence, and discrimination. This book will greatly interest researchers and scholars in women and gender studies, sociology and social anthropology, South Asian studies and social sciences, as well as NGOs and those involved in the development sector.

This book explores the development of multilingual policy in education in Nepal in sociopolitical and historical contexts and examines the frameworks of language use in schools. It investigates the dynamics and factors that influence the process of construction and appropriation of the policy of multilingualism in education. The book surveys the language situation in schools and discusses how it is impacted by local language positions, societal power relations, ideological and identity contestations, and the attitude, language behaviour and resistance of key actors. It highlights the role of pedagogy, linguistics and politics that govern the policy of multilingual education. The author assesses the prospects of a multilingual approach to learning via teacher preparation, curriculum and learning material development, coordination of actors and institutions, and resources available in schools. The book presents Nepal’s linguistic background while discussing how multilingualism in education recognises local languages to improve the quality of learning in classrooms in ethnolinguistic communities. Evaluating the use of local languages in classrooms, it explores monolingual, multilingual and language maintenance frameworks of multilingualism in education. This book will be of interest to teachers, students, and researchers of education and educational studies, linguistics, sociology of education, school education, language studies, sociolinguistics, language policy and planning, public administration, ethnolinguistics, and sociology of language. It will also be useful to educationists, policymakers, linguists, sociolinguists and those working in related areas.

This book traces the beginnings of democracy in the three Himalayan kingdoms of Sikkim, Nepal and Bhutan. Charting the mobilisations and political experimentations that took place in the former buffer states under monarchies to establish democratic regimes, this book investigates their varying degrees of success, and offers a critical commentary on the consequent socio-political histories of this region. The volume sheds light on the nuances of their different geo-political contexts of the three Himalayan states, while tracing the social origins of the movements. It also undertakes a close analysis of the political participation and leadership involved to understand their achievements and limitations. A comprehensive analysis of a hitherto unexplored chapter in South Asian history, it will be of an immense interest to scholars and researchers of international relations, modern history, sociology and social anthropology, politics, South Asian studies, area studies, especially Nepal and Himalayan studies, as well as policy makers and government think tanks.

In South Asia goddesses are conceptualized and worshipped in a fascinatingrange of forms – from cosmic beings to bacterial manifestations, from human-like appearances to creatures with animal and insect semblances. This book maps the diverse identities of goddesses through metaphors of Grace, Rage and Knowledge, and offers an in-depth insight into femininity, sexual politics, ritual worship, religion, ecology and gender. The volume explores how these deity attributes are expressed and embedded through anthropomorphic as well as inorganic forms of nature: beautiful women, multi-legged and many-armed animals, epistemic selves, demonic beings, glamorous personifications and also grotesque sub-humans.The second edition contains an Epilogue which further explores how the discourses on Goddesses are moulded by the myth and folklore. It opens discussions on how the dynamism of Goddess cultures have been appropriated into contemporary variations of those archetypes over time. This book will be useful to scholars and researchers of religious studies, cultural studies, folklore, art, literature, sociology and gender studies, especially those interested in Nepal and Hinduism.

This book presents an overview of the democracy movement and the history of education in Nepal. It shows how schools became the battleground for the state and the Maoists as well as captures emerging trends in the field, challenges for the state and negotiations with political commitments. It looks at the factors that contributed to the conflict, and studies the politics of the region alongside gender and identity dynamics. One of the first studies on the subject, the book highlights how conflict and education are intrinsically linked in Nepal. It illustrates how schools became the centre of attention between warring groups and how they were used for political meetings and recruitment of fighters during the political transitions in a contested terrain in South Asia. It brings to the fore incidents of abduction and killing of teachers and students, and the use of children as porters for arms and ammunitions. Drawing extensively on both primary and secondary sources and qualitative analyses, the book provides the key to a complex web of relationships among the stakeholders during conflict and also models of education in post-conflict situations. This book will interest scholars and researchers in education, politics, peace and conflict studies, sociology, development studies, social work, strategic and security studies, contemporary history, international relations, and Nepal and South Asian studies.

This book focuses on health, healing and health care in Nepal. It presents an intriguing picture: the interplay between the natural processes that cause ill health or diseases and the socio-cultural processes through which people try to understand and cope with them. The work places medical tradition, health politics, gender and health, and pharmaceutical business within the wider politico-economic milieu of Nepal. It also describes the establishment of medical anthropology as an academic discipline, and its relevance for understanding the country’s specific health problems, health care traditions, and health policies.Combining scientific research with practical experiences, the book will serve as a unique resource, especially for health workers, policymakers, and teachers and students in medical schools, those in public health, social medicine, health care, governance and political studies, sociology and social anthropology, and Nepal and South Asian studies.

This book explores the development of multilingual policy in education in Nepal in sociopolitical and historical contexts and examines the frameworks of language use in schools. It investigates the dynamics and factors that influence the process of construction and appropriation of the policy of multilingualism in education. The book surveys the language situation in schools and discusses how it is impacted by local language positions, societal power relations, ideological and identity contestations, and the attitude, language behaviour and resistance of key actors. It highlights the role of pedagogy, linguistics and politics that govern the policy of multilingual education. The author assesses the prospects of a multilingual approach to learning via teacher preparation, curriculum and learning material development, coordination of actors and institutions, and resources available in schools. The book presents Nepal’s linguistic background while discussing how multilingualism in education recognises local languages to improve the quality of learning in classrooms in ethnolinguistic communities. Evaluating the use of local languages in classrooms, it explores monolingual, multilingual and language maintenance frameworks of multilingualism in education. This book will be of interest to teachers, students, and researchers of education and educational studies, linguistics, sociology of education, school education, language studies, sociolinguistics, language policy and planning, public administration, ethnolinguistics, and sociology of language. It will also be useful to educationists, policymakers, linguists, sociolinguists and those working in related areas.

This is one of the first books to explore Nepali diaspora in a global context, across India and other parts of South Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, and Australia. It discusses the social, political and economic status and aspirations of the Nepali community worldwide. The essays in the volume cover a range of themes including belonging and identity politics among Nepalese migrants, representation of Indian Nepalis in literature, diasporic consciousness, forceful eviction and displacement, social movements, and ritual practices among migrant communities. Drawing attention to the lives of Nepali emigrants, the volume presents a sensitive and balanced understanding of their options and constraints, and their ambivalences about who they are. This work will be invaluable to scholars and students of Nepal studies, area studies, diaspora and migration studies, social anthropology, cultural studies and literature.

This book brings rarely voiced lives and experiences of women in Nepal to light and combines rich ethnography with discourse analysis. Multifaceted and critical, the volume situates its narrative in the profoundly transformative period after the turn of the century when ‘New Nepal’ was rising on the horizon and sheds light on Nepali women’s experiences in multiple sites, crossing class and ethnic lines. It is based on extensive fieldwork among women domestic workers, construction workers, street vendors, women from the indigenous community of Hyolmo, and others. Mainly through an ethnographic approach, the author explores Nepali women’s experiences on the ground, mostly situated in classed, ethnic, or other socio-cultural peripheries in Nepali social landscape.Through the unusually intimate narrative on these women from the global south, who are still prone to be cast into a deeply colonial, simplistic image of ‘victimized women’, readers will get a nuanced perspective of the multidimensional diversity among these women as well as a sense of kinship with oneself.The book will be invaluable for researchers and students of gender studies, global south studies, development studies, cultural anthropology/ethnography, Nepal studies, and feminist geography. It will be of interest to anthropologists, sociologists, geographers, policymakers, and those with an interest in global gender issues.

This book brings rarely voiced lives and experiences of women in Nepal to light and combines rich ethnography with discourse analysis. Multifaceted and critical, the volume situates its narrative in the profoundly transformative period after the turn of the century when ‘New Nepal’ was rising on the horizon and sheds light on Nepali women’s experiences in multiple sites, crossing class and ethnic lines. It is based on extensive fieldwork among women domestic workers, construction workers, street vendors, women from the indigenous community of Hyolmo, and others. Mainly through an ethnographic approach, the author explores Nepali women’s experiences on the ground, mostly situated in classed, ethnic, or other socio-cultural peripheries in Nepali social landscape.Through the unusually intimate narrative on these women from the global south, who are still prone to be cast into a deeply colonial, simplistic image of ‘victimized women’, readers will get a nuanced perspective of the multidimensional diversity among these women as well as a sense of kinship with oneself.The book will be invaluable for researchers and students of gender studies, global south studies, development studies, cultural anthropology/ethnography, Nepal studies, and feminist geography. It will be of interest to anthropologists, sociologists, geographers, policymakers, and those with an interest in global gender issues.

This book traces the history and politics of the Greater Nepal movement. It looks at major events in modern South Asia, in and around the Eastern Himalaya region in particular – colonialism, independence and partition, the Chinese aggression in Tibet, formation of Bangladesh, and the merger of Sikkim with India, among others – which deeply affected the nature of democratic movements in Nepal.The volume also studies the role of the monarchy, the demand for Gorkhaland, and the rise of Maoist movements. Further, it sheds light on political participation encompassing Nepalese functionaries, the many political parties, intellectuals and responsible public figures, and the differential influence that these variegated groups had on the movement. Finally, it reassesses the idea of Greater Nepal and offers a critical commentary on its future.The volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of international relations, modern history, sociology and social anthropology, politics, South Asian studies, and area studies – especially Nepal and Himalayan studies – as well as policy makers and government think tanks.

This book examines the nature of ethnopolitics evolving in the Darjeeling hills, located in the Eastern Himalayas. It highlights how in the wake of regional politics minorities pursue alternative avenues to attain rights and recognition. The book provides an astute analysis of competing claims of culture and identity engendered both by demands for regional autonomy and struggles for scheduled tribe status. It highlights the varied forms of ethnic demands often demonstrated through performative and discursive claims. The volume initiates a timely discussion on the discourse of recognition, politics of difference, and alterity which has wider implications and applications to understand South Asian realities.Drawing on rich empirical research, this work will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of politics, anthropology, sociology, tribal studies, ethnography, minority studies, and South Asian studies.

This book examines the nature of ethnopolitics evolving in the Darjeeling hills, located in the Eastern Himalayas. It highlights how in the wake of regional politics minorities pursue alternative avenues to attain rights and recognition. The book provides an astute analysis of competing claims of culture and identity engendered both by demands for regional autonomy and struggles for scheduled tribe status. It highlights the varied forms of ethnic demands often demonstrated through performative and discursive claims. The volume initiates a timely discussion on the discourse of recognition, politics of difference, and alterity which has wider implications and applications to understand South Asian realities.Drawing on rich empirical research, this work will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of politics, anthropology, sociology, tribal studies, ethnography, minority studies, and South Asian studies.

This book studies post-war instability in Nepal and its effect on human security. It looks at Nepal’s Maoist People’s War, the Nepali peace-building process, and political development in Nepal. Drawing on in-depth interviews, the book discusses multiple issues of the peace-building process, including education, health, economics, income, gender inequality, human rights, and the sociopolitical inclusion of marginal people and backward communities. The author also explores the relationship between peace-building and the broader concept of freedom, examining factors that affect Nepali determination.The book will be useful for students and researchers of politics, peace and conflict studies, sociology, development studies, strategic and security studies, contemporary history, international relations, Nepal studies, and South Asian studies.

This book traces the history and politics of the Greater Nepal movement. It looks at major events in modern South Asia, in and around the Eastern Himalaya region in particular – colonialism, independence and partition, the Chinese aggression in Tibet, formation of Bangladesh, and the merger of Sikkim with India, among others – which deeply affected the nature of democratic movements in Nepal.The volume also studies the role of the monarchy, the demand for Gorkhaland, and the rise of Maoist movements. Further, it sheds light on political participation encompassing Nepalese functionaries, the many political parties, intellectuals and responsible public figures, and the differential influence that these variegated groups had on the movement. Finally, it reassesses the idea of Greater Nepal and offers a critical commentary on its future.The volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of international relations, modern history, sociology and social anthropology, politics, South Asian studies, and area studies – especially Nepal and Himalayan studies – as well as policy makers and government think tanks.

This book provides a systematic analysis of China's rise to power. It traces the complex contours of its relation with India, with the Himalayas prominently figuring in the discourse. Drawing on myths, legends, classical literature, archival resources and contemporary political and international affairs, it brings to the fore several critical issues integral to India–China relations. It also studies the two nations in terms of trade across borders, exchange of ideas and confluence of diverse cultures, imperial strategic rivalries in the colonial period, and recent military skirmishes and diplomatic interaction. Lucid and explanatory, this volume will interest scholars and researchers in international relations, history, political science and area studies specially those interested in the geopolitics of India and China.

Democratisation is a formidable task in the Himalayan region owing to its immense cultural heterogeneity. The process of democratisation has accentuated ethnic competition, assertion of identity, and demand for ethnic homelands to protect, safeguard, and promote political and development interests of various groups. This volume discusses competing interests; identity politics that permeates political formations, the transformations in the traditional forms of governance and their adaption to democratic institutions; the genesis and periodic eruptions of ethnic assertions, and attempts to resolve ethnic conflict. It shows how recent efforts at deepening democratic values and implementing social justice have been resisted and contested. The book argues that the play of ethnicity, the creation of political parties and interest groups, the emergence of social movements, and the voice of protest and opposition do not indicate a crisis in democracy but comprise the instruments by which the state is pushed towards reform, welfare, and inclusive politics, and is obliged to listen to the people. Rich in ethnographic research, this volume will be useful to scholars and researchers of social and political anthropology, political studies, South Asian studies, Nepal and Himalayan studies, sociology, and development studies.

This book traces the beginnings of democracy in the three Himalayan kingdoms of Sikkim, Nepal and Bhutan. Charting the mobilisations and political experimentations that took place in the former buffer states under monarchies to establish democratic regimes, this book investigates their varying degrees of success, and offers a critical commentary on the consequent socio-political histories of this region. The volume sheds light on the nuances of their different geo-political contexts of the three Himalayan states, while tracing the social origins of the movements. It also undertakes a close analysis of the political participation and leadership involved to understand their achievements and limitations. A comprehensive analysis of a hitherto unexplored chapter in South Asian history, it will be of an immense interest to scholars and researchers of international relations, modern history, sociology and social anthropology, politics, South Asian studies, area studies, especially Nepal and Himalayan studies, as well as policy makers and government think tanks.

This book focuses on health, healing and health care in Nepal. It presents an intriguing picture: the interplay between the natural processes that cause ill health or diseases and the socio-cultural processes through which people try to understand and cope with them. The work places medical tradition, health politics, gender and health, and pharmaceutical business within the wider politico-economic milieu of Nepal. It also describes the establishment of medical anthropology as an academic discipline, and its relevance for understanding the country’s specific health problems, health care traditions, and health policies.Combining scientific research with practical experiences, the book will serve as a unique resource, especially for health workers, policymakers, and teachers and students in medical schools, those in public health, social medicine, health care, governance and political studies, sociology and social anthropology, and Nepal and South Asian studies.

In South Asia goddesses are conceptualized and worshipped in a fascinatingrange of forms – from cosmic beings to bacterial manifestations, from human-like appearances to creatures with animal and insect semblances. This book maps the diverse identities of goddesses through metaphors of Grace, Rage and Knowledge, and offers an in-depth insight into femininity, sexual politics, ritual worship, religion, ecology and gender. The volume explores how these deity attributes are expressed and embedded through anthropomorphic as well as inorganic forms of nature: beautiful women, multi-legged and many-armed animals, epistemic selves, demonic beings, glamorous personifications and also grotesque sub-humans.The second edition contains an Epilogue which further explores how the discourses on Goddesses are moulded by the myth and folklore. It opens discussions on how the dynamism of Goddess cultures have been appropriated into contemporary variations of those archetypes over time. This book will be useful to scholars and researchers of religious studies, cultural studies, folklore, art, literature, sociology and gender studies, especially those interested in Nepal and Hinduism.

This book looks at the historical and political dynamics of the Sino-Indian border dispute in India’s Himalayan Frontiers. Going back into Tibetan history, the author examines the making of the McMahon Line at Simla Conference of 1913–14. It also takes a look at some of the neighbouring areas that had interaction with Tibet, as well as the border areas of Assam and Burma, both of which were British Indian provinces. By using new archival materials, this study further goes to consider the events during the years following the defining of the McMahon Line, which, verily, did not have a sound juridical basis even if it has been regarded by scholars as a suitable boundary. It further explores different aspects of the northern frontiers of India and Sino-Indian border dispute and relations. This volume will interest scholars and researchers of history, political science and area studies, especially those interested in the geopolitics of India, China and the Himalayan region.

This book presents an overview of the democracy movement and the history of education in Nepal. It shows how schools became the battleground for the state and the Maoists as well as captures emerging trends in the field, challenges for the state and negotiations with political commitments. It looks at the factors that contributed to the conflict, and studies the politics of the region alongside gender and identity dynamics. One of the first studies on the subject, the book highlights how conflict and education are intrinsically linked in Nepal. It illustrates how schools became the centre of attention between warring groups and how they were used for political meetings and recruitment of fighters during the political transitions in a contested terrain in South Asia. It brings to the fore incidents of abduction and killing of teachers and students, and the use of children as porters for arms and ammunitions. Drawing extensively on both primary and secondary sources and qualitative analyses, the book provides the key to a complex web of relationships among the stakeholders during conflict and also models of education in post-conflict situations. This book will interest scholars and researchers in education, politics, peace and conflict studies, sociology, development studies, social work, strategic and security studies, contemporary history, international relations, and Nepal and South Asian studies.

This book explores ‘sex work’ in Nepal as a social and analytical category. Narrating stories of those subsumed under such definition, it examines changes as well as continuities characterising socio-cultural norms and perceptions through an analysis of sexual consumption. It also highlights the ways in which the development sector, media, and local community discourses frame ‘sex work’ as a distinct category.How does the work of development aid projects affect the understanding of the sex worker category? How are visual and media images employed to mark spaces of perdition in the Nepalese urban setting and what forms of imagination do they trigger? How are intimate practices and relations transformed by imported notions of love, and how do standards of propriety related to such interactions shift? This book attempts to answer some of these questions.An in-depth and intimate ethnography, the book deconstructs the sex worker category against the backdrop of global influences within local urban surroundings and points to the contradictions therein. Furthermore, through thorough descriptions of the experiences, agency, decision-making processes, and lives of those labelled as sex workers, the book challenges concepts such as deviance and victimhood. It proposes a counternarrative by rethinking ideas of gender, objectification, marginality, symbolic violence, and discrimination. This book will greatly interest researchers and scholars in women and gender studies, sociology and social anthropology, South Asian studies and social sciences, as well as NGOs and those involved in the development sector.