OCCASIONAL PAPERS IN
SOCIOLOGY & ANTHROPOLOGY
Volume VII
Editors
Rishikeshab Raj Regmi
Laya Prasad Uprety
Binod Pokharel
Central Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Tribhnvan University, Kirtipur
Kathmandu, Nepal
May,Zool
Occasional Papers in Sociology and Anthropology
Published by
Central Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Tribhuvan University, Katlunandu
© Publisher
All rights reserved. No part of this publication except an
occasional paragraph or sentence for use in quotation may be
reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of
the publisher.
The responsibility for the facts presented, opinions expressed,
and interpretation made in the articles rests exclusively with the
respective authors. The opinions do not necessarily reflect the
view and/or policy of the department.
Year of Publication 2001
Volwne vn
Correspondence
Chairperson
Central Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur
Kathmandu
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EDITORIAL
Anthropology and sociology have 'come of age' in
Nepal. During the past two decades, anthropologists and
sociologists trained both indigenously and exogenously have
made untiring and sincere efforts for the academic and
professional growth of both disciplines. With the change of
development paradigm in the contemporary social world,
anthropology and sociology have assumed the paramount
importance -- a function of the realization that social, cultural
and institutional aspects are no less important for the sustainable
development. And this has been equally true in the context of
Nepal. It follows as a corollary that every year thousands of
students have shown their academic interests to pursue M.A. in
Anthropology and Sociology. In fact, a strong and rigorous
academic background in both the disciplines has helped a large
number of people to carve out their much - coveted "niches" in
the agencies working for the development of Nepal. However,
both disciplines have also a great challenge of producing high
quality manpower needed for the developmental efforts of
Nepal. It is in this context that the present volume of Occasional
Papers in Sociology and Anthropology has been published for
students, teachers and development practitioners. It is easier said
than done. There has always been a problem of the collection of
articles and under such circumstance, it is a herculean task to
maintain the continuity of its publication. However, a few
teachers of the Central Department of Sociology/Anthropology
and a few others from outside have contributed their articles to
the present volume. The editorial board duly acknowledge their
laudable contribution.
Let us have a glance on the themes of the articles of this
volume. Prof. Reshikeshab Raj Regmi elaborately discusses the
need of anthropological insights in the deli very of health services
in Nepal. Prof. Kailash Pyakuryal has contributed a course-
based theoretical article which elaborately discusses the concept
of social stratification according to the model of Max Weber, an
eminent German sociologists. Dr. Padam Lal Devkota critically
CONTENTS
presents the native perspective on the anthropology, society and
development in Nepal and stresses the need for the Nepali=ation
of the discipline. Mr. Laya Prasad Uprety presents an overview
of the population dynamics and environmental degradation in
Nepal. Mr. Binod Pokhrel critically analyzes the gender roles
and development activities among the rural households of
eastern Nepal. Dr. Samira Luitel critically assesses the social
world of the Nepalese women with case study evidences. Mr.
Youba Raj Luitel logically presents the pros and cons of the
debate on the women's property right issue in Nepal by
contextualizing the discussion in a theoretical framework. Mr.
Dhirendra Bahadur Parajuli presents the cultural dimension of
pasture resource management from the northwest Dolpa. Dr.
Philip Tanner critically traces the development of participatory
processes and policy in Nepal's development over the past 40
years. It also examines briefly the development in international
social research and emerging knowledge on the subject of
participation and empowerment concepts that may influence the
direction of social research in Nepal.
Prof. Dr. Reshikeshab Raj Regmi
Laya Prasad Uprety
Binod Pokhrel
14
26
41
65
83
ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSIGHTS IN THE DELIVERY OF
HEALTH SERVICES IN NEPAL
ProfDr. Rishikeshab Raj Regmi
WEBERIAN MODEL OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
-A VIEWPOINT-
Prof Dr. Kailash Pyakuryal
ANTHROPOLOGY, SOCIETY AND DEVELOPMENT
IN NEPAL: A NATIVE PERSPECTNE
Dr. Padam Lal Devkota
POPULATION DYNAMICS AND ENVIRONMENTAL
DEGRADATION IN NEPAL: AN OVERVIEW
Laya Prasad Uprety
GENDER ROLES AND ACTIVITIES AMONG THE
RURAL POOR HOUSEHOLDS: CASE STUDIES FROM
HILL VILLAGES
Binod Pokharel
EXCLUSION, THE POLITICS OF LOCATION AND
WOMEN'S PROPERTY RIGHTS DEBATES IN NEPAL: A
DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF POLITICAL ACTIVISM
Youba Raj Luintel
101 THE SOCIAL WORLD OF NEPALESE WOMEN
Dr. Samira Luitel
115 CULTURAL DIMENSION OF PASTURE RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT IN NEPAL: A STUDY OF GUMBA
SYSTEM OF THE NORTHWEST DOLPA
Dhirendra B. Parajuli
147 EMERGlNG METHODS IN RESEARCH PARTICIPATION
AND EMPOWERMENT PROCESSES IN NEPAL
Dr. Philip Tanner
CONTRIBUTORS
Rishikeshab Raj Regmi, Professor; Ph.D. (Anthropology)
Kailash Pyakuryal, Professor; Ph.D. (Sociology)
Padam Lal Devkota, Lecturer; Ph.D. (Anthropology)
Laya Prasad Uprety, Lecturer; (ph.D. Student in Anthropology)
Binod Pokharel, Lecturer; M.A. (Anthropology)
Youba Raj Luintel, Lecturer; MA (Sociology), M.S.
(Gender Studies)
Samira Luitel, Lecturer; Ph. D. (Sociology)
Dhirend.-a B. Parajuli, Assistant Lecturer; (Sociology)
Philip Tanner, Development Expert; Ph.D.
ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSIGHTS IN THE
DELIVERY OF HEALTH SERVICES
IN NEPAL
Dr. Rishikeshab Raj Regmi"
Introduction
Indigenous practitioners like herbalists and spiritualists
used to practice traditional medical methods until 1950 in Nepal.
A multiplicity of medical traditions are found among the various
caste/ethnic communities of Nepal. Since Nepal is a multi-ethnic
and multi-cultural country, there is a variety of cultural
differences and similarities in primary health care practices.
Beliefs, concepts and opinions are different among different
communities. Concepts of health and hygiene, disease and illness
also differ from culture to culture.
His Majesty's Government of Nepal had the policy to
provide good health services to the people of Nepal by 2000
A.D. There is a proliferation of foreign and development
programs on health care system. Many INGOs and NGOs are
working under various health activities to fulfil the aspirations of
about 21.5 million population of Nepal. But despite their efforts,
no improvement on the quality of life of the people is noticed.
Health has always been a major concern of community
development. It is a basic requirement not only for the
fulfillment of people's aspirations but also for the enjoyment of
the people for a better quality of life.
Dr. Regmi is the Professor in Anthropology and Head of the Central
Department of Sociology and Anthropolob'Y. Tribhuvan University, K..U1ipur,
Kathmandll
TIle author is thankful to Prof Kailash Nath Pyakuryal for his comments and
suggestions to finalize this paper.
2 Occasional Papers RR. Regmi 3
The accessibility and availability of alternative curative
and preventive measures of health care are the prerequisites to
change the traditional health beliefs and behaviour of the people.
The rural people go to the faith healers because they are the only
persons available to help them in the time of ailments. The health
posts in many parts of the country are not functioning properly.
There are no doctors, no nurses and no medicines available in
many remote health posts and sub-health posts. TIlerefore, there
is a need to improve primary health care (PHC) in several rural
areas and make available the modem methods of health care.
Attempts should be made to bring changes in the people's health
concept and health behaviour through persuasion. In this
direction anthropological research outputs could be of immense
help. The changing of attitude and behaviour of the people is not
a simple task where many socio-cultural elements are
intermingled. Medical pluralism is found among the practitioners
of health care system. Even the people with a good economic
status and education and belief in modern medicine use
alternative traditional systems of healing, when the modern
medicine fails to help them.
Research Need
General researchers in Nepal who are not accustomed
Witll anthropological methods and the implications of socio-
cultural factors and local languages have given some
discrepancies in their use of data. ]t is because respondents give
one answer to the survey interviewees and it is the interviewer's
error. Therefore, cross-checking of data obtained from survey is
also useful and essential. Now-a-days, there are few studies done
on ethnomedical aspects of rural and ethnic people. But for an
in-depth understanding of the problems and biocultural or
ecological process that affect health, holistic and contextual
systematic studies are necessary. It is now clearly established
that while the need for economic growth is imperative, no less is
ti,e need to obviate indiscreet assult on environment that affects
adversely our life and living. TI,e need for environmental
protection being unquestionable and non-negotiable,
development activities must not be allowed to outstrip the
assimilative capacity of our ecosystem as well as culture.
Contemporary scruting of our concept about health is needed
here.
The constitution of WHO describes "health" as "a state
of complete physical, mental and social well being and not
merely the absence of disease or infirmity". But the definition of
health still appears to be less than satisfactory, and its
measurement in consequences lacks precision. Not infrequently a
clear line of demarcation between health and diseases is readily
recognisable and transition from one to another occurs
imperceptibly.
Factors determining the status of health or disease are
susceptible to changes, induced by a wide variety of
circumstances, endogenous and exogenous. Candidates to be
designated as healthy or diseased on the other hand, are
regulated by a host of factors, genotypic and phenotypic,
disclosed and undisclosed, and handle the disease producing
processes or agents in a manner not too predictable. Defence
mechanism is acquired in these candidates; their character,
activation in response to the external stimuli are not always
amenable to prior estimation. Disease attributable to ineffective
agents, bacteria, parasites, viruses, fungi etc. depend on a
complex succession of events before they attain the level of
criminal recognition as disease entities in a given individual.
TIle abundance distribution and availability of ineffective agents
in nature are governed by a wide range of environmental factors
too. Exposure of individuals to these agents, its extent and
frequency are conditioned by their socio-economic status,
environmental sanitation, health education, social, cultural and
religious practices and occupational pursuits.
Classical epidemiologists generally try to explain why
and how a disease occurs in an area. But very few attempts have
been made to understand why and how the disease fails to occur
in an area, where opportunities for transmission of infection are
readily available. Therefore, the problem should be studied by
means of multi-disciplinary ways. Every culture, irrespective of
its simplicity and complexity has its own notion regarding health
and health seeking behaviour, and this is often referred to as
4 Occasional Papers RR. Regm; 5
"Health culture". It is an integral component of the overall
culture of the conununity. The health of any conununity, by and
large, is a function of the interaction between socio-culture and
socio-biological practices, the genetic attributes and the
environmental conditions. The widely varying prevalent health
practices, use of indigenous herbal drugs, taboos and
superstitions are also responsible for determining the health
behaviour and health status of the different ethnic groups and
other communities. Many studies done by several
anthropologists in Nepal, India and other developing countries
reveal that socio-economic factors, socio-cultural variants like
nutritional practices (food habits) are interrelated with socio-
biological noons such as mating pattern, preferential alliances,
age at marriage, etc., have tremendous impact on the fertility and
morbidity pattern. The impact of environment and genetic
factors are further additive one which complicate the situation.
Some of the studies done by some anthropologists also reveal
that non-availability of safe drinking water, proper sanitation and
hygiene coupled with primitive health practices breed a number
of diseases leading to higher mortality and morbidity rates. It is
thus apparent that health is not the exclusive domain of medical
sciences. It needs a co-ordination between social scientists and
medical practitioners to deal effectively in both prevention and
cure of diseases. As a matter of fact, more anthropological
studies and sociological studies covering the different aspects of
primary health care are urgently needed to understand some of
the realities of health problems, particularly of rural societies.
The importance of socio-economic and cultural factors in health
and disease and their implication on modem medicine and public
health programs can be understood only when both medical
professions and social scientists collaborate with one another.
Development and Change
There has been a perceptible change in recent years
regarding the focus of development polices and priorities. In
Nepal, development goals are no longer defined in terms of
economic growth exclusively but between the development
factors required for the well-being of the people. The vital link
between development process and health is being increasingly
recognised and an attempt is made to reformulate policies, and
programs accordingly. Investment for better health is not viewed
merely as a social service, but as an investment in human
resource development, contributing significantly to the process
of development.
Exposure to disease producing organisms, deficiency of
certain micronutrients (such as iron, vitamin A, calcium and
iodine) as well as the inadequate intake of calories and proteins
remain important reasons for the lack of better health.
Environmental factors are barriers in achieving better health, It is
estimated that only less than 56 percent of Nepal's population
have access to potable water and only 3 percent have basic
sanitation facilities. There are conditions compounded by
cultural, taboos and ignorance. For example, in Hindu and
Buddhist culture of Nepal, abortion is, by explicit dominant
values, considered a great religious sin. Many women in rural
Nepal are reluctant to discuss family planning and abortion.
Sexual activity is surrounded with notions of ritual pollution,
strict privacy and an atmosphere of utmost reservation. Pregnant
women in rural parts of Nepal are not given extra calories and
proteins they require because of the belief that increased food
intake during pregnancy results in larger babies culminating in
difficult labour. In certain parts of rural Nepal infants are not
generally given water to drink. Consequently, dehydration
following diarrhoea claims many lives which could have,
otherwise, been saved through proper dehydration. Other critical
factors influencing health status of tlle communities are the
quality and quantity of health services, including curative
medical care, as well as preventive promotive and rehabilitative
services. Availability of these facilities and their accessibility-
geographic, social and economic have an important role of
particular relevance to health in the status of women that they
enjoy within the home and community. This gives them the
liberty to decide important family issues with health
consequences-how much of the family income should be spent
on food, when and where to take the child for treatment but
unfortunately in Nepal women are less educated and are more
6 Occa.\'ional Papers R.I? Regmi 7
bounded by religion and cultural values. Changes in the attitudes
are very slow and need of women's education is very high.
Health for all by 2000 A. D. on Primary
HealthCare
It is not uncommon to hear health personnel,
irrespective of the capacity in which they are involved, or at any
level of service delivery, dismiss. "Health for all by 2000 A. D.
and primary health care" are as a 'jargon'. Perhaps, this stems
from the definition of health which is not merely the absence of
disease, but a state of positive well-being on one hand, and the
practical impossibility to ensure the absence of disease on other.
"Primary Health Care" is interpreted in more than one way. To
some, it means only "first contact care" ~ which, then, wo~ld
imply a conceptual frames for health planllIng and health servIce
delivery which defines facilities to be provided to people 111
different geographic regions, when they require it. It also implies
the provision of referral services for those who need more
intensive health care. In Nepal, "Primary Health Care", is an
approach and a philosophy for planning organising and delivery
of health services. It is based on certain concepts and principles,
such as accessibility (geographic, economic and social) of
services as close to homes of people as possible, continued
availability, provision of all components of basic health services,
providing referral services at secondary and tertiary levels for
those who require intensive care, reaching vulnerable groups
(such as mothers, children, those socially and economically
under privileged), integrated development to ensure maximal
impact of various development programs and involvement of the
community in healthcare.
These concepts and principles require translation into
policy and program objectives. Further, resource allocation has
also to be accordingly made, if these objectives have to be
achieved. There is an urgent need to define the facilities (in
terms of categories of manpower, their skill, diagnostic and
therapeutic facilities, equipment drugs and supplies etc.), that
needed to be provided at divergent levels, in order to institute
streamlined referral services and avoid duplication of effort.
Studies have shown that there is paradoxical under-utilization of
existing resources, in a situation where there is inadequate
coverage by the health infrastructure.
There is a need to acquire managerial skills by medical
and paramedical workers. The changes in "system elements" for
incorporating better management practices have to be identified
and instituted, if management of health service is to improve.
Supervisor practices may be enlarged to include guidance and
facilitation and also concentrate on qualitative aspects of health
care. Another aspect and a philosophy for planning, organising
and delivery of health services.
Research
Research in health includes a wide range from
fundamental laboratory studies, clinical and community trials to
health system research. Research in health systems may improve
the efficiency of existing health services, generate factual
information for decision-making and provide a base for objective
health planning and programming. Research in health systems
includes the assessment of health needs, and studies the
production and distribution of resources for health care, the
organisation of these resources, their management and economic
support as well as the actual delivery of services. The services
must be organised to provide adequate care as close to people, as
possible, and also simultaneously develop system to ensure
utilisation of services at each level. nus necessitates an enquiry
into (a) what quantum and range of services are to be provided at
primary, secondary and tertiary levels (village, Uaka and district
levels) (b) what facilities and commodities will be required at
different levels to support the defined services (c) what human
resource development polices and programs and institutional
capacity must one has to achieve (d) to develop mechanisms to
ensure community participation and support in planning and
management, as well as perhaps the rendering of certain service.
The need for researches in health related problems are
1I1creasing. An effort should be made in Nepal to develop a
meaningful Management Information System for monitoring the
health care programs. Several researches should be carried out
8 Occasional Papers RR. Regmi 9
(a) to streamline the collection procedure and reduce the load on
workers (b) to evolve a mechanism of feed-back to various levels
of health personnel (c) collect information which may be used
for planning and monitoring services and (d) to relate it to
services provided to the population.
Other important areas for research include the study of
tropical diseases, fertility regulation and infertility,
cardiovascular diseases, cancer diarrhoeal immunity and vaccine
development, mental health and malnutrition. Most research
efforts to day require multidisciplinary expertise and
collaborative effort. Research costs have increased. Scientists
are not sure of the continued availability of funds. There is a
shortage of trained manpower for research. What is required is
a purposeful balance between fundamental and applied research.
Community Involvement for Health Care
It is increasingly felt that for sustainable improvements
in the quality of life of the people, community awareness and
participation have pivotal and enduring role. Several
contemporary, well-intentioned development programs have
brought only transient changes. Some of these unsuccessful
outcomes are attributable to the imposition of programs without
adequate understanding and recognition of community process.
The entire effort towards health care should endeavour to build
on what the communities have and 'adopt' modern medical and
technological advances for use by people not merely undertake
programs which people must 'adopt'.
If the greatest results are to be achieved in terms of
coverage, effectiveness, and efficiencies, we must encourage at
grass-roots, extensive health related activities, by the people, for
the people, as self-help effort. TIus primary health care approach
should require relatively little support from outside sources. The
people should be free to organise for themselves as best as they
can, with appropriate encouragement from the national health
authorities. Undertakings like that of village matenlity centres,
village phannacies, Village Development Committee (VDC)
health posts, VDC cleanliness campaigning by village people
could playa leading role. Mothers, women's organisation, co-
operatives, youth and village actions group can be deeply
Involved In the health of the people. Community participation for
health care theoretically requires the promotion and inculcation
of a value system which is based on mutual concern for members
in the community. Villages in Nepal are not homogenous entities
(where people are aligned according to caste/ethnic and kinship
groups) and efforts to organise people must take cognizance of
this feature. Who is to organise who, for what, remains the
central point. The critical operational aspect for promoting
commurlity participation is the identification of areas where
people can participate, and what can be done by whom. The
mechanism for community involvement have to be developed in
accordance with their resource and culture.
Information, Education and Commnnication
The process of self-learning and the demystification of
medicine are key factors in building up the capacity of
individuals and communities to look after some of their own
health needs. With the advent of new channels for
communication and increase in the out-reach of media one of
the most important issue is designing and implem~nting a
relevant and comprehensive information, education and
communication strategy for health. Information should include
the following:
(a) Etiological and causative aspects of disease, especially
those of public health importance.
(b) Health related activities which may be instituted by
people themselves in relation to this, and
(c) Existing health care facilities to promote better
utilization.
In addition, both formal and non-formal education may
also be promoted. Appropriate technology, both hardware and
software component, should equally be used. Several institutions
are involved in research culminating in the incorporation of less
costly and more feasible ways in health delivery services.
Anthropology as a Tool
For every scientific concept that appears in our
theoretical statements there are likely to be a number of
10 Occasional Papers RR. Regmi 11
alternative procedures available for observing or operationalizing
the relevant phenomena. The anthropological holistic approach
is applied in the study of particular institutions. TIlls is the
principle of multimeasurement research. Such studies or
researdles in Nepal have been done on the level of illness and
primary health care. Qualitative in-depth study has helped
immensely in many researches along with quantitative technique.
In order to make intensive observation field-work
method could be of great useful in different ecological zones of
Nepal, where day to day activities are practiced according to the
traditional medicine as well as with the modern allopathy
methods. TIlerefore, anthropological field workers need to
have a number of different research tools in their "field kit"
unlike the situation in the pure science. Unlike the situation in
the pure science research tools in social anthropology involves
relatively in the way of "hardware" and gadgetry but require
great sensitivity and self awareness on part of the researcher.
The field worker is his own principle research instrument, and
the various methods of investigation are alternative techniques
for objectifying and standardizing the field-worker's perception.
For understanding the culture factors inhibiting the
development of awareness of rural people in Nepal, every file-
worker should be constantly alert inion the possibilities of
developing new modes of observation to supplement the
standard items. In tte context of Nepal, a corollary of this
statement as that in practically in every instance of field research
the techniques employed whether questionnaires, modes of
information interviewing - must be adopted by the field worker
to the requirements of the local cultural context. However, there
are no ready made instruments. Researdler must be very careful
in his observation.
At present, a growing number of social anthropologists
involved in "traditional" research have turned to health related
and development issues that the culture of the development
should become a new area of anthropological inquiry is argued
by anthropologist Judith Justice. Her book about Nepal, entitled,
Policies, Plans and People, focuses on the integrated community
health program which was gradually transformed in primary
health care. Central to this book is the question: "How comes
tI,at information on socio-cultural "realities" is generally not
used in planning health program?" She argues that bureaucracy
in Nepal has not understood the role of social scientist,
especially the social anthropologist. Usually planners have
preconceived notions, impressions and misunderstandings about
anthropologist. TI,ey tllink that anthropologists are interested in
studying only traditional medical practices and practitioners.
But many anthropologist share with planners an interest in
providing effective health care within a cultural milieu and
solving the problems faced by rural health workers. There are
two examples of the anthropological works done in Nepal which
cast more light upon the issue of how to collect information
about local societies.
Linda Stone (1986) also inquires into primary health
care (PHC). She shows that there is a gap between written
intentions (that contain vague motions) and the actual
procedures. Though her project emphasised "Community
Participation", the researcher was hardly happy and was doubtful
whether her aim was really achieved. She argued that ti,e project
encountered problems due to three reasons in Nepal.
I. PHC fails to appreciate villager's values and tlleir
perceived needs. In particular, PHC is organized
primarily to provide health education, whereas villagers
value modem curative services and feel little need for
new heath knowledge.
2. PHC views mral Nepali culture only pejoratively as a
barrier to health education. Alternatively, local cultural
beliefs, usage's and practices should be viewed as
resource to facilitate dissemination and acceptance of
modern health knowl edge.
3. [n attempting to incorporate Nepal's traditional medical
practitioners into the program, primary health care has
mistakenly assumed that rural clients passively believe
and obey traditional practitioners. In fact, clients play
active roles and are themselves in controls of the
tllerapeutic process.
Linda stone indicates that very little is known to the
donor side about people's actual knowledge, perceptions and
attitudes. Burghart (1988) inquires into the cultural knowledge
of hygiene and sanitation that he sees as the basis for health
development in Nepal. He concentrates mainly on the complex
issue of "water" : on the criteria people use to evaluate drinking
water; classification of water sources ; forms of domestic
storage of water, in(ligenous methods of water sources; fonns of
domestic storag'e of water, indigenous methods of water
treatment and knowledge of water related diseases. While
discussing the adequacy of local knowledge of hygiene and
health, Burghart examines the notion of "culture" that guides
developmental interventions. While addressing the problem of
getting planners to translate their concerns on to the
understanding of local people, he stresses that policies calmot be
successfully implemented and taken up by a people if they don't
acquire positive meaning in terms of their local culture. These
factors necessitate the use of key methodological aspects of
holistic paradigm of anthropology.
Conclusions
Most of the participatory research practices in Nepal have
·mistakenly concentrated on measuring tangible goods rather than
helping people in the transformation process to cerate their own
institutions and ideas. This has served ill to the people. With the
goal of improving the quality of life and fighting against mass
poverty, many rural development strategies including PHC have
been implemented in Nepal. Nepal has tried many development
models, both capitalistic and socialistic, borrowed from many
countries, but development experiences have not shown increase in
the quality of life, increased economic opportunity and increased
public consciousness, etc. The flow of foreign aid started in 1952
have not given expected substantial benefits to people who mostly
live in the remote rural villages of Nepal. They are all the more
suffering from poverty, malnutrition, hunger. diseases and social
injustice. People have slowly been losing their faith in development
project because the programs used to be imposed upon them from
govenunent. Thus, nothing is gained, and many food qualities in
Nepal society and culture are lost (Stiller, 1979).
13RR. Regmi
Policies, Plan and People, Berkley: VCP.
Primary Health Care in Hills ojNepal: Integrated
Hill Development Project His Majesty's
Govenunent I SATA, Kathmandu.
Approaches to the Study oj Shamanism. Wiener
Vollcerkundlich Mitteilungen, Vienna.
"Concepts of IIh,ess and Curing in Central Nepal
Village", Contribution to the Nepalese Studies, No.
3, Katlunandu: CNAS.
REFERENCES
Achard, T
1989
Campbell, 1.G
1976
Justice, 1.
1986
Malinowaski, B
1961 Argonauts oj Western Pacific, New York: Duton
Press.
Stiller, L.P and Yadav, R.P.
1979 PlanningJar People, Kathmandu: Sahyogi Press.
Stone, L.
1986
Occasional Papers12
&
WEBERIAN MODEL OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
-A VIEWPOINT-
Dr. Kailash Pyakuryal'
In this paper, an attempt has been made to discuss the concept of
social stratification according to the Weberian model. The first
section deals with explaining the various concepts such as
economic class, social status and political power (party). The
second section discusses the inevitability of social stratification
and finally, in the last portion, Karl Marx and Max Weber are
compared with regards to their views on social stratification.
Social stratification has been viewed by Weber in three
dimensions (Weber, 1947): economic class, social status, and
political power (party). Each of these dimensions has its own
stratification: the economic, represented by income and the
goods and services which an individual possesses: the social,
represented by the prestige and honor he enjoys: and the
political, represented by the power he exercises. According to
Weber's scheme, class, based on the economic order, would be
no more than one aspect of the social structure (Stavenhagen,
1975). Power is the main element in this model. Power has been
viewed as the chance of a man or of a number of men to realize
their own will in a conmlUnal action even against the resistance
of others who are participating in the action. Power gives social
honor. Economic power is not identical with power because
mere economic power and especially naked money power is by
no means a recognized basis of social honor. Nor is power the
only basis of social honor. Power, as well as honor, may be
guaranteed by the legal order. But legal order is not the primary
Dr.Kailash PyakUl)lal is the Professor in Rural Sociology at the Central
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur.
Kathmandu.
The author duly acknowledges the comments made on this article by
Professor Chaitanya MisllIa in its earlier version.
K.N Pyakuryal 15
source of power. It is rather an additional factor that enhances
the chance to hold power or honor: but it cannot always secure
them.
Weber understood law as a system that is effective
b~cause people orient their action to it. In addition, it is provided
With an enforcement apparatus consisting of a staff of men.
Weber was particularly interested in the factors and types of
people that shape the law, as well as in the creation of law
especially natural law. '
Economy
Weber understood economic action as instrumental to
the peaceful exercise of the power of control which in its
intended meaning is oriented towards meeting the demand for
goods and services. His primary interest was in capitalism,
which he dealt WIth In Its relationship to the genesis of the
modem state and the formation of state monopolies: in his
opinion, monopolies originally promoted capitalism, but later on
they hindered it. To Weber, the factory was --- regardless of
prevaIlmg econonuc order --- a workshop with a division of
labor and a type of work oriented to machinery. It is especially
Important to Weber that the outcome of competition, in spite of
chance and fate, leads to the actual selection of those who have
the necessary personal qualifications in greater measure than
other qualities such as devotion to superiors of demagogic
talents. This IS said Without implying the value judgement that
the victors in the competitive battle are for that reason more
valuable from an ethical or some other point of view
(Honigsheim, 1968).
Status Groups aud Classes
Weber used the term "stand" (status group) to refer to
such groups as junkers, industrialists, and German civil servants
(Bendix, 1966). In imperial Germany, stand designated the social
rank of an individual and of his group. This rank consciousness
was a complex phenomenon. Weber emphasized that the
collective actions of junkers as well as of fann workers could not
be understood in economic tenns alone. [t also was necessary to
analyze the ideas derived from the sub-culture of each group __
16 Occasional Papers K.N PYakuryal 17
in Weber's terms, its "style of life" which interred into the
evaluation of its economic interests.
The significance of this concept of stand or status groups
becomes apparent in the contrast Weber made between it and
class.
The term "class" refers to any group of people (who
have the same typical chance for a supply of goods, external
living conditions, and personal life experiences, insofar as this
chance is determined by the power to dispose of goods or skills
for the sake of income in a given economic order --- "class
situation U is, in this sense, ultimately IImarket situation U (Bendix,
1966: Lasswell, 1965). For Weber, as for Marx, the basic
condition of "class" lay in the unequal distribution of economic
power and hence the unequal distribution of opportunity. But for
Weber, this economic determination did not exhaust the
condition of group formation. In contrast to the economically
determined "class situation, II "status situationu is designated as
every typical component of the life fate of men that is
determined by a specific, positive or negative, social estimator of
honor ... In content, status honor is normally expressed by the
fact that a specific style of life can be expected from all those
who wish to belong to the circle. Linked with this expectation
are restrictions on social intercourse (that is, intercourse which is
not subservient to economic purposes). These restrictions may
confine normal marriages within status circle (Krauss, 1976).
Stratification by status group goes hand in hand with a
monopolization of ideal and material goods or opportunities.
Besides the specific status honor, which always rests upon
distance and exclusiveness, we find all kinds of material
monopolies. Such honorific preferences may consist of privilege
of wearing special costumes, of eating special dishes, of taboos
to others, of carrying arms, etc. The decisive role of "style of
life" in status "honor" means that status groups are the specific
bearers of all conventions. Economic actions are oriented
towards a rationally motivated adjustment of interests. In status
order, men are grouped by their prestige and way of life. All
actions based on the consideration of status are oriented to the
feeling of the actors that they belong together. To safeguard
status, men will oppose all suggestions that wealth as such is a
valid basis of prestige. Otherwise, a rich man could claim more
honors than one with distinguished family lineage and this would
undermine the status honor.
Barber (1957) defined a stratified society as one in
which the population has been separated into categories that are
unequal in social evaluation. The greatest the inequality among
categories or the less the likelihood of their becoming equal, the
more highly stratified the society is said to be.
Weber's conception of status stratification consists of the
division of society into distinct communities, separated by social
distance and mutual exclusiveness. The epitome of a status
stratified society and its most extreme case as described by
Weber, is a society with a caste system (for example, Hindu
society) (Weber, 1958).
The members of a "status group" interact with one
another as a rule: each status group has its own set of
conventions, laws, and rituals: each has its own "style of life,"
which Weber defined as a pattern of use of consumer goods. The
observation of social strata as defined by Weber requires study
of patterns of behavior and interaction rather than of abstracted
qualities or properties of people.
Obviously, the more nearly a society reaches a caste
system in its organization, the easier it is to study its patterns of
social stratification as Weber defined them. As a society
becomes more homogeneous in conventions, rituals, and style of
life or less discriminating in association and marriage patterns, it
becomes increasingly difficult to study its patterns of status
stratification. In a completely homogeneous and
undiscriminating society (if such can be imagined) there would,
of course, be no status stratification at all.
Social stratification involves society as a system of
hierarchical categories. Hierarchies may be formed for any of an
indefinite number of referents or for any graded value. Barber
defined a stratified society as one in which there are unequal
categories of people. In contrast with Barber's categories, Weber
posited communities. Weber defined stratification as the
division of a society into distinct communities, which have
18 Occasional Papers K.N. Pyakuryal 19
varying assignments of "status honor" or prestige. Although each
community has distinguishing characteristics, they are secondary
to membership in the community as criteria for assigning
persons to social strata. These two concepts require different
techniques for empirical observations.
Michels (1962) believed that social classes, as they were
found in the early nineteenth century, were a necessary
evolutionary stage in social organization as it moved from a
master-slave to a communistic stage. In the Master-slave State,
the ascendant masters controlled the slaves' activities and
literally possessed them as private property. In the ultimate
communistic state, which Michales believed would be
characterized by complete economic and political democracy,
each man would be his own master. In the transitional period, the
slaves had been freed but the unfortunate, the inept, and the
inadequate, as a class, found themselves dominated by the
fortunate, the shrewd, and the capable (Bogardus, 1960).
For Karl Marx, the important feature of social classes
was their economic self-interest. He envisioned all history as the
story of the struggle for subsistence and material goods. The
revolution in methods of production of material goods had
produced two quite divergent ways of securing subsistence: (I)
owning the machines and factories and asking payment for
ownership in the form of profit on goods sold; and (2) operating
the machines, working in factories, and asking payment for labor
in the form of wages from the owners. Marx felt that conflict
between these two classes -- capitalists and workers -- was
inevitable since both must draw their subsistence from the profit
earned. The capitalist, Marx believed, had a definite upper hand
as long as he could fix the price of goods produced, and also fix
the workers' wages.
He thought that the day was bound to come when the
competitive market and the greed of the capitalists would lead to
a revolution of the workers. In this revolution, the workers would
gain political control in order to confiscate the means of
production. Then, as both owners and workers, they could
themselves have control on income. Ultimately, the need for
political government would wither away and the remammg
worker-owner class would, in fact, constitute no class at all.
The independent criterion for class distinction in the
Marxian two-class system is eminently clear. Stated simply, it is:
does ti,e person in question relate himself to the productive
system as (I) an independent producer of goods who may, if he
needs or wishes, employ others by purchasing their works; as (2)
a worker whose manpower is for sale?
Wilfredo Pareto held that at any given period of time in
every society there are two classes of elite persons--one in
political power and the other out of political power. He defined
elites as persons who possessed intelligence, character, skill, and
high capabilities. He believed that the elite did not produce
enough elite children to produce a continuous upper class, but
that ti,e lower classes produced elite children to replace the old
elites. Instead of a succession of a communist society without
class as Rodbertus and Marx predicted, Pareto and ti,e fascists
foresaw the continued existence of upper and lower classes with
upper class-- or a fraction of it--always dominating the lower.
Pareto did not believe in inherited aristocracy but that superior
people--"natural aristocracy," as Thomas Jefferson put it-- as a
class would always dominate inferior people as a class.
Michels (1962) further believed that ti,e circulation
occurred without need for a massive change in elites; that the
"old" elite offset its natural tendency to decline in power by
incorporating the rising elite persons into its organization.
The most remarkable difference in the conceptualization
of social class in early industrial society between Weber and that
of Marx, Pareto and Michels is that Weber denied the
"community" of social class. For Weber, a class was a category
of population with similar "life chances." By "life chances"
Weber meant opportunities for acquiring or maintaining a
characteristic range of material goods and life experiences.
Weber contrasted "class" used in this sense with "status group"
(which he did see as a real community with recognized prestige
and "style of life," and "party"--- a power group struggling for
domination) (Lasswell, 1965; Tumin, 1970).
20 Occasional Papers K.N. Pyakurya/ 21
Weber further viewed status from two distinct concepts:
(I) class status, and (2) social status.
Weber's concept of class status dealt primarily with the
ability of the individual to control his economic environment, but
he modified this definition by considering the individual's
reaction to such ability or lack of it. Social status applies to a
typically effective claim to positive or negative privilege with
respect to social prestige so far as it rests on one or more of the
following bases: (I) mode of living, (2) a formal process of
education which may consist of empirical or rational training and
the acquisition of the corresponding modes of life, or (3) on the
prestige of birth or of an occupation (Lasswell, 1965).
Max Weber has been criticized by Oliver Cromwell Cox
(Cox, 1970) when he writes, "Max Weber is not clear on class."
One part of Weber's discussion is too much in outline form and
another is almost an economic philosophy of class (political
class). Class is conceived as a function of the market. Indeed, the
author (Weber) speaks of "class position" as "market position."
Weber recognizes many types of classes: "possessing or property
class,'· "earning or income class," "social class ll and subdivisions
of these, but here class becomes a classification rather than a
sociological concept.
Is Social Stratification Inevitable?
Inkeles maintains the following strata: ruling elite, the
superior intelligentsia, the general intelligentsia, the working-
class aristocracy, the white-collar workers, the well-to-do
peasants, the disadvantaged workers, and the forced-labor groups
(lnkeles, 1950).
Davis and Moore (1945); Bernard (1957) and various
others maintain the functional necessity of social stratification.
Individuals have to be placed in different positions in the social
structure. If the duties associated with the various positions were
all equally pleasant to the human organism, all equally important
to societal survival, and all equally competent in need of the
same ability or talent, it would make no difference who got into
which position, and the problem of social placement would be
greatly reduced. But actually it does make a great difference who
gets into which position, not only because some positions are
mherently more agreeable than others, but also because some
require special talents or training and some are functionally more
Important than others.
Also, it is essential that the duties of the positions be
performed with the diligence that their importance requires.
IneVItably, then, a society must have, first, some kind of rewards
that .can be used as inducements and, second, some way of
dlstnbutmg these rewards differentially according to positions.
TIle rewards and their distribution become a part of the social
order, and thus give rise to stratification. Social inequality is thus
an unconscIously evolved device by which societies insure that
the most important positions are conscientiously filled by the
most quahfied persons. Hence, every society, no matter how
SImple or complex, must differentiate persons in ternlS of both
prestIge and esteem and must, therefore, possess a certain
amount of institutionalized inequality.
Where knowledge and skill accumulate, as they do in
human SOCIety, specmhzatlon and therefore, differentiation seem
inevitable. Insofar as stratification is a result of social
differentiation then, there is not much scope for eliminating
stratification. It can be concluded that some system of
stratification is a functional requirement of societies.
Marx and Weber COlllpared
No one in the history of social thought has made the
struggle between competing social and economic classes so
central a feature of society and so dominant a source of social
change as Karl Marx. The history of existing societies is the
history of class struggles, according to Marx. According to
Marx, classes develop on the basis of the different positions or
roles which individuals fulfil in the productive scheme of a
society. The key concepts for Marx are the modes of production
SUcil as agriculture, handicraft, industrialism, etc., and the
relations of production--- the major levels of status in the
economic enterprise. As Marx saw it, men in different relations
to the means of production naturally have opposed interests. The
capitalists have the control over the means of production. There
22 Occasional Papers K. N Pyakuryal 23
are three more concepts in the Marxist approach to the study of
stratification: (1) class consciousness, which refers to the
consciousness of being exploited and deprived of the "surplus
value," (2) class solidarity, which refers to the extent to which
workers act together to achieve political and economic aims, and
(3) class conflict, which refers to the unconscious or conscious
and deliberate struggle between two classes when the workers
become aware of the historic role and act collectively to improve
their situation, and ultimately, to take over ownership of the
instruments of production.
For Marx, under the "proper" circumstances, the workers
would develop an awareness of their situation and would act
collectively upon it. He also introduced the concept of "false
consciousness" (Gidden, 1977; Twnin, 1967).
Weber agreed with certain fundamental features of
Marxist thought, particularly with the crucial significance of the
economic aspects of stratification. For Weber, as for Marx,
control over property was a basic fact in the determination of the
life-chances of an individual or a class. In contrast to Marx,
however, Weber added to the economic dimension of
stratification two other dimensions: power and prestige. Weber
viewed property, power and prestige as three separate though
interacting bases on which hierarchies are created in any society.
Property differences generate classes; power differences generate
status groupings or strata.
Marx and Weber differ on the question of how likely it
is that members of the same economic class exercise united
effort in seeking to achieve common purpose. Weber also differs
from Marx about the probability of true class-consciousness and
class struggle against the exploiting system.
Weber recognized that many kinds of class actions are
possible, only some of which seek to change the basic forms of
the prevailing system of property relations. Marx, too, showed
tllis awareness when he spoke of workers acting with false
consciousness, and acting in ways that fall short of trying to
ove.throw the existing system of property ownership.
Weber says explicitly tllat wllile economic classes do not
normally constitute conmJUnities, status groups do. Status groups
are formed on the basis of conunon amounts of socially ascribed
prestJge or honor. Usually, Weber says, status stands in sharp
0pposltJon to the pretensions of property. Both ti,e propertied
and propertyless can, and frequently do, belong to ti,e same
status group. However, along with Marx, Weber recognized the
essential significance of property differences in the fonnation of
status groups and in the ultimate hardening of the lines of
distinction and privilege among tllem. He differed from Marx in
the importance that he ascribed to status groups and, in ti,e lesser
likelihood, that he assigned to the development by members of
an economic class of a sense of community and a commonly felt
need for concerted action against ti,e system as such.
. TI,e third form of association to wllich Weber gave
pronunence IS the party. Party differed significantly from
economic classes or status groups. Webers emphasis was on ti,e
role of the political party as a separate dimension of ti,e reward
structure. It draws attention to an important issue; namely the
relatJonship between class inequality and mass political parties
deSIgned to redress the balance of advantages in favor of the
subordinate class (Parkin, 1976).
. .To swn up, Webers approach is a view of society
contalrung three kinds of social aggregations. Thus we have the
economic focus of classes, the honor basis of status groups, and
the power center of parties (Tumin, 1967).
Marxian model of stratification is a useful tool in the
understanding of stratification more in a capitalist society where
class formation is distinct with two distinct income groups, ti,e
nch and the poor, creatmg a class based social stratification. Ul
such societies, conflicting class interests clash and new
relationships are established. But Nepali society is a semi-feudal
and semi colonial society where inequality and stratification are
created by a combination of variables such as age, gender,
mcome, ethruclty, caste and class. The society is more closed
and social status is ascribed. Weberian model of social
stratification thus fits better in contemporary Nepal in the
understanding of social stratification.
24 Occasional Paper!J' K.N. Pyakury
al 25
Barber, Bernard
1957
Political Parties: A Sociological Study ofthe
Oligarchical Tendencies ofModem
Democracy, Free Press, New Yark.
From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. M. M.
Gerth and C. Wright Mills, Eds. Oxford Press,
New York.
Michels, R.
1962
Parkin, Frank
1976 Class Inequality and Political Order. Praeger
Publishers, New York.
Stavenhagen, Rodolfo
1975 Social Classes in Agrarian Societies,
Translated by Judy Alder Hellman, Anchor
Press, New York.
Tumin, Melvin M.
1970 (ed.) Readings on Social Stratification.Prentice
Hall, Inc., New Jersey.
Tumin, Melvin M.
1970 Social Stratification. Prentice Hall, Inc.,
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Weber, Max
1958
REFERENCES
Social Stratification, Comparative Analysis of
Stn/cture and Process. Harcourt, Brace and
World, Inc., New York,.
Bendix, Reinhard. Max Weber
1966 An Intellechml Portrait. Lowe and Brydone
(printers), Ltd., London.
Cox, Oliver Cromwell
1970 Caste and Race -- A Study in Social Dynamics.
Modem Reader Paper Back Series, New York.
Davis, Kingley and Wilbert Moore
1945 Some Principles ofSocial Stratification,
American Sociological Review 10 No.2.
Emory, S. Bogardus
1960 The Development ofSocial 771OUght. Longman
Green and Co., New York,.
Giddens, Anthony
1977 Capitalism and Social Theory. Cambridge
University Press, New York.
Honigsheim
1968 On Max Weber, Translated by Joan Rytina. The
Free Press, New York.
Weber, Max
1947 The Theory ofSocial and Economic
Organization. Free Press, New York.
Inkels, Alex
1950 "Stratification and Mobility in Society Union",
American Sociological Review 15, 465-479
Krauss Irving
1976 Stratification, Class, and Conflict. The Free
Press, New York.
Lasswell, TIlOmas E.
1965 Class and Strahl/II. Houghton Mifflin
Company, New York.
ANTHROPOLOGY, SOCIETY AND
DEVELOPMENT IN NEPAL: A NATIVE
PERSPECTIVE
Padam Lal Devkota'
Introduction
Anthropology is a neglected discipline in Nepal. Most
anthropologists in the country confine themselves to teaching at
the universities rather than reaching the people en masse at the
grass-roots level of the country. TI,e relevance of the discipline
to nation-building is not fully recognized by the state. Despite
these obstacles, students of Nepalese anthropology have recently
engaged in digging new foot-steps to the discipline in the
country. This paper is one of the efforts to such foot stepping.
The purpose of the paper is to provide readers a precise vision on
anthropology, society and development of Nepal. TI,e paper is
divided into three sections. TI,e first section sketches the history
of the development of the discipline and sets out a new focus and
framework for the discipline and sets out a new focus and
framework for the study of Nepalese society and culture. The
second section examll1es the concept of 'state-centric'
development in relation to tl,e existing theories and practices of
anthropology in the country. Finally, a brief conclusion is drawn
with a set of proposals for future homework.
Descriptive Ethnography and 'Soul Searching'
Innovation
Development of anthropology as a discipline of study,
teaching and research in Nepal has a short history. The credit
goes to early writings of missionaries and travelers, for example
Dr. Padam Lal Devkota is the Senior Lecturer in Anthropolo,!:,'Y at the Central
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur,
Kathmandll
P. L. Devkola 27
: Kirkpatrick (1811), Hamilton (1819), Hodson (1874) and
Oldfield (1880) who inspired for the development of
anthropology in the country. The later period is marked with the
massive production of descriptive ethnographic accounts most of
which concentrate. attention on the elaboration of various aspects
of Nepalese SOCIety, culture and social institutions. Some
examples of these types of studies are: Haimendorf (1964,
1966,1975,1986), Hitchcock (1966, 1976), Gabbrieau (I 972),
Plgnede (1970) and Nepali (1965).
TI,e focus during this period was upon religion, fatalism
shamanism, rituals and many other wonderful aspects of huma~
life. These were considered to be the most relevant subject
matters of anthropology in the eyes of those western scholars.
The first seminar on "spirit possession in Nepal Himalaya" held
in mid-seventies itself justified that the dominant anthropological
trademark of the period was 'Soul-searching' through spirit
possession (Hitchcok and RexI976).
Euro-centric Traditions and Cultural Romanticism
The period prior to mid-seventies is marked with the
production of vast descriptive ethnographic accounts on
Nepalese society and culture. The dominant anthropological
approach was cultural romanticism brought into the country by
the scholars of the western countries. This approach was '£uro-
centric' and pays no attention to the high cost people pay as the
providers of their cultural clues for nothing but to meet the
practitioners' needs of personal romanticism and professional
development. It is unfortunate that this tradition of cultural
romanticism is still firmly footed in our intellectual structure
order and disciplinary practices. Thus, Nepalese anthropolog;
has been still highly dominated and overshadowed by the
conventional approaches, methods and practices most of which
have been borrowed from the western countries. The country of
shan-gri-Ia is a most favourite place for romantic field work to
those western scholars, whose social life is tired with material
abundance (Galtung, 1982) in their own countries.
The super-imposition of powerful theories of 'soul-
searching' and methods of 'cultural romanticism' from western
28 Occasional Papers P.L. Devkota 29
scholars (See Fisher, 1987, Devkota, 1983) and renewal of the
noble concept of 'fatalism and development' (Bista, 1991) inside
the country, force anthropology of Nepal to stay at the cross-
roads of intellectual colonialism and cultural romanticism.
Social Change Studies and Elaboration of Western
Theories
Anthropological studies which focus on social change as
the unit of study have been undertaken by Caplan (1970,1975),
Caplan (1972), Macfarlane (1976), lijima (1977), McDaugal
(1968) and Poffenberger (1980). These scholars concentrate their
efforts upon testing and elaborating the theories and concepts of
social change mostly originated in the west on the Nepalese
socio-cultural setting (Mishra, 984). 11,e efforts have been made
to identify the forces of change and their consequences on the
present condition of social life. 11,e long historical processes
involved behind the origin of such forces of social dynamics,
acceptance, resistance in the fabric and framework of glorious
traditions, and, deep-rooted socio-psychological sentiments and
pragmatic interpretations of cultural practices have been swept
under the carpet of superficial description of acts and facts of the
phenomena under the study. In these studies, the underlying
patterns and processes of change and transformation have
remained discrete, descriptive, higllly localized and historically
less informed. Some native scholars (Regmi 1971; Bista, 1991;
Nepali, 1965 and Mishra 1984) have made their excellent
contributions to these areas than those of the western scholars.
Applied Anthropology and Documentation of Good
P,"actices of People
Application of anthropological knowledge for nation-
building was a forgotten concern to most of the scholars prior to
mid-seventies. New trends gradually began to emerge when a
few scholars(Wake, 1980; Justice 1986 and Messerschmidt
1995) diverted the discipline to influence state policies and
practices. But these studies also lacked a full understanding of
history, culture and issues hidden inside the core of the social
structure. The major efforts in these studies were put to harness
the resistance aspect of the culture under the specific context of
modernisation, technology transfer and other mal-consequences
as resulted throug\1 the process of state-centric planned
interventions. Most of these studies regard culture as the major
constraint in development and anthropological 'first-aid' is
suggested to check up the fragile failure of 'show-case' scheme
of 'state-centric' development. These studies hardly pin-point the
ills of existing development system and ignore the fact that
without a full understanding of these ills, anthropological 'first-
aid' could provide only a short tem1 relief. However, a detail
documentation of good practices of the society with special
reference to local knowledge system is the major strength behind
these studies.
The review provides a clear vision that most
anthropological writings on Nepal are heavily dominated by
western scholars and scholarships. The major trends still revolve
around the grand idea of 'fatalism and development' which
ultimately leads us to the world of cultural romanticism, the
existing practices and intellectual romanticism. The existing
practices and intellectual trend within the discipline forces us to
infer that anthropology of Nepal has been almost the
anthropology of the foreigners. True, there have been voices of
protest. As Mikesell noted that:
For scholars in Nepal, it is essential not to accept sociology and
anthropology according to the dominant defmition as handed from
western C:OWltries. especiaUy since most powerful voice most easily
transfer themselves to Nepal, however, inappropriate their grafts
(Mikesell 1992:6)
New visions among the native anthropologists have been
gradually emerging and attention is being paid to explore the
fundamental bases of Nepali society and culture. Voices have
been raised in the line to Nepalize the discipline (Bista, 1987,
Sham1a, 1989) and display the disciplinary relevance to the
service of the people and the state (Mishra 1984, Devkota 1992).
But these voices are either ignored or manipulated by giving
new meanings and definitions to the context under debate by the
powerful masters of the discipline (Fisher, 1987). Attempts to
institutionalize the discipline within the country is in gradual
30 Occasional Papers P.L. Devkola 31
progress, but the road is still not free from risk and challenges. In
his overall assessment of the sorry state of anthropology in
Nepal, Mishra says:
We are wlable to explore on the essential coherence of our social life.
Unable as we are wtable to deal witll the whole, we make a virtue out
of dealing with parts. Even worse, many of us mistake the parts for
the whole. In a process what we loose is a certain meaningfulness, a
certain coherence. What we gain is a misrepresentation, a distortion
(MisJua 1985 : 5)
Incomplete Homework under Divided Mentality
The vast stock of micro-level accounts which resulted
through conventional descriptive ethnography have been left
over there without much use by the state for planning and policy
purpose. The native anthropologists hold conflicting views on
the use of this stock of sitting knowledge. Some suggest (Regmi
1992, Dahal 1983) the need for a detailed analysis of these
studies to come out with a macro-level theoretical framework
which could be used as a model for the analysis of the Nepalese
society and culture. Some others (Bista, 1983 Sharma, 1989)
argue that the time is ripe to renew the discipline in the line of
the development of a separate school of thought for the study of
Nepali society and culture. There are some others also (Mishra,
1984, Devkota, 1982) who advocate that the discipline should
move along with the wheel of time to address the buming issues
of Nepalese social structure. Whatever issues native
anthropologists raise or advocate, too little has been achieved on
the prospect of Nepalization of the discipline. The homework is
left pending with a hope to be pursued once again by the
foreigners.
Society and Development in Nepal
Nepal is a Himalayan Hindu Kingdom of complex and
rich syncretic religious culture developed in the course of her
long and free history. The social universe of Nepali society is
parapharsed as ' Car-Varna' and 'Chhattis-jat' (ht. Four colours
and thirty-six castes). Religious hannony alongwith social
integrity has been always observed among various sects of ethnic
groups in the country.
The rural society is characterized with rapid population
growth~ low level of liVing and health conditions, widespread
worsening poverty and increasing threat from environmental
deterioration. The higli population growth with her low GOP
have been matched with the dual objective of growth and equity.
The vanous facets of poverty which flourish despite the rich
cultural heritage is a major challenge before the nation.
The forces of change and practices of development do
not match. WIth each other in the country. The policy
inCOnsIstenCIes observed under frequent changes in development
strategies (Banskota, 1989; Devkota, 1992) make the
achievements more fragile and frustrative. The national economy
IS running through foreign-aid dominated gift economy. In
connection with the impact of foreign aid in the country
professor Fisher argues:
.... The open secret is that most foreign aid benefits
primarily Nepalese elites, and one can define" development" not
wIthout reason, as the process by which the wealth of poor
people In nch countnes IS transferred to the rich people of the
poor countries (Fisher, 1987: 31).
As a result, the market economy has penetrated into no-
market economy, participation has been sustained through
politIcal paternalism, self-sufficiency is measured under narrow
indicators of economic abundance, self-reliance is identified
under state-sponsorship, and thus, local autonomy has been
framed under new and better imported institutions. Moreover,
decentralization and self-governance are justified through
centrahzed planning and decision making and sustainability is
evaluated In terms of patchy and fragile achievements.
Anthropology and Development in Nepal
The broader agenda of national development as defined
under state-centric 'fixed-it' model and current theory and
practices in anthropology confront with each other. The ' State-
centric' development model based on the noble idea of central
control over planning and grand design of 'trickle-down' effect at
the societal level do not meet the promised goals to uplift the
quality of life of the country men. The scheme is characterized
32 Occasional Papers P.L. Del'kota 33
with its several unique features, such as: top-down, uniformal,
result-oriented, target bounded, delivery of tangible goods and
services from centre to peripheries, static structure and
framework and replacement of old with new and better ones.
Often the planners interact with structure, with the framework
rather than with the beneficiaries. Such a practice of
development hardly cover the felt needs of people at the grass-
roots level. The overall consequences of this type of ' state-
centric' development practices can be observed at the various
levels of state domination over regional affairs and regional
domination of societal affairs (Mishra 1984). The situation could
have been improved if it would have been otherwise. The
existing practices of ' State-centric' , top-down' development is
leading society from a pillar of self-sufficiency to the post of
dependency and domination.
Anthropological Visions and Development Practices
in Nepal
Development is a relative term. Different people are
looking it from their own perspective. Humanistic economists
draw their attention more toward the development of small scale
technology suited to local context and condition (Schumacher
1975) and development of human beings than those of the
things (Fromm 1979) based on the philosophy of good work
which combines both spiritual and material side of production
activities (Schumacher 1979). Kothari (1988) draws our attention
more toward the human survival side and recommends the need
for global peace and harnlOny to make possible existence of
manking as a whole on this planet. John Ga1tung (1982) argues
that development should be viewed from the humanistic
psychology and holistic ecology to the 'Gandhian practice to
liberate it from the straightjacket of economics'. Indian political
economist Vrajendra Raj Mehta (1978) refers development in the
multi-dimensional context of man and society bound under a
integrated pluralistic system of 'wholes' within wholes.
Anthropology of development provides a vision that
development should start on the most important people on the
ground (Fisher, 1987). The knowledge and experiences obtained
from the field of anthropology tell one that efforts to be directed
to match interventions tell one that efforts to be directed to
match interventions with the local culture and value system
(Foster, 1962, Spicer, 1952), people based institutions (Taylor,
1965), indigenous knowledge system (Brokenoa, 1953) and
basic innovation (Barnett, 1953) resulting into desirable cultural
change and societal transfonnation.
It is evident from the above discussion that development
is more a process rather than matter of a state. The process is slow,
gradual, bottom-up, building from below, irulovative, time
consuming, people-centered, realistic, democratic, participatory,
liberal, pragmatic, small scale, invisible, praxis- oriented, reflexive,
humanistic, holistic and long lasting.
But the noble desire of 'State-centric' development in Nepal
is highly motivated to achieve immediate results from development
intervention to please the donors rather than to meet the real needs
of own country people. Thus, anthropological visions to direct
'development from below' naturally becomes a unrealistic
phenomena to the plalIDers and policy makers. Under some
conditions, anthropologists are blamed as persons who intend to
violate fundamental principles of national integrity for their
practices on the local communities and culture. The administrators
sometimes perceive them as the' water-loot creators and the tl
trouble-makers" of all odds, Few bureaucrats put label as the
'patron-king' of culture and some others see them simply as
'cultural-romanticists',
In Nepal, anthropologists are not desirable persons to
planners and policy makers. Anthropologists' involvement is mostly
avoided in many important stages of national plamung and policy
making events. This notion of avoidance compels anthropologists to
become more articulated and even critical to those 'state-centric'
development plamung processes, policies and practices. Thus, the
gap between planners, policy makers and anthropologists is further
widened in the country.
The only choice left to the anthropologists was either to
confine to teaching at the university or reaching the people through
the blooming foreign aid NGOs and INGOs all over the country.
Their involvement in these NGOs (Non-GovenIDlental
Organisations) and INGOs (International Non-Govenunental
Organisations) is mostly on short- -term basis based on a contract of
34 Occasional Papers P.L. Devkota 35
Banskota, Mahesh
1989 "Nepalese Economy and the Five Vear Plans" [n
Kamal P. Malia (ed.) Nepal : Perspective on
Continuity and Change. Kathmandu Research
Center for Nepal and Asian Studies.
future studies. The. widespread and worsening poverty among
people IS a challengmg SOCial reality. The broad social, political,
IdeolOgIcal, economic and humanistic context of poverty and its
VISIble. consequences should get priority over the disciplinary unit of
analySIS. Moreover, the conservation of Himalayan environment
and preservation of our common cultural heritage are the left over
homework before Nepalese and Indian anthropologists.
REFERENCES
Bista, Dor Bahadur
1983 "The Process of Nepalization", in Anthropological
and Linguistic Studies of Gandaki Area in Nepal.
Tokyo: Tokyo University Press.
Bista, Dor Bahadur
1987 "Nepal School of Sociology and Anthropological" in
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Bista, Dor Bal18dur
1989 "Structure of Nepali Society" in Kan181 P. Malia
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Bista, Dor Balladur
1991 Fatalism and Development, Calcutta : Orient and
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'hired and fired' conditions. The role they perform in these agencies
include: facilitators, match-makers, watchdogs, cultural brokers,
change agents, interventionists, mobilizers, interpreters and report-
writers. Involving anthropologists in development programmes
indicates not a beliefin success but deeply rooted fear of failure.
Most of these NGOs and INGOs operate under state
defined system of development framework popularly known as
'going through the system' philosophy followed by the powerful
donor agencies. The intention behind such a philosophy is clear: to
strengthen the hands of lstate-centric' development mechanism and
machinery that functions high above and beyond the knowledge and
reach the ordinary people. Their interaction with high structure and
abstract framework compel these NGOs and INGOs to forget the
important people on the ground. The penetration of foreign aided
NGOs and INGOs all over the country has increased public
expectations and dependency without doing much to those who
have suffered generations of hunger, poverty, domination and
deprivation.
Conclusion and Proposal
Whatever ideal goals Nepalese anthropologists may set to
go ahead and actual task at hand they may engage, but the time has
now come for them to assess what is being achieved and what has
been left behi nd for the homework, in the course of the history of
development of the discipline in the country. The anthropology of
Nepal requires a coherent body of theory, concepts and methods for
searching the pragmatic answers to the issues of national
importance and societal answers to the issues of national importance
and societal significance. There is an equal need to tilt the discipline
more to the service of the weaker section of society and to address
the core issues of social structure manifested under the present
context of its cultural dynamics. It is necessary to combine theory
with practice in order to comprehend a coherent visibility or multi-
dimensional context of human conditions and make disciplinary
knowledge accessible to policy formulating bodies and institutions.
The foremost need is to Nepalize the discipline by breaking
the barrier of producer-consumer, provider-receiver, patron-client,
and leader-follower relationships between native and western
anthropologists. Continuity of cultural heritage, nation building and
unity of diversity are some of the areas to be emphasized by the
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36 Occasionol Papers P.L. Devkota 37
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Fisher, James F.
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Foster, Gorge M.
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Fromm, Eric
1979
Gabrrieau
1972
Galtung, Jolm et al.
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Gauchan, Yassokanti
1986 Socia-Cultural Change in 71wkali Society: An
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Science in .Nepal, pp. 37-49. Kathmandu: Institute of
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University.
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(ed.)
"Himalayan Ant!lfopology":
Interface. The Hague: Mouton.
(ed.)
Trans Himalayan Traders: Economy Society and
Culture in North-West Nepal. Berkeley: University
of California Press.
Dallal, Dilli Ranl
1992
Caplan, Lionel
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AJllhropology in Nepal Himalaya: A Critical
Appraisal. Paper Presented at the National Congress
of Sociology/Anthropology in Nepal. Katlmlandu:
Sociology/Anthropological Society in Nepal.
Devkota, Padam Lal
1983 "Critique on Development of Infrastructure and
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Mohan P. (ed.) Social Science in Nepal.
Katlunandu: Institute of Humanities and Social
Sciences, Tribhuvan University.
Dahal, Dilli Ram
1983
Devkota, Padam Lal
1992 Rejlection on Participatory Rural Development in
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Devkota, Padam Lal
1994 "AJlthropological Perspectives on
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1985
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P.L. Devkolo 39
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1811 An Accounl 01 the Kingdom 01 Nepal. London:
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Beyond Marxism: Toward and Alternative
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1995
Mehta, Vrajendra
1978
Mishra, Chaitanya
1987 "Development and Under-Development". In
Occasional Paper in Sociology and Anthropology.
Vol. I PP. 109--137. Kathmandu: Central
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Nepali, Gopal Singh
1965 The Newars. Bombay: Aisa Publishing House.
Oldfield, N.A.
1880
Mishrn, Chaitanya
1984 "Social Research in Nepal". Contribution to
Nepalese Studies 11 (2): 1-10
Mikesell, Stephen
1992 "Unlocking Submerged Voices: Afro-American
Scholarship and Social Science in Nepal." Paper
presented in the National Congress of
Sociology/Anthropology in Nepal. Katlullandu:
SociologicaUAnthropological Society of Nepal.
Policies, Plans and People. Berkeley: University of
California Press.
Ecology, Economy and Culture Change among
Thakalis in the Himalayas 01 Central Nepal. In S.
Iijima (ed.) Changing Aspects of Modern Nepal.
Monumenta Sirindica, No. I, ILCCA, Tokyo.
E.I'.I'ays on the Language, Literature and Religion 01
Nepal and Tibet. London: Trubner and Company.
lijima, S.
1977
Justice, Judith
1986
Hodson, B. H.
1817
An Account 01 Kindom 01 Nepal and 01 the
Terrilories Annexed to this Domain by the House 01
Gurkha. Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and
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Hitch Cock, Jolm T.
1966 Magars 01 Banyan Hill. New York: Holt and
Rinehart.
Hamilton, F. B.
1819
Macfarlane, A.
1976
Les Gurungs: One Population Himalayan du Nepal.
Paris: Mouton.
High Religion: Culture and Political History 01
Sherpa Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal Banarasi Dass
Publishers.
Resources and Population: A Study of Gurungs of
Nepal. Canlbridge: Cambridge University Press.
McDaugal, Charles
1968 ViI/age and Household Economy in Far Western
Nepal. Kathmandu: Tribhuvan University.
Messerschmidt, Donald, A.
1976 71le Gurungs 01 Nepal: Conflict and Change in a
Village Society, New Delhi: Oxford and IBH
Publishing House.
Ottner, Sherry B.
1976
Ottner, Sherry B.
1992
Pignede, B.
1966
Sherpas 71lrough 71leir Rituals.
Cambridge University Press.
Cambridge:
40 Occasional Papers
•
Spicer, Edward H.
1952 Humon Problems in Technological Change: A Cose
Book. New York: Russel Sage Foundation.
Poffenberger, Mark
1980 Patterns of Change in Nepal Himalaya. Delhi:
Macmillan.
Sharma, Prayag Raj
1989 "Nepali Culture and Society: Reflections on Some
Historical Currents" In Kamal P. Malia (ed.) Nepal:
Perspective on Continuity and Change. Kathmandu:
Research Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies,
Tribhuvan University.
Regmi, Mahesh Chandra
1971 Study of Nepalese Economic flistory. New Delhi:
Manjusri Publishing House.
Regmi, Mahesh Chandra
1976 Land O,,"ership in Nepal. Berkeley: University of
California Press. Prelude
Ths paper, in general, makes an endeavour to
demonstrate how the population growth in Nepal has been
conducive to the environmental degradation. More specifically,
this paper is intent on dealing with four objectives, viz., (i) to
assess the trends and causes of the population growth; (ii) to
assess the increasing demands of growing population on the
environment; (iii) to assess the environmental degradation
resultant from the population pressure, and (iv) to assess the
impact of environmental degradation on the agrarian economy of
Nepal.
Trends and Causes of Population Growth: A
Glimpse of Population Dynamics
In Nepal, population has been unprecedentedly growing.
Nepal's population which was only 5.6 million in 191 I increased
to 18.4 million in 1991. According to the national census of
1991, the population has now been increasing at 2. I percent per
year. Presumably, this rate of growth continues to rise even in
the future if the government does not formulate and implement
effectively some practical population policies and programmes
to curb the population growth. Many independent variables such
as economic value of children in Nepalese agrarian economy,
reduction of infant mortality and morbidity owing to the medical
treatment facilities (though in limited extent), malaria
eradication in the Tara! (shifting of the destination of hill
By Laya Prasad Uprety'
POPULATION DYNAMICS AND
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN NEPAL:
AN OVERVIEW
Vikos: Evolution in Nepal. Katlunandu: Centre for
Nepal and Asian Studies, Tribhuvan University.
Small is Beautifiil: A Study of Economics as if
People Mattered. London: Sphere Books.
Goodwork. London: Janathan Cape.
State of Anthropology in Nepal. Paper Presented at
the National Congress of SociologylAnthropology
in Nepal. Kathmandu: AnthropologicaVSociological
Society of Nepal.
Wake, C. 1.
1980
Schumacker
1979
Schumacker
1975
Regmi, R. R.
1992
Mr. Laya Prasad Uprety is the Lecturer in Anthropology at tl,e Central
Department of Sociology/Anthropology, Tribhuvan University, KirtipuT,
Kathmandu.
42 Occasional Papers L.P. Uprety 43
The above table provides the population data from 1911
onwards. However, quoting several foreign authors, V.B.S.
Kansakar (1989) notes that before the 1911 census, the
population was estimated at 3,661,200 persons (Fraser, 1920), 4
million in 1850s (Oldfield, 1880), 5 nlillion in 1879 (Husain,
1970) and 5.2 nlillion to 5.6 million at the beginning of the 20'"
century (Vansittart, 1906)
Though Nepal has a long history of census enumeration,
the scientific census enumeration started only in 1952/54 with
the establishment of separate organization. The censuses before
1952/54 were taken by local revenue agents for various
migrants from India to the Tarai), rurality of population in
composition, immigration from India, early nuptiality,
unavailability of birth control advice and contraceptive devices
in the outlying parts, illiteracyllack of education, fatalistic
attitude, etc; have been contributing to this rapid growth of
population. Never in the history of mankind have as many
people populated the Himalayas as today and there will be more
tomorrow (Rieger, et al. 1976). In order to have a clear
understanding of the trends of population growth in Nepal, we
have to look at the longitudinal demographic data as presented in
the following Table 1.
Table I : Population Size and Growth, Nepal, Census Years
1911-1991
CBS 1985 - Intercensal Changes of Some Key Census
Variables, Nepal 1952/54 - 81. p.13 and Population
Monograph of Nepal (1995) and Statistical Pocket
Book, Nepal (1998).
18,491,097 + 2.08
administrative purposes. The population of Nepal decreased by
one percent between 1911 and 1920 and similar trends can be
clearly observed between 1920 and 1930. The absolute decline
in population size between 1911 and 1920 may be attributed,
among others, to : (a) the effect of world wide influenza
epidemic in 1918 which had also passed through Nepal and took
the lives of a large number of population, and (b) the heavy loss
suffered by the Nepalese men serving with the allied forces
during the First World War (CBS, 1985.7-8).
In the 1930 census, the population decline can also be
attributed to the under-enumeration due to the lack of separate
organization and the apprehension of being conscripted into the
anny for possible war against Tibet in 1929. There was I
percent per annum population growth rate during the intercensal
period 1930-1941. This modest growth was followed by high
rate of 2.3 percent growth rate during the intercensal period
1941-1952/54. Inlprovement in the management of census
taking, return of men serving with foreign annies after the
second world war and better coverage were some of the
contributing factors to this rapid increase of population (CBS,
1985)
Between 1952/54 and 1961, the population growth rate
was 1.6 percent per annum. Though not plausible, Nepalese
experts on population studies have argued that this decline might
be due to the over-enumeration in 1952/54. After 1961, the
Nepalese population has been rapidly increasing. During the
intercensal period of 1961 and 1971, the population growth rate
was 2.07 percent per annum. The unprecedented population
growth rate, that is 2.6 per atmum, can be observed between the
intercensal period of 1971 and 1981. But the annual growth rate
between 1981 and 1991 is a little lower, that is, 2.1 percent.
Historically, Nepal's Tarai region was densely forested
and was highly infested with malarial diseases. But the soil is
highly productive and whoever went there in search of cultivable
land was fallen into the prey of formidable malarial disease.
Hence, tllis Tarai region was known by ti,e name of "black
waters". Very few of autochthonous tribes who had genetically
developed resistance against malaria were found in scattered
Geometric Growth Rate
5,638,749
5,573,788 - 0 13
5,532,574 - 0.07
6,283,649 + 1.16
8,256,625 + 2.30
9,412,996 + 1.65
11,555,983 + 2.07
15,022,839 + 2.66
Population SizeCensus Years
1991
Sources:
1911
1920
1930
1941
1952/54
1961
1971
1981
44 Occasional Papers L.P. Uprety 45
settlements. But in the 1950s, a USAID - sponsored malaria
control program started the spraying of DDT (DicWoro-
diphenyl-trichloroethane insecticide) in malarial areas and the
fatal malarial disease was almost controlled. Then, this Tarai
region, being the most fertile, began attracting a large number of
migrants from the hill and mountain regions.
Since 1970's, BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin)
immunization began to be provided to all the children under 15
years of age which substantially reduced the tuberculosis
incidence. Diarrhoea has been drastically reduced due to the
availability of Jivan Jat (oral rehydration powder) even in the
outlying parts of the country. Smallpox is almost eradicated
through vaccination. Cholera is also being controlled. Leprosy,
gastrointestinal disorders, etc. have also been reduced due to the
medical facilities to some extent. Although Nepal is still poor in
medical field compared Witll many other Asian countries,
modern medical facilities have been working for lowering the
infant and adult mortality, increasing the life expectancy and
thereby contributing to the population growth.
Besides the gradual development of hospital-based
medical care, the government is also setting up Aylllvedic clinic
and small health centers to serve the needs of Nepal's dispersed
populations. These small health centers have been staffed by
health auxiliaries and paramedical personnel. According to the
national census of 1991, the life expectancy of males and
females has risen to 55.0 and 53.5 years, respectively (CBS,
1995). Thus, substantial achievements have been made in
reducing the morbidity and mortality.
Before malaria was eradicated in the Tarai of Nepal,
both mountain and Tarai regions had low density of population.
People of the hill did not like to risk their lives in the hot and
malarial Tarai although natural increase of population in the hill
areas was placing tremendous pressure on the arable land
whereas ample land was unused in the Tarai. Earlier
government of Nepal tried to attract the immigrants from India to
settle in the Tarai and ac!lieved modest success. But the people
of the hill, due to the population pressures, started used to
emigrate to Assam, Darjeeling, (both being parts of India),
Sikkim (before a semi-protectorate of India but now annexed to
it), Burnla, and Bhutan. The coal and tea industries developed in
many Indian provinces offered the job opportunities to Nepalese
unskilled labour forces (Regmi, 1978). Besides these, many
adult males of the hill region of Nepal were employed as
mercenary soldiers in British East India company.
Prior to the 1961 census of Nepal, many hill Nepalese
used to emigrate to India but after that there has been a
considerable decline in the net emigration. Banister and Thapa
argue tI,at the main reason why the long-term migration of
Nepal-born persons became less pronounced in the 1960's is that
ti,e destination of many migrants leaving ti,e hills of Nepal
shifted from India to the Tarai. This change was due primarily
to malaria control and sudden availability of good agricultural
land in ti,e Tarai (Banister and Thapa, 1981: 78). All this
contributed to the rise of Nepalese population after 1961.
Children in Nepalese agrarian economy have very high
economic value. Older c!lildren take care of younger siblings
and thereby help free tlleir parents to be involved in various
productive activities. Analogously, tI,ey also look after tlleir
livestock and fetch water and firewood. Besides tllese, older
children also help tlleir parents in various agricultural activities.
Children in Nepalese society are considered as the main
economic security during the old age. In discussing ti,e fertility-
related attitude, Poffenberger demonstrates ti,e economic value
of the children in ti,e following way:
In a COlUltry where wltil recently labor was n scarce commodity. the
econom.ic value of the children was great. Traditionally, one of the
clearest detennimmts of how much land a family controlled and how
wealUIY it was, was the nmnber of family members available to bring
land w1der cultivation and work it ... Certainly, the association
between many children and wealth of security is a strong one among
virtlk111y all the hill cultures ofNepal ... (poffenberger, 1980: 84).
Desperately poor people still think that more the
working children a household has, the more economically viable
it gets. Birth of a child is considered to be a blessing but not a
curse.
46 Occasional Papers L.P. Uprety 47
In the patrilineal Nepalese society, there has been a
culture of gi ving preference to sons. In the orthodox Hindu
culture, sons are needed to conduct various ritual activities after
the death of parents. Traditionally, it is the duty of a man to get
married and produce at least one son before he dies which helps
him in paving the path to reach "Swargd meaning 'heaven'.
Because of this 'son preference culture', people still hope to
produce a son even after the birth of half a dozen daughters.
Another reason of giving 'preference to son' is that girls leave
their parental home after they get married and it is only sons who
live with the parents and work as economic security during the
old age. Sons also keep the 'name' of the family and inherit the
parental property. All these traditionally-embedded notions also
contribute to the rapid growth of population.
Early nuptiality, being universal in the Nepalese socio-
cultural tradition, also contributes to the rise of population. The
legal age at marriage with the approval of parents is 18 years for
the boys and 16 years for the girls and that without the consent
of the parents is 21 years for the boys and 18 years for the girls.
Despite this legal provision, early marriages are still held in the
rural areas of Nepal.
According to 1991 census, the literacy rate for males and
females is 54.4 and 25.0 percent respectively so that marriages
are held earlier because they do not have much choices to do as
educated people do have. Since the population is also
predominantly rural in composition, marriages are held earlier
than the urban population. Birth control advice and devices are
inaccessible in many parts of rural Nepal and therefore, there is
low level of contraceptive use. Uneducated rural people are also
fatalists. Put in another way, they think that their fate determines
their course of life. So people accept that having many children
is also determined by their fate. This is also responsible for the
rise of population.
Thus, the decline of mortality and morbidity without
corresponding decline in the fertility rate, stoppage of permanent
migration from hill to India and consequent internal migration to
the Tarai, early nuptiality, low level of literacy, rurality of
population in composition, lack of family planning devices and
advice in most of the outlying parts of the country, fatalistic
attJIu-de, poverty, immigration from India, etc. have significantly
contributed to the increase of Nepalese population which has, in
tum, had ti,e adverse effect on the fragile ecosystem of the
country.
Increasing Demands of Growing Population on the
Environment
Population growth has placed more increasing demands
on tlI.e forest and pasture resources so that they are fast being
depleted. Many beautiful hills of Nepal are getting extinct at
present. It is estimated that the area under forest land had
decreased by almost 40 percent in the last 30 years (Bajracharya,
1984 : 113). In 1963·64, a total of 6.4 million hectares forest
accounted 45.5 percent land of the country. Though the Master
Plan for Forestry Sector (1988) has written that Nepal has 37
percent land under forest cover, scholars on forestry estimate this
percent as low as 29 percent. This shows that deforestation has
taken place at an alarnling rate in Nepal. Forest ecosystems have
developed over long periods of time and get adapted to certain
climatic and other ecological conditions. This balanced system
suffers irreversibly when there is growing encroachment by
burgeoning human population.
There appears to be a close correlation between the
depletion of forest resources and the growth of population in
Nepal. For example, population in the Eastern Tarai districts of
Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari and Siraha during the period 1952-1971,
doubled while the forest area was halved (Gurung, 1981 : 8).
Increasing demands for cultivable land, firewood, fodder and
timber have been responsible factors for the drastic forest
reduction. In other words, deforestation is the function of the
demand for firewood, timber, fodder and new cultivable land.
TI,e increasing demands of growing population on the forest
environment have been succinctly discussed below.
Increasing Demand for Cultivable Land
Nepal has overwhelmingly an agrarian economy so that
land is an important factor for growing food in order to feed the
48 Occasional Papers L.P. Uprely 49
rapidly increasing population. As stated earlier on, Nepal has 18
million population and 45.5 percent of the total population of 18
million lives in the hills where only 0.6 million hectares of land
is cultivable. Most of the forest and private pasture areas have
already been encroached by the land-hungry population. In other
words, the population of the hill exceeds the carrying capacity.
Thus, the hill agriculture does not support the growing
population so that they seek the alternative of their survival and
the hill land hungry people have been migrating to the Tarai.
These hill migrants have ravaged the forest mercilessly
in the Tarai. The problem of illegal squatters has also
contributed a lot to the depletion of forests. lllegal settlement in
the Tarai has been a problem for the government. As the ratio of
population between the hills and Tarai goes in favour of latter as
has been the trends in recent decades, forest cover in Tarai is and
will increasingly be threatened. Some estimates claim that over
90 percent of the total forest cover has been encroached in the
Tarai. If migration and consequent encroachment on forest land
is the problem in the Tarai, in the hills, the problem is that of
ever-increasing population pressures, leading to increasing
demand for cultivable land and consequent deforestation (Bhatta,
1976 : 23) In the hills of eastern Nepal, there is now little jungle
to break or virgin land to bring under cultivation. Given the
existing level of technology and pattern of cultivation, the land
is unable adequately to support the population (Caplan,
1970: 6).
Both hill migrants and Indian immigrants from the states
of North India have destroyed the Tarai forests. It is clear that
one indirect effect of deforestation in the hills is the drastic
reduction of the Tarai forests by inunigrants seeking land for
settlement and cultivation. Both squatting and legal settlement
are dependent on forest clearance, while the growing population
is placing increasing demands on the dwindling forests (Seddon,
1987).
The population pressure per cultivated land for hill
region is 9.6 persons which is very high (CBS, 1995). In the
hills, the average size of holding is 0.77 hectares compared with
1.26 hectares in the Tarai (CBS, 1994). Thus, growing
population is putting increasing pressures on forest environment
for growing food. In discussing the implications of rapid
population growth: Blaikie, Cameron and Seddon write:
The implication of (The) rapid growth of Nepal's population had
become painfully clear, for the predominantly agrarian economy had
shown itself only able to keep with the increase in population and its
requirements largely through the cultivation orIess productive land in
the ItiUs and the openi.£!g up forest in few plains. The first of these
led to the development of widespread erosion following the massive
destmction of the forest cover, while the second provided only a
temporary safety-valve for surplus population from the hiUs .. ,.
(BlaiJuli, Cameron and seddon, 1980: lJ-12).
Thus, the rapid growth of population has been a
significant factor contributing to the depletion of forest
resources.
Increasing Demand for Firewood
Closely associated with the foregoing point of
population pressure is the increasing firewood demand which has
been one of the principal factors of forest degradation in Nepal.
Wood has remained a dominant domestic fuel for rural people.
Firewood at present provides nearly 80 percent of the energy in
Nepal (CBS, 1998). Per capita consumption of fuelwood for the
hills is 640 kg and while for the Tami, the figure is 424 kg
(Subedi, 1995).
Nepal lacks coal and other petroleum resources. And
she has not been able to harness water resources despite the high
potentiality. Hence, people have to depend on firewood.
Although forest is a renewable natural resources, the way in
which it is used makes it non-renewable. The growing demand
for bio-fuel from the forest is attributable to population growth in
Nepal.
Increasing Demand for Fodder
Nepalese agrarian economy is dependent on livestock-
raising. HoffjJauir is of the view that cattle and water-buffalo are
the key links in the ecosystem as providers of manure which,
composted with wild vegetation, is used to fertilize the fields.
The male cattle are necessary for ploughing the terraces and the
50 Occasional Papers L.P. Uprely 51
buffaloes are used primarily as manure machines, but can also
occasionally produce milk and offspring (quoted in
Poffenberger, 1980 : 47). Livestock is usually held in excessive
numbers in the Himalayas, partly for religious reasons, partly on
account of the low yields of cattle, and partly because of the
need for animal manure. Livestock makes demands on the
forests in two ways. First, the forest is used for grazing all the
year round, and leaves and twigs of small trees. Second, the
leaves and twigs are lopped for cattle feed by the population....
(Rieger, 1976 : 18). Livestock-raising is entirely dependent on
fudder resources. Forest and pasture are the principal sources of
fodder. Forest-fodder supply is very important source of
livestock food in hill areas. Estimates place amount anywhere
from 40 to 60 percent of the total fodder consumed (Macfarlane:
1976.45).
The rural people feel that the importance of the forest is
to provide fodder to livestock. One of the simple reasons for the
forests near the villages being misused is that very many
peasants have no alternative source to get their fodder.
According to the 1991/92 national sample census of agriculture,
Nepal has 7.37 million cattle, 3.12 million buffaloes and 5.52
million goats. Analogously, there are 602,800 sheep and
495,800 pigs (CBS, 1994). This places her among those
countries with the highest livestock population per unit of land.
To sustain tllls present livestock population, Nepal needs
more tl,an 90 million tons of fodder per annum. TI,e agricultural
economy of Nepal is entirely based on the bio-mass extraction
from the neighbouring forest. The utilization of animal manure is
possible to the farm lands only through tl,e exploitation of fodder
resources from the forest ecosystem.
The excessive livestock population is raised in order to
meet the nutritional requirements of the rural poor people.
Environmentalists hold the opimon that overgrazing by the
excessive herds of livestock population has been one of the
principal factors of ecosystem degradation. Very often the
individual famler does hardly to safeguard, take care of, utilize
the few fodder species. Thus, a farmer who uses the forest today
as his fodder sources may be ilie one destroying it at a rate faster
than would like to believe. The damage left belllnd by the
Inlgratmg herds of Chories (a variety of cow found in high
altitude) m search of fodder can be devastating to the forest in
the cooler areas. The pressure of man and his animal population
on the forest and pastures have reached its saturation point
(Pandey, 1976 : 19).
Increasing Demand for Timber
The rapidly growing population places Increasing
demands of timber on forest for building houses for shelter.
People exploit timber more than their actual demands.
Regarding this, Mauch writes that in the central Himalayas about
70 cubiC meters of valuable wood is logged per house, although
less than 20 cubic meters would suffice if properly and
efficiently used (Mauch, 1974 : 9).
Environmental Degradation in Nepal
TI,e rapid depletion of forest resources due to
unprecedented population growth has caused a senous
environmental degradation in Nepal. Eckholm writes tllat there is
no better place to begin an examination of deterioratin"
. . a
mountain environments than Nepal. [n probably, no other
mountain countries are the forces of ecological degradation
buddmg so rapidly and visibly (Eckholm, 1976 : 76). It is
obVIOUS that the destruction of hill forest, through the destruction
oftlle previously balanced environment, is indirectly resultant in
tl,e destruction of the forests in the Tarni for the growing
population is placing increasing demands on tl,e dwindling
forests for cultivable land, firewood, fodder and timber (Rieger,
1976). Conclusively, forest plays a significant role in
maintaining the ecological equilibrium. TI,e deforestation
adversely affects the previously balanced ecology and
consequent are the environmental problems. The main
environmental problems of Nepal are discussed hereunder.
Denudation
Denudation, an appalling environmental problem, means
taking away of tree covering from the land. The problem of
denudation has been universal in many hill regions of Nepal.
52 Occasional Papers LP. Uprely 53
But the problem of denudation is not new in Nepal although its
pace has been accelerated in the recent decades. Large areas of
far western hills have been denuded of forest... however,
deforestation especially the removal of forest cover from the tops
of ridges and hills in many areas has presumably lessened the
moisture retaining capacity of the soil, a critical factor in this
region which has low and uncertain rainfall (McDougal, 1978 :
3-4). Denudation is the consequence of the increasing pressure of
human population and ruminant populations on the forest
resources.
Soil Erosion
Closely associated with the problem of deforestation is
the problem of soil erosion. Every year Nepal faces the problem
of soil erosion. The main reason of rapid increase in soil erosion
is the massi ve exploitation of natural resources of the country
owing to the overpopulation. In Nepal, unrestricted and
unscientific terraced cultivation, deforestation and the excessive
overgraz1l1g have been conducive to the tremendous
deterioration of the environment which, in turn, have been
increasing the rate of erosion. Soil erosion is a great ecological
hazard which has negative impact upon the lives of human
beings. Soil erosion destroys the normal equilibrium in the
relation between man and nature.
There is also the natural erosion but man-made erosion
is relatively dangerous. Deforestation and soil erosion are
inseparably linked with each other. Nepal is predominantly an
agrarian economy and the soil is highly precious for the
production of the basic necessities of Nepal. But tlus goes
unnoticed during the monsoon. Soil erosion is Nepal's most
precious export, for which it receives no compensation. An
estimated 240 million cubic meters of soil are lost every year
(IBRD, 1974 : Annex 6 : 2).
Soil erosion in Nepal, as in many other countries
elsewhere, is caused by the pressure of large rural population
which only understands and practices primative and destructive
metllOds of cultivation. Land is cultivated to ti,e limit of
production wiiliout iliought being given to its preservation and
improvement. Vast number of generally inferior cattle and goats
are allowed to wander freely and everything witllin reach,
whether this is in the form of pasture, grasses, shrubs or young
trees. Everywhere, in the hills, the trees, whose fodder value is
considerable, are lopped not according to any systematic
cropping pattern, but in ti,e most hapazard and destructive
manner possible where small patches of forest or shrub still
survive are subjected to lopping (Willan, 1967 : 15).
Many studies have shown that Kosi (one of the biggest
river of Eastern Nepal) catchment of Eastern Nepal is one of ti,e
most eroded areas in the wmld. Soil erosion has been a direct
challenge to the people of Nepal. Soil erosion is almost to the
point of no return. It is apparent tllat ti,e continuation of the
present trends may lead to the development of semi-desert
ecology in ti,e hilly regions (Quoted in Eckholm, 1976 : 82).
Landslide
Landslides are often frightening experiences. TIley
occur when a great mass of soil lying on steep slope becomes
saturated with moisture and slides over ti,e underlying rock
surface. There may be natural landslide too, but human
intervention on nature (especially on forest ecosystem) has
increased ti,e frequency and gravity of landslide. Mountainous
country like Nepal faces the problem of soil erosion. It has
become an inescapable economic problem. Every year, during
the period of monsoon, landslides have taken the toll of human
Ii ves and of cattle and have destroyed houses. The long cause
for the landslides is the expansion of agriculture up to steep hill
slides and the progressive defoliation of ti,e hill slides that
should have left with trees. The lullsides are highly unstable
when tree cover is removed (Schoader, 1977 : 133).
54 Occasional Papers L.P. Uprety 55
Siltation
Siltation has been another environmental problem in
Nepal. Because of erosion and frequent landslides, the rivers are
filled with heavy load of silt in the summer. When the rivers
emanating from the snow-capped mountain reach the Terai belt,
their movement is slow so that silt is dropped and thereby the
river beds are raised. River beds in the Terai are rising at the
rate of about 15-30 centimeters (6 inches to I foot) a year
(National Planning Commission, I 974b). This siltation causes
further heavy floods during monsoon season and thereby diverts
the usual river beds and all of which contribute to the destruction
of irrigation canal structures and heavy toll of human
settlements.
Thus, the rapid growing population has placed
increasing demands on the dwindling forests for cultivable land,
firewood, fodder and timber for the construction purposes. And
consequent is the environmental deterioration which has
ultimately worsened the economic base of the poor country,
Nepal. Besides these above-mentioned environmental problems,
the gradual process of desertification in some parts of hill and
the Tnrai has become another serious problem.
Impact of Degraded Environment 011 the Ecollomy
of Nepal: A Glimpse of Agnlriau Change
Nepal has predominantly an agrarian economy supported
by Ii vestock-raising. Livestock-raising is the fundamental
component of Nepalese farming system. Agriculture and
livestock-raising are inseparably interrelated but the latter is
totally dependent on the forest fodder and forest grazing lands.
During the recent decades, fodder from private pastures
(disappeared due to excessive ruminant population) and forest
has declined considerably due to the uncontrolled population
growth, overgrazing, and uncontrolled and haphazard method of
lopping. As a result, the number of livestock has started either to
decrease or get malnourished and thin. All this has resulted in
the decline of agricultural yield of the villages of Nepal. Decline
of agricultural productivity means decline of the by-products of
agriculture which are also used as feeding resources. This
fodder shortage has had the negative impact on the peasant
economy of Nepal. Diagrammatically, this negative impact is as
follows:
FIGURE I : IMPACT OF POPULATION GROwrH ON TIfE PEASANT
ECONOMY
Unprecedented population
growth
..
Decline of forest area and
fodder sources
I
Decline o"agricultural f---. Shortage offodderproductivity from cropland
1 ~
Smaller amount of manure Fewer
production animals/malnourished
animals
DISCUSSll1g the fodder shortage and Its Impact,
Poffenberger writes that the question of fodder shortage is
crucial and cannot be understood, for without fodder, fertilizer
cannot be produced, without fertilizer, the already infertile soil
which is often made to support as many as eight to nine people
per area will become less fertile and production level will
inevitably decline (Poffenberger, 1980 : 40). Many scholars
have attempted to describe the increasing inlbalance in the hill
agro-ecosystem. Hoffpauir is of the opinion that agricultural
productivity is directly related to the quality and quantity of wild
vegetation. If the wild vegetation continues to deteriorate, fewer
It is the rule, not the exception, that in most of the central and
southern Kamali zone, the collection of a load of frrewood requires
one-day round trip from the household. A generation age (18+20
years) such a trip would require only an hour or two. Projecting this
rate of deforestation, tile wood supply for many villages soon will be
animals will be kept, small amounts of manure will be
produced, crop yields will decline and people will have less to
eat. Lower crop yields also result in less straw fodder, which
means further limitations on the number of animals and an added
force driving this downward spiralling system (quoted in
Poffenberger, 1980 : 53).
Milk yield among the peasant households has already
started to decline due to the shortage of fodder resources.
Income from clarified butter has almost become a day dream for
most of the households although very few are having it till now.
Quantity of milk production is also declining every year. Now
animals are thin because they are not sufficiently fed and they
cannot give a desired yield (Uprety, 1986). In discussing the
shortage of fodder and its consequence on peasant economy,
Caplan writes that villagers are finding it increasingly difficult to
obtain fodder from the forest, an essential ingredient in the
production of butter whicb supplements many families'
economies (Caplan, 1972 : 35).
The practice oftbe sale of meat animals, i.e. sheep, goats
and pigs, has also started to decline due to the diminishing feed
resources. Forty two percent households in Nepal are below the
poverty line and they are suffering from extreme malnutrition.
The excessively malnourished and unproductive cattle
population does not help to meet the nutritional requirements of
these poor people.
11,e shortage of ftrewood is being experienced not only
in the hills but in Tarai as well, because of the deforestation.
Today it has been apparently clear that the firewood shortage is
one part of wider ecological crisis that has gripped Nepal.
Firewood collection was previously an easy task. One bundle of
firewood could be collected within one or two hours but now it
takes the whole day to collect the same quantity of firewood.
Illustrating with an example of the firewood shortage in Kamali
Zone (one of the 14 zones of Nepal), Bishop writes,
57L.P. Uprely
It seems extraordinary thing that in a poor rnowttainous country such
as Nepal where every foot of soil is precious and required to produce
the basic necessities of life in the shape of food and shelter the
broWll soil-laden rivers go unnoticed during the monsoon, and the
fact :hey are carrying the very basic of life of the people mean
notillng at all to the vast majority (Quoted in Eckho~n, 1976: 81).
11lUS, soil is the most important ingredient for the
production of cereals in a characteristically agrarian economy of
Nepal. Therefore, if the soil is washed away, rural people of
Nepal lose ti,e very basis of tlleir lives. In discussing the
deterioration of hill agro-ecosystem, Enke writes:
Visual evidence of already existing over population includes
deforestation, erosion, and silting. Within the last decade, wooded
hill tops have been cut dOWll or severely depleted, terraces have
been extmded to the tops of hills and cattle have had to graze
fwt1ler away, hill-top terraces h.we leached out, have been
abandoned, and have started to coUapse on terraces below.
Villagers often have to go much further to cut fodder for animals.
The complex interaction of wood for fuel, cattle for manure and
draught, and manured terraces for rice etc. is becoming increasingly
vulnerable to overcrowding of the hill areas. If conditions worsm,
areas now cultivated will have to be abandoned (Enke, 1971 : 20).
more than a day away. The villagers will not be able to afford the
increased time required for obtaining wood. They will be forced to
bum .dung ~s is n?w d?ne in lower regions of Nepal. ... Thus,
negative cham reaction will take place (Bishop, 1970: 33-33).
This above case demonstrates that when the shortage of
food grows worse, the negati ve feedback increases. When there
is local shortage of fuelwood, dried dung has to be used as fuel
energy: As a result, there is less manure available for agriculture
and tillS, In tum, has a negative effect on soil and results in
declining crop yields because tllis type of feedback demands are
automatically placed on the forests and pastures. 111erefore
another vicious cycle naturally shows its ugly head. Th~
depletion of forest resources has aggravated ti,e soil erosion in
Nepal which has the crippling effect on the animal husbandry
and subSIstence agnculture. In discussing the effect of soil
erosion, Robbe writes :
Occasional Papers56
58 Occasional Papers L.P. Uprety 59
Thus, the environmental degradation, a function of
population growth has had a collasping effect on the subsistence
agrarian economy of Nepal.
Concluding Remarks
Now Nepal has experienced an unprecedented
population growth, that is 2.1 percent per annum. It is the
function of a multiplicity of factors which comprise the decline
of mortality and morbidity without the corresponding decline in
the fertility rate, malaria control and stoppage of permanent
migration from hill to India and consequent internal migration in
the Tarai, early nuptiality, lack of education, economic value of
children, rurality of population in composition, unavailability of
contraceptive devices in outlying parts, poverty, fatalistic
attitude and immigration from India. The population growth has
been conducive to generate the grave environmental problems
such as deforestation, denudation, soil erosion landslide, siltation
and flood havoc. The population pressure is expressed in several
ways which include increased demand for cultivation, increased
livestock population and increased use of remaining forest to
meet rising fodder, fuel wood and timber demands. The
degraded environment has negati ve effect on the agrarian
economy of Nepal. Nepal, the unexcelled land of beauty in
south Asia, has already experienced the shortage of firewood,
fodder, timber and new patches of cultivable land because of
population pressure. Consequently, the subsistence agrarian
economy IS increasingly being vulnerable due to the
deterioration of the environment. Based on the analysis, the
author would argue that the environmental plight of Nepal can be
healed if government adopts the following programs forthwith :
(i) develop alternative sources of energy such as exploitation of
perennial water resources to generate hydroelectric power,
develop solar power, wind power and bio-gas technology; (ii)
develop and disseminate the teclmology of improved stove to
save energy consumption in villages; (iii) create awareness
among the farnlers to plant fodder frees in the private land; (iv)
expedite the implementation of governmental strategies for
massive reforestation, afforestation and forest protection
programs with people's participation; (v) formulate national level
policies to divert the under-utilized labor force of hill agriculture
to other sectors such as agro-based industries as an incentive to
meck hill to Tarai migration and thereby halt deforestation in
the latter; (vi) provide basic environmental education to the rural
population regarding the conservation of nature; (vii) introduce
programs to raise the socio-economic status of households by
providing education so that the fertility rate would be lowered
(because the recent positive attitude towards family planning is
pronounced more among the urban educated and relatively
economically prosperous elite circles); (viii) accord top priority
in Nepal's family planning program to make birth control
measures available to households of remote villages on a regular
basis with adequate follow-up programs and (ix) regulate the
open border between Nepal and India with the objective of
checking the Indian immigration.
The author would believe that if these programs are still
timely executed, the deteriorated mountain environment of Nepal
would be reverted and the future generations would not be
deprived of the right to exploit the environment on sustainable
basis for their physical survival. Then, the age-long practiced
saying, "Green forests are the wealth of Nepal", which is now
obsolete, will be again a realistic saying.
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IDRC FORD- Winrock Project, Food and
Agricultural Sector in Nepal.
GENDER ROLES AND ACTIVITIES AMONG THE
RURAL POOR HOUSEHOLDS: CASE STUDIES
FROM HILL VILLAGES
Willan, R.C.M.
1976
World Bank
1979
World Bank
1981
Forestry in Nepal. Katlilllandu
Nepal Development Performance and Pro,pects.
Washington, D.C.
StaffAppraisal Report of the Hill Food Production
Project. Washington, D.C.
Binod Pokharel'
Biologically, human societies are stratified into men and
women dichotomies. All the known societies are unequally
distributed. In small food producing societies, the inequality is
limited to dyadic and non-categorical prestige bases (pathy,
1987). There is some sort of identified division of labour
between male and female in every kind of society. But, Marx
stated that every form of society presupposes some rudimentry
division of labour. Likewise, Mair (1999) views that the
biological division of human into male and female is the basis of
the most elementary social stratification everywhere. The
division of labour means the fact that women bear and suckle
children, and are tied to the domestic sphere for much of their
lives. Wolf considers social inequality not as phenomena sui
generis but as an accompaniment of the working out of
determinental modes of production (quoted by Pathy, 1987).
After 1990s, the gender relationship between male and
female has emerged as one of the major issues in Nepal. This
issue draws the attentions of scholars, professionals, politicians
and public and policy makers. Gender is defined as socially and
CUlturally constructed accepted behaviours and relations between
male and female. Behaviours and relations are structured in the
society. In other words, most of the behaviours and relations are
deeply rooted in social, cultural, political, economic and
religious frameworks. In some traditional societies, the gender
roles are more rigid than in urban and industrial societies. The
Mr. Binod Pokharel is the Lecturer in Aothropology at the Central
Department ofSociology and Aothropology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur,
Kathmandu
66 Occasional Papers B. Pokharel 67
gender roles also vary between and among the classes, castes and
ethnic groups.
Gender is a new paradigm but it is deepl y rooted in the
women movement and feminist movement of 1950s. In this
regards, Lorber(1994) states:
The concept of gender, however, has been theoretically
grounded in sewality and procreation. This conceptualization
undermines the feminist focus on the relational aspect of
women's and men's social stallls and the political aspects of
gender inequality. She argues that gender inequality is located
solely in the stn/cll/red of gendered social practices and
instill/tions. Procreation and sexuality are constnlcted as
conditions of subordination within the social institution of
gender, the social institution of gender is not built on
procreation and sexuality. Human sexual reproduction is
universal, but gender inequality is not. The gender status of
women affects the social constnlction of sexuality, fertility,
pregnancy, childbirth and parenting not the other way
grounded.....
The history of women movement is not very old. Early
women movement and feminist thought paid little attention on
socially constructed differences between male and female. After
1970s it took a momentum as a social issue. Several theories and
empirical studies have been propounded on gender relations,
equity and inequality after 1970s. The past literature on gender
widely covered the various aspects of gender and inequality.
Here attempt has been made to review some of them. Gender is
not biological concept but this ideology is highly influenced by
feminist paradigm. Feminist paradigm emerged form the radical
thought of the 1960s (Keller, et.al., 1996). Judith (1994) notes
that gendered people emerged not from physical or sexual
orientation but from the exigencies of the social order, mostly
from the need for a rebable division of the work of food
production and the social reproduction of new members.
Mair (1999) states that in those societies where the
economy is one of subsistence production, that is, people get
their food and other needs by their own labour from their
immediate environment, large share of the work of agriculture
falls on women. Murdock notes that biological differences
between men and women form the basis of sexual division of
labour in the society. However, he does not suggest that men and
women are directed by genetically based predispositions to adopt
their particular roles (cited by Haralumbus, 1997). Mair (1999)
views that men's task's are those that call for extra physical
strength and ability and that take them away from home for
warfare, hunting, herding cattle, sea fishing, etc. Likewise, Lee
suggests that hunter gatherers typically get their food more from
hunting and that women contribute more than men to subsistence
(cited by Ember et, aI., 1993).
The neoclassical economists view that economic-man
postulates a single notion of rationality. lhis rationality implies
that persons are constructed as individuals who are self-seeking,
they are maximizers and calculating agents (Kaplagam, 1994).
Feminist economics challenges the conceptualization of the
gender division of labour in neo-c1assical micro-economics, as
the outcome of free choices of economic agents specializing
according to theiOr innate comparative advantages (Evans cited
by Miller et aI., 1998). Marx viewed that social relations are
governed by laws which are specific to each mode of production,
and that the mode of production is the primary determinant of
inequality (cited by Pathy, 1987). Kalpagm (1994) notes that the
basic Marxist paradigm has been more useful incorporating
gender analytically, though this exercise is far from complete,
and despite all the difficulties is far from complete, and despite
all the difficulties faced with regard to the hairsplitting debates
on the political implication often engaged in by dogmatic
Marxists. Almost all Marxists assumed that property as main
source in creating inequality. For functionalist inequality is
indispensable for the maintenance of social structure.
Individuals lie on different social strarta as per their ability and
capacity. Therefore, social stratification is imperative and
valuable to any social system (parsons, Davis More quoted by
Pathy, 1987). Dahrendorf and Bottomore severely criticized the
functionalist approach for over emphasizing consensus and
considering stratification as universal and permanent.
68 Occasional Papers
Lorber (1994) observes that gender roles are changing
today. Fathers are taking care of httle children. Girls and boys
are weanng UnIsex clothing and getting the same education.
Women and men are doing at the same jobs. Although many
tradItional socIal groups are quite strict about maintaining gender
dIfferences, in other social groups, they seem to be blurring.
. Slayter et. al (1993) state that in Africa, Asia and Latin
Amenca suggests the burdens of the destruction of natural
resources falls most heavily on women in poor households who
must struggle to survive.
Seddon (1995) points out that in Nepal, women playa
full and actIve role in the domestic economy. In some ethnic
groups and social classes, their roles in the economy goes
beyond the domestic sphere as when Thakali women are
Involved In the hotel and catering business, or when educated
Gurung women have positions in the private and public sectors
or when women from laboring households and from the so called
occupational castes work as field labourers or porters for others.
Acharya and Bennett (1981) studied the status of women in
Nepal. They noted that women in the more orthodox Hindu
commUnIties who are largely confined to domestic and
subSIStence production display a much less significant role in
major household economy decision than those in the Tibeto-
Bunnan communities where women participate actively in the
market. economy. Strishakti (1995) observes that men are
predominantly the ones who interact with the outside world
while women's major sphere of operation is within th;
households. It is said that Nepali girls and women work for
more than boys and men, spending 25 percent to 50 percent more
time on households tasks, economic and agricultural activities.
Past hterature on gender focused on various aspects of
male-female relatIOns on the basis of theoretical paradigm and
some. selected Indicators. Both theory and literature gave little
attentIOn on class based gender relations. In Nepalese context
we can categorize women into several strata on the basis of the~
general. characteristics such as rural and urban women, literate
and Jlhter3te women, caste and ethnic women, rich and poor
women and so on. In urban area of the country, women no
B. Pokharel 69
longer devote most of their productive years in household
chores. The social relations of male and female in gradually
changing in the urban areas. The past literature also focused on
the relations of subordination and domination between male and
female. They also considered the females as a homogenous
group and highlights similar capacities, vulnerabilities, needs
and crisis of women. However, women can be stratified into
several starta on the basis of their socio-economic
characteristics, ego rural and urban, educated and uneducated,
rich and poor, powerful and powerless etc. High class and urban
elite women have more access to power, politics, economy and
other social privileges than poor rural-based women. There is the
relations of subordination and domination between high class
women and poor women. In Nepal for last ten years, most of the
women's development activities have been implemented between
and among the urban elite women than rural poor women. We
have several examples of the countries in South Asia ruled by
women. However, the position of women ruled countries is the
same as male in the ruled countries. In class-based society, the
power is exercised by a particular class group and fulfJ..l the
needs of one's own class, not whole mass of the people. In
Nepalese context too, number of high class or elite class women
activists are working in the field of gender, advocacy, social
work, politics, etc. Most of them have been holding better
position in national and intemational organizations. These
women have better position than general people. Here, my
argument is that we should consider the class position of
individual to analyse the gender. Because most of the male
female relations are highly associated with class position of the
society.
The Study Area and Research Methods
1l1.is article is based on an earlier field study conducted
in late 1996 and early 1997. Three VDCs (Amarpur, Nagi and
Panchami) of Panchothar district were selected for the study. The
study areas were heterogeneous in terms of caste, class and
ethnicity. More than sixteen caste and ethnic groups were noted
during the field visit. The dominant group was Limbu followed
70 Occasional Papers
by Brahmin, Chhetry, Rai, Tamang, Newar etc. All nine wards
of Panchami and five wards from Nagi and Amarpur VDCs
were choosen for the study. The total number of households of
the sample wards was 2742. Among them 776 households were
the rural poor households. The total population of the rural poor
was 4239 of which 2097 were females and 2142 were males. The
average family size was 5.46. Of the total population, 48.74
percent of the rural poor lived at Pancharni and 28.02 percent
and 23.24 percent lived at Amarpur and Nagi respectively. All
the wards of Panchami VDC were covered for the study.
Therefore, the number rural poor is the highest in Panchami.
. The data for the study were gathered using
socIOlogIcal/anthropological and participatory techniques. In the
first stage,. rural poor households were identified by using well
beIng ranking. The households which were ranked as the lowest
were considered as rural poor and were taken for the in-depth
study. Gender analysis tools, formal and informal interview
focus groups discussion and case study method were used t~
generate the information. In addition to these, continuous
consultations were made with male and female about the gender
relations in the poor households. A series of observations were
made in both poor and well-off households to find out the c1ass-
based gender roles. Likewise, settlement-wise focus group
dIScussIons were held which had yielded numerous benefits to
understand the male-female position in the poor households.
The Rural Poor Households
In this article, rural poor is used as a relative term. Food
sufficiency and land holding size were the major indicators to
distinguish the well-off and poor households. The rural poor
have less than 15 ropanis of upland. The average fam] size is
8.41 ropani. They produce little food and get involved in wage
labour for SUfVlVal. The food sufficiency is for less than six
months. Therefore, they largely depend on agricultural and non-
agriculture wage labour. Low productivity, insufficient food
inferior quality of livestock, indebtedness, small houses which
are Insufficient for sitting and sleeping, lack of oxen, small size
of landholding, relatively large family size, lack of technical
B. Pokharel 71
skill, no service holder in the family, etc., were the major socio-
economic characteristics of the rural poor.
There is some sort of co-operation between and among
the caste, ethnic groups and classes during the time of natural
calamities, hardship, etc. Cross-cultural and intercaste marriages
have began to occur in the study area. There are several instances
of Limbu and Briahmin, Limbu and Rai, Limbu and Majhi, Rai
and Shepra cross-cultural marriages.
It was observed that the cultural norms and religious
values have influenced the economic behaviour of the poor. To
celebrate the fairs and festivals they sell their animals and
property. They even mortgage their land and take loan to
perform the death anniversary and marriage ceremony.
Parma is a non-formal labour organization of both well-
off and poor households. It is based on reciprocal exchange of
labour among the community members during peak agricultural
seasons to prepare fields for sowing and later for transplanting
for the crops. Generally, high level well-off families hire the
labour during agricultural reason. But, some well-off and poor
rely on Parma. In the study area Parma organization form the
basis of neighbourhood. The Parmas is mainly determined by
geographical proximity and kinship. The rural poor prefer wage
labour to Parma because they have small piece of land which
requires small number of labourers.
Many rural poor cultivate the land as share-cropper or
lease-holder. The share croppers have to pay fifty percent of the
production to the owners. Those who cultivate the rented-in land
should pay fixed quantity of crops which is determined by two
parties. In the study area, the share-cropper does not claim
tenancy right due to the social relationship. If landlord is not
satisfied, he may change the tenant. In case of share-cropping,
the landlord has to share the seeds and peasant uses his muscle
for production. In case of lease-holding the lease-holder is
obliged to pay fixed quantity of grains regardless of the crop
failure. If the relationship is good between the landlord and
peasant landlord can provide his oxen to the tenant during
cultivation.
72 Occasional Papers B. Pokhorel 73
Some of the rural poor keep their children at well off
homes as domestic servants. This tie makes food availability at
poor households during the time of stress.
In the study area, the well-off and the poor have some
sort of social tie. The poor receive loan from the rich people
during the time of hardship or stress. The loan may be in cash or
kind. The interest rate of the loan depends upon the relation
between the poor and the rich. It was reported that when there is
food stress or famine, the poor ask for food grains from the well-
off. In this case, well-off people provide some inferior quality of
grains free of cost. If the relationship in very close between the
well off and the poor, the former provide meals to the latter for a
couple of days during the time of hardship. In return, the poor
provide short term free labours when well-off households
require. Sometimes, the women of poor households have to wash
utensils during fairs and festivals. In lieu of their services, the
poor women are provided rice and some grains.
Women in Rich and Poor Households
The women of the poor households have double roles at
the same time. They are involved in both household chores and
wage earning activities. However, most of the women of well-
off family are mainly engaged in housewives' roles. Some of the
daughters and sisters of the rich family have jobs such as school
teachers, social workers and the like. Both boys and girls from
the well-off families get chance to go to school. On the contrary,
very few cases of school enrolment are found among the poor
families. Because of reading and writing skills of the well-off
families, the local level government and semi- government jobs
fall in their hands. Not only does this skill help to get the job for
them at the local level but it helps to keep the poor in
subordination position.
Both rich and poor women in the study areas are
involved in agricultural works and households works such as
digging, fetching water, collecting firewood, etc. Unlike poor
women, the rich women do not carry the load in public places
(markets) because of their social status. Sometimes, women of
the well-off families go to market to sell agricultural
commodities and vegetable foods. In this case, they make the
poor to carry the load of the commodities to be sold.
Except few service holders, all of the women of well-off
families make no contribution to cash income. On the contrary,
the poor women earn something in cash or kind through wage
labour. The poor women can use their earning to buy personal
items (bangle, tika, tobacco, cigarettes, etc.) without their
husband's consent. However, they are forced to consume their
income to buy food-stuff. In the well-off families, whatever the
decisions are made by the males are accepted by the women. In
course of field visit, a woman reported that she hardly knew her
husband's decisions after a long period of times. Unlike rich
families, the poor families' decisions are open not only within
family but also in the community. Because a poor should explain
every-thing and his future strategy before getting the loan from
the local money lenders.
In the study areas, recently some development activities
like drinking water, irrigation canal, income generation program,
health awareness program and non-formal education program
have been started through the NGOs, INGOs, VDC and DDC.
These organizations have provided local level job opportunities
to some of the well-off women who have possessed required
level of education. The employed women involved to mobilize
the women as well as poor women are through the participatory
approach. The poor women could not get involved in such
development activities because of their hand to mouth problems.
They feel lucky if they get a few days wage labour job within the
village rather than to participate in such development activities.
Sometimes, female-related jobs and scholarships come
to villages. These opportunities mostly go to the hand of well-off
families. The well-off families not only use the power to control
the poor but also use their capacity to grab new opportunities
available at the local as well as national levels.
Division of Labour
In every society, there is some sort of division of labour
between and among the male and female. A division of labour by
sex exists among rural poor households. In the poor households,
74 Occasional Papers B. Pokharel 75
ploughing, roofing, climbing the trees to lop the fodder,
threshing rice, sowing, making bamboo baskets and bamboo
mattress, manufacturing agricultural implements, etc. are the
major tasks of the males whereas transplanting millet and paddy,
grinding maize and millet, husking and winnowing of crops,
cooking rice and washing utensils are the female's works.
Digging, wedding, harvesting and carrying load are common for
both sexes.
Mothers usually nurse the infants. Mothers have major
role for infants' caring which is also supported by grandmother
and sister. If there are older children, the role of infant caring is
also their role. If there are no grandmother and older children at
home, the mother carries the infant at the back or puts the baby
in the cradle during working time. Sometimes mothers leave
their infants at neighbours' house if there are no persons to look
after them at home. After two years of age, the children of poor
houses receive very little care and attention. However, in well off
household, children are cared properly up to five years. If males
have leisure time and female is busy, the males also care the
baby. It was observed that some males attended the community
level meeting with children wrapped up in a shoulder.
As mentioned above in the poor households, food is
always scarce. They fulfill their food demand hardly 0-6 months
from own production. Therefore, they are always seeking wage
labour within and outside of the village. Both male and female
get wage labour job during the plantation and harvesting time of
the crops. Males get job for cardamom farming, too. In the
village, wages are not the same for all workers and works.
Adolescent and women receive lower wages than adult men.
Carrying big load, ploughing, roofing and mason work generate
high wages than digging, rice planting and harvesting. Males
charge more wages than females for the same type of works.
Therefore, the employers prefers female workers in digging,
harvesting and transplanting because of low wages.
For winter crops, females are involved more than males.
During this time, labour opportunity is scarce within the village.
Hence, most of the males go outside of the district to seek labour
opportunity. Usually, males migrate in the month of NovlDec
and come back in AprillMay. Women workload is increased
during the time of male seasonal migration,. They have to devote
their time to sowing, weeding and harvesting of the winter crops.
Generally, the rural poor have no oxen. Therefore, they hire oxen
along with plough man. For summer crops, they hire oxen only
and males, plough the land. In the case of winter, both oxen and
plough man should be hired. Usually, the poor households can
not pay the charge of oxen. Therefore, they exchange their
labour services for the oxen owners. In the study area, one
should pay two male labourer or three female labourers for one
pair of oxen power a day. Very little women migration was
found during the field visit. The women of the poor households
sometimes get the job of grinding, flouring, husking and
cleaning vessels at the well-off households.
Two modes of payment are found in the study area.
Generally, women workers would like to take grain or
agricultural produce in lieu of their service. But males generally
get their payment in cash.
In the study households, there is relatively small amount
of grinding and flouring work because of low amount of food
production. When they earn some money through wage labour,
they buy ready made rice, maize and flour. Likewise, they have
few utensils for cooking and eating. Little attention is paid for
washing utensils and cloths. They wear the same clothes until
they are worn out. Then others are made or bought. Unlike well-
off, they perform their rituals and rites in short cut manner due to
lack money. However, they have to spend some money for death
and marriage celebration. Most of the Brahmins and Chhelris of
the poor households gave up to observe the death anniversary but
such type of practices are still prevalent among well-off
households. Field observation shows that the women of well-off
households are more involved in household chores" ritualistic
practices than poor women.
Similarly, the women of well-off households pay more
attention to their husbands in comparison to poor women. In the
poor households, gender roles are little bit flexible than in well-
off households. During the field visit, men were observed
fetching water, washing clothes, grinding com and doing many
76 Occasional Papers B. Pokharel 77
other househ~ld activities. In some cases, females are involved
in the male-related job, too. In this regard, here is one interesting
case study taken from Arnarpur VDC.
Manmaya Majhi, a permanent resident of ward nine,
Amarpuur VDC of Panchthar district, is 39 years old. She
has a husband, one daughter and three sons. Her family has
illIee ropanis of upland. The production from the land is
hardly sufficient for three months. Manmaya was bom in a
Majhi family. She got married to a Limbu family. Because
of cross-cultural marriage, she could not live along with her
mother-in-law. She was separated from her mothers-in-law
along her husband. She made a small hut in the village. For
ille survival of il,e family, she began to saw wood. She
sawed the wood within and outside the district with male
partners. Usually, she operates the saw by sitting on saw-pit.
She aims to join NFE class but due to time constraint, she
has not joined yet. When she heard about family planning
devices, she began to use Depa-Provera. Now she advises
her colleagues to use the family planning devices. In course
of discussion, she said that she was interested to provide a
good education to her children so that they would not have
10 face the hardship Iheir mother was facing.
In the study households, some flexibility was observed
wiill respect to male female division of labour. Because of
poverty, both of them have sub-ordinate position in the society.
In the same case, discrimination is created by outsiders. Below is
a case from Nogi VDC of Panchther district.
The people of the poor households of Nagi have bad remarks about
the health assistant of TIlaru VDC's sub-health post. During the
discussion, it was reported that the fee for the health assistant for
delivery case depends upon the sex of the child. He claims Rs. 1500
10 Rs. 2500 for male child born and Rs. 500 10 Rs. 1000 for female
child bom
The above discussion shows that women of the rural
poor households also earn cash or kind through their labour.
Flexible gender roles are found at the poor households. In the
case of vulnerable houses, both male and female should go for
wage earning throughout the year. They live in the state of
deprivation, weakness and isolation. In such a case, division of
labour is less significant than their survival.
Daily Work Routine
The present study has tried 10 get an idea of the activities
of male and female do during one day in poor households. This
information was collected in all ethnic and caste groups. There
are some similarities in da;ly work routine between and among
the caste and ethnic groups. Usually, both male and female start
their work at six o'clock. However, wake up time varies from
one household to another. Generally, all fanuly members get up
between 5 and 6 o'clock.
Daily Routine of Female aud Children
Women's routine starts from fetching water and then
they sweep the house. They begin to prepare meal around seven
o'clock. If it is a joint family, mother-in-law prepares morning
food and daughter-in-law collects fodder and firewood in the
morning. If there are the oldest children, they also help in
collecting fodder and ftrewood and then come back at nine
o'clock. Women prepare meal up to ten o'clock. After the
morning meal, women clean utensils, vessels and go for outside
work. If there are school going cluldren, they go to school at
9:30 and come back around 4:30. Although, most of the children
of poor households drop out from school after completing three
class. The enrolment of poor children in the primary schools is
reported as being low. In primary education il,e enrollment of
both boys and girls is more or less the same but higher number
of girls were reported dropping out during primary school than
boys. This is probably due to female responsibility for domestic
chores inside the house and an attitude that education is at little
value for women who are destined to marry and raise children in
their husband's households. Almost all boys, too, drop out after
completing primary education. When they are 9-10 years, they
often go with their fathers for wage labour or portering. Some
boys of the same age group work as domestic servants in the
well-off houses. Those children who do not go to school either
go for animal herding or assist their parents. If females go for
wage labour, they come back around six o'clock at the evening.
78 Occasional Papers B. Pokharel 79
Those who have the oldest children, the children start to cook
evening food. When their mother comes she handles kitchen
works and children become free. Usually, evening meal is ready
around seven to eight o'clock. After washing utensils, women go
to bed at 9.30 p.m. Males go to the bed little bit earlier than
females.
Male Daily Routine
As mentioned above, most of the males of the poor
households migrate seasonally for six months of a year. When
they stay at home, they start their work at six o'clock. If they
have milking cow, they get up earlier than others.
At the community level, males play significant role than
females. Males are considered as the chiefs of the family. If
children and women make some mistakes, males should be
responsible for their mistake. Loan taking and giving is done
through males. The money lenders give loan only to males.
Community believes that only males can fulfil the commitments
but females do not. In fact, males have direct control over his
land and other property. Only males can keep the land in
mortgage. Similarly, the local shopkeepers do not give goods on
credit to the females without consensus of the male partners. In
tllis regard, a case study has been taken from Nagi VDC.
Ram Hari Giri is a permanent resident of Nagi VDC. He is
42 years old. He has a grocery shop at the village. He
supplies goods, clothes and other items. He sells both in
cash and on credit. He does not give the goods in credit to
ti,e females without consensus of the males. He says that
ti,e dealing with females and children is not fair. Because
they do not earn cash. If their male partner deny to pay the
loan he would in a great loss.
Similarly, the decisions of the males are considered
more important than that of the female at community level
works. If a woman takes some decision for community level
work, the other community members ask again to the husband
for final decision .. Males prepare food stuff for cattle, nlilk the
cow, clear the cowshed and shift the arumals at open space. The
children provide fodder to cattle. If males have no morning
duty, then they visit the well-off houses and get a cup of tea. In
lieu of tea they helps in shifting cattle at open space, splitting
log, and providing fodder to cattle at well-off house. This kind
of relationship makes sure to ti,e rural poor to get loan from
well-off at the time of hardship and food scarcity. Around nine
o'clock a man comes back at home and then takes meal. After
morrling food, male leave for work. Males usually come back at
five 0' clock at the evening.
Household Decision-Making Process
Decision-making is not a matter of debate at poor
households. Generally, decisions are made on the basis of
consensus. Minor decisions like selling of poultry and buying
small items are made by females too. But decisions of taking
loan, marriage of sons and daughter are made by both males and
females. Usually, females actively involve in the decisions of
buying and selling of animals. But during the time of hardship,
males play significant role than females. As discussed above
most of the male of poor households rely heavily on selling their
labour and working outside their commuruties in order to ensure
food security. Therefore, males participate to a lesser extent in a
day to day household decision making process. Assigrunent of
daily work for children is largely made by women. Women send
their children for work like fodder collection, firewood
collection, fetching water, herding, etc. TI,ey also divide the
workload to her children on the basis of their age. Borrowing of
small items like salt, food-grains and other spices is done by the
females. In the case of borrowing bigger amount of money and
buying larger quantity offood-grains, decisions are jointly made.
In the study area, some development activities are
recently started in the field of commuruty forestry, drinking
water and irrigation. This activities require voluntary labour. In
tllis situation community seeks male decision on labour
contribution. Some of this activities need the physical strength
such as carrying big load, cutting rock, etc., are undertaken by
males. TIlerefore, community would like to take the consensus of
the males before the development works. The above discussions
80 Occasional Papers B. Pokharel 81
show that females can play significant role at household level but
not at community level.
Access and Control Over the Resources
In the study households, there are some flexibility and
autonomy of own's earnings. However, because of the
deprivation, their work and earning is so important for survival.
Usually, women do not earn cash income from their wage
labour. 11ley receive their wage in kind which is used for day to
day survival. Males, generally, receive their wages in cash which
is used to pay loan, buy manufactured items (utensils, quit.),
cloths, food, etc. Some of the poor households produce cash
crops (bean, pepper, grams, etc.) in very small amount and sell at
local markets. But it is not excess of their needs. Such items are
generally sold by women. Income from the selling is used to buy
salt, oil seeds, spices etc. Some portion of income is used to buy
bangles, ritual marks, and bracelets. Both males and females
have equal excess to animals, land and other property but
socially and legally, land is controlled by males. Women have
access and control over the kitchen gardening. The men enjoy
doing bamboo works such as basket-making and rope making.
The women have more access and control over the ornaments. In
the time of severe food scarcity, ornaments are also kept as
collateral. However, without female's consensus, male can not
do it. It was reported that in the absence of the male household
head, the female members are given considerable power and
have influence in the allocation of household income, labour and
the surplus so as to manage the fam efficiency. In the poor
households, the concept of pewapaf got less importance,
because the whole family has face economic hardship and
stress. Except the land right, the women enjoy equal control
over on the resources and there is not sharp variation between
the male-female role play in the poor houses.
Conclusions
The past studies on gender conducted by both native and
foreign scholars and researcl1ers used mostly macro-level data to
understand the male-female relations. They analyzed literacy
level, age at marriage, life expectancy and some other socio-
economic indicators to flOd out the male-female status. Likewise,
the past studies were either based on quantitative data or confined to
high caste groups such as the Brahmins and Chhetries. We can
summarize their conclusions in the following points:
• Women work more than men.
• Women have no say in major decision-making.
• Women have no control over the property.
• Women have no equal access resources education, power
etc.
• Women are in sub-ordination positions.
What they generalized is partially true. Because such
studies visualized only the picture of well off and culturally
dominant groups. In the poor family, there is no dispute and conflict
with regard to the control of the resource and property. Unlike high
class or well offgroups, there is no hard and fast rule of gender role.
Io the poor households, both male and female have similar
vulnerabilities, needs and crisis.
Tlus study is based on the poor households of the mid-hills.
The economy at the household is heavily dependent on wage labour.
Males are the major actors of the outside wage labour. And females
are responsible for household works and wage labour witlun the
community. The traditional division of labour is more flexible in
poor households. Females have little works in the household chores
in comparison to the well-off women. But females of the poor
household should take male's responsibility also during the time of
male absence from the home. Overall work load of the females is
lugller than males. The concept or access and control over on
resources has little importance in the poor household because the
whole family is in a state of deprivation and poverty. Both male and
female eaflungs are used for maintenance of the households.
REFERENCES
Archarya, Meena and Lynn, Bennett.
1981 The Status of Women in Nepal, Kathmandn
CEDA.
Ember, C and Melvin Ember
J990 Anthropology, Prentice-Hall, Delhi.
82 Occasional Papers
Haralumbus, M,
1997 Sociology Theme and Perspectives, Oxford
University Press, Delhi.
Ka1pagam, U.
1994 Labour and Gender Surrival in Urban India,
Sage Publications, New Delhi.
Keller, Fox Evelyn and Helen E. Lorgino
1996 Feminism and Science, Keller, Fox Evelyn and
Helen E. Lorgino Oxford University Press,
New York.
Paradoxes of Gender Yale University Press,
New Haven and London.
Lorber, Judith
1994
Mair, Lucy
1999 An Introduction
Second Edition,
Delhi.
to Social Anthropology,
Oxford University Press,
EXCLUSION, THE POLITICS OF LOCATION
AND WOMEN'S PROPERTY RIGHTS DEBATES
IN NEPAL: A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF
POLITICAL ACTIVISM
Youba Raj Luintel'
TIle issue of women's right to parental property had sparked much
controversy since the Bill Wi1S fust presented in parliament.
Advocates of the Bill and women rights groups had taken out a series
of demonstrations demanding early passage of the Bill Activists had
gone to the extent of chanting slogans inside the House of
Representatives and were thrown out by security personnel. They had
even dragged the then Speaker out of his car at Singhadurbar gate.
Op\ponents of the Bill have claimed that the COWltJy at present is not
ready for such a move that would bring sisters into property disputes
that traditiona Uy is limited to brothers.
- A news report in The Kathmand" Post (September 7; 1999).
Pathy, Jagannath
1987 Anthropology ofDevelopment Demystijicalions
and Relevance, Gain Publishing House, Delhi.
Mr. Youba Raj Luintel is ther Lecturer in Sociology at the Central
Department of Sociology/Anthropology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur,
Kathmandu.
I would like to thank Dr. Saskia Wieringa and Dr. Brigitte Holzner for Uleir
COlwnents on an earlier draft of this paper
I The tenn "property" refers to all productive resources and assets that a man
or woman requires for hisJher existence, subsistence and wellbeing. In the
agrarian economies of South Asia arable land is the most valued fonn of
property for its economic as well as political and symbolic significance
(Agarwal, 1999). In this paper, however, property has been defined in a
broader perspective, so we do not focus only on land.
The Context
The relationship between gender and property' is one of
the gateways to understand the crux of women's subordination.
Women's property status in any society is one critical issue
deserving due attention in order to understand the specificities of
gender relations in that particular setting. This is, therefore, one
of the crucial political arenas of women's empowerment process.
Women Development and Democracy, A Draft
Report Presented to Danida.
Seddon, David
1995 Nepal a State of Poverty, Vikas Publishing
House Pvt. New Delhi.
Slayter, Barbara Thomas, Andrea
Lee Esser, M. Dale Shields
1993 Tools of Gender Analysis: A Guide to field
Methods for Bringing Gender into Sustainable
Resource Management, ECOGEN Research
Project, Intemationa1 Development Program,
Clark University.
Strishakti
1995
84 Occasional Papers Y.l? Luin/e! 85
A struggle for gender equality in command over property,
therefore, needs to occupy a central space in women's struggle
for egalitarian gender relations (Agarwal, 1999). In Nepal, a
daughter does not have a full inheritance right over property. It is
in this context that women's movement during and after 1990s
has focussed its central attention on women's equal rights to
property.
The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal guarantees
equal rights to property for both men and women. In 1990, Nepal
has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) without any
reservation. The country has also accepted the l2-point program
formulated in the fourth women's conference in Beijing. Hence
both national and international legal tools bind Nepal for
ensuring that women along with men will have access to and
control over productive resources including land without any
discrimination for one gender against another. However, in
practice, this has never been materialized. The conservative Civil
Code, called the MlIllIki Ain, 2020 (1963 AD), does not allow a
daughter to have a full (property) inheritance rights For
example, a daughter's rights to inherit property have been
secured only if she remains unmarried till the age of 35 years, a
phenomenon rare in Nepal. 2 In case she gets married later on, she
must return the share (NPC, 1997). A married woman is
recognised not as an independent citizen but as a co-parcener to
her husband, she, therefore, cannot claim a share over the
property "in his lifetime" (Malia, I998).
In exceptional conditions such as polygamy, cruelty or
denial to provide foods and other essential requirements, she has
a right to ask for her share in property. Still there are several
barriers. First, the so-called "essential requirements" have
2 Since late marriage or non-marriage are a rare phenomenon in Nepal. due to
social discouragement or stigmatization attached on it, and since the concept
of single mother is culturally very alim, not only that marriage is near
lUliversaJ, but also the age at marriage is quite low. The legally sanctioned
minimwn age at marriage is 16 years for the girls and 18 years for the boys.
111e census data (1991) show that about 63.2 percent women of the age 10
years and above are married (CBS, 1993:97).
nowhere defined in the Mliluki Ain. There is a scope for case-
specific manipulation. Second, to be entitled for a claim on
property, it must be at least 15 years of marriage. Third, a
divorcee even cannot claim a share in property from either
husband or her father side. She will be provided a "maintenance
cost" up to a period of five years from the date of divorce
(FWLD,1999a). Fourth, a widow at her age Jess than 30 years
and without a son (even daughter is not mentioned) is neither
entitled to take a share in property nor to live separately. Finally,
even for the tenancy rights, an unmarried daughter and/or widow
daughter-in-law should cross 35 years of age (NPC, 1997).
This paper has relatively a narrow focus. It looks at the
ongoing struggle for and the debate on women's property rights'
in Nepal. I would attempt to approach the issue from the
perspective of the post-modernist feminism. I first problematise
the issue of women's property rights in Nepal. Drawing some of
the theoretical concepts on public sphere, exclusion, power and
discourse, I would outline an analytical framework to look at the
issue as a form of exclusion. I argue that negation to women's
property rights issue at its various levels has a socio-political and
ideological embeddedness at the very configuration of Nepalese
society that is overtly patriarchal. I also argue that pending of the
bill on women's property rights in the parliament for the last four
years is one of the manifestations of this patriarchal
embeddedness. So long as this patriarchal embeddeness is not
deconstructed, just challenging it will never bring a substantial
change in gender relations, irrespective of ti,e fact of the
approval of the bill by the parliament in the near future.
Framework of Analysis
Public sphere is a space of civil society where citizens
deliberate their common affairs. It is a site of production and
circulation of discourses that can be critical to ti,e state (Fraser,
1995). For liberalists, public sphere means a space or issue
which is state related, accessible to everybody, of concern to
3 By "property rights" we mean men's and women's institutional access to and
control over the productive resources and assets. This is something more
than a legal recognition to claim over property.
86 Occasional Papers YR. Luinlel 87
everyone, having common goal and shared interests (Fraser,
1995). For them, sexuality, private property and such other
familiased and personalised issues fall outside the realm of
public sphere. Post-modernist feminists are, however, critical to
such essentialist divide. Accordingly, there is no natural or a
priori boundaries between so-called publicity and privacy
(Fraser, 1995). The rhetoric of domestic privacy tends just to
exclude some issues and interests from the debate. For public
sphere to be effective, social inequality should be removed. On
top of that, not exclusion but inclusion, not inadmission but
admission of issues and interests (of women) should be ensured.
Fraser notes three counter-assumptions against liberal conception
of public sphere:
• first, acknowledgement that participation parity requires
not merely bracketing but elimination of social inequality;
• secondly, multiplicity of mutually contestatory publics.
For the post-modernists, there cannot be a single public
sphere, there should be parallel discursive arenas, called
"subaltern counterpublics;,,4 and
• finally, inclusion and admission of those issues and
interests that were excluded or not admitted before
(Fraser, 1995:291,295).
Jodi Dean (1996) categorically describes how are
women's issues and interests excluded form public sphere. She
distinguishes two kinds of exclusion: practical and constitutive.
mstitutional (such as legal) and cultural (interpretative) barriers
cause to practical exclusion. Such exclusion prevents some of the
issues as sexuality, childcare, domestic violence, property rights,
etc. from entering into political debate. Women's functional
position in the household, and their reproductive (biological)
characteristics are projected as pretensions to block their
involvement in public places. These are practical forms of
exclusion.
4 "Subaltern coWlterpublics," Fraser says, emerge in response to exclusions
within the dominant public, when members of subordinated social groups
repeatedly feel it advantageous to constitute alternative publics. They are
parallel discursive arenas where members of such groups reproduce and
circulate counter-discourses (Fraser, 1996:291)
On the contrary, constitutive exclusion refers to the
notion that publicity, justice and rationality are male attributes
while that of privacy, the good life and emotionality are female
attributes (Dean, 1996). The distinction of public-private itself is
based on the male gaze and the masculine experiences. These
conceptions cannot serve as ideals for women. So long as such
distinction persists women have to conform a set of masculine
standards in order to participate in the public life. Therefore, a
theory of civil society that includes women, argues Dean (1996),
cannot be based on a distinction between the public and private.
It must be reformed to allow for the expansion of
"communicative rationality" that would allow multiple, inter-
connecting and discursive spheres.
Once we accept that there should be multiple public
spheres (see fn.6), and that the exclusive and oppressive public-
private divide cannot serve the specific and particularistic needs
and interests of women, we then challenge the dominant power
discourse that surrounds us. Foucault argues that power is not
imposed from the top of a social hierarchy, nor is it derived from
a fundamental opposition between rulers and the ruled. For him,
power is relational, that operates in "capillary fashion" from
below (Pringle and Watson, 1992). Power finds a shifting and
unstable expression in networks and alliances that permeates
every aspect of life (pringle and Watson, 1992:55).
It is also said that there has been a relational, historical
and precarious character of realities' (Pringle and Watson,
1992:64). Identities are constituted in language while
subjectivities are produced through discursive practices. Hence,
it is discourse that constitutes reality. Pringle and Watson
conclude, "(i)n post-structuralist account of state, 'discourse' and
'subjectivity' rather than structures and interests become the key
terms" (1992 :65).
, Postmodemists refuse to accept that there is the (a single) reality. There are
in fact multiple realities: one that is a true reality for one may not be the
same for another. So realities are a social construction, an output of discourse
and knowledge. All discourses and knowledge production have been a
masculine business. Therefore. women must deconstruct all foons of
(masculine) realities at their respective levels and produce cOWlterreaHties.
called the "subaltern counterpublics."
88 Occasional Papers YR. Luintel 89
Such a notion of power and reality has multiple
implications so far as feminism is concerned (pringle and
Watson, 1992). First, state is not accepted as a unified reality but
is challenged as a byproduct of struggles. Secondly, once we
accept that power is produced and derived from discursive
practices, thereby, we recognize that we ourselves can
deconstruct and reconstruct power. Finally, it is also accepted
that we can assert our agency, articulate our voice, and create our
subjectivities.
But there exist some ambiguities that call for a due
attention. The traditional basis of feminist solidarity does not
exist now. (111e so-called global sisterhood based on the white,
heterosexual, bourgeoisie and middle class woman has been
challenged severely.) There is no identified feminine "we" and
masculine "they" (Mohanty, 1995). When we do not have a
single voice, a common interest and a shared identity, how can
then we create a sisterhood? It is in tius context that postmodern
feminists argue for a politics of difference. It is accepted that
since we are not only embodied but also embedded in our
contexts, there is no universal sameness, no automatic affinity,
and no ontological unity. Instead of seeking artificial sameness
and common affinity, we recognise our differences. Once we
accept differences, it can be a basis for a further negotiation.
This is what Mohanty (1995:68) called the "politics of location."
This kind of politics reflects our differences. 111erefore, our new
solidarity will be a "reflective solidarity," our coalition will be a
"rainbow coalition."6
Women's Property Rights Discourse in Nepal
For a long, gender discrimination regarding women's
property rights did not bring notable resistance at the public
level. It is with a petition filed by a (female) lawyer that it
challenged many laws (including the MlIllIki Ain) as
Ii Ph.iltips quotes iris YOWlg as referring to tJle American idea of "rainbow
coalition" based on "heterogeneous publics" in which groups can work
together but retain tlleir identity. Groups' identity should not be swallowed.
up in a unified approach for the "rainbow coalition" (phillips, 1991 :83-84).
discrinunatory against women. 7 In 1995, the Supreme Court
gave a verdict declaring that i) the existing provisions to inherit
parental property are "conditional" for daughter [so are
discriminatory against them], ii) the government should within a
year introduce a bill reviewing all the laws related to property
rights (Malia, 1998). Although the decision of the Court was not
so straight forward, still it insisted a heavy controversy,
enormous debates and strong reactions, explicit or implicit, from
every walk of life. It gained not only wider support but also
insisted mass protests and counter-arguments. What the Supreme
Court verdict eventually contributed is: first, it helped diffuse the
debate from an elite circle of politicians and academia to a wider
civil society; and second, it created a strong and vibrant
solidarity and networking among the feminist activists and
women's organizations to safeguard the "little achievement."
Women's organizations up to the date were split into ideological
and other differences so much that the movement itself was very
weak and indecisive' (Shrestha, 1998). Meanwhile, as a result of
pressures from NGOs, donor community, and activist women's
organizations, as a fulfillment of its commitment during the
1 The case is popularly known as "Meera's case," since Meera Dhwtgana, a
female la"Yer, filed it in the Supreme Court (see Nepal Law Journal, 1994).
I Here I would like to cite the creation of Women's Security Pressure Group
(WSPG) that vividly reflects the point As an immediate response to
incidents of i.ncreased rape and other fonns of violence against women, just
after the introduction of democracy in the coWltry, the WSPG was developed
as a network of 96 women's organizations and NGOs on an ad hoc basis.
Immediately, it became such an effective fonnn that it made fulfilled a need
of a consolidated political movement of Nepalese women. Quickly after its
formation -led my women's wings oftwo rival parties (Nepali Congress and
the Communist Party of Nepal, UML) -- WSPG became an inteb'!al part of
women's movement with much more vigour and recognition. Now WSPG's
exclusive concentration goes on women's propelty rights issue through
awareness campaigns, demonstrations, public discussions, political activism,
etc. For a detail discussion all WSPG see Shrestha (1998).
90 Occasional Papers YR. Luinlel 91
parliament election government introduced the Civil Code, 1963
(the Eleventh Amendment) Bill, 1997 in the parliament"
While the bill was under the consideration of the Human
Rights Committee of the parliament before going to a discussion
in the full house,'· unfortunately, on 15 January 1999 the House
of Representatives was dissolved (due to other political reasons),
Consequently, the legal status of the bill was lapsed (Pro-Public,
1995:30) Despite the fact that a new government of Nepali
Congress with a clear majority in the parliament was formed
after the mid-term election (1999), the government did not show
its immediate interest to revive the pending bill, The highly
contested bill has been registered in the parliament second time
in 2000,'1 However, since the subsequent 19'" session of the
parliament has been in a standstill situation due to power tussle
between the ruling and opposition parties, there is very little
hope that the property rights bill will be under discussion and
consideration during this session,
Besides parliament, the Supreme Court decision also
faced a wider response from men and women from all walks of
life. Several NGOs, activist women's organisations, women's
wings of political parties, professional organisations and the
mass media equally get involved in the debate. Primarily their
focus has been either to raise awareness towards property rights
, TI,e bill -- prepared by the Ministry of Law and Justice (MLJ) -- was
registered on 31 July 1997 in the parliament during its 16" session (Malia,
1998). TI,e government did not consider a fresh draft prepared by the
Ministry of Women and Social Welfare (MWSW). It reflects the
contradictions inherently built within government system on issues like this.
10 TIle controversial bill had stirred debate between women rights groups and
the parliamentarians. A series of protests by the activists on the one hand and
over 150 applications for amendment to the proposed bill delayed voting and
adoption of the bill as law (see The Kathmandu Post, 17 July 1999).
11 TIlis time, the parliamentary Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs
Committee has been busy seeking suggestions and infonnation on the
controversial bill. Members of the committee had travelled to aU the 14
zones to collect suggestions so that the voices of the common people to the
intellectuals were included in the bill This was the fLrst time that such a
massive job had been Wldertaken to solicit suggestions from the grassroots,
that is effected tile most, by these laws. (The Kathmandu Post, 9 February
2001).
issue and create public pressure on government to implement the
verdict of the Court earlier or to oppose it and make an anti-
property rights sentiment. To draw a glimpse of this debate
below I would cite some of-the prominent issues that have been '
surfaced. To bring the discussion within the scope of this paper I
would confine myself in two sources: the first is based on the
findings of a field survey (see FWLD, 1999b), and the other is
based on a seminar discussion (see Dali, 1997).
A field study conducted by the Forum for Women, Law
and Development (FWLD) reveals that of the total respondents,
only 30 per cent felt that a new bill ensuring women's inheritance
rights should be introduced (FWLD, 1999b: 18). Fifty-five per
cent of the respondents surveyed were in favour of a "will
system" (that is, rights to property based on parents' will),
followed by 15 per cent who were supporting very much the
existing system of property inheritance (FWLD, 1999b). The
study shows that majority of the respondents are in favour to
change existing inheritance system. It is ironic, however, that
they are not willing to allow women to inherit property. The
respondents perceived the following consequences that a system
of equal property rights might bring:
• problem of-land fragmentation and management; 12
• no guarantee that the husbands would not misuse their
wives' property;
• equal access to education, employment and opportunity
as more important than rigllts to property;
• in a country where a majority of households is below the
poverty line, equal property rights to women is not a
meaningful question;
• trouble to the elderly and the disabled parents (because
the daughters also will take the property but it will be
son alone who will have to take care of the parents, etc.).
12 The similar argument appears elsewhere in South Asia. According to
AgaJWal (1999:284), patrilocal marriages in distant villages make it diflicult
for womm to directly supervise or cuhivate land they may inherit in natal
village.
92 Occasional Papers YR. Luintel 93
Likewise, a seminar organised for the intellectuals and
professionals by a women's publication house also brought more
negative than positive arguments (Dali, 1997). Some of them
are:
• devaluation of daughter. (Not their proclivity and
"beauty" but property becoming valued);
• out-flight of property to India due to inter-boarder
marriages. (In the case of Northern India which boarders
Nepal there is no property rights to women);
• encouragement for men and women living single;
• encouragement of son preference in the society.
Promotion of sex-selective abortion and/or infanticide of
female child (because daughters will be seen as
economic burden);
• increased rate of divorce, family break-ups and problems
of broken home children;
• hardship for poor girls to find partners, therefore
increased anxiety, stress and depression to them, etc.
(Dali, 1997).
Through these arguments both common people and
intellectuals show that they are still reluctant to allow women to
have equal property rights. In a recent news-report, for example,
one of the (female) members of parliament was quoted as saying
that issue of property rights was not suitable to her society. 13
Another newspaper reports that the then Minister of Law and
Justice was ridiculed by women's activists at a talk program
when he did not favour the property rights issue." Likewise, the
Chief Justice was quoted in a news who argued that both son and
13 Ms Renu Yadav, Member ofParliament, was quoted in a news report saying,
"we have typical reality in our viUage [ofTerai]. It's no! yet a high time to
provide women property rights. First, we should make the rural women at the
grassroots level fuUy aware, only then we can think on if' (Shrestha, 2(00).
14 Taranath R1lnabhat, the then Minister of Law and Justice said: "The
movement to bring forth equal property rights (to women) is just superficial~
to really achieve the 'equality of right' the activists would have to reach the
grassroots level.. .Law can be enforced any time hut that would not be
practiced and hence would not serve the purpose ("Women rights activists
ridicule law minister:' The Kathmandu Post, 3 Jtme 1999).
daughter should not be given any legal right to inherit parental
property - implying that the will system should be introduced
(The Kathmandu Post's editorial, 4 November 1999).
All these expressions clearly reveal patriarchal
reluctance, ambivalence and social contradictions embedded in
the Nepalese society at large. Nevertheless, issue of women's
property riglltS has grasped momentum and the campaign has
already appeared as a part of vibrant civil society movement. In
the section that follows it, I would attempt to look at the issue
through the lens of some concepts summarised earlier in this
paper.
Denial to Property Rights as a Form of Exclusion"
Nepalese women are deprived of many riglltS including
basic citizenship rights. 16 They are recognised not as political
citizens but as "altruist citizens" (see Philips, 199 I). Their
citizenship is devoid of political nature at the cost of mothering,
morality and civic virtue. Since the political-ideological
configuration of Nepali society at the macro level is very much
influenced by modem and liberal school of thOUgllt, the
discourse of fraternity predominates all discourses.
As a result, a large segment of population still thinks that
sexuality and property issues are private issues, in which state is
not supposed to intervene. Intra-familial debates in property and
sexuality are so detached from public concerns that even close
community and neighbours are supposed not to respond to in
anyway. Since men have exclusive and monopoly conunand
over household property, and wives' sexuality, women's position
has always been characterised by economic and emotional
subordination. When we look at this issue from Fraser's
standpoint (1995:295), we can find three distinct features:
Ij According to Kabeer (2000), economic exploitation, marginalization and
deprivation are the three basic fonns ofeconomic exclusion.
16 For instance, Nepalese women can get citizenship only through father or in
the married case through husband. She cannot register her neWly born baby
on her name, without showing a social father. She should produce
pennission from her (male) "guardian" to apply for a passport, etc.
94 Occas;onal Papers YR. Luinlel 95
• There is economic inequality between men and women,
which is considered as "natural" under liberal fraternal
discourse.
• Economic activities have been largely an androcentric
activity that has always marginalised women's economic
needs and rights.
• Women's economic issues and interests are excluded and
treated as "inadmissible" into the dominant public
sphere.
Following Dean's framework (1996) of exclusion, we
can see three forms of economic exclusion of Nepalese women
from both mainstream economic activity as well as discourse.
First there are certain "situational obstacles" that restrict
Nepalese ~omen from entering into public economic
institutions. The existing legal barriers clearly restrict them from
having rights over property. The Civil Code, 1963, discussed
above in this paper (see section 1.0), is a burning example as a
discriminatory legal mechanism that does not recognise women
as bona fide citizen to have rights over property. Efforts to
amend it have created tremendous debate and controversy in and
around the Supreme Court, the parliament and feminist
organisations. Ths is an instance of exclusion of women's
interest in a weak sense of the term, because it is based on
traditional legal barrier(s).
Secondly, women's inclusion in property system has
been paralysed due also to cultural and religious orthodoxy.
Being a Hindu Kingdom, the juridical-ideological make up of
Nepali society is primarily masculine. 17 As a reflection of it in
the daily life of common people, every male is supposed to be
the procreator and protector of female and femininity. On the
contrary, women are always posited as "satisfiers" to "male
11 Hinduism is a body of cults and sects that commonly appreciates phallic
power. The cult of lingo puja (literally "worshipping penis"), for example, is
a clear manifestation of phall~logocentrismof Nepali society. Male and
female devotees worship lingo (penis-like image). which is supposed to
represent tile real penis of Mahadeva, the god of the destruction. This shows
the symbolic and ideological bias of Nepalese society underpinned at
patriarchal values.
needs" in terms of food, pleasure and sex. "Men produce, women
cook" is the mythical social ideal. Logically, those who
"produce" also own the required resources and have command
over them. Ths is the cultural interpretation of economic
inequality along the gender lines. In this sense, it is women's
exclusion in its strong sense.
Thrdly, there is something inherent within Nepali
society itself that prevents women's full inclusion in the property
system. The very conceptualisation of male as "breadwinner"
and "head" of the household, while female as domestic
"supporter" operates at the conceptual-theoretical level. Ths
clearly marks the public-private divide of social sphere. Given
the strong control over women's autonomy in terms of mobility,
sexuality, reproduction, and gender division of labour, women
are absolutely confined to domestic sphere, a sphere that is
unrecognised and undervalued. Under this ideology, women are
not recognised as subjects deserving property entitlement so long
as they are under "male protection." Hence, it constitutively
excludes women from enjoying full citizenship rights to own,
inherit and control property among other things.
Politics of Location: Creating Space through
Counterdiscourse:
"Two decades ago, the question: 'Do women need independent rights
in land?' was not admitted in public policy discourse in most part of
South Asia. Today the question is admissible, but the discussion on it
is limited and tile answers to it disputed. >l
-Bina AgalWal (1998:2)
Lack of ownership and control over productive resources
IS a constraint for Nepalese women through which they have
been suffering the most. They are deprived of not only command
and control over property but also access to it. A socially
recognised form of women's property is only daijo and pewa18 in
II Daijo refers to a package of gifts from maternal and paternal relatives that
they give it in or after marriage to the bride. Pc!'wa comprises of self-acquired
property by a woman before her marriage plus gifts from in-laws after
marriage. They are. however, not property in its real sense. TIley have a
symbolic value than any economic viability.
96 Occasional Papers Y.R. Luintel 97
which they have a relative autonomy, but not complete freedom.
Its economic potential, however, is so limited that daijo and
pelVa cannot ensure them from any economic vulnerability.
Until recently planners and policy makers in Nepal, as
elsewhere, used to think that woman's economic needs can be
accommodated adequately within the household. However,
counterdiscourse on women's property rights that Nepalese
women did create over the years has successfully challenged this
notion. It is through this challenge that, women's property rights
issue has begun to receive a minimum space within legislative,
executive and judicial institutions in Nepal.
Nepalese women have created a counterdiscourse on
their property rights through simultaneous and vigorous efforts
in many fronts. They initiated an alternative dialogue through
programmes such as "meet the rural women," legal literacy, and
political activism at the grassroots. At the center, they
concentrated their efforts in challenging the discriminatory laws
(such as the Civil Code, 1963) in the court. They also tried to
sensitise journalists and other professionals. They got involved
in lobbying with international donor agencies such as the World
Bank, the Asian Bank, USAID, etc.
Alternatively, through a series of mass demonstration,
they asserted a kind of moral pressure on the government and
political parties to respond to the issue. Now it has become a
ritual for each new government to renew its political
commitment that it will table the Civil Code amendment bill to
ensure women's equal property rights in the parliament. It is a
reflection that the official economic discourse has recognised the
validity of the issue. Property rights issue has also become one
important agenda for political parties during at least in the
elections. It has become a means to demonstrate their
"progressive" face by mentioning it in their manifestos. While
there comes the time to materialize this commitment, all of them
show a massive scale of reluctance.
An equally important development associated with
property rights campaign is that great many women's
organisations are involved in building coalitions and creating
networks. Existence of several coalitions and networks reveals
that women's movement in Nepal has learnt how to situate its
campaign based on their political location and politics of
differences. It is in this point that I would like to mention WSPG
once again (see fn. 6 also). It is a network of 96 women's
organisations: some are political others social, some are
community-based voluntary organizations, etc. They came into
dialogue for a common cause, recognised their political and
ideological differences, and accepted it as a basis for negotiation.
The WSPG has now become a pride for the activist women. I
would, therefore, argue that WSPG is a "rainbow coalition" that
represents the common interests of Nepalese women. It has
created a sense of solidarity - the "reflective solidarity"- among
them that would make certain change in a near future. It would, I
hope, deconstruct the oppressive public sphere that has
constitutively excluded Nepalese women, their needs and
interests from entering into the mainstream deliberation.
Finally, I would like to make a point of caution to
women's organizations that they are giving excessive attention
on property rights issue, as if it is the only cause of female
subordination. I argue that excessive dependence on single
agenda of political activism might be strategically
counterproductive in the long run. Even in the West, during the
suffragist movement of 1960s and 1970s, women's economic
independence was one of the highly contested terrains
propagated much by tl,e liberalists. After its promulgation,
however, what they realized was that economic independence
alone was a very insufficient cause so far as bringing meaningful
change in women's livelihood was concerned. It has to be
viewed from two parallel fronts: First, that economy has a
political embeddedness. It implies that property rights to women
will have a limited potential of women's empowerment within
the patriarchal social structure (a lesson that socialist feminists
learnt). Second, that right to inherit property will have
differential meanings for those who own property and those who
do not (a lesson that liberal feminists learnt in Europe and in the
USA). Women's activism in Nepal should be aware of those
limitations of women 's property rights movement.
98 Occasional Papers YR. Luintel 99
Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS)
1993 Population Census- 1991 (National Volume),
Kathmandu: CBS, National PlaJming Commission.
Agarwal, Bina
1998 A Field ofOne 's Own: Gender and Land Rights in South Asia,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Facilitating the Fulfillment of State Obligation
toward Women's Inheritance Right in Nepal. An
unpublished report submitted to fNRAW Asia
Pacific.
"Politics, Culture and Public Sphere: Towards a
Postmodern Conception," in L. Nicholson aJld S.
Seidman (eds.) Your Body, Social Pastmodernism,
Beyond Identity Politics, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, pp. 286-31 J.
"Social Exclusion, Poverty and Discrimination:
Towards an Analytical Framework," A paper
presented at research seminar at the Institute of
Social Studies, The Hague.
tlCitizenship and Feminist Theory,lI in G. Andrews
(ed.) Citizenship, London: Lawrence and Wisart, pp.
76-87.
1999b
Fraser, Nancy
1995
Kabeer, Naila
2000
Malia, Sapana P.
1998 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against /Vomen (CEDA W) Impact
Study, Nepal. A report submitted to the Centre for
Feminist Research, York University.
MohaJlty, C. Thalpade
1995 "Feminist Encounters: Locating the Politics of
Experience," in L. Nicholson aJld S. Seidman (eds.)
Your Body, Social Postmodernism, Beyond Identity
PolitiCS, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
pp.68-86.
National Plaruting Commission (NPC)
1997 United Nations Convention on the Elimination ofAll
Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDA W): Initial report, Nepal, KatlullaJldu: NPC.
Pltillips, AJme
1991
Pringle, R. and S. Watson
1996 "'Women's Interests' and the Post-structuralist
State," in M. Barrett aJld A. Phillips (eds.)
Destabili=ing Theory: Contemporary Feminist
Debates, Cambridge: Polity Press, pp. 53-73.
"Meera Dhungana vs. Ministry Of Law and Justice,"
Nepal Law Journal, Kathmandu, pp. 462-468.
Fatalism and Development: Nepal's Struggle for
Modernization, Calcutta: Orient Longman.
"Women's Property Rights: Role of the Media and
an Aspect of the Independent Status." Proceedings
of a Seminar, Kathmandu: Asmita Women's
Publication House.
Gender, Property, and Land Rights: Bridging a
Critical Gap in Economic Analysis and Policy," in
Out ofthe margins, London, pp.264-289.
Dean, Jodi
1996
Anonymous
1993
"Including Women: the Consequences and Side
Effects of Feminist Critiques to Civil Society," in
Solidarity of Strangers: Feminism after Identity
Politics, Berkeley etc.: University of California
Press, pp. 75-101.
Forum for Women, Law and
Development (FWLD)
1999a Shadow Repart on the Initial Repart of the
Government of Nepal on CEDA W, Katlunandu:
FWLD.
Bista, Dor B.
1991
Agarwal, Bina
1999
Dali, Indira (ed.)
1997
REFERENCES
100 Occasional Papers
Pro-Public
1995 A Survey on Political Rights and Discriminatory
Legal Provisions Against Women. An unpubl;shed
report, Kathmandu. THE SOCIAL WORLD OF NEPALESE WOMEN
Shrestha, 5arika
2000 ''Where did property rights bill get lost?" Dristi, II
ApriI2000.(http://www.nepalnews.com.np.con... dri
sti/2000/apr/aprll/local.htm)
Shrestha, Shanta L.
1997 "Women's Movement in Nepal," Reflections,
summer issue, pp. 21-25.
United Nations Fund for the
Development of Women (UNIFEM)
1995 Mainslreaming Gender Consideration into National
Development: Nepal (Final Repart), Kathmandu:
UNIFEM.
* * *
Dr. Samira Luitel"
Introduction
The social situation of Nepalese women is complex and
cannot be explained with a single paradigm. The differences are
demarcated by the geographical region, economic situation,
cultural and caste variations. However, the position of a woman
in a family is a determining factor to decide her status in that
family in particular, and in the society in general. Thus, the
social world of a woman is the picture of her position in each
household. To make it clear-the mother, mother-in-law,
daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, etc. have their
particular roles and responsibilities and enjoy different status in
their particular family. All the women play their roles associated
with a particular relation to each individual. Thus a single
woman would be playing multiple roles relevant to the relation
with the particular individual. There might be individual
differences but in general it is learnt or is taught by the system
through the process of socialization. One can observe the world
of women and men quite distinguished and different rather
complete in itself that emphasizes in maintaining the patriarchal
values of domination and subordination where some are seen
more powerful than the others. Although it is very difficult and
also problematic to explain and assess the social status of women
from a single perspective, it is also important to look at the
relationship among women within the household to see how their
single world looks like. I have tried to sketch here how these
relationships among women have played roles in creating the
subordinate position of women and have victimized a large
number of enthusiastic and creative women in return.
Dr. Samira Luitel is the Lecturer in Sociology at the Central Department of
Sociology and Anthropology, Tribhuvan University. Kirtipur. Kathmandu.
102 Occasional Papers S. LuiteJ 103
In our hierarchical system, a person who is in the top
profile in the relation holds most of the decision-making power
due to the respect given to that position. This criterion implies to
womenfolk also. So a mother or the mother-in-law usually holds
the top position in a hierarchical family network among the
women and withholds the authority and power in the family.
Being her child a daughter always enjoys the total freedom and
liberty. A daughter-in-law on the other hand has less liberty and
freedom but more responsibility as the mistress of the household.
One can observe the role of a mother and mother-in-law quite
different for the daughter and the daughter-in-law and vice-
versa. The most crucial role of a woman is seen in being a
daughter-in-law where most of the important part of her life is
spent. It is found that in most of the cases she is exploited by the
authoritative members of the family whether male or female in
the new family. The most interesting part is that a daughter-in-
law who is legally the authoritative mistress of the household, in
practice is not given the full power immediately after marriage.
She is rather given only the duties and responsibilities to look
after the household and the family members. She becomes only
the nominal mistress of the household without power and
prestige. This is the hardest time for most of the women in their
life where they hardly get liberty of choice in work or in their
personal life. A daughter-in-law has to compromise with the
interest of her in-laws to fit in their system in the new family. It
is like having rebirth and learning the ways of living and
dealings as expected from her in the new family network. In
most of the cases the daughters-in-law begin their socialization
process following the tradition of oppression and injustice as
taught by their elders to adjust in the family. In a system of early
marriage a woman has to bear all these hazards throughout her
life from the very young age. So she begins and ends her life
blaming her fate in being a woman as her predecessors did. She
then herself becomes an oppressor in her tum, in this way the
cycle is completed and rotated which makes up the system of a
particular society. Education has hardly changed such tradition
and the thinking of the individuals where the educated women
are also facing the same problem of oppression even today as
Bista (l991) observed. Here I would like to present a case of a
daughter-in-law in an extended Nepali Brahmin family.
.DUIga holds a graduate degree and is married at the age
of 20 In a I11lddle class Brahmin family. She is the eldest
daughter-in-law and now the. only daughter-in-law in the family.
Soon after her marnage IS given the responsibility to look after
the household chores. As a benevolent and dutiful daughter-in-
law, Durga gets up early in the morning at 5 a.m. or even earlier
and starts doing her daily routine works. First of all she goes t~
toilet and then takes bath, changes her dress, and washes the
clothes she wore last night. She then sweeps the floor, enters
mto the shrine and cleans the room, makes all the things ready
for pooJa for her father-m-Iaw and mother-in-law. She then goes
mto her room, combs her hair and gets ready herself and then
arranges the room. After that she enters into the kitchen
prepares tea for all the family members and serves each of them:
There is a maid who is kept to help her but most of the time she
would be doing outside jobs e.g. cleaning the courtyard, doing
the dIshes, tendmg the animals, etc. After tea, Durga starts doing
the preparatIon for morning meal which has to be cooked for
about 20 people. She makes the vegetables, dal and rice ready,
cleans them and takes to the kitchen. She then brings a bucket of
water from the tube well in the court yard to prepare food. By
nme o'clock she gets the food ready to serve her sisters-in-law
and brothers-in-law who go to school. The other family members
who stay home would not eat the food until II a.m. They would
be frequenting in the intervals so she has to wait for each of them
to serve the food. She serves the food for the household servants
or keeps it aside if they come late. In the last she eats the cold
and left over food which she shallows with water to fill her belly
rather to enJoy It. She then cleans the kitchen, takes the dishes
outside to wash which is done by the maid. By the time she
finishes her morning duty it is 12 to 12.30 p.m. If she does not
have other works e.g. washing the clothes, drying the grains or
stItching the clothes she will take rest until 2. p.m.
She enters the kitchen by 2 p.m. to prepare the snacks
and tea for the family members and serves it by 3 to 4 p.m. After
that she gets started with her evening duty to prepare the evening
104 Occasional Papers S. Luilel 105
meal. By the time she finishes doing her evening meal it will be
10 to 10.30 p.m. She goes to bed at 11 p.m. and shares some
time with her husband to enjoy her married life. Durga pretends
to be happy with her husband only to please him as he is the sole
authority to sanction her stay in this house. Another main and
hidden purpose is to give birth to a son to keep on his lineage
which is the strong support to establish herself in this family.
These are the most common routine works of her everyday life
besides other additional works which come occasionally e.g.
treating the guests or sick people and taking care of children or
tending the animals or working in the vegetable garden etc.
After three years of her married life Durga gave birth to
two daughters. Now, besides her daily routine works she has to
take care of her two babies. There is no rest period in her life
except in the night when the babies are asleep. Sometimes she
has to wake up in the middle of the night to change the dippers
or to feed the babies. Durga feels herself a perfect housewife and
is happy in her home, however she has seldom been able to
please her in-laws. The birth of two daughters made the total
family upset, which was not in her control. Now, quite often she
listens the words of dissatisfaction in her household works and
dealings from her in-Jaws, especially from the female members.
Besi des this, they also blame her parents for not giving enough
dowry, compare with other daughters-in-law in the
neighbourhood as nice and hospitable than her. All these taunts
make Durga more sick mentally besides her physical work loads.
Often times she desired to leave the house but found no
alternatives thinking of her husband and children. She could not
think of going to her parents' home as it would be to bring
conflict between the two families. Durga expressed her desire to
her husband if she could hold a job but he was not in favour of it
until the children were grown up. Another obstacle was that his
parents would not allow it as it was not prestigious to work
outside home by a daughter-in-law. This is a single case and
there are many more cases of women in our society which needs
in-depth case study to understand the situation.
Durga and her husband have the same qualifications but
hold different status (power and prestig~ in the family. One is
the most respectable and powerful person in the household and
the other is almost a slave who possesses nothing of her own and
is only recognized by the name of her husband. If her husband
also looks down upon her then she will have no place in this
family. A woman's life is always at the mercy of a man who is
her husband, and only this relationship is able to provide her the
power and prestige in the family. If he is the authority then his
dictatorship in the family and patronage provides her the
privilege to enjoy some power through him. Either the father or
the son, who holds the authoritative position in the family as the
earning member or as the care taker of the household is the sole
authority in the household. His wife then enjoys the privilege
and power in the family and exploits that power to control other
women folk. A woman who has no strong support from the male
e.g. from the father, from the husband or from the son is thus
prone to lead a miserable life in our social network. The
following conditions can be considered to understand the
situation of women:
• a barren woman
• a widow woman in an extended household
• a women giving birth to daughters only
• a woman who has co-wife
• a single woman with small children whose husband is
away from home to earn a living
• a daughter-in-law in a large family whose husband is not
eammg
• a woman in a poor family with many children and a
drunken or sick husband
We can provide thousands of such examples which put
women in the most vulnerable position when there is no strong
support from the male counterparts. Our patriarchal system
believes that men do the right things and provide right judgment
to all, so they are made strong and powerful both physically and
mentally through socialization. Education has been a powerful
means to make the patriarchal system even stronger. Men are
given the responsibility to use their wits and physical fitness.
Whereas women are trained to be benevolent, submissive and
obedient to match the strong man so that the family hannony is
106 Occasional Papers S. Luilel 107
maintained. Therefore education was/is denied for women which
is supposed to bring conflict in the mutual relationship of
husband and wife as well as in the family. In the past it was also
believed "women who learn to read and write become witch".
This was due to the reason that an educated woman might be a
threatening to the patriarchy. The partnership of the strong man
and the feeble woman automatically demarcated their social
field. That is why women were/are given only the household
responsibilities that required manual work and physical labour
than the brain. The planning and management responsibility of
the household is also taken by men leaving women the
housekeeping job only. The society has not thought women as
capable of managing and planning for the betterment of the
household whether educated or not.
TI,e general feeling is that a woman is solely responsible for
the ups and downs of the family and is considered as ignorant if
something goes wrong in the household affairs. Whereas the
males are considered as free from the household bondage and
free to move as they wish, they are bestowed upon with the
responsibility to control the family affairs and patron the women
and the society at large. The total organization of our social
system is such that women in majority are the owners of
household without power and prestige and men hold the power
to control the women. Whether educated or illiterate, women
must be within the control of men. Just to be a man is important
whether illiterate, disabled or moron. The legal system is also
based on this ideology which thinks women the weakest person
and does not rely on them in providing the rights to property or
in any decision making of the household or of the self as long as
the male person is there to safeguard her. The family system,
social system and the national system all work in a hegemony to
make the women the weakest person and exploit her to the extent
it could. Not only her labour, and physical potential but even her
flesh is used for the benefit of men in the humane world of
mankind. That is why young girls are sold in the sex market as
commodities before reaching to puberty. There is no value of
women's life in the "man made world" of oppression and
injustice. Since our history, women have not been able to live a
dignified life and it has not been long that they were forced to
bum in their husband's funeral pyre. Even the rule of female has
not been able to change this situation due to the impact of male
dominated culture and that of male dominance in powerful
positions.
The Reality
The Nepalese socio-cultural environment is far from
congenial to the holistic development of a girl child. She is
unwittingly branded as inferior even before she is born. The
gender-linked disparity in pattern and practices of child rearing
in the early years affect adversely her personal development
(RIDA, 1991). The practice of rejoicing at the birth of a son and
lamenting at the birth of a daughter is quite common in most of
the communities. In such a situation even the mother regrets the
birth of a daughter as the mother having many daughters is
placed in a lower status, and if she does not give birth to a son
she is likely to get a co-wife. On the other hand a woman having
more sons enjoys a higher status in the family (Bennett, 1981).
This is why when giving blessings to a married woman, elder
people usually say, "Be blessed with sons." Most of the women
who only have daughters also keep fasting in the desire of a son.
The birth of a son is regarded as opening the door to heaven or
getting salvation according to the Hindu philosophy. All these
attitudes make women feel inferior to men and they lament
throughout their lives for being born as women. The whole
circumstances before them make them feel that they are not
complete without the association of men and that their life will
only be successful by giving birth to a son.
Women were kept in ignorance for long, and education
was not considered as good for women. The belief that "women
who get education become witches" was made widely popular in
the society keeping them in complete ignorance. Until 1950
modern education was not sanctioned for the public by the
autocratic rulers, so the general public had no access to
education. Whereas the Brahmins had the culture of education it
was available to men only for the purpose of conducting the
ntuals. Books like Badhusiksha which is the teachings for the
108 Occasional Papers S. Luitel 109
daughter-in -law, composed by the renowned poet Bhanubhakta
was popularly read in the Nepalese houses. This book was
enough to provide teachings how to keep the daughter-m-Iaw m
control. Women's values were confined to only house-keepmg
and child bearing. Some ancient texts described a woman as
equal to a Sudra (an untouchable) with no access to rituals, and
the contents of Manusmriti (a Hindu code of conduct) says "For
women no sacramental rite is performed in sacred text: women
who are destitute of strength and destitute of knowledge of Vedic
texts are impure as falsehood itself' (cited in, Luitel, 1992).
Poverty is another issue that has direct effect on women.
Girls in the poor family begin to work as early as the age of 6
and by the age of 6-9 they work four to seven hours a day
(RIDA, 1991). They care for siblings, clean utensils, fetch water
and firewood and tend animals. Their work burden increases
with their age and even more profoundly after their marriage.
These women who work hard and produce children in the very
young age generally have poor intake of caloric diet. Due to this
reason many women suffer from malnutrition, anemia, gOiter etc.
Sex trade has also made many young girls victim of AIDS. The
cultural norms, economic condition and preferential attitude of
parents towards the boys (RillA 1991) all lead to create
vulnerable condition of women. A girl child is neglected from
the very childhood. This situation in later life leads them to
suffer from malnutrition, emotional insecurity and mfenonty
complex (Acharya S. 1981). Uterus prolapsed and death among
women due to complication of pregnancy is common among the
Nepalese women. Early marriage and repeated pregnancy in
early age gives rise to health risks leading to an increased rate of
neonatal and post-natal mortality rates. MalnutntlOn, diarrhea
and other communicable diseases are common among women.
This is why Nepal is one among the only three countries having
low life expectancy for female (52 years for female and 55 years
for male) and high infant mortality rate 107 per 1000 live births
(Census, 1991).
In my Ph.D. fieldwork which was done in Siraha district
it was found that almost all of the respondent were married in
early age 12-15 and they were engaged in the household chores
from the very early age. Their main work at their parents' place
was to herd the cattle or buffalo, fetch water, look after their
young brothers and sisters, and do dishes. The women regarded
that even though they had to work in their parents' home it was
not difficult as they were not obliged to work and could deny to
do so if they wished. But at their husband's home they have to
please everybody by their work and there is no rest till the end of
the day. In their opinion to be a daughter-in-law was the worst
part of their life.
Seclusion of girls is maintained in the higher caste
groups both in the Tarai and in the hills which keeps girls away
from many benefits. In addition to this in the Tarai region due to
dowry and parda system girls are married at the very young age
even before puberty which has put them far behind other social
groups. The status of women study (1981) has shown the status
of Maithili women as the lowest among the rest of the
communities in our society,
Daughters of higher castes have different situation. In
the higher caste Brahmin and Kshatriya family a daughter's
earnings is not accepted and so they hardly allow their daughters
to participate in the paid labour force. It also becomes their
prestige to live in the earning of a daughter. Only in a very
miserable condition would the parents live on the earning of their
daughters. A daughter is rather expected to take care of her
brothers who are supposed to look after her (not necessarily),
when they grow up. This is why parents are reluctant to
educate their daughters which has no return. Boys on the other
hand are the future bread earners of the family and so are give
the privilege and the chances as the parents could.
Major Issues
The Nepalese social system is based on patriarchal
Hindu philosophy that empowers men and subordinates women.
It is therefore that women are weak and dependent on men and
derive their social status (including inheritance right, ritual status
and access to property) from their fathers, husbands and sons.
Her only property in her home (where she is married) is her
ability to work. The more she works to sustain the subsistence
110 Occasional Papers S. Luitel 111
economy the more prestige she gains in the family. Bennett
(J 981) in her study of Parbatiya Women has shown a woman's
power in the family as:
• her continuing relationships with her maiti (natal home);
• her sexuality which encompasses both her ability to bear
children and to give (or withhold) pleasure to her
husband;
• her ability to uphold or tarnish the honour/reputation
(izzat) of the family in the community at large;
• her own labour and ability to contribute to the
productivity of the affinal family.
Likewise, she emphasizes that a woman in a small
nuclear family which depended on her agricultural labour to
meet its basic subsistence needs, might, other things being equal,
have more say than a woman in a large, fairly well-off extended
family where her agricultural labour was either not required or
could be replaced by the wage labour of others.
Some studies have shown that even though women
generally represent the oppressed group in Nepalese society, in
some communities women playa major role in decision making
process. The Newar women of Bulu (pradhan 1981), the Tharu
women of Dang (Rajure 1981), the Kham Magar of Thabang
(Molnar 1981), the women of Baragaon (Schular 1981) have
been presented as treated as equals in their community.
Similarly, equality and freedom among the Rai women have
been described by Mc Dougal (J 973); among the Limbus by
Jones (1976); among the Sherpas by Haimendrof (J 964); among
the Rana Tharu of Kailali by Bista (J 967) and among Tamang by
Holmberg (J 989). But all these women described by the writers
are very hard working. Though women have a say in their
household chores and farm-work it does not mean that the main
economic decision in the disposal of property or in buying
economic assets are done by women.
Women and Empowerment Issues
Women empowerment issue has been a hot cake at
present. But there does not seem any significant difference from
the welfare approach of the programmes conducted during the
Wome~'sDecade. After 1975 was declared as the women's year
women s ISSUes were formally addressed. The Sixth Plan (J 980-
85) proposed strategies to be implemented by government and
non-government agencies and institutions in the fields of
education, health, employment, agriculture, forestry, cooperative
development, and legal system. It also called for increased
recruitment of women at all levels m extension and
administrative fields through the program of incentives and
quotas (UNICEF, 1987). The Seventh and Eighth Plans (1986-
1991 and 1992-1997) also recognized women's importance to
development but no specific measures were made to involve a
maximum number of women in development process.
The Women's Decade made significant efforts to address
women's issues at the national level. The Ministry of
Agnculture, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Labour and
Social Welfare, Ministry of Education each contained a
Women's Development Cell to coordinate their own programs
focused to women. In addition, the Women's Development
SectIon (WDS) was set up in the Ministry of Local Development
In 1982, to promote, initiate and supervise activities to integrate
women in development activities. The Production Credit for
Rural Women (pCRW) program was initiated through this
ministry to enhance women's ability to generate subsistence and
market income.
Quite recently the government has advocated for the
empowerment of women. But the programs it has introduced is
not different from the ones already started by WDS way back in
1982 which focused to enhance the economic condition of
women. Even now women's contribution in the subsistence
economy has not been considered as economic activity. Women
are also neglected in the planning and implementation of
development projects. Women who are already burdened by the
household works are overburdened by the economic
enhancement programs, as they have not been able to generate
much income. The reality is that men have been benefited more
than women from women's economic activities in a male
dominated world and are enjoying more leisure. The economic
programs have not liberated women from their traditional roles
112 Occasional Papers S. Luitel 113
The Kham Magar ofThabang: The Status ofWomen
in Nepal. vol.2, pt.2. Katlunandu, CEDA. T. U.
The Kulunge Rai. Kathmandu: Raina Postak
Bhandar.
Women in Development. Kathmandu: Author.
Resources and Population: A Study of the Gurungs
ofNepal. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Order in Paradox: Myth Ritual and Exchange
among Nepali Tamang. Ithaca, New York: Cornell
University Press.
Parbatiya Women of Bakhundol. Status of Women
in Nepal 2 (I) Kathmandu. CEDA, T.U.
Tradition and Change in the Legal Status ofWomen
in Nepal. Katlunandu: CEDA, TU.
Integration of Women in Mainstream of
Development: Seminar Report, Katlunandu.
Women Service National Coordination" Committee.
Statistical Profile of Nepalese Women: A Critical
Review: The Status of Women m Nepal I
(I).Kathmandu CEDA, T.U
Molnar, A.
1981
Mcdougal, C.
1973
Macfarlane, A.
1976
Luitel, S.
1992
Furer, Haimendrof
1964 The Sherpas ofNepal. London. John Murray.
Holmberg, David
1989
Bennett, L.
1981
Bennett, L.
1981
Acharya, S.
1981
Acharya, Meena
1979
REFERENCESas house wives. They are still underrepresented in politics, at
both local and national levels. However at the national level the
present government has made provisions to ensure that each
party has 5% of women while contesting the election which is
not made compulsory. At the cabinet level there is a single
woman minister who is also given the charge of Ministry of
Women and Social Affairs limiting her to her own field.
The National Code (Mulki Ain, 1963) brought about
significant changes in family and property law and the legal
status of women, providing equal rights for both sexes. The
constitution also guaranteed that there will be no discrimination
against any citizen in the application of general laws, as well as
in respect of political and civil rights, on the ground of religion,
race, sex and caste. However a son is given the right to the
inheritance of property while a daughter is not. The whole fate of
a girl lies in this very discrimination where she is denied from
the basic human rights. While the son is regarded as the master
of the house by birth, the daughter is left at the mercy of that
master for her life. The more crucial aspect is that women have
not been considered as equally competent to men although the
constitution spells there is no discrimination based on sex.
Imbalances between rights of men and women persist both in the
legal provisions, particularly for property, and In the
interpretation and application of the law. Even where legal
provisions stand in favour of women, they often lack the
resources, skills, and social support to ensure the enforcement of
their legal rights (Bennett, 1981). Who is to blame for creating
such situation of the female sex? Unless the constitution is
changed the attitude towards women does not change and the
position remains the same. In snch a situation the programs that
are aimed at empowering women, without changing their
situation would just be a political propaganda rather a tool to
benefit them.
Pradhan, B.
1981 The Newar Women ofBulu: The Status ofWomen in
Nepal. Vo1.2, pI. 3. Kathmandu, CEDA. T.U.
Rajure,D.
114 Occasional Papers
1981 The Tharu Women of Sukhrawar: The Status of
Women in Nepal: vol.2, pI. 3, Katiunandu, CEDA.
T.U.
RillA
1991
UNICEF
1991
Research Inputs and Development Associates. The
Status of the Girl Child in Nepal. Katlunandu:
Author.
Hamra Chelibeliharu (our daughters). An Analysis
of the Situation of Girl Children in Nepal.
Katiunandu: Author.
***
CULTURAL DIMENSION OF PASTURE RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT IN NEPAL: A STUDY OF GUMBA
SYSTEM OF THE NORTHWEST DOLPA
Dhirendra B. Parajuli'
Along the evolution of human civilization, the agre-
pastoral societies have developed a diverse set of resource
management ranging from simple to complex. This is mainly
because of intimate and intricate knowledge of local physical
and socio-cultural environment. The simple pastoralim is based
on seasonal mobility of stocking herds towards high and low
elevations in terms of seasons. In the same way, the complex
pastoralism regulates the herds' movement by strict formal
schedules, restriction on numbers and type of animals, reserving
or deferring pastures, assigning members to particular pastures
and controlling the amount of time spent in one pasture
(Nimar: 1995:245).
The agro-pasturalists of Nepal Himalayas including the
Dolpo practice diverse set of natural resource management
systems and to a large extent that differ from the practice of
other parts of the World and the Nepal Himalayas as well. In the
last few decades, the herders of North-west Dolpo have been
adopting the complex system of pasture resource management:
However, that is not modem and run in an indigenous ways.
Being guided by the Bonpo philosophy, the system is functional
only to the Gumba area managed by the Lamas which is typical
Mr. Dhirendra B. Parajuli is the Assistant Lecturer at Department of
Sociology/Antluopology, Palan Mulitple Campus, Patan Dhoka, Lalitpur
The infonnation used in this paper were collected in the year- 1998 for
research entitled - indigenous system of Pasture Resource Management in
Kunasa Area within the Shey PhokslUldo National Park. This research was
conducted for the People and Plant Initiatives (pPI) Himalayas Program and
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Nepal Program. Therefore, I
acknowledge the institutions for providing the research opporttmity
116 Occa\'ional Papers D.H. Parajuli 117
in nature. Perhaps this system was first developed in the Tibetan
platue bordering to Nepal Himalayas and entered into the
territory of Nepal Himalayas along the people's seasonal
migration with the migratory herding. Over the periods and
generations, among others, the systems of migratory herding and
pasture resource utilization practices became the part of culture
of the local people in Nepal Himalayas. This has been a
constituent and identical part of socio-economic and cultural life
of people with substantial inter-linkage to the resource use,
livelihood and the environment as a whole.
TI,e Gumba area, located within the Shey Phokshundo
National Park (SPNP) area of the Dolpa district, is one of a few
areas of Nepal where the local knowledge based indigenous
systems of pasture resource management pattern is found being
practiced by the people of Bonpo culture in the Pugmo village,
especially under the Gumba system. Having cultural
determinism in pasture resource management, the study of
Gumba system of this area, among many others, possess high
sociological and anthropological significance. Therefore, based
on the primary data, this paper has aimed at highlighting on how
is the status of the pastures and sub-pastures of the Gumba area
and how the people of the Pugmo village under the local cultural
context of the Gumba system have been locally managing the
pasture resource with reference to migratory herding and local
practices of medicinal plants harvesting.
Overview of the Study Area: Pugmo Village and
the Gumba Area
PugnlO village is the studied village, which is one of the
major settlements of Phoksundo VDC within the SPNP. TI,e
village lies in the upper part of the lower Dolpa region at an
elevation of 3000 m. It is located in a steep, narrow valley of the
Pugmo river which runs from upper Pumphu watershed of north-
west aspect to lower area of south-east aspect. Despite. the steep
slopes surrounding the village, the village area is flat enough and
surrounded by a small area of terraced agricultural lands where
one school and some monasteries are also present. The south-
north facing landscape of Gumbadanda, located just across the
Pugmo river and opposite of the village is covered with the
dense forests of different tree species; Pine, Juniper, Spruce,
Birch etc. In the winter season, the domestic herds are grazed
within the forest grounds, pasture lands and agricultural terraces
located around the village. Pugmo peoples' daily needs of timber,
firewood and others forest products are fulfilled from the patches
of forests lying in the homestead area. The hours of sunlight are
short in the valley due to the steep sides and the wind is heavy
during the day (Mcknight. 1997: 13).
TI,e village includes four wards of the Phoksundo VDC
and has a total of 30 households. Moreover, this village contains
a total of 159 inhabitants with 73 male and 86 female. All the
people of the village are of Tibetan origin and are the followers
of the Bonpo religion'. This village is not inhabited throughout
the year because the people migrate to Koirn village, a secondary
village, which lies at an hour up from PugnlO village for about
two months during the peak of winter season. Such seasonal
migration is their adaptive strategy for protecting themselves
from the severe cold. Furthermore, a few families stay in
Punikha and Gumba villages throughout the year whereas at
least two individuals or herdsmen of almost each family
seasonally stay at Kunasa and Pumphu areas for about five
months in a year while grazing their livestock in the summer.
The village or villagers' economy is largely dependent
on agro-pastoralism. Almost all the people are small farmers
who have less land and that is also less productive as being steep
sloped terraces and stony soil composition. Thus more than 80%
households are under food deficiency by their year round
production and they are highly relaying on the income derived
from external sources: livestock raising and trans-Himalayan
trade. The livestock raising is acknowledged as the backbone of
their village economy that is based on high grazing practice on
the pasturelands.
I Bonpo religion is the pre-buddhist religion of Tibet After the spread of
Buddhism in Tibet, it was incorporated under the Buddhism. The Pugmo
people consider it as a separate religion (wing) and religious philosophy. At
present, the Dalai Lama recognizes it as being one of the sects (parts) of the
Buddism.
1I8 Occasional Papers D.B. Parajuli 1I9
The Gumba area is one of the major aspects is managed
by the people of the Pugmo village and it lies in the western side
of the village, just across the Pugmo river. It encompasses
thousands of hectares of land within the Pugmo village
management area' (PVMA) including the Kunasa summer
pasture and Pumer and Punikha winter pasture areas where the
Pugmo people seasonally graze their herds, in some areas
cultivate crops, and harvest various pasture products (medicinal
plants, firewood, forage, timber, etc.) for their daily resources
need. This area was also clearly defined with a certain territory
spreading from the Gumbadanda and Pugmo khola in the east,
Sellathuan lek in the west, Jardum lek in the north and Bhupa lek
(south back of Bankal and Talgera pastures) in the south. The
Lamas have reported that in the past this territory of Gumba area
was much larger than the whole PVMA. The territory could not
be well-controlled and managed in the succeeding years of its
demarcation and thus gradually lost. J
At present, in Gumbadanda, the focal point of the area,
there are three Gumbas (monstries) named as: Youngdung-
chhungmo, Tasheding, and Tshekchhing-rakkaling. Of these, the
later one is communally owned and is the village Gumba
2 The are which is traditionally demarcated by the Pugmo people for the
pasture/forest and other natural resources use is referred here as the Pugmo
village management area. It includes a wide range spreading from SWlduwa,
Kwna, and Karbo pastures in the east, KWlasa valley (Kagmara lek,
Sellathllilll lek, Yambo Singlathuan Himals) in the west, upper Pumphu
valley (\\11ite, black, and blue Jakes), Perinakpo and Jousbatha pastures in the
north and Bhupa lek in the South. Within this PVMA, the Gwnba area is one
aspect, smaller in size and located in the North-west sides.
3 Previously, in the time of first Lama- Teton Sikyal Sangbo, the Gumba
managed area was wide spread including the places; Tripurakot, Kaigoan,
Jagdulla, Bagala, Medok la (way to Shey Gwnba), Chhokarpo (inside
Pwnphu) and Suligad. At the time of 5th Lama Th\Hlgton Namgyal Scrap
Gyaljan, this tenitory remained only areas; Phaparbari, Polam, Pungphu,
Jarahmg lek and SeUathuan lek. Similarly at his time, except for Gwnba
(present Gwnba 'area), and Swnduwa all other areas were gradually lost. In
the same way at the time of the great grand father of present lAma (Shree
Lama) Swnduwa was lost and only tIle present village management area
remained and the area was again separated as village management area and
Gumba area along with the inception of Talukdari system in tIle Pugmo
village area.
(monastery) and the former two are individually owned,
therefore, are private Gumbas. But within the Gumba area, there
are a total of 9 Gumbas situated in different places and
ownership title. The Tabas, and nuns are rotated in each Gumbas
for both educational and religious purposes where the Lamas
provide different kinds of knowledge to them about the
resources, environment and the Bonpo religious philosophy.
Thus the area is known as a 'holy land' or 'Lama land' managed
by the Lamas of Bonpo religion follower where killing of any
domestic animals and wildlife species is considered as sinful and
thus strictly prohibited. In this area, the Lamas with special
involvement of local people operate year-round religious and
educational activities. Besides, the Lamas have been controlling
and maintaining the land and other natural resources: forests and
pasture in this area over the generations.
History of Pasture Resource Management Under in
the Gumba Area
Nobody knows the antiquity of human settlement in the
Pugmo area, as authentic historical studies are not available. The
available facts reveal that the history of this area dates back 1000
years (Miller: 1993:a). Perhaps since that time or before the area
might have been inhabited by the people belonging to Tibetan
ethnicity. The Pugmo people particularly know that theIr
ancestors of 10th generation back had lived in the area. 4 So the
history of pasture resource management of this area can be
associated with the history of settlement of the Lamas. The
Lamas were not only religious heads and most knowledgeable
people in the society but also dynamic agro-pasturalists and
Trans-Himalayan traders. In course of that, they had traveled all
accessible nooks and comers of the area and gained the precise
knowledge of geo-physical structure, climate, resources and the
local environment as a whole. On the other hand, the Lamas
4 The name of late Lama lineage heads include: Teatton Sikyal Samba, Tetton
Chhewalg Chhuldin, Tetton Mollam Gyaljan, Tetton Namkha Gyaljan,
Th\Hlgton Namgyal Scrap Gyaljan, Thengton Gekor Rinchhen Gyatjan,
Th\Hlgton Serap Nyima, ...and Grand Father + Fatlter of Sltree Lama
(present Lama).
Source: Field SlUVey, June, 1998.
• There were 16 Tabas in the Gumba area dwing the field study.
SN .Lama Status Numbe Major Responsibilities
Hierarchy
121D.B. Parajuli
The hierarchic system revealed that the Lamas were the
people having higher status in the community. Of them, the main
Lama occupied the most respected position with higher
responsibilities followed by the junior, assistant Lamas and
Tabas. Such responsibilities and status were meaningfully
attributed to the senior Lamas as they were the most educated
and knowledgeable people as compared to other junior Lamas.
The main Lama was primarily responsible for public health care,
religious functions, public education, conflict resolution, public
security, resource regulation and management, Oumba
management, construction and repair of bridges and beaten
tracks. Past experiences revealed that the Lamas performed their
responsibilities in such an effective way that there were no
complaints in their tasks, duties and decisions. However, in
course of performing their responsibilities, Lamas used to
control public land encroachment by people, firing in the forests
and pasturelands, tree felling, haphazard rotation of herds in the
seasonal grazing pasture, commercial pasture product harvesting,
outsiders encroachment and wildlife poaching within their
territory. Similarly, other Lamas and Tabas were generally
responsible to assist main Lama while performing all the
responsibilities. Apart from these, the assistant and junior Lamas
had additional responsibilities of handling the whole natural
resource control and management system and performing all
other responsibilities of main Lama in his absence.
This system was not formal and officially attributed to
them but was of local level, mainly based on the Lamas'
pertaining knowledge guided by the Bonpo culture and past
experiences. Thus, controlled from Gumbadanda monastery, this
system was commonly effective in the very past in the Pugmo
village and entire Pugmo village management area. However,
along with the extension of Talukdari system and District Land
Tax Office (Mal Adda) after 1911 A.D, this system became
confined only in the Gumba area. Thereafter, local revenue
The overall responsibilities of
religious activities and control
and operational management of
land and other resources: forest
and pasture.
To assist main Lama in his
tasks regarding the natural
resource management and
religion.
To assist main Lama and
assistant Lama in their tasks
identified already.
To assist all senior Lamas in
religious and natural resources
management activities.
One
One
One
Many
•
Main Lama
(Beginner
StudentslA
ssistants)
Occasional Papers
ebbabi
Lama
Tabas
I.
120
4.
under the Gumba system have been controlling and managing
the land and other natural resources. Therefore, the pattem of
pasture resources management is found attached with the history
of Bonpo cultural development, pertaining knowledge of the
Lamas and changing experiences of historical phases.
In this study the Gumba System of resources management
has been taken here as the system of control and operational
management of natural resources by the Lamas who reside in the
Gumbadanda of Pugmo village. Perhaps this is the typical system
common in the Phoksundo VUC and Nepal Himalaya, which is
based on the philosophy of Bonpoism. Initially, the system was so
simple that the Lamas used to control and manage the resource,
collect the nominal royalty in the form of cash and kinds from the
users of resources and fine from the encroachers of forest and
agricultural-lands. They used the collected cash, grains, etc in the
religious activities that used to take place in the Pugmo village. But
later on, the Lama Tetton Malan Gyaljan (Lama of 3'd generation)
had made the system more systematic with new arrangements of
rules (Chapter: 3.4) and Lama hierarchic system with attributed
responsibilities for the control and operational management of
resources, which can be observed in the Table 1 given below:
Table I: Lama Hierarchic System and Attributed Responsibilities to Each
Hierarchy
2. Lajung Assistant
Lama Lama
3. Kerkha Junior
Lama Lama
collection rights were transferred to the Mukhiya even in Gumba
area (phu, Punikha, Gumba and Kunasa agricultural lands).
Even after the establishment of SPNP, the park policy
has guaranteed indigenous peoples' use rights on land, forest and
pastures. But, only a few old traditions like Lamas' authority of
granting permission for harvesting timber has shifted to the park
authority. Similarly, timber product export to outside the park
boundary was completely checked. However, all other
regulations of old Gumba system are existed even today. Thus,
the grazing and pasture product harvesting practices for
household needs within the park area including the Gumba area
are smoothly going on as previously.
Management Pattern of Pasture Resource Under
the Gumba System
The lndigenous system of rangeland or pastureland
management includes various aspects or techniques such as
rotational grazing, deferred grazing, plant and animal
performance indicators, carrying capacity estimation and
livestock number reduction, etc., which are also common in
western (European) range management. But in the east (Asia),
these aspects or teclmiques, however, are not adopted in the
same way as they are in the west. In the context of Nepal,
indigenous rangeland or pasture resource management system
relies on common senses, habits and traditions developed by the
resource users of preceding generations and handed to the
subsequent generations (Parajuli, 1996: 25). Tn some areas,
cultural and religious influences become more detrimental and
more effective than the system or practices of any other areas.
Keeping these things in mind, indigenous management system of
pasture resources in Kunasa area that is mainly guided under the
Gumba system of the Bonpo religious culture was examined
with common senses, traditions, habits and practices which
includes; status inventory, resource allocation, consumption
pattern, existing operational rules, decision making, labor
mobIlIzatIOn and conflict resolution process.
Status of Gumba Area Pasture and Sub-Pastures
. Within the Gumba area, the Kunasa is the largest and
major summer pasture that is seasonally utilized by the herders
of the Pugmo village including the Punikha, Pumar and Gumba
village. It is a typical pasture with agricultural land in the high
altItude area. Historically, it was only the place where herds and
herders used to reside in the plain ground in the night, in the
temporary shelters but over the generations, with changing time
and increasing demand for agricultural lands, the herdsmen not
only constructed permanent houses of stone structure but also
extended the flat area as the cropping land. At present, the name
Kunasa is of great meaning as it describes both an area and a
specific place. The specific place indicates the agricultural land
and the settlement areas: Pandang and Lhaye including the
nearby grazing grounds. Similarly, the Kunasa area indicates the
collection of many pasturelands and their grazing units,
adjoining forests, rocky slopes and snowing mountains in the
upper Kunasa Khola watershed. However, the specific Kunasa
place is not only the settlement area with agriculture land but
also the central point of other neighboring pasturelands from
where the rotational grazing and pasture harvesting activities are
particularly operated. It is, therefore, the herdsmen who have
classified the specific Kunasa place including nearby grazing
units as the main pasture and other adjoining pasturelands with
semi-permanent shelters as the sub-pastures. Based on their
classification, in this study also, the status inventory information
of Kunasa pasture and sub-pastures (Bankal, Talgera,
Kungathang and Pangjauwa) of the Gumba area can be stated in
a tabular form as follows:
123D.B. ParajuliOccasional Papers122
124 Occasional Papers D. B. Para}u/i 125
spread to 5000 m. Almost all these pastures are of large size with
more than 100 hectare grazing lands. On an average, the slope
degree of the Goths residing parts of the pastures and sub-
pastures range between 5-20 degree but adjoining grazing
grounds are more sloped upto 60 degree. The slope direction is
similar to that of other high altitude of Nepal that the pastures are
SoN, N-S, E-W, and WoE faced. Each sub-pastures contain more
than 10 grazing units which are the core livestock grazing areas
named either culturally or on the basis of gro-physical structure
of the pastures. Except for the winter pastures: Punikha and
Pumer, all others are the aspects (sub-pastures) of the Kunasa
summer pasture.
So far as the matter ofgrazing intensity and forage status
of the Kunasa pasture and sub-pastures of the Gumba area is
concerned, there is high grazing intensity in the main Kunasa
pasture (Kunasa Proper) as the herds are grazed there intensively
in June and October, the periods of entry and exit, respectively.
But in other sub-pastures grazing is not so intensive and pastures'
forage status is relatively good as the pastures are deferred more
than 10 months each year and the herds do not remain and graze
so intensively. These sub-pastures are rich for medicinally and
commercially valuable plants like Bhultey, Yarshagurnba,
Sunpate, Katuko, etc. especially in the rocky slopes of the
grazing units, so grazing movements of livestock is not much
hannful for the regeneration and growth of these plants.
Similarly, fodder grasses of different species are abundant in
these sub-pastures, thus the carrying capacity of them is
relatively high. These pastures and sub-pastures are utilized by
the herders in various ways.
Pasture Resource Utilization Pattern Within the
Gumba Area
The utilization pattern of pasture resource is guided
under its allocation practice, which includes both individual and
communal modes. In individually owned lands of the Pumer,
Chemjunlgl.hang, Baijangthang,
Rukduithaug, Tsrojungthang.
paogdangthang, lhai-thang,
Poo@jauwa ridge, UIjukthang,
Ghoyour.
Leju, Thendi, R3pka, Guttingloog,
Urnlba
t
Rugdui, Chhalchhap,
Tswnik, Ngyabo-dlhya, Ngyabo-
cho;ne. Dhupuk~mumba.
Dhupuk-taptap, Korbctbang,
Thalachhusya, Schu, Sabuche,
Ngingtoog, T~-ringmo.
Cbairi, Tharchang, Talgaa
proper, Talgcr3l..l1ai, Langdang.
Th<msam, Khogmocbhe, Taktak-
kogma, Taktak-hogma, Japan-
tima-khasa, Koppat:litung, Rugdi
Lama Chumik kogma. Lama
Cbumik hogma. Soitoriya,
Ngingri, Baij3l1gl.h3llg, Btritong,
Ngingtong, Dbaraksawa,
lhaitiwng, Pangjauwa preyer,
Pangiauwa llHli. M3dalthang,
penhri-cbhemu, Yatn3h.iulsa,
Yujajang, Upper Ghoyur,
SuibUlmg, Lewer Ghoyur, lJIjuk.
Hlusingtong-bogma,
Hlusingtong- kogma, Pangpho,
Dhawopoobri, Viri, Chbuhmg,
lhai-kogma, Ulai41ogma,
Laundanda. Taksep. Buksep.
Th3l1gsep, Chboijom-ogyahsa,
SalUl-kogma, SauopartD3, &J,lUl-
bogma.
Gbyamlung, Shugri Nyishar
gamba, Pho gamba, Takpakogma,
Sittihi, Pholtak.
Sikyal penbTi, Nihma !>Vhsa,
Sdlrob pwhri. Dh""l!Pak•
Penhridbunh, Shukpajoogjoog,
Solajosa, SiUige, Dboowabesa.
Winter
Pasnue
Winter
Pasture
Summer
Pasture
Summer
pasture
N-S
&
WoE
N-S
SON
N-S
SON
WOE
WOE
&
N-S
10-
20
10-
20
5-15
5-15
5-15
5-15
5-10
3500-
4000
3600-
4300
3800-
4500
4300-
5000
3900-
4500
4000-
5000
3900-
4100
50
100
130
250
120
75
100
As presented in the table above, the Kunasa pasture and
its sub-pasture of Gumba area are located above 3500 m. and
Source: Field survey,.hme 1998. . I 1_
N<te : BAH =&t.irnated Area in Hectare, Alt. =Altitude, SD =Slope Degree, SD -
Slope Diredioo, W-E =West-Bag., E-W =Ba~-We&, S-N =South-North, N-S =North-
South
Pumer
Punikha
Bankal
Pangiau
wa
Table 2 : St.a1US of the Pa.04.ures. Sub-pastures and Grazing Units of the Gumba Me3 . .
TalgeJ"3
Paslures FAH AlL SOl S02 Category Name of the grazmg uwts
& sub- Range
pastures
Kyungat
hong
Kunasa
Proper
126 Occasional Papers D.B. Parajuli 127
Punikha and the Kanasa areas individual resource allocation is
present ~hereas in common pasture areas, the communal system
of resource allocation is found. Accordingly, pastures resource
utilization patterns is guided in this area which can be
characterized as a complex set and that includes two major ways:
rotational and deferred grazing, and pasture harvesting. This
pattern differs from pasture to pasture and therefore is described
here with reference to sub-pastures also.
Rotational and Deferred Grazing
The livestock grazing is the most common mode of
pasture resource consumption in the area. The livestock species
such as yak, chauri, cattle, goats, horses, etc, are mainly raised
under high altitude grazing system. The transhumance, this
system includes grazing of livestock in the higher elevation
during the summer season and grazing in the lower elevation
during the winter season. Within the Gumba area, the Kunasa
and its sub pastures are the summer pastures whereas cropping
fields, forests and pastures of homestead areas of Pugmo,
Pumer, Punikha, and Gumba villages are the winter pastures.
Except the Pugmo villages all others are located within the
Gumba area. Mainly, yak, chauri and cattle are the livestock
species, grazed in the summer pastures whereas along with these
livestock, goats and horses are included and grazed in the winter
pastures. A total of 442 livestock of different species are raised
by 27 households of these villages commonly known as the
Pugmo herders. Only 3 households of these villages are do not
have livestock -less. The herders of 21 households of the
Kunasa group which utilizes the Gumba area pastures have 206
livestock of different species including yak, chauri, cattle, etc.,
representing 7.63 livestock per household. Over generations, for
systematic and sustainable grazing in the summer pastures, the
people of the Gumba area have been maintaining an unique
systems of rotational and deferred grazing especially in the
Kunasa summer pasture and its sub-pastures of the Gumba area
...
which can better be understood under different phases: first,
second and third.
Shortly after the completion of 6-7 months' grazing
practice in the winter pastures, the first phase of grazing in the
summer pasture startes generally at the beginning of June. The
cropping activities are almost completed at that time and the
seasonal herders move to the Kunasa pasture areas with their
herds and essential food materials. Under mutual understanding
anlOng the herdsmen, the date to follow the route to Kunasa
pasture is decided and they generally reach there on the same
day. While grazing their livestock at the Kunasa, the households
are again segmented into two groups known as Lhaye and
Pangdang groups which are formed representing the upper and
lower Kunasa settlements, respectively. Following their own
areas, the herds are mainly grazed in the peripheral grazing units
of the Kunasa pasture rather than in the cropping land as it is
closed for livestock grazing until harvesting of cultivated crops
(mustard, wheat, barely and potato) in October. The herds of
Lhaye group are grazed on various grazing units; Mathllo-
ghoyour, Lhayathang, Chhulungthang, Baijangthang and
Panjauwaridge, located above the Kunasa agricultural land and
the settlement area. Similarly, the herds of the Pangdang group
are primarily grazed on other grazing units such as
Chemjungthang, Pangdangthang, Tsumjungthang and
Kulysathang located just below the settlement area. While
grazing in Kunasa pasture, all other sub-pastures are generally
closed or restricted for grazing during the month of June'. Before
the departure to other sub-pastures in June, the herdsmen and
Lamas perform 'Kyulsa Puja' (worship) for the betterment of
j Such grazing restrictions on pasture and sub-pastures are general nonns (but
not so sharp) because there is the lack of safe boundary between the sub-
pastures, the herds sometimes enter into the restricted territory. In occasional
cases, there is no system of punishment to the herders but. the herdsmen are
fmed as rule breachers if they graze their livestock there intentionally
ignoring their traditions.
128 Occasional Papers D.H. Parajuli 129
pasture land, climate, livestock and herdsmen's health, social
unity and against the evil eyes in these regards. Such division of
grazing areas are divided into two groups and cultural
association to the resources seem more scientific in terms of
pasture resource allocation for livestock grazing and social
cohesion. These traditions are not only systematic and
sustainable but also represent the pertaining knowledge of
pasture resource management in a conflict-less and religious
ways. The livestock grazing time schedule is similar to that of
other high altitude areas in Nepal's northern belt and is mainly
during the daytime. In the morning, the livestock are chased
outside in the peripheral grazing units and in the evening brought
back to keep in the temporary sheds. In Kunasa pasture,
livestock are grazed for about one month especially during June.
Similarly, the second phase of the rotational grazing in
Kunasa area starts along with the movement of livestock Goths
from Kunasa pasture to the sub-pastures, Bankal and Talgera, in
the early July. Thereafter, Kunasa pasture and sub-pastures like
Kungathang and Pangjauwa are restricted for grazing as the
herds cannot remain there as per the traditional grazing norms.
The groups formed earlier are still maintained and accordingly
the herds are driven to the sub-pastures following their own
traditional routes. The herds of 'Pangdang group' are directly
taken to the Bankal sub-pasture and grazed in its various grazing
units. In the same way, the herds of 'Lhaye group' are taken to
the Talgera sub-pasture and grazed in its grazing units. The
daytime grazing and the nighttime residing in the sheds is also
common there. But, the period of stay of livestock Goths in these
sub-pastures depends upon the carrying capacity of each.
However, these two sub-pastures having similar area and
carrying capacity can carry out the pressure of livestock grazing
for about one month during July. Then one grazing cycle within
sub-pastures - Bankal and Talgera is completed with the
movement of livestock Goths to other neighboring sub-pastures;
Kungathang and Pangjauwa.
When the herds reach Pangjauwa from Talgera and
Kungathang from Bankal, another grazing cycle within sub-
pasture level begins. Then, Talgera and Bankal sub-pastures are
closed for grazing because all the herds are to be shifted form
there in order to avoid the over-grazing problem. The herds are
grazed in the various grazing units of these newly shifted sub-
pastures. The herdsmen and livestock reside in sheds and grazing
patterns are similar to those of Bankal and Talgera sub-pastures.
About one and half month is spent in course of grazing the
livestock in these sub-pastures as almost all the grazing units are
relatively richer in fodder grass composition than in the former
Bankal and Talgera sub-pastures.
After the completion of the second phase, the third
phase of rotational and deferred grazing begins with the
movement of livestock Goths to the Kunasa homestead
area/pasture, in the mid-September. Beside grazing in the
peripheral grazing units of the Kunasa pasture, the herds at
this time are additionally allowed to be grazed in cropping
lands and the lower Ghoyour which is restricted from the very
beginning of summer grazing (about 5 months in a year),
especially from early May to the end of September for wild
Garlick and fodder grass harvesting. Moreover, before
descending from Kunasa, in the late October, the herds are
also grazed for a few days in various grazing units of
Pangsung pasture land which is located in the eastern side of
Kunasa pasture on the route to Punikha and just opposite of
the Talgera sub-pasture. Then downward Goth movement to
the Pugmo village is made effective by the mid-October. In
this way, the rotational grazing cycle in the Kunasa summer
pasture and sub-pastures is completed till the next summer
season. However, for better conceptualization a schematic
diagram of rotational grazing system is given below in the
Fig. 1.
130 Occasional Papers D.S. Parajuli 131
Figure 1: A Schematic Chart of Rotational Grazing System
in Kunasa Pasture aod Suh-pastures ofthe Gumba Area.
Pasture Harvesting
Unlike grazing the pasture harvesting is another way of
pasture resource consumption, which is mainly concerned with
various livestock and human needs including the healthcare.
Collection of various pasture products: firewood, fodder grass,
thatching materials, animal bedding and medicinal plants are
some indicative ways of pasture harvesting. These ways also
contain with their own methods, time period, significance, etc.,
and accordingly local Amchis and people of this area do both the
harvesting. It is mainly based on the rules of the Bonpo culture
(Section 3.4) and regulated as well as maintained by the Lamas
under the Gumba system as a whole. A detailed view of the
traditional cultural dimension on methods and ways of pasture
consumption by harvesting the pasture products is given below.
Medicinal Plant Harvesting
Medicinal plant collection from the high-elevated
pastures is the most popular mode of pasture harvesting. It
concerns both livestock as well as human health. Because
modem health facilities are lacked in the village and people are
dependent on medicinal plant based on treatment system.
However, inside the park collection of medicinal plants for
commercial purpose is prohibited. Since with the granted use
rights of the resources for home consumption, the harvesting of
medicinal plants from the pastures and sub-pastures is common
even after the establishment of SPNP. The people and Amchis
have their own knowledge and traditions of harvesting various
medicinal plants from the different pasture lands; Kunasa,
Banka!, Talgera, Kungathang, Pangjawa and others. They also
know the medicinal properties of hundreds of plant species
found in the area, out of them, Sunpate (Rhododendron
anthopogan), Katuko (Picrorhiza schrophulariiflora), Bhultey
(Nardostachys grandiflora) and Yartsagumbo (Cordyceps
sinensis), are some medicinally and commercially valuable plant
species. Mainly, there appears a good and varied distribution
pattern of these plants in the sununer pastures of this area
including in Kunasa pasture and its sub-pastures. The general
people often harvest the plant indiscriminately which is not a
Kunasa Group
PwDphu Group
PugmoVillage
1.0",
'1--1--1--.....",••"
PANGJAUWA
SUB-PASTURE
KUNGATHANG
SUB-PASTURE
132 Occasional Papers D.8. Parajuli 133
ways are generally adopted which differ in terms of species,
plant parts, and bme. However, for the better examination of the
tradition of medicinal herbs harvesting, a detailed information
about the harvesting.ways of different plant parts, ways and time
for each was obtained and is presented in the Table 3.
Table 3: Traditional Techniques and Ways of Medicinal Herbs
Harvesting Pattern.
Source: Field swvey, JlU1e, 1998
There are varieties of methods in drying the extracted
medicinal plants or plant parts. Generally, the extracted herbs are
washed and put in a clean place to dry. But the methods or ways
of drymg vary m terms of use category of the particular
medlcmaJ herbs. First of all, the collected medicinal herbs are
identified and categorized as the herbs used in the cold and hot /
temperature related disease or problems. If the herbs fall in the
category of use for the cold related problems/diseases, are locally
called as 'Tangba' and generally dried in sunlight. Similarly, if
the herbs fall in the category of use for hot / temperature related
problems/disease are locally called as 'Chhaba' and are dried in
S.N Plantsl Traditional ways of extraction for
Plant parts hatvesting
Late Oct.
Harvesting
time(months)
Jan.-Feb.
Mar.-Apr.
JlU1&July
Roots Uprooting: From the area where the
plants are dominant
Cutting: From the trees in which
branches are thick and the
area where the trees are
dominant
Picking: From the large & matured
trees with good interval
between each branches.
Picking: From matured cluster of Early May
leaves with certain interval in
each branches.
Picking: From matured cluster offruit JIDle and Oct
with certain intervaI in each
branches.
Picking: From the matured trees
where are dominant (less
than 50% of the total)
Collecting: From trees in which Sept..Oct
matured seeds are seasonally
available.
Wood
Bark
Leaves
Fruit
Flowers
Seeds
2
4
3
5
7
6
sustainable way of harvesting. But this study reveals that
Lamas/Amchis follow many sustainable ways of harvesting the
medicinal plants and plant parts. They, sometimes, also guide
general people about the rules and ways of sustainable medicinal
plant harvesting which are based on the Tibetan calendar and
medicinal texts.
Certain cultural processes regulate the harvesting time of
various medicinal plants in this Lama managed area. The
specific auspicious period is already determined according to the
Tibetan medicinal text and calendar that is informed to the public
by the Lamas. The 'Thanshing Richi' is the specific period of
three days in which nutritional rainfall is believed to occur and
then medicinal plants including fodder grasses are supposed to
be well nourished by the rain-fed water. Thereafter, the
medicinal efficiency of various plants is relatively higher than
earlier and later periods or stages. Therefore, general people and
Amchis of this area harvest medicinal plants only after the
'Thanshing Richi'. In this regard, it is to be noted that prior to the
collection of medicinal plants, the Lamas perform a ritual,
namely, 'Menlha Puja', which is made by two words; 'Men'
(Medicine) and Lha (God). Etymologically, it means the Puja
(worship) of the Medicine God (Buddha). The Lamas have also
reported that in other areas of upper Dolpo like Bijer, Saldang,
Karang, Birija, Komachhi, Namtor, Dho-Tharap, Chharka,
Barpong, Kingdu and Tibetan pleatue, the local Amchis harvest
medicinal herbs after the period of 'Thanshing Richi' and also
perform the 'Menlha Puja'. Sometimes, Amchis also employ
horses in harvesting the medicinal herbs, to maximize their
activity during the peak maturity of the plants and plant parts.
But this case is not applicable to all plants or plant parts which
may be harvest far before or after the 'Thanshing Richi'.
The Pugmo people have their own harvesting techniques
for various medicinal herbs. Generally, uprooting, cutting,
picking, collecting, washing, drying (sunlight + shadow) and
packing are the common techniques that have been adopted by
the Pugmo people. If the roots of plants are medicinally valuable,
uprooting is done when other parts; bark, seeds, fruit, flower,
wood, leaves, etc., are needed; Collecting, cutting and picking
134 Occasional Papers D.B. Parajuli 135
shadow. The Lamas have also reported that outside these two
categories of diseases or problems, the herbs are generally dried
both in sunlight and shadow with certain alternatives. While
drying in sunlight and shadow, a crucial attention is paid towards
the ventilation need and the herbs are kept in a well-ventilated
condition. And only then the herbs are packed or stored.
Fodder Harvesting
The fodder harvesting includes both fodder grass and
fodder leaves from the pastures and forests, respectively. This is
the common mode of pasture harvesting concerned to the
seasonal domestic livestock feeding practice. The pattern of
fodder leaves harvesting is not so common here as the fodder
trees are very nominal whereas the fodder grass harvesting is
common but generally of small quantity and less intensive as the
livestock raising system in this area is mostly based on grazing
rather than stall feeding. The fodder grass harvesting is done to
meet the needs of forage to feed the livestock during rainy days
and intensive cropping days in the summer season. In general, a
total of 5-10 Bhari (Weight of about 40 kg) fodder grass is
harvested by each households. Lower Ghoyour, Purungchhang
and Pangsung are the main pasture lands for fodder grass
harvesting which are left ungrazed and restricted for immature
fodder harvesting. Also in other sub-pastures; Talgera and
Pangjauwa, fodder grass is harvested only from the steep slopes
where fodder grass is abundant but the site is not accessible for
livestock. The harvesting is done mainly on individual family
basis but at the same date and time jointly announced by the
Mukhiya and Lamas. Like medicinal plant harvesting, this
practice is also generally held in late September or October,
especially after the 'Thansing Richi' of the Tibetan calendar.
Similar harvesting of fodder grass is done even in the cropping
lands and pastures of Punikha, Gumba and Pugrno village areas
in the season. However, the Hay making pattern of this area is
traditional and not so systematic as the people have little
knowledge and less interest about it.
Fuel-wood and Timber Harvesting
The Kunasa area located above 4000 m, is basically the
treeless zone but in some south-north faced slopes of Bankal
Talgera, Pangdang and Pangsung pasture lands a few patches ot-
forests are existed. The timber and firewood are extracted from
these patches of forests and further low elevated forests of Phu
and Punikha monastry areas. Mainly, the tree shrub species like
Betula utilis, Rhododendron campanulatum, Cedrus deodara
Abies spectabilis, Pinus wallichiana, Salix species., PotentilJ~
peduncularis, Juniperus squamata, 1. indica etc. are utilized for
firewood needs. The collection of timber is not frequently done
as the repamng and construction of houses and sheds is needed
only after long periods of years. But firewood collection from
the forests and bushes is quite frequent for daily needs. In
ddferent sub-pastures such firewood collection is done
separately in each. Thus, the harvesting intensity is not in a
partIcular area but remarkably scattered in different pasturelands.
In thIS area, an approximate 30-40 Bhari (a bundle of 40 kg = I
Bhan) of firewood IS collected and stored by each family in the
season .. Accordmg to the Lamas, for construction purpose timber
IS obtamed from dead trees that are either naturally dead or
uprooted by landslide and snowstorm. The collection period is
not speCIfic but the herdsmen collect these things along their
amval at Kunasa for cropping in the late May until their
downward movement to the village in the mid-October. During
this penod, the time of collecting these things is not also
tentative but largely depends upon their leisure while grazing the
herds m the pasture and sub-pastures especially in the day time.
Thatching Material Harvesting
.. The harvesting of thatching materials is done mainly for
repalOng and roofing the houses of Kunasa settlements and
semi-permanent sheds of sub-pastures. The repairing of houses is
not done year!y but the sheds are to be roofed year! y, therefore
thatching materials are mainly harvested for sheds roofin~
purposes. Under this harvesting pattern, primarily barks, leaves,
and small timber are harvested before the rainy season
especially before the livestock Goths shIft to sub-pastures by th~
136 Occasional Papers D.S. Para}u!! 137
end of June. The barks and branches of Betula utilis are widely
extracted for roofing the sheds from the adjoining patches of
forests of the pasture and sub-pastures. The herdsmen who
utilize the summer sub-pastures of Kunasa pasture mainly do this
type of pasture harvesting. As the existent system of joint
housing and roofmg a shed by 4 -5 families, the need of
thatching materials is naturally of small quantity and not
intensive.
Operational Rules of the Gumba System for
Pasture Resource Management
The Lama Tetton Molan Gyaljan, known as the Lama of
high knowledge regarding the landscapes, climate, biodiversity,
natural resources and the environment as a whole, had made
various rules and regulations for the better management of
natural resources including the pasture resource. Over the
generations, these rules have been in operation but not much
modified since they are well adapted to such a geo-physical and
climatic condition of the areas. During the field study these rules
were not found in written form, but the Lama, and more elderly
herders of the Pugmo village who seasonally graze their
livestock in the Gumba area know the traditional rules of the
GU111ba system. According to them, most of the rules were
existed even today which are transmitted from generations
verbally. Some of the traditional rules enumerated by the Lamas
and elder people are as follows.
I. To graze the herds only in the particular pasture areas
and sub-pastures where the herdsmen have been grazing
their herds over the generations.
2. Not to dig out the land in the communal pastures and
sub-pastures if the herdsmen are not constructing
temporary houses or sheds for shelter.
3. Not to extend the individual land areas in the communal
pastures for agricultural purposes.
4. Not to set fIre in the pasture lands in order to protect
pasture products; forage, trees, medicinal and other
various plant species and wildlife.
5. Not to whistle and cry loudly in the pasture and sub-
pastures for not disturbing the wildlife.
6. Not to cultivate medicinal plants in the community
owned pasture lands for the individual purposes.
7. Except for basic household need, various species of
medicinal plants should not be harvested from the
natural ecosystem and if they have to harvest the plants,
areas where the plants are dominant should be selected.
8. The fodder trees and otber palatable bushes if they are
present in tbe community owned pastures are not to be
cut down.
9. Not to cut down tree in tbe forest/pasture lands, during
tbe restricted period that is from 15 March to 15
December, for tbe healthier germination and growth of
plant species
10. For timber extraction, a formal pennission is to be asked
with the Lamas specifying tbe purpose, tree species,
quantity needed and including the Raita (small piece of
cloth that is religiously offered to the gods and Lamas)
royalty for thato.
II. To worship trees with offering the food grains and Raita
prior to fell the trees from forest pasture areas as to show
cultural and religious respect to forest/pasture resources.
12. The Lamas should generally allow to cut-down the dead
trees especially in the area where the specific species are
dominant.
13. The Tabas are to be sent out for cross-checking, whether
or not the applicants' are performing as per the
permission.
14. To check and control the entrance and encroachment of
outsiders within the Lama managed Gumba area, for
livestock grazing and pasture products harvesting.
6 Generally the royalty was pre-detennined as Rs.l for small trees and Rs.5 for
large trees. TIlose who lacked cash money could deposit utensils for certain
period (after paying the royalty utensils could be returned) and offer food
grains instead of cash money. The fund created by such royalty collection.
used to be spent in perfonning religious tasks in the Gumbas and other social
services; beaten tracks and bridges construction and Gurnba repairing etc.
138 Occasional Papers D.B. Para}ul; 139
15. The herders should create good understanding and
cooperation among themselves while grazing the herds
in the pastures and sub-pastures and using the resources.
16. To graze the livestock only as cross-out in the pastures
and sub-pastures of the Goth moving routes such as
Kunasa, Pangsung and Talgera.
17. The herdsmen should report to the Tabas and Lamas if
any users whether insider or outsider violated the norms
regarding the pasture resource management.
18. Grazing in the cropping and other pasturelands should be
made effective only when the harvesting of crops is
completed and restriction on pasturelands is opened.
19. To ask pennission with the owner for resources use
(Fodder, firewood, thatclllng materials etc.) in case of
the resources are located in the private lands.
20. To detennine the date of upward-downward and inward-
outward movements of livestock Goths at the herdsmen
level and at the appropriate time.
21. The harvesting of pasture products, fodder grass, tree
fodder, medicinal plants, etc, are to be done only when
the Lamas announce the date for public harvesting: that
are especially after the 'Thanshing Richi' in the months
of September.
Regarding the rules, the Lamas have informed that they
can make new rules of control and maintaining the resources
even today if they thought essential. For instance, since three
years they made a new rule to restrict the 'Darna Ban' for grazing
the herds between October-February for substantial regeneration
of plant species, as there were signs of overgrazing. The rules
mentioned above are primarily operational, regulative, and
prolllbitive types in nature. Presently even after the
implementation of SPNP and end of the Talukdari system, most
of the rules are existing and are maintained indigenously by the
Lamas with the help of Mukhiya and people.
Decision-Making
The decision making, within the communal pasture
resource management system is one of the key aspects as it
affects the whole system both in short-run and long run. Keeping
this fact in mind, the Pugrno herders carefully make decisions
only in less effective issues to others or the system. If the issues
are of communal types where to graze the herds, when to graze
when to enter and exit in a particular pasture area and sUb~
pasture, where from the pasture harvesting, when to perfonn
Kulysa and LamacWlUmik Pujas etc, the farmers see and wait for
mutual and infonned persons' decisions that are made in
assembled group level. But on the contrary, if the issues are
related to individual households such as; how much and which
species of livestock to keep, where to live, which member goes
for summer grazing, to whom to ask for help for the herds
grazing etc, the fanners make decisions either individually or at
household level.
The farmers have also reported that gender awareness
and non-discrimination is remarkable in tlus area and therefore
the decisions are not made on the basis of gender. However:
there are a few tasks generally identified for women like
household chores, sununer herding, fodder grass and firewood
collection, helping Lamas while collecting the medicinal plants
etc., and in such issues, the females themselves make the
decisions. Similarly, in the tasks generally identified for men,
such as shed making and repairing, thatching material collection,
roofing, timber harvesting, cropping management, etc., The
decisions are made by the males. If there is absence of household
head in a particular family, the decisions about such issues are
naturally made by the immediate elder persons and the gender
discrimination is considered minor and often neglected.
However, the role of Lamas and Mukhiya in overall decision-
making in the village especially in common issues are
considered signi ficant. This is because they are expected to guide
and help the people. Their advisory decisions are respectfully
followed and obeyed by the people who think of them as the
most knowledgeable people in the society. At present, the
formation of Sisters' Group has empowered the women of
Pugmo village. Thus, they have started to involve themselves in
decision making process in the communal and social issues
getting ahead of household and family level.
140 Occasional Papers D.S. Parajuli 141
Labor Mobilization
The labor mobilization for the tasks related to the
pasture resource management is generally based on the lei~ure,
capacity and knowledge of the individual members of .a.given
family or the community as well. In this area, the diVISIon of
labor is less defined in terms of gender m a fallllly. So the free
members from the farming, income generating activities and
household chores are drafted to do pasture related t~sks. But
those individuals of specific skill and knowledge like shed
makers, medicine maker Amchis etc., are particularly expected
to contribute their labor and knowledge to the wellbemg of
families and society. Besides, the labor mobilization pattern can
be characterized in terms of seasons and levels that are; summer
grazing management and pasture harvesting. The s~~r
grazing management relatedtasks are the routme tasks so I~ It
regular type of labor is moblhzed. The females especIally gIrlS,
at least one person from each livestock owned households are
usually mobilized to the Kunasa summer pasture area. In
question why they primarily mobilize female t."anpower? Therr
natural answers were; the area is safe geographically, Holy Land
regularly guarded by Lamas and Tabas, and also becau.se of the
lack of male manpower heing involved in Trams-HImalayan
trade. However, one or two males among from the herders
remain there for the assistance to the females.
In the same way, for pasture harvesting in the summer
pastures, the labor use pattern is different, as the L~as are
mainly involved as informed persons. The wome~ remam .m the
high elevated Kunasa pasture for ~azin~ their li~estock l~ .the
swnmer season, assist the Lamas m therr harvestmg acltvilles.
Such labor mobilization is not their routine work but are
seasonally needed in the summer months and therefo~e, is alwa~s
intensively required for few days with 10-15 hours lime spent m
a day. Notably, the trends of employing hired labor for such
tasks or activities were not found in the study area. But
cooperative labor use is commonly asked with relatives and
neighboring herdsmen if a particular family has less manpower
supply. This system of labor mobilizati?n is typic~lly done on
voluntary basis but in return substanllal foods like flour of
wheat, potatoes etc., are provided as the gift to the herders by the
livestock owners.
Conflict Resolution
Under the control of Lamas, within the Gumba area,
there appears good cooperation and understanding among the
Pugmo herders hence pasture consumption and management
related activities are running smootWy. Even so, the area is not
free from disputes and conflicts regarding the pasture resource
management because in the past, people have experienced some
disputes and conflicts. Primarily, the conflicts or disputes have
occurred there either by the outsiders' intervention into the
Pugmo territory or pasture consumption and management related
issues: grazing, harvesting, rule breaching etc. As per their
traditions and knowledge, the problems were resolved with the
mutual role of Lamas, Mukhiya, Tabas, Toremas and people.
With the changing issues or problems the resolution measures or
processes were refined and modified over the generations which
have been their traditional norms and values by which aroused
conflicts are resolved at present also.
The internal process of disputes or conflicts resolution
regarding the pasture resource management in this area is quite
systematic even in absence of formal institution. As in well-
developed institutions, hierarchic power structure and step wise
process are adopted for the confliet resolution. Generally, the
disputes occurred at individual as well as user group levels are
amicably negotiated among the herdsmen themselves. If
negotiations do not materialize or the people are unable to settle
the cases themselves that is referred to the Lamas of Gumba,
Pugmo village, for the final resolution. The then Lamas in
consultation with the Tabas, Mukhiya and concerned herdsmen,
examine the case with blaming and claiming issues and solve the
case at the assembled group level with certain narning. While
setting the case, the Lamas base their decisions under the rules
made by their ancestors regarding the natural resources
management. As a result, the real offender is either excused or
142 Occasional Papers
D.S. Paraju/i 143
organization like the users cOllUnittee. But the study are b'
I td 'hi h SPNP a eIngoca e wit n t e area the park has been implementing its
rules, restrictIOns and development programs and thus . th
futur th k'gh ak furth ,m e
. e e par llU t m e er intervention and the existing
relIgIOUS and cultural sets of norms, values, rules and regulations
mIght be dIsturbed. Consequently, there may be a situation of
park and people conflict. To avoid the possible tension situation
and gIve contmwty to the effective Gumba system of pasture
resource management a special consideration in preserving its
tradltIOnal nonns, values and philosophy should be made £
successful achievements. On the other hand, the Gwnba syste:
and Its rules of rotatIOnal and deferred livestock grazing with
specl fic herder's groups and specified access of each group in the
pastures, and Amchis' knowledge and cultural dimension of
medICInal plants harvesting are systematic and sustainable from
eqwtable resource allocation and utilization perspectives. Thus
these patterns of grazing should be maintained. Such a system is
n?t only unreported before but also unique example of cultural
dImenSIOn of pasture resource management in Nepalese as well
as world's context. Therefore, the system and rules are to be
regarded while making any management plans for this area and
brought to the knowledge of the conservationists and the general
people by the media for illustrative overview.
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Transhumaning Animal Husbandry System in
Kalingchok Region. Central Nepal. SATA,
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Processes of Forest and Pasture Management in a
Jirel Community of Highland Nepal. Unpublished
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University, llhaca.
fined as per the nature and severity of crime'. In this regard, it is
to be noted that if the main Lama is absent in the village, busy in
religious functions and other tasks, the conflicts are resolved in
the mutual leadership of the Assistant Lama, Junior Lama and
Mukhiya, by adopting the same process. But the resolution
process in case of outsiders' intervention within their territory is
a bit different that generally, all people including Lamas and
Mukhiya protest against the intervention, dialogue with the
encroachers and maintain understanding. The Lamas have
reported that previously in the Rana regime few influential
persons of Tripurakot and Mustang had entered within the
Gumba territory for wildlife poaching but they were returned
back without doing such activites because the Lamas and locals
showed their traditional rules against poaching the wildlife there.
Similarly, the Saldang herders were chased with their herds
while entered there for grazing their livestock into the territory.
However, even after the inception of SPNP, the park authority
has not experienced the violation of park regulations by the
Pugrno people and therefore, no action against violation were
recorded.
Conclusions
This study area has a traditional religious organization
for control and maintaining of natural resources which is known
as the Gwnba system. The system is existent with its operational
rules and the control system of Lama hierarchic structure. Being
guided by the Bonpo religious philosophy and having cultural
associations with the landscapes, forests, pastures, and other
plant resources, the people utilize the natural resources including
the pastures resource under the cultural and religious contexts:
permission, respect and limitations. Therefore, the studied
Gumba system of pasture resource management of this area is
largely effective. So there is not an urgency of formal
7 Generally fine is levied; Rs.lOO for both insiders and outsiders in general
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1990
Archer, A.C.
1985
Ariol, Philip
1979
Nepal High Altilude Pastures lind
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Devkota, P.L.
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Traditional Systems of Forest and Pasture
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Socioeconomic and Legal Arrangements for
Grazing on Public Land Case Study of
Bahadurganj. Natural Resource management Series,
No. 11. HMG-USAID-GTZ-lDRC-FORD WJNROCK
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1995
High Elevation Rangeland in the Himalaya and
Tibelan Plateau: [ssues, Perspectives and Strategies
for Livestock Development and Resource
Conservation. Presented at the XVll International
Grassland Congress, February 13, 1993. Lincoln
University, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Indigenous Systems of Natural Resource
Management among the Pastoralists of Arid and
Semi-Arid Africa, in D.M. Warren, LJ. Slikkerveer
and D. Brokensha (ed.), The Cultural Dimension of
Development: indigenous Knowledge Systems,
London: Intermediate Technology Publications, pp.
245-256.
Pastureland and Livestock Grazing in Shey
Phoksundo National Park, Dolpa: Unpublished
report. National Pasture and Fodder Research,
Kathmandu.
Indigenous Rangeland, Management in High
Altitude Nepal: A Case Study in Pugma Village,
Dolpa. Unpublished research report submitted to
University of Wisconsin-Madison Collage, U.S.A.
"The Utilization of Natural Grasslands in the
Mountain Areas of NepalI! in Livestock in the Hills
of Nepal (I). A.M. Morel and K.P. Oli, eds.
Pakhribas Agricultural Centre, Dhankuta. Pp. 138-
46.
Sherpa, N.W.
1992 Operational Plan: Shey Phoksundo National Park.
World Wildlife Fund Nepal.
Shrestha, K.K., et. aI.
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Development and Training in Applied Ethnobatany
at Shey Phoksunda National Park and its Buffer
Zane, Dolpa. WWF, Nepal, Report series 33.
Management of Pas/oral Development in the Third
World. John Wiley and Sons, 316 pp.
Parajuli, D.B.
1996 Pasture Resource and Livestock Management in
Walung Village of Makalu Bm'un, National Park
and Conservation Area. Unpublished Research
Report, Submitted to M.B.C.P., Kathmandu, Nepal.
Rai, N.K. and Thapa, M.B. 1993.
Indigenolis Pasture management Systems in High Altitude Nepal: A
Review. Research Report Series No. 22. HMG
Ministry of AgriculturelWinrock Intemational,
Kathmandu.
Sanford, S.
1983
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Environmental
Rangelands in Northern Nepal
Livestock Development and
Conservation. USAID. Kathmandu.
Miller, D.l.
1993a.
Mcknight, M.W.
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Manal, P.
1990
Dutt, P.
1985
146 Occasional Papers
EMERGING METHODS IN RESEARCH
PARTICIPATION AND EMPOWERMENT
PROCESSES IN NEPAL
Philip Tanner'
Introduction
TIus paper is divided into two discussions. Firstly, it
traces the development of participatory processes and policy in
Nepal's development evolution over the past 40 years.
Secondly, it exanunes, briefly, the developments in international
social research and emerging knowledge on the subject of
participation and empowerment concepts that may influence the
direction of social research in Nepal.
The Emergence of Participation in Nepal
At the time of Nepal's emergence onto the global scene,
over 93% of its population earned its livelihood from the land.
The new rulers, after 1951, were eager to project themselves as
the champion of the poor, the downtrodden and the oppressed
(Lohani, 1978) and discussion of "democracy" abounded.
Struggling to develop a comprehensive development plan, it was
clear that most effort had to focus on rural and agricultural
development programmes. However, by 1979, a study on
Nepal's agrarian problems described the strategies and
programmes for their solution as "merely a survival strategy"
(Blaikie, M, Cameron, J & Seddon, D., 1979). Clearly, the
efforts of the state were not directly manifest in field practice.
Generally, there was acceptance in Nepal's academic and
government community that rural development efforts
Indigenous Resource Afanagement Systems Among
the Tibetan-speaking Herders in Western Nepal.
Research Report Submitted USAID Nepal Mission,
Kathmandu, Nepal.
Ecology and Habilal Utilizalion of Blue Sheep in
Nepol. Biological Conservation. 21 :55-74.
People's Participation in Range Management: The
Case ofMuslang, Nepal. Unpublished MS Thesis in
Rural Sociology. University of Philippines at Las
Banos.
McVEigh,C.
1994
Nepals' Social, Economic and Administrative
Hislmy Ratna Pustak Bhandar, Katlmlandu, Nepal.
Von Furer-Haimendorf, C.
1975 Himalayan Traders. John Murray, London.
Wilson, P.
1981
Upadhaya, S.R.P
1995
Thapa, M.B.
1990
Dr. Philip Tanner worked for UNDP in Nepal from 199()'92 and
subsequently carried out extensive research in Nepal during the period of
1993-1997 on the relationship of Empowennent and Participatory
development concepts in NepaL He is now working in a development INGO
in Nepal. This is the first in a series of articles on empowemlllet theory in
the Nepali context
148 Occasional Papers Tanner P. 149
(principally through RD and IRD approaches) had failed to show
positive results (UN, 1990). Large influx of monetary support
and development assistance realized success in isolated pockets
but there was no "breakthrough". For the first two decades in
Nepal's development programme, therefore, something was
clearly missing.
The investigation into Nepal's basic needs strategy, by
Integrated Development Systems/Nepal at Tribhuvan University
suggested that programmes must aim to provide the deprived and
poor with the means to escape from their deprivation and
poverty... through their own involvement in the process of
development. ..and control over the conditions under which
deprivation and poverty are generated (Integrated Development
Studies, 1985). The authors were not only pointing out the
deficiency in Nepal's development programme (there being,
untIl recently, very little tradition or history of planning in Nepal,
before 1951 - Shrestha, 1989) but were also pointing a finger at
the limited commitment of the Nepal government to this type of
approach (Blaike et al., op cit:25).
Blaikie et aI., centred on Marxist dependency theory in
an effort to point out the exploitation of the peripheral regions of
Nepal by Kathmandu, asking the question, "will the centre
permit villagers to enter into the development process (Ibid,
1979:42). Shepherd (1982) raised similar questions and pointed
out the principal failure of participation as the absence of rapport
and understanding between local people and the officials in
government. While the rhetoric was relatively new, the notion
of "participation" has not been a recent phenomenon in Nepal;
although it has been manifested in varying ways. Nepal's
planning era began in 1956 and has had 8 planning periods of 5
years that have emphasised rural development, local
development and participatory planning, to varying degrees. It is
helpful to look at the early evolution of participatory planning
and policy in Nepal, between 1956 and 1980 (looking
specifically at the 5-year plans) and then the changes between
1980 and the present, which paved the way to Nepal's modem
practice of democratic and decentralized development policy.
Policy Change
Some of the critical paths taken in participatory methods
and pohcy, strode hang-in-hand with both academic
development around the world and current political and
academic trends in Nepal, itself. These developments were
particularly evident through the first 5 development plans
undertaken in the Kingdom. As early as Nepal's first
development plan (1956/61), there was also the first official
statement that separated "village development" from a macro
development strategy for the country as a whole and emphasised
the active involvement and cooperation of the people in rural
development. Rural development (RD) plans were set into
motion and co-operatives were, in particular, stressed as
important to the RD objectives. However, the achievement of
the first plan was considered very poor, viewed as ambitious and
with no clear objectives and policy (pokbarel, 1980). Pokbarel
referred to the plan as an "arm-chair plan," with no facts and
figures and no field research to evaluate progress. By the second
plan (1961/65), a radical political change had occurred in the
country. The King had assumed all political powers and
dIssolved the parliamentary constitution. It was at this point that
the Panchayat system was introduced together with a greater
degree of control of organizations and institutions throughout the
country. Rural development ceased to be treated as a separate
entity and was, instead, considered synonymous with agricultural
development. In essence, this shifted the emphasis from a
programme-oriented area approach to the sectoral approach of
rural development. People's participation was again on the
agenda, although tightly controlled by the government. The
village panchayats, heavily politicized, were the local institutions
available for local people, acting as the political and
developmental unit at the grassroots level. In 1962 the
constitution had specifically supported "participation", stating
that "development of the country is possible only ... with the
active co-operation of the whole people, and embodying the
principles of de-centralization" (Shrestha, 1981: 172). The
constitution sought, in theory, to "make the general public
vigilant and conscious through gradual de-centralization and to
150 Occasional Papers
provide for maximum participation in the economic uplifting of
the country (Joshi, 1983:85).
The Third Five Year Plan (1965/70:273) focussed the
notion of "people" even more clearly. It stated that, "all citizens
may have equal opportunities and faciliues to develop their
personality and to enhance their economic progress." The
Panchayat system was maintained as the best vehicle for people
to achieve this goal and necessary for the political, social and
economic growth of the nation (pokharel, 1980). Rural
development again took a side-line to the overall plan, making
reference only to "regional development" (no doubt a pre-
requisite for rural development), "boosting food production in
the Terai" "horticulture in the hills" and "animal husbandry" in
the moun~ins. The Panchayats were entrusted to conduct local
development throughout the nation.
It was, perhaps, during the Fourth Five Year Plan
(1970/75), that the most serious changes in rural development
and people's participation occurred. It was during this period
that one of the flfSt Integrated Rural Development (IRD)
programmes was introduced in the form of the "Jiri
Multipurpose Development Project.: a package of mputs to
improve the economic and social life of the rural poor (Lahani,
1980:4,h Plan:263). The fourth plan placed high emphasis on
regional planning without specific reference to rural
development. It mentioned people's participation in the policy
section, stating that "attempts will be made to get the panchayats
of various levels involved more effectively in the process both
for plan formulation and implementation, in order to make the
participation of the people in the local development work more
active and dynamic (4'h Plan:254).
The Fifth Plan (1976/80) was aimed at utilizing human
resources, placing renewed emphasis on people's participati~n
and calling for the involvement of the local people m
development projects (controlled and conducted by the local
panchayats) However, in the absence of a well-defined
institutional framework to enlist the participation of the
beneficiaries, the various rural development efforts did not
Tanner P. 151
successfully achieve the desired results (UN, 1990: 19; Joshi,
1980, in Rising Nepal Newspaper). Since 1976, several IRDP's
had been implemented across the country, leading to increased
involvement of people in infrastructural projects, skills training
programmes, distribution and experimentation. However, by
1985/86, the National Planning Commission (NPC) indicated
that 43% of rural poor were still below the poverty line and
malnutrition remained a serious problem. The principal reasons
for the failure of IRDPs was (a) the government did not allow the
panchayats to determine local priorities, (b) beneficiaries were
not aware of target activities, (c) while de-centralization
supported local institutions (in theory), the policies and priorities
and budget were determined at the centre and dictated, (d) poor
completion of technical projects, chosen by the poor, created a
suscpicion in rural communities that the government was
ingnoring their demands and (e) the benefits of development
were being exploited by the powerful (particularly those
involved with the panchayat institutions (UN, 1990). The basic
premise, therefore, was that while participation was growing in
the official rhetoric, there was no real chance of seeking full
participation in the present political climate of the country. In
particular, low-caste farmers were reticent to antagonize high-
caste farmers. While the government spoke of closer
cooperation between the panchayats and local people,
insufficient power was given to them and what little power they
had, they tended to wield over the poor rather than facilitate
improvements for them (Gautarn, 1987).
Until the end of the Fifth plan (1980), several key
policies had been implemented, despite their apparent deficiency
is addressing the key issues related to local development and and
participation. These were: the Local Administration Act of
1966 the District Administrative Plan of 1974 and the Integrated
Panchayat Development Design of 1978. The latter defined
"rural development" under the auspices of "Panchayat
Development" (Shrestha, 1981), and emphasised popular
participation and exploitation of local resources. This was the
first policy implementation which laid out the objective of
participatory involvement in development affairs and a new
152 Occasional Papers Tanner P. 153
position of Local Development Officer (LDO) was created to
facilitate development at the grassroots level. However, at this
time, the government was reluctant to concede de-centralization
as a means to the purpose of local development (Poudyal, 1987).
It was not until the De-centralization Act of 1982 that the two
notions were pulled together into a singular policy initiative
(Ibid., 1987: 16) The Act aimed to ensure participation in
development initiatives and to maintain and improve capabilities
for the institutionalization of development activities (poudyal,
1991) However, that is not to imply that participatory activities
did not exist before the De-Centralization Act. Indeed, case-
studies can be found in the literature concerning various hill
irrigation projects which involved fanners in the development,
operation and maintenance of irrigation systems (See, Martin &
Yoder, 1983: Case-studies "Thu10-Khola" Irrigation System,
Halling and others; Integrated Development SystemslNepal,
1986). It was not until the de-centralization act, however, that
the government recognized that people's participation was both a
method and an objective (means and end) of rural development
programmes in Nepal and that it can be facilitated through a
policy of de-centralization (Shrestha, 1981: 171).
Academic Rhetoric - The Local Reaction
Increased activity by Nepal academics was also
indicative of the country's recent emergence into the global
community and modem development practice. The poor use of
field research and practical study was a hinderance to
government policy as there was little local, academic resources
upon which to draw. As late as the mid-1970's, sociological
research in Nepal was often described as "patchy and sketchy"
(Bista, 1972). Speaking at a conference in 1973, Bista remarked
that up to the mid-1970's, anthropology was totally unknown
and few empirical works had been done. In addition, local
studies had tended to focus on central and Eastern Nepal, leaving
the greater part of the Western Region largely unknown and
unexplored (Furer-Haimendorf, 1973). While geography and
topography played a role in this selection, some Nepali scholars
(Bista, 1973; Shrestha, 1971; Mishra, 1984) suggested that there
was also influence due. to inherent biases between groups in
Nepal, which often mhiblted Nepali scholars (most of whom
were High caste) from studying in communities that constituted
predominantly low caste groups. The 1973 conference conceded
that there was, at that time, more benefit to be attained from
foreign researchers transcending cultural and traditional norms
and carrying out this type of scholastic work. However such
research did not get underway until well into the late 60:s and
early 70's and even then, Nepali researchers complained that the
results of the research were often taken away from the country
and provided very little feed-back or useful data that may have
been applied to policy or implementation initiatives (Thapa,
1973). In addition, foreign research brought its own
interpretations and biases to Nepal.
Academic Rhetoric - The Foreign Reaction
The claims of neo-classical economists that they could
theoretically demonstrate efficiency, equity and stability
outcomes from the operation of market forces, were central to
the 1980's practice of the IMF globally, and more importantly
for Nepal, the World Bank and many bilateral official
development agencies (Cameron, 1994; Lipton, 1987) played
key roles. The Nepali state was primarily seen as a problem to,
not an agent of development. Intervention by the Nepalese state
in restricting the operation of free market forces (some neo-
classical economists suggested) was arguably the primary
obstacle to the Nepalese people finding their natural position in
the global economy. However, limitations on the neo-liberalism
of the late 80's revolved around the replacement of the non-
measurable goals such as quality of life and human development.
These goals were consigned to the subjective judgement, not
accessible for policy consideration (Cameron, 1994). These
limitations are discussed extensively by O'Connor (1987),
Blaikie, Cameron and Seddon (1979), Higgins (1987) and Sen
(1987). The popular struggles in the 1980's and early 1990's,
therefore, brought a sense of opportunity and optimism to the
post-modernists. The alternative approach, arising in global and
local forms, expressed disatisfaction with the methodologies and
154 Occasional Papers Tanner P. 155
epistemological framework of earlier debates. Fragmentation, as
an approach to social reality in the 1990's, was celebrated, rather
than the previous totality theories (Cameron, 1994:78). This
approach essentially set the stage for theoretIcal debate and
practice on "specific issues, localised expenences, cultural
dimension and power relations (Cameron, 1985). .
Nepal has certainly felt the pressure and has expenenced
the change of shifting international fashIOns 10 development
theory over the past 20 years. Cameron (Ibid.) describes. these
changes as altering the "development focus", glvmg a new Image
to Nepal. The progress through the early 1980's, he states, has
been more "sound and fury" than particularly useful. However,
the changes in Nepal's political and social environment since the
mid-80's is significant and it's impact on the role of people In
their own development is equally impressive.
Policy Meets Rhetoric
Under the new system of de-centralization, from 1982,
participation in Nepal began to be recogniz.ed as an ~~ve
process, meaning that the groups In questIOn could take
initiatives or assert their autonomy to do so" (Rahman, 1981 :3).
80th the academic world and policy makers were becoming
more vigilant about participatory rhetoric in the 1980's and a
number of local studies began addressing the defiCIenCIes 111
people's participation, despite the wide-sweeping refonns, and
also suggested remedies (Lahani, 1980; Pokharel, 1980; Joshi,
1983; Gautam, 1987; Shrestha, 1981). 8y 1984, it was
becoming apparent to foreign and Nepali academics and
officials that participation was a process that accelerated If the
poor b"';ome conscious of their rights and privileges and could
build up faith and confidence in themselves. Integrated
Development SystemslNepal, 1985; Shrestha, 1989). In other
words, success would be based on democracy and de-
centralization of power (Malhotra, 1990). By the end of the
1980's period, the literature on Nepal reflected that for
development to be self-sustaining, initiatives 111 rural
development must come from within the communities (Ibid.,
1990: 10). However, until democracy, in 1990, there was httle
institutional support to nurture the process that had struggled to
emerge through the last 15 years of development efforts in the
country.
Hobley (1996) indicates that practical experience in the
forestry sector of Nepal shows the close relationship between the
emergence of democracy as a form of governance and the
growing demand for its application to the management of forest
resources (see also, Lohani, 1978). She goes on to state that
"forestry" is significant in illustrating the 3 major trends in Nepal
which have lead to true and equitable participation. First, there
was systematic alienation of the general population. Second, the
environmental degradation became extremely severe and led the
government to exclude people and implement strict protectionist
and nationalization policies (Hobley, 1996; Op. Cit., 1978: 146).
Thirdly, lack of control over the resources and an inability to
resolve the environmental problems under the centrally
controlled regime, led to an accommodation between the state
and the people (see also, Bartlett, 1991and Ingles & Gilmour,
1989). In short, participatory programmes would involve the
people and yet allow a level of government involvement in the
process. This final stage, leading to participatory involvement, is
characterized by (a) an assertion of people's rights, (b)
institutionalized expression of these rights and (c) a challenge to
the current development paradignl, where demand for rights is a
pursuit of power but linked to responsible land use. This was
also pointed out by Dunsmore (1988), concerning mountain
environmental management in the Arun River Basin of Nepal.
In a wider context, throughout the 1970's, however,
concern was raised over finite global resource availability and
notably non-renewable energy sources after a sharp rise in oil
prices. The prioritisation of the ecological dimension also
promoted examination of value systems and thus, the cultural
dimension of development (Cameron, 1994:76). According to
Cameron, these concerns altered the agenda for North-South
discussion on development as well as for national development
strategies, notably for Nepal which scored high on all the
ecological vulnerability indices. Project documents outlined the
need for participation, user-groups and local institutions, for
156 Occasional Papers Tanner P. 157
successful environmental management and sustainable
production. However, the success of the institutions in Nepal
now depends on equitable, participatory relat.lOnships, which can
only be sustained in a democratic and responsive polItIcal
environment. Beneficiaries, it is recognized and accepted by the
government, should be involved in the decision-ma~ng process.
This was stated as a major cause of faIlure In the Swayambhu
Area Development Project in 1986 (MalIa & Rajbhandari, 1986).
Despite the massive infusion of foreign aid, it became accepted
that this aid would not result in development unless the
individual farnler decided that it would (Miller, 1990) In
essence, therefore, King Mahendra's speech in December of
1981 was being put into action; decision-making should be given
to the "lowest units of our social structure".
Recent Trends
With the introduction of a democratic constitution and
constitutional monarchy in 1990, parliament passed the "laws of
local governance". In May 1992, democratic multi-party
elections were held for local authorities and 45,000 persons were
directly elected to village and town councils throughout the
nation. Since that time, the process has continued to strengthen
and develop with the support of the government and financial
backing of many development agencies, giving the mass of
people the opportunity to make locally-based decIsions
concerning development matters. There appears to be a general
acceptance in the government for the principle of "voice" and
"choice", as operational norms. Voice referring to the nght to
criticize the government's handling of development design and
implementation. Choice referring to the lIberalIzatIon of
development, providing people with alternative optIOns to
choose external assistance as well as to implement projects (e.g.
government or non-government sources of assistance). .
The official justification for decentralIzatIon m Nepal
has been to increase local participation in planning and
implementing development strategies, to mobilize .. local
resources and to increase accountability of officials to citizens.
The phrase commonly used in agency project (Tanner, 2001)
documents is a variation on the theme of "empowering" local
people by enabling their right to participate freely in decision-
making processes. Officially, this is accomplished through the
delegatIOn of power to local administrative agencies. However,
due to weak cooperation among ministries at the national level
local rural development policies are often undermined and local
participation, according to Beinen et al. (1990) is still
participation controlled by the higher levels of authority.
The devolution of power to local authorities is strongly
supported at the present time. Under the country's eighth plan
(HMG 8th Plan, 1992-97: 652), the government recognizes that
a centralized approach to development planning has not been
effective and is not the best way to achieve economic
development in Nepal. Instead, HMG has outlined very clearly
that the public should be mobilized for participation and be
allowed to implement programmes at their own pace; including
opportunities for decision-making. "The local people themselves
need to be involved more actively both at the planning and
execution level" (op cit.:575). Through a strategy of delegating
authority to popularly mandated village and district authorities,
the government hopes to (I) promote sustainable economic
growth, (2) alleviate poverty and, (3) obtain regional balance.
The main activity is to implement a sustainable and participatory
approach to rural development encompassing "economic,
political/governmental, social, cultural/religious, and educational
dimensions". In HMGs 8th Plan (op cit: 579), the fifth objective
for local development is:
"To create a base for sustainable development by
maximizing peop-Ies' participation in rural development works."
The districts that have the support of agencies like UNDP,
have been institutionalizing a participatory and multi-sectorial
oriented planning and monitoring system for management of
district developm ent (e.g. Management Infonnation Systems and
Geographic 1nf01011ation Systems). The apparent success in
these districts has been reflected in the promotion of improved
mformation sharing from the local level up to the national level.
The planning approach has created an environment for better
coordination of sectoral efforts and resource management in
158 Occasional Papers Tanner P. 159
which (a) needs are identified by the communities themselves
(through local institutions, preferably) and, (b) projects are
selected through a process of prioritization. These actiVItIes are
coordinated by the DDC in collaboratIon With the sectoral
agencies. One of the first of-springs of this plan was marufested
in the "Build-Your-Own-Village" campaIgn, tntroduced m 1995
with a budget of three million Nepalese Rupees (USD 53,571)
per annum to each VDC. The purpose of this progranune was to
(I) reduce the dependency of the VDC development process
from the "central-oriented" control of the DDCs, (2) prOVIde
moral support for more effective participation of the VDCs m the
deliberations of the District CouncIl (3) enhance local level
decision-making, (4) use local skills and resources and (5) bong
about a much needed awareness that the people should take a
lead in their own development. Ideally, this budget was not
"tied" and VDC committees could use it in any manner Without
the consent of higher bodies. Although the amount of funds
allocated may not be sufficient to make substantIal
improvements in entire VDCs, it does create a psychologtcal
"perception" of control within the .VDC development regtons.
While we will not discuss the pOSitIve or negatIve Sides of this
scheme, it is important to note that this "perception," perhaps,
has contributed the most to empowerment of these regtons. In
addition, small projects and rehabilitation schemes could be
undertaken without the bureaucratic requirements associated
with most development initiatives. .
Since the beginning of the 1990's, the focus of commumty
development and social work literature has shifted to the
individual as "subject" of mvestlgatIon. Nepal has been no
exception to this trend. Pokharel (1980) and Manandhar (1992)
had argued that the "outside view of vtllagers IS different from
the inside view of themselves", Shrestha (1989) discussed the
need for giving a "voice" to individuals, Pokharel (1980)
introduced the concepts of "faith", "confidence" and
"effectiveness" building in order to solve local problems and
Miller (1990) discussed the importance of understandmg the
process of decision-making for "heads of households'~in o:der to
grasp the roots of decision-making Withm an mdlvldual sand
household's life-space' Integrated Development SystemslNepal
(1985:4) published an article which called for studies in Nepal
that "seek to complement the de-centralized efforts and to raise
people's awareness of opportunities," describing consciousness
as a "function of action. ,,2 Manandhar (1992:35) went further to
explicitly state that the main task of development in Nepal must
be to "nurture the individual," encouraging involvement and
participation. The individual, he states, should be at the
"centre. "
Manandhar's philosophy on the individual stemmed from
the early rhetoric of Mahatma Ghandi, which had great influence
over much of the Hindhu populations. Ghandi argued in favour
of self-reliance, through peaceful activism. His ideas, in
particular, targeted the "individual" and his "community." The
development of India, he said, was supported by the
development of thousands of small villages across India. To
govern the individual, is to govern the community, is to govern
the region, which is to govern the state (in, Manandhar,
1992:35). However, Ghandi was similarly influenced by the
even earlier movement of Swara), which was based on the
premise of beginning with the "individual" and moving to the
"state." To tllis end, some academics within the newly
democratic environment of Nepal, have initiated studies which
examine "attitudes". "priorities" and "perceptions" of individuals
in village communities. In addition, there has been an obvious
shift in the changing roles of technical expertise from outside
and in Nepali experts and, in the methods employed to conduct
field research. Findings indicate (Chambers, 1991) that rural
people can manifest greater analytical capabilities and can effect
positive developmental change. The technology now most
needed is "methodological" - to change personal attitudes,
demeanor and methods. There is a wealth of literature on this
subject, furthering the notion that the individual stands firmJy at
the centre of development policy and initiatives.
I TIle latter work is a somewhat earlier version of Friedman's (1992) discussion
ofhousehold economies and empowennent structures.
160 Occasional Papers Tanner P. 161
Future Directions
It could be said that the advent of capitalism and
modernity replaced all structures that were based on
"subjective. 1I or "irrational, II elements, with "objective" and
"rational" science (Vandergeest & Buttel, 1988). However, this
view is changing in both rhetoric and practice. Many schools of
thought have firmly centred on the methodology of the
"individual" as the object of social inquiry. Weber stated that it
was only the individual who could be studied "meaningfully".
This is evident in his method called Verstehen (parkin, 1982)
The premise of Verstehen, which centres around social actors
who are faced with choices, was proposed as a means of
understanding historical events through the eyes of the actors in
an empathic maimer. In this way, the researcher identifies why
certain paths are followed based on a reconstruction of
situational choices and constraints that face individuals (see also
Friedman, 1995). The decisions that are taken are based on the
actor's perceptions that are weighed and assessed as the research
progresses. In "profit-maximization", there is both a behavioural
content (motivation of the household) and technical- economic
content (farn1 economic performances as a business enterprise).
However, the former is usually only inferred through
investigation of the latter (Ellis, 1988:64)
Parkin (1982) points out that Weber's Verstehen
proceeded from the principle that people are generally aware of
their perceptions and subjective thoughts. If these perceptions
are truly integral to social conduct, then, as Parker asserts, they
must be accepted as "givens" in their own right (Berger and
Luckman, 1966, describe them as "social facts"). This does not
appear to leave room for Marx's concept of a false
consciousness. Marx stated that true perceptions and meanings
are largely congruent with an individual's class interests but that
due to the intrusion of the bourgeois ideology, the average
individual's perceptions tend to be quite faulty. Thus, viewing
reality through the actor, in the way posited by Weber, would
provide a false or twisted version of that reality.
Durkheim differs from Weber (as does Marx) in that he
emphasizes the need to study the collective. He states that
studying the individual motives and perceptions, as principal
objects of inquiry, would be to forfeit everything of sociological
interest (parkin, 1982). Weber, in contrast, feels that it is the
role of social science to penetrate the subjective understandings
of the individual, to get at the motives for social action.
Collectives, he feels, must be treated solely as the resultants and
modes of organization of the particular acts of individual
persons. To put it more simply, the process might be compared
to a chemical reaction in which one party views the resultant
compound as important in itself, while the other party examines
the importance of the ingredient elements.
The New Sociology of Knowledge - Methods in
Research
Lewin (1946) recognized, 50 years ago, a need for a
novel approach to research in the social sciences which would
simultaneously solve problems and generate new knowledge.
These ideas have helped initiate the new field of applied social
psychology, action research and more recently, participatory
research; which now play an important role in helping us to
define social issues (Yeich and Levine, 1992) and which appear
to take issue with the traditionalist school of development theory.
This approach to sociological research emerged as a result of two
broad forces: (I) researchers found that the classical research
paradigm was insufficient, oppressive and elitist (Gaventa, 1980;
Hall, 1981); lacking the necessary insight and sensitivity to
human issues which is increasingly characteristic of the new
discourse, and (2) recognition of the continuing potential for
exploitation of the many, caused by the monopoly of knowledge
by the powerful few (Toffler, 1990).
Knowledge has rapidly emerged as a significant
influence in the new paradigm. In the past, concentration of
knowledge in the hands of the few has led to the occlusion of
power from disenfranchised groups. With the advent of
alternative development methods, we are now seeing the reversal
of this trend, placing emphasis on knowledge in the hands of
those suppressed groups and bringing such knowledge to
"awareness"; thus allowing people to become conscious that they
indeed have the necessary skills and insight to exert themselves
and become self-sufficient. Friere (1973) made a significant
contribution in this regard, maintaining that marginalized people
will remain dependent on others for as long as they fail to be
conscious of their own power to address problems. In addition,
he emphasizes that these people are capable of critical thought
and can engage in the dialogue surrounding their own
development. This latter assertion has become an important
assumption in the discussion of empowerment theory and
supports the notion that the individual is an important subject of
inquiry and social action. Illich (1976:148) argued that the
concept of underdevelopment, In addition to "physical
impoverishment", was also a state of mind. Many would agree
that understanding underdevelopment at that level is important to
bringing about change. A commitment to contemporary
processes, such as "Participation", arose out of the changes in the
last several decades, requiring, implicitly, attention to the
constraints and contextual barriers facing the resource-poor - it
also implies "powerlessness" or an inability to exert influence to
shape one's livelihood.
Empowerment Emerging from the New Discourse
The "project", as most field officers who were
interviewed reported, tries to breathe "empowerment" into the
community. This does not mean that the project empowers the
community but ratller that it facilitates approaches that lead
individuals to become empowered. TI,e struggle to re-design
development programmes to address these concerns continues
with heavy emphasis on the role of the resource-poor in the
development process. The classical thoeries of development are
not discardded but are modified in order to envelop concerns that
had hitherto been inferred or ignored.
Since the 1980's, theories have arisen which retain study
at the individual level but with a new premise and methodology.
In addition, case studies have assisted in the construction of a
more
coherent view of empowerment that takes into account, (a)
community issues, (b) structural! institutional aspects and, (c)
individual-community dynamics. These studies have led to the
development of what has been called, Learned Hopeflliness
TheOly, demonstrating that people can work towards social
change despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles. The latter
work examines the process of mobilizing individuals and groups
for purposes of creating socio-structural change to benefit
oppressed people (Yeich & Levine, 1992). This notion implies a
recognition of structural forces which affect, if not cause, social
problems, instead of resignation to an oppressive environment by
the masses. The objective is to identify the problems within and
outside ti,e community (Yeich & Levine, 1992; Zimmerman,
1992; Zimmerman, 1990; Wandersman, Florin, Rich & Chavis,
1990). This latter objective may direct the focus of research to
the positive consequences of exerting control (through
participation). Examination could also be made of the process of
learning and utilizing problem-solving skills (acquired during
participation), which result in the achievement of further
perceived or actual control. Studies indicate that efforts to exert
control through participation, should increase one's sense of
empowerment through a responsive framework; in other words,
enhancing the individual's ability to understand and increase
his/her control over the environment through interaction.
It is critical, when considering the above statements, to
note that the process goes beyond traditional notions of human
deficits. The principle goal of complete empowerment research
today - an essentially psychological state in its primordial form _
should include (a) developing an awareness of a .social construct
of reality' in the actors, (b) a recognition of the oppressive nature
of the social construct, (c) an acknowledgment of the necessity
for skills and tocl development to effect change and, (d) an
awareness of the multiple layers of interaction which occur
within and outside the community which will affect the way that
its members relate and participate within that community.
The methodology described above is based on several
additional key assumptions and provides a platfonn upon which
this research is based:
163Tanner P.Occasional Papers162
164 Occasional Papers Tanner P. 165
I. People generally know what is best for them (cf., also,
Oakley, 1983). .
2. All people are experts in certain areas of their lives
(including Indigenous Technical Knowledge).
3. All people have strengths on which to build.
4. All people have skills to be learned and shared (often
through local institutions). (Torre, J989; Zimmerman &
Rappaport, 1988)
5. People have the ability to think critically about world
affairs (including local, regional and national ISSUes) and
to ascertain their own position within their envHonment
(Friere, 1970).
6. People can take reflective action, directed toward
responsible social change. "This lDvolves the
development of necessary skills to interact and respond,
in relation to the political and economic environment.
In general, it is evident that empowerment and learned
hopefulness theory revolve around several important themes.
The latter theory relates to (a) people's ability to develop and
their ability to become educated, (b) the nature of education
within the development process, (c) the importance of personal
associations, formed either purposely or by happenstance (these
associations have been referred to as mediating structures and
collectives; Torre, 1989), (d) the relationship between personal
associations and macro system structures (political, economIc
and social systems) and finally, (e) the nature and use of power
within the empowerment process. It should be acknowledged, of
course, that not everyone adheres to the "Frierian" notion of an
"educational" prelude to people being able to look after their
own destiny. Others have argued that people are perfectly able
to express needs and do something about them, If given tt:e
opportunity (see Curtis in Neilson & Wngbt, 1995). Fnere s
concept of education is widely held in non-governmental Circles,
however and it is in this circle that much of the "alternative
develop';lent" literature and concepts are revived and
implemented.
In short, the goals of empowerment have changed from
the deficit-oriented methodology of learned helplessness, to a
fuller understanding of how an individual's perceptions
/cognitions interact with events in hislher environment to
enhance or inhibit hislher control over the "factors" that affect
hislher life (Zimmerman, 1992). These latter may range from
coping with personal problems and decisions affecting the
household to those wider activities relating to community or
state issues. The described goals relate directly to the way in
which individuals, communities or ethnic groups attempt to
express themselves or exert their influence within their
environment. Most important in the notion of empowerment and
learned hopefulness theory is the protection of the valuable
knowledge already extant in the individual or group to (a) a
blossoming awareness of that knowledge, and finally (b) "putting
that knowledge to work" (through positive and non-violent
initiatives)
Comments
At present, there are limited reliable or tested means by
which participatory and empowerment project implementation
and the new subject of study (the individual) can be evaluated;
particularly in "subjective" project planning and implementation.
With the evolution from strict "blue-print" guidelines for project
implementation (in which "rigidity" does not allow for flexible
project planning and hence, tools), to a more "process-oriented"
approach, development tools to monitor and evaluate every step
within the project freamework, becomes ever more important
(Tanner, 2000).
It was noted earlier that much research is conducted to
the benefit of the researcher. Nepali scholars, also, have noted
that this has been a difficult problem in their country (Bista,
1973; Thapa, 1973). Pure research often does not involve people
and it contributes only a little sympathy and interest in the host
country or for the community(ies) studied. For the most part, the
people in the sample groups do not understand what is being
done and have no direct part to play in the process or end
product. It is a fault of many aspects of research, in general.
The results of many studies are not obviously relevant to a
farmer's way of life, nor is it always apparent how slhe is
166 Occasional Papers Tanner P. 167
Bienen, H., Kapur, D., Parks, l, Riedinger, l
1990 Decentralization in Nepal. World Development, l]!,
No. I, p.p. 61-75, 1990.
Peter Burger and Thomas Luckman.
1966 The Social Construction ofReolity: A Treatise in the
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based upon the backs of individuals: Understanding the
Indi VIdual helps us to understand the community, which helps to
understand the reglon and thus, the state. In the same vein the
study Into empowerment and participatory activities may' not
begIn WIth the assertion of macro-empowerment dynamics
although these levels exist. Instead, it begins with the individuai
and then branches out to the household, the community, the
regIOn and the state.
Nepal, as a nation, has generated invaluable data to
advance the discourse in methodology and project
ImplementatIOn addressing participatory planning and
empowerment of people. However, much of this data is
externally driven and influenced by the pressures of outside
schools of thought. There is a wealth of experience and data,
though, that may be tapped and utilized to generate theory or
partIal theory by Nepalt scholars and to contribute to the corpus
of knowledge already extant in the international literature.
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FACULTY OF THE DEPARTMENT
I. Rishikeshab Raj Regmi, Professor and Chairperson, Department of
Sociology/Anthropology; Ph.D. (Anthropology), University of
Calcutta.
2. Kailash Nath Pyakuryal. Professor and Fonner Chainnan and
Dean, Institute of Agriculture and Animal Sciences; Ph.D.(Rwal
Sociology), Michigan State University. .
3. Chaitanya Mishra, Professor and Fonner Chamnan; Ph.D.
(Sociology), University of Florida. .
4. Ganesh Man Gurung, Professor and Fonner Chamnan; Ph.D.
(Sociolob'Y), Banams Hindu University. . .
5. Ram Bahadur Chhetri, Reader, Ph.D. (Anthropology), Umverslty
of Hawaii.
6. Kiran Dutla Upadhya, Reader, M.S.(Rwal Sociology), University
of the Philippines (Currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program in
sociology at West Bengal University).
7. Krishna Bahadur Bhattachan, Lecturer and Fonner Chainnan;
Ph.D. (Sociology), University of California, Berkeley.
8. Padam Lal Devkota, Lecturer; Ph.D. (Anthropology) Delhi
University.
9. Om Gurung, Lecturer and Fonner Chairman; Pl~D. (Anthropology
), Cornell University.
10. Phanindreswor Paudel, Lecturer; M.A. (Sociology); Banaras
Hindu University.
II. Laya Prasad Uprety, Lecturer; MA. (A11thrOpology), Tribhuwan
University, M.S. (Social Development), Ateno De Manila
University, the Philippines (Currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program
in Anthropology at Tribhuvan University, Nepal).
12. Tulsi Ram Pandey, Lecturer; M.A. (Sociology), Tribhuvan
University. M.S. (Social Development) Ateno De Manila
University, the Philippines (Currently emolled in the Ph.D. program
in Sociology at Dellu University, India).
13. Prabhakar Lal Das, Lecturer; M.A. (Sociology) Bhagalpur
Un.iversity.
14. Bhanu Bhakta Timsina, Lecturer; MA. (Anthropology),
Tribhuvan Un.iversity.
15. Youba Raj Luilel, Lecturer; M.A. (Sociology), Tribhuvan
University, M.S. (Gender studies) at Institute of Social Shldies, the
Netherlands.
16. Surendra Mishra, Lecturer; MA. (Sociology), Tribhuvan
University.
17. Saubhagya Shah, Lecturer; MA. (Sociology), Tribhuvan
University, Enrolled in the Ph.D. Program in Anthropology at
Harvard University.
18. Binod Pokharel, Lecturer; M.A. (Anthropology), Tribhuvan
University.
19. Pralibha Gautam, Lecturer; M.A. (Anthropology), Tribhuvan
University (On Deputation in Padma Kanya Campus).
20. Keshab Kumar Shrestha, Lecturer; M.A. (A11thrOpology),
Tribhuvan University, (Currently enrolled in the Ph.D. Program in
Anthropology at Tribhuvan University).
21. Sawira Luitel, Lecturer; Ph.D. (Sociology), Edminton University,
Canada.
22. ChinL, Mani Pokhrel, Lecturer; MA.(Anthropology), Tribhuvan
University.
PART TIME FACULTY
23. Dilli Ram Dahal, Professor, Ph.D.(A11thrOpology), University of
Hawii (part Time from CNAS).
24. Sunita Upreti, (Banstola), M.A. (Sociology), Tribbuvan University
25. Janak Rai, Assistant Lecturer; M.A. (Anthropology), Tribhuwan
University (part Time from Tri-Chandra Campus)
26. Uddav Rai, M.A. (Anthropology), Tribhuvan University, M.S.
(Applied Social Research), University of Manchester, London.
27. Suresh Dhakal, MA. (Anthropology), Tribhuvan Uluversity,
M.Phill.(A11thropology), University of Bergan, Norway.
28. Pasang Sherpa, Assistant Lecturer; M.A. (Sociology), Tribhuvau
University (part time from Trichandra Campus)
29. Man Bahadur Khatri, MA. (Antluopology), Tribhuvan
University, M.Phil.(Anthropology), Uluversity of Bergan, Norway.
30. Madhu Sudan Sharma, M.A. (Sociology) Tribhuvan University,
M.Phil. (Anthropology), University ofBer,..n.
31. Shambhu Katlel, M.A. (Sociology)" Tribhuvan University,
M.Phil.(Antluopology), University of Bergan.
ADMlNlSTRATIVE STAFF
1. Sulochana Thapa - Assistant Administrator
2. Prem Shrestha - Accountant
3. Krishna Karki - Office Assistaut
4 Ram Bhakta Karki- Peon.
OCCASIONAL PAPERS PUBLICATIONS
VOL. 2
. I d Anthropology· An Emerging Field of Study in NepalSOCIO ogy an
.
Om Gurung
.
The past and Future of Sociology III Nepal
Bishnu Bhandari in the EasternSome Sociological Reflections on Development
Himalayas
~~~:~:~~d:'~tion in a Chepang Village in Nepal Ganesh Mang= and Resource Mana£l'ment for Subsistence : An
Anthropological Perspective
Bhanu Tirnseena I Mid Hills ofA Socio-eeonomic profile of the Porters in the Centra -
Nepal
~~~o~~~~~Conditions and Mode ofLiving : The Case of
Nepali Watchmen in Bombay
VOL. 4
I. Anthropology, Development and Public Policy
Gerald D. Berreman
2. Development Issues Raised during the "People's Movement" of 1990
Krishna B. Bhattachan
3. Anthropological Perspectives on Grassroots Development in Nepal
Padam La! Devkota
4. Deforestation and Rural Society in the Nepalese Terai
Rishikeshab Raj Regmi
5. The Current Socio-Economic Status of Untouchables in Nepal
Thomas Cox
6. Group Process for People's Participation in Rural Nepal: Reflections
from a Micro Level Study
Youba Raj Lunel
7. Sherpa Buddhists on a Regional Pilgrimage: TIle Case of Maratika
Cave a Halase
Eberhard Berg
8. Book Review
Hemant Hwnar Jha
8. Television and the Child in Nepal: An Assessment of Viewing
Patterns
Dyuti Baral
9. Mercantilism and Domestic Industry in West-Central Nepal:
Significance for Anthropological Study of the CommWlity
Stephen L. Mikesell and Jamuna Shrestha
Vol. 3
I. Forestry and Famting System in the Mid-Hills of Nepal
Kiran Dutta Upadhyay
2. Socia-Economic and Cultural Aspects of Aging in Nepal
Rishikeshab Raj Regrni
3. Reli!:,>1on, Society and State in Nepal
Dipak Raj Pant
4. Community Development as Strategy to Rural Development
Kailash Pyaklll)'al
5. National Integration in Nepal
Ganesh Man Gurung and Bishnu Bhandari
6. TIle failure of Confidence Mechanism
Tulsi Ram Pandey
7. Building a New American Academic Anthropology
Tom Cox
8. Afro-American Sociologists and Nepali Ethnography
Stephen L. Mikesell
9. Case Studies on Domestic Servants: Reflection on Rural Poverty
Saubhagya Shah
PreliminaryA
Nepal School of Sociology/Aothropology
Dor Bahadur Bista h Need fNepalSociology and Anthropology Curriculum and t e S 0
Krishna Bahadur Bhattachan. thr I
., " nd Development" in Nepalese An opo ogy"RomantIcism a
James F. Fisher
.
. The Case ofMigration, Adaptation, and Soc.o-Cultural Change.
the Thakalis in Pokhara
Ram Bahadur Chhetri.
Native Strategies for Resowce Management
Om Prasad Gurung
. . S· TuI·Natural Causes and Processes of Poverty U1 Micro ertmgs 51
Ram Pandey
. . . . R I
A . ted with occupational SoclolizatIon 1D uraFactors SSOC13
Nepal
Kiran Dutta Upadhyay
Development and Underdevelopment
Sociological Perspective
Chaitanya Mishra
4
5.
6.
7.
3.
l.
2.
7.
8.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
VOL.!
VOL 5
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
VOL 6
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Ethnicity and Nationalism in the Nepali Context
A Perspective from Europe
Uwe Kievelitz
The issue ofNational Integration in Nepal
An Ethnoregional Approach
Krishna B. Bhattachan
Kailash N. Pyakuryal
Bheja as a Strategic Cultural Convention
Community Resource Management in the Barba Magarat
Suresh Dhakal
The Rajbanshis ofRajgadh. .
Community Adaptation in the Envuoment of Eastern TeTal
Hari P. Bhattarai
Kunna Kola and Kuri as COmnllUlity Concepts
PatriliJ;eage. 'Deities, and Inside-Outside Dichotomy among the Rana
Tharus
Ganesh M. Gunmg
Tove c. Kittelson
Forest, People's Participation and Conflicts in Nepal
Dr. Rishikeshab Raj Regmi .
Restoration of Democracy and People's Empowennent m Nepal
Prof Kailash N. Pyakuryal .
people-centered Development in Nepal: an InnovatIve Approach
Dr. Padam Lal Devkota . .
Ftulctions of an Organization in a Indigenous lITigation System: A
Case Study from a Hill Village in Nepal
Laya Prasad Uprety .
An Analysis ofThe Rural Poverty From People's PerspectIves: A
Case Study from Amarpur VDC of Panchthar District
Binod Pokharel .
Environmental pollution and Awareness in Pokhara Crty: A
Sociological Perspective
Dr. Biswo Kalyan Parajuli . .
An Anthropological Perspective on Shifting CultIvatIon: A Case
Study ofKhoriya Cuhivation in the Arun Valley ofEastern Nepal
Suresh Dhakal
Social Engineering Approach to Air Quality Challenge: The Case of
Kathmandu
Ramesh C. Arya
NOTES TO CONTRIBUTORS
Occasional Papers ill Sociology alld Anthropology publishes articles, original
research reports, review articles, book reviews, diSSCl't1l1ioo abstracts, professional
announcements, and ether information of intere& in the areas of the sociology and
anthropology of Nepal and ether Himalayan regions. BcXb. the Nqlalese and foreign
scholars may submit their articles.
Materials submitted should be in English. Authors mu5t take full
responsibility for the originalily, cootents, and opinioos expressed in their articles. The
copyrigpted material whim is to be reproduced in the articles must be suitably
acknowledged.
Contributors are reque&ed to send, if possible, their materials on computer
lloppy disks using mM compatible word processing programs. They may, however, sood
copy ofthe rnanusaipt separately. The te.xt, netes, and references should be typed double
-spaced. All pages Slould be numbered The title of the p3per, author's name, afliliatioos,
and complete address should appear 00 the rim. page.
The anthropological 5tyle of refaoocing is preferred Texts mould refa to
notes numbered cmsecutively. All noles tuld foctnolcs should appear at the cud of the
paper. Book reviews should not, however, cmtain foetnotes. AU references should be
incorporated in the text itself.
CiUltim in the text should include the author's surname, year of publication,
and page number. e.g. : (Socokin, 1978:49). lfthe publication to be cited is authoced by
more than two persons, then use the surname of the rim. aU1hoc, to be followed by et aI. If
the same reference is cited moce than ooce continuously, use ibid after citing the full
reference once, but giving the relevant page number if it is differcut.
Entries for the bibliographicalli5t should follow the follo....>ing order: author's
name (Immamc, followed by full rrrst name or initials), year of publication, the title of
publication along \vith its edition number, place of publication, tuld publisher's name. If
the rcferooce for an article from an. edited book, then give the name of the author as
sugge&ed above, year of publication, the title of the article, the title of the book, editor's
name, place ofpubliC3tiw, mId publisher's name; e.g. Greenwold Stqlhm, 1978. "Tbe
Role of the Prie& in Newar Sociay·. Himalayan Anthropology. ed James Fisher. The
Hague: Moutw.
lfthe reference is from a periodical, give the name ofllie author as suggested
above, YC3J" of publication, the title of the pL'1iodical with its volume numbL", and page
number: e.g: Gray John, N. 1980. MHypergamy, Ca1>te and Kinship amwg the Cbhetris
of NepalM, Cmtributicns to Indian Sociology, 14: 1·34.
lf the year and the place of publicatim are mi5.'tmg use n.d. and D.p.
respectively. The bibliograpbicallist. should preferably include wly the \.\'cd:s cited Use
double quote nmrks (M .) while qucting Saltences and single qu~es (' ? foc a single
workJphrase. Use r,pelling.'ll us followed in the New Web&er Dictioo.ary or Oxford
Dictionary. Contributors arereque5ted to maintain crusi5tcncy throughout their articles.
All corre!>"poodwces related to editorial and !>ubscriptioo should be addressed
to:
lbe Chairperson
Central Departmtnt of Sociology/Anthropology
Tribhuvan University
Kirtipur, Kathmandu