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Pahariya-migration to the Tharu´s settlement area of the InnerTerai (Chitawan)

Müller-Böker, U

Müller-Böker, U (2001). Pahariya-migration to the Tharu´s settlement area of the Inner Terai (Chitawan). In: vonder Heide, S; Hoffmann, T. Aspects of migration and mobility in Nepal. Kathmandu, 179 -197.Postprint available at:http://www.zora.uzh.ch

Posted at the Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich.http://www.zora.uzh.ch

Originally published at:von der Heide, S; Hoffmann, T 2001. Aspects of migration and mobility in Nepal. Kathmandu, 179 -197.

Müller-Böker, U (2001). Pahariya-migration to the Tharu´s settlement area of the Inner Terai (Chitawan). In: vonder Heide, S; Hoffmann, T. Aspects of migration and mobility in Nepal. Kathmandu, 179 -197.Postprint available at:http://www.zora.uzh.ch

Posted at the Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich.http://www.zora.uzh.ch

Originally published at:von der Heide, S; Hoffmann, T 2001. Aspects of migration and mobility in Nepal. Kathmandu, 179 -197.

Editors:

Susanne von der Heide

Thomas Hoffmann

Man and Environment

Aspects ofMigration and Mobility

in Nepal

Edited by:

Toni Hagen

Susanne von der Heide

Zongsar Ngari Choedje Thingo Rinpoche

No.2

Ratna Pustak BhandarKathmandu, Nepal

x • Aspects of Migration and Mobility in Nepal

On behalf of the editors of the book and those of the Man and

Environment series I would like to sincerely thank the authors for

their contributions, and -also to make particular mention of four

persons who collaborated in producing this book on migration and

mobility in Nepal: I would like to convey my special thanks to Dr.

Harka Gurung, former Minister for Education as well as Vice-

Chairman of the National Planning Commission of Nepal, and later

the Director of the Asia-Pacific-Development Center in Kuala

Lumpur, for his enlightening guidance and advice, which was

extremely helpful and contributed a lot to the final shape of thispublication.

Contents

I. INTRODUCTION

Foreword: Han. Chakra Prasad Bastola

Preface: Susanne von der Heide .ix

II. GENERAL TOPICSFurthermore, Philip Pierce brought his meticulousness to bear on

the English of the texts and on the laborious details of putting

together the publication. I should also like to sincerely thank him

for the many years of working together, at times under difficult

circumstances. The same applies to Govinda Shrestha who, through

his great energy, enterprising skills and patience, has made the

publication of this work possible. My special thanks go to him and

his staff at Ratna Pustak Bhandar as well as to Ram Krishna Dongoifor our fine collaboration.

l. Martin Schneller:

The Impact of Migration on the Stability of

the International System ~ 1

2. Harka Gurung:

Highlanders on the Move: The Migration Trend in Nepal ..11

III. CASE STUDIES

3. Pushpa Tulachan:

Seasonal Migration and Trade: A Strategy for

Survival by the Lobas of La Monthang 43

4. Susanne von der Heide:

Some Aspects of Migration, Mobility and the

Democracy Movement among the Thakalis - Effects of

Cultural Change and the Danger of Cultural Loss 73

5. Thomas Hoffman:Out-Migration Patterns of Solu-Khumbu District 115

6. Michael Schroll:

Off- Farm Employment and Temporary Migration in a

Nepalese Village

7. Nanda Shrestha/Dermis Conway:The Shadow Life of a Migrant's Wife 153

I express very special thanks to H.E. Chakra Prasad Bastola, former

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Agriculture for his

supportive cooperation, and for having shared his ideas with us. I

am very grateful to him, too, for having written the foreword to thisbook.

One final word of thanks goes to one of the three editors of the Man

and Environment series: I sincerely thank Zongsar Ngari Choedje

Thingo Rinpoche, whose knowledge and experience contributed a

lot to the publication - which made carrying out this task mucheasier.

Susanne von der Heide

December 200 l

r

xii • Aspects of Migration and Mobility in Nepal

8. Ulrike Müller-Böeker:

Pahariya-Migration to the Tharus' Settlement Area of the

Inner Terai (Chitawan) 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • o • • • • o • • • • • • • 179

9. Rishikeshab Regmi:

The Dhimal, Migrarion and Change 199

10. Winfried Ellingsen:

The Significance of Migration for Rural Development in the

Humid Upland Farming System ofNepal 223

rv THE AUTHORS

The Impact of Migration on

the Stability of

the International System

Martin Schneller

The purpose of this paper is to look into the impact of international

migration and refugee flows on the stability of the international

system. The influx of migrants has created serious problems of

integration and has affected both domestic policies and external

relations with countries of origin. It will be argued that it is no

longer sufficient to deal with large-scale refugee and population

movements predominantly in terms of humanitarian assistance. For

too long a time, refugees were perceived as a matter for

international charity and not as a political and security problem.

The surge in transborder migration makes it increasingly

imperative to look beyond humanitarian measures towards

addressing the root causes of migration, namely political and

economic instability as well as human rights violations. l

International migration in the post Cold War era: The end of

the Cold War has unleashed powerful processes of political and

social fragmentation, which have set in motion domestic and cross-

border waves of migration.

Historical transitions are often accompanied by extensive migration

flows. The migration movements within Europe during the 17th

and 18th centuries (e.g., the emigration from the Netherlands and

from France into Prussia) or the migration from Europe to America

were intrinsic to the development and modernization process of the

receiving countries. At the same time, the emigration of Europe's

l For a comprehensive survey of the refugee problem see Loescher, 1992 and

1993.

Pahariya-Migration to the

Tharus' Settlement Area of the

Inner Terai (Chitawan)

Ulrike Müller-Bôker

Introduction

Chitawan (Fig. 1) is often said to be the "melting pot" of Nepal.

And indeed, it can be concluded from the official language statistics

(HMG 1993) that a large number of.different ethnic groups live in

this southern district of Nepal. However, this Was not always the

case. Up to the middle of this century, the largest of the synclinal

depressions within the Siwalik range was only sparsely populated.

The- forested, undeveloped Chitawan was a place of refuge for a

group of Tharus, probably expelled from India. I

First, the different phases of the historical development of Chitawan

are taken up. In the following, the ethnic constellation and

socioeconomic situation of the different groups will be dealt with in

order to analyze the relationship pattern arising between the Tharus

and the other ethnic groups.

The History of Chitawan:From the "Fever Hell" to the "Melting Pot" of Nepal

Up to the middle of this century, the inhabitants of Chitawan

played such a marginal role in political and economic terms that

1 Culturally, the Chitawan Tharus differ distinctly from other Tharu groupsliving ·on both sides of the Indian-Nepalese border (Krauskopff 1987: 30;McDonaugh 1989: 191).

180 • Aspects of Migration and Mobility in Nepal

they are not explicitly mentioned in historical sources. We could

only' establish that before the unification of Nepal, in the reign of

Mukunda Sen I (1518-53), the region belonged to the territory

Palpa - an important kingdom within the group of the Chaubisi Raj

(D.R. Regmi 1961: 27). In the later course of history, there were

repeated territorial alterations (Hamilton 1971: 131ff.; Stiller 1973:

38f.). Chitawan was yielded to the kingdom ofTanahu (D. R. Regmi

1961: 3 1 f.), and according to M. C. Regmi (1978a: 3), at the end

of the late 18th century, parts also belonged to the kingdom of

Makawanpur.

T I B E TDhaü/agiri

Â

(8167)

Â

Annepume(B09T)

Pokharä ~! .~ ~~, ~\{J~ ~e.. Gorlthii

2700' I N D I A

o l00km

Draft U.Mûller·Böker Cartography: B.Goecke (1994)

The oral Tradition and different rituals of the Tharus show clear

connections to the Sen dynasty, For example Sen kings are

worshipped by the Tharus as protective deities, and within the

Pahariya-Migration to the Tharu's Settlement Area... • 181

Baram puja- they are invited amongst other deities. Presumably the

first integration of Pahariyas fpahar == hill, mountain} in the area is

described by the following story.

. "The four sons of Mukunda Sen came to Chitawan and were

deeply impressed by the high spirituality of the Tharus. They

reported this to their parents, and wished to gain spirituality,

too. The parents told them to go into the jungle and live

there (== banbas). They went back to Chitawan and remained

there until they died. And ever since they have protected our

locality" (told by Budhi Ram Mahato).

I~ was under the Gorkhali ruler Pratap Singh Shah (1775-1777),

the successor of Prithvi Narayan Shah, that Chitawan was absorbed

into the kingdom of Nepal (D.R. Regmi 1961: lllf.; Stiller 1973:

15_1ff.). What consequences did the integration into the national

state entail for Chitawan?

Without "any doubt, strong strategic interests existed to protect the

border against the territories of the East India Cornpany ' At the

same time, the Nepalese government had - for econonic reasons -

to encourage the extension of cultivated areas (M.C. Regmi 1978b:

143ff.), because the expansion policy had to be financed and

secured. Soldiers and vassals were rewarded with land grants. To a

high degree the state's income was based on the land revenues.

Several efforts were therefore made to encroach upon the lowland

forests, especially of the Eastern Terai districts (Yadav 1984: 20;

Dahal 1983:2ff.), but not always with success. The number of

peasants willing and able to settle down remained modest

(Bajracharya 1983: 231).

After the rise of the Ranas (1846), the efforts at colonization in the

Terai became more successful. Filchner, while visiting the Eastern

2 Baram = protective deity of a Tharu village, puja = worship.

3 While visition the Terai in 1793, as commissioned by the East India Company,

Kirkpatrick (1811/1969: 17) reported that the area was covered by dense and

inaccessible forests and, despite good soils, only scarcely cultivated. He assumed

that the government wanted to preserve the force of a barrier which this forest

no doubt constituted.

'182 • Aspects of Migratton and Mobility in Nepal

Terai in 1939, reported that the forest lines of the topographical

maps based on a field survey in 1925 had changed drastically. He

took it for granted that the natural landscape must have given way.

to cultural landscapes in the course of 25 years (Filchner 1951: 19).

But the pursued policy of colonization seemed to have touched

Chitawan only peripherally.

The interests of the territorial rulers and later' of the central

government in Chitawarr had always been of a predominantly

strategic nature. The undeveloped region, strongly affected by

malaria, was supposed to protect the hills, and later the Kathmandu

Valley against hostile aggressors from the south. A document dating

from 1803 furnishes proof of the fact that taxes were extracted from

Chitawan, if only plough taxes." M.C. Regmi (1978b: 81) suspects

that the failure to introduce a crop assessment system, as common

in other districts, may have been due to the fact that Chitawan was

not sufficiently populated to justify the expense and effort involved

in land measurement operations.

Espec}ally after 1816, following the defeat by the East India

Company, the Nepalese government vehemently pursued the

strategy of a cordon sanitaire in Chitawan. For a while, they even

considered the presence of the few inhabitants as obstructive. An

order passed in 1817 (Regmi 1978a: 6)5 that compelled the farmers

to abandon their villages. According to the Tharus (Haffner 1979:

64), many families then moved southwards and settled in the more

remote valley between the Churiya and Someshwor range.

The "Report to the Government by Mr. Ross Bell" (Oldfield

1880/1974, Vol. 1: 140) also refers to this intervention of thegovernment:

Precious to the first Nipal war, the dhuns of Chitaun and

Makwanpur were extensively cultivated; but since the peace

of 1816 the Gorkha Government, from motives of policy,

4 Order regarding rate of plough tax in Chitaun, June 1803

5 Order regarding evacuation of cultivated lads and settlements in the Kamala-Chitaun region, Sept. 1817.

Pahariya-Migration to the Tharu's Settlement Area... • 183\

\

havé caused ~e inhabitants to abandon the greater part of

them, .and they have been allowed to revert to their natural

state of forest and grass jungle.

Oldfield, staying in Nepal years later, namely after the rise of the

Ranas, gives the impression of Chitawan as a region where only wild

animals and no human beings were living (1880/1974: 49):

The district about Chitann is open, and covered with long

grass jungle rather than forest, and is very much infested

with rhinoceros. It is the best shooting ground for the

rhinoceros in the whole of the Nepalese dhuns.

By no means should one draw the conclusion from Oldfield's report

that Chitawan, before 1816, had been abundantly cultivated and

densely populated and later, after the evacuation, was completely

deserted (cf. Burkill 1910: 70; Hatley & Thompson 1985: 371).

Considering the low population density of the 19th century and the

fact that it must 'have been extremely low in Chitawan, it is hardly

to be expected that this malarial region could attract settlers. But

without any doubt Chitawan was a refuge for a group of Tharus,

which even today characterize themselves as a forest-oriented

people.

It was only in 1921 that plans - initiated by the Indian forest officer

J.Y. Collier (1928/1993: 251 ff ) - were made to extend the

cultivated areas of Chitawan on a langer scale and instructions were

given to allow slaves to settle down in Chitawan as freemen settlers

(Landon 1928/1993: 165). But scarcely anybody wanted to leave

the mountains to come down to the hot and fever-infected lowland.

The fact that the area had ample stocks of big game also helped to

preserve the longstanding marginalization of Chitawan. For this

reason, the Ranas declared the whole region as their exclusive

hunting territory, the maharajas inviting nobles and prominent

people from ,all over the world as guests (Kinloch 1885; Oldfield

1974).

• c

184 ® Aspects of Migration and Mobility in Nepal

Despite the fact that Chitawanwas economically unimporrant.v the

government needed an administration also in this remote district.

The functionaries were initially chosen from the ranks of 'the

Tharus. With the introduction of the jimindari system in 1861,7

intended to effect revenue collection (M.C. Regmi 1976: 108;,

Müller-Boker 1999: 35ff.; Guneraene 1996) Pahariya jimindarsbegan also- to be appointed. Outsiders could initially' establish,

themselves as a small but influential ruling elite in Chitawan.

The, Tharus had also contacts with members of other ethnic groups

,who were traditionally involved in trade and exchange relations.êAs

a very severe form of malaria was rampant in Chitawan at that time, '

it was almost a ,certainty that these "foreigners" left the lowland ,in

the monsoon season at thelatest. The Tharus were also 'affected, but

as 'they had been permanently exposedto infection, theywere 'able,'

to develop an "active" immunity.

In assessing thesituation of the Tharus up to the middle of this

century, one may state that their lives were not without interference

from the central government. Still, the protective policy pursued for

a long time was compatible with their own extensive economic

system: a' shifting-cultivation system, for which sufficient arable

land and forest was available.

After the turnabout in Nepal's political orientation in 1951, the

Nepalese government started to implement land-resettlement

programmes in Chitawan to relieve the densely populated hill

region and to provide new agricultural production areas for the

6 In comparison with the Tetai there was only very little birta land in Chitawan

-' (approx. 900 bigha, so-called lens-birta of a head-priest of Kathmandu, as

reported by several landlords and the Land Measurement & Survey Office of

Bharatpur.

7 An individual - the jimindar - became responsible for land-tax collection in the

vilages under his jurisdiction. Besides being conceded a percentage of the

revenue collected, the jimindar was assigned land as well as unpaid labor from

every local household.

8 In the dry season, traders from the hills and ·the Terai displayed their goods and

bought mustard seed. There were close connections with the neighbouring

Chepangs. The latter exchanged vegetable fat and bark for rice and also came

as seasonal workers for the mustard harvest.

Pabariya-Iviigration to the Tharu's Settlement'Area ... • 185

growing population. American aid contributed to a malaria-

.eradication and land-reclamation programme (Mihaly 1965; H.

Gurung 1989a, b; Conway & Shrestha 1985; Thapa &Weber 1986; .

N.R. Shrestha 1989, 1990).

Figure 2: The Population Increase in Nepal and Chitawan District

(1920-1991) (Population Censuses, HMG).

Population in1~OOO

Chitawan3!

.//./ Population D

./ Million In

,i Nepal ,..20!18.491.097

/ /' ~15

__r5.573,788 _/! I- to

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •0• • • • • • •·····"'············020,520

300

350-

250

200

5

150

100

50

1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

II

I

I I

annualI

I

Nepal:I t

growth 1,1I

2.5 1,3I

2,1 2,6I

2,1 :

rate in % Chitawan: 1,2 4,1 I 6,0 10,5 3,5 3,2 :t I

After the first results of the malaria-eradication programme,

immigrants came in such large numbers that the mean annual

growth rate of the district reached a national record (Fig. 2). The

extremely high rate of 10.5 % between 1961 and 1971 reflects the

main immigration wave. In the following years, the mean annual

186 • Aspects of Migration and Mobility in Nepal

growth rate decreased but was still higher than Nepal's average as

a whole. Whereas fewer than 19 people per square kilometre lived

there in i952/54, today the number has soared to 160 people.

Today, the Nepali speakers form the majority of. Chitawan's

population - more than 70%. Tharu is only spoken as a mother

tongue by a minority of nearly 13%. Figure 3 also shows the

diversity of languages. Tibeto-Burman and Indo-Aryan languages

are both common in Chitawan todåy.

Figure 3: Mother Tongues of the Population in Chitawan District

(1991) (HMG 1993)

------------- Tharu 12.60/0

- - - - - - - . Tamärig 4.1%

----- Chepânq 2.70/0

---- Newari 2.70/0

---- Gururig 2.4- - -. Räi/Kirati 1.5%---- Magar 1.2%- --- Darâi 1.10/0- - - -. Others 2.70/0

Nepali 69.00/0

The Ethnic Groups of Chitawan andTheir Socioeconomic Situation

So far we have simplified the discussion on Tharus and Pahariyas. In

actual fact, the ethnic constellation is much more differentiated

(Tab. 1).

Pahariya-Migration to the Tharu's SettlementArea... • 187

Table l: The Ethnic Groups and Castes in Chitawan.

Autochthonous Allochthonous Groups Castes

Groups "Awaliya" "Pahäriyä"

Tharu N epali-speaker/ Bähun

Danuwar "Parbatiya " Chhetri

Darâ i Kämi*

Bote Damäi*

Kumal Särki*

Musahar* Newar Srestha

Kumäle

Tämäilg

Gutung

Magar

Chepä ng

* "Impure" Groups

Apart from the Tharus, there are some other smaller but IO,ng-

established populations in Chitawan, including the ~otes,9' Darais,

Danuwars and Kumals. Hodgson (1880: 400) introduced the

collective term "A~aliya" (aulor awal = lowland, fever) to ,refer to

the natives of the lowlands blighted by malaria. These are tribal

groups who may belong to the "aboriginal races inhabiting other

more or less secluded regions of India" (Bista 1976: 128). Whereas

the Tharus. exclusively inhabit the Terai on both sides of the Indian-

Nepalese border as well. as the Inner 'Ierai; the Botes, Datais,

Danuwars and Kumals have also settled in the valleys further

upstream. As these groups live along the rivers and get their

livelihood from the rivers, Gaborieau (1978) describes them as

9 Bista (1976: 128) uses the term "Majhi" for the Botes. It is a "term used by thehill peoples for' those people called 'Bote' in the Terai.... They are alsooccasionally referred to as Kushar" (cf. Jest 1977; Subba 1989).

188 • Aspects of Migration and Mobility in Nepal

"tribus des fleuves."10 Marriage alliances are only seldom contracted

between the different groups, but the good relations between them

are nevertheless repeatedly emphasized. However, a clear

distinction is made concerning the "impure" Musahars - according

to Bista (1976: 131), a sub-group of the Bates.

Members of other ethnic groups who had previously just been

contacted sporadically have lived in close proximity to the Tharus

since the late fifties. The large majority of them are Nepali speakers,

i.e., members of an Indo-Aryan population group who are grouped

together in literature as "Parbatiyas." This group consists of

different "pure" and "impure" castes. The "impure occupational

castes" include the Kamis, Sarkis and Damais; the "pure castes," the

Bahun (Brahmin) and Chhetri. The Tamangs, Gurungs and Magars,

mostly engaged in farming, as well as the Newars, who are mainly

active in trade, form a small proportion of the immigrants. The

Chepangs, whose forms of cultural and economic organization differ

vastly from those of other immigrant groups, make their living in

many cases by selling forest products.!'

The various groups of immigrants are heterogeneous not only as far

as their ethnic origins but also their socioeconomic status is

concerned (Conway & Shrestha 1985; Shrestha 1989). As is the case

in many other areas of Nepal (Pfaff-Czarnecka 1989), the high-caste

Hindus - i.e., Bahuns and Chhetris - complemented by the high-

caste N ewars, very quickly succeeded in bringing a large part of the

resources under their control.

The distribution practices of the resettlement projects made it

possible for many privileged town dwellers and landlords, some of

them members of the land distribution commission, to acquire land

in the Rapti valley (Mihaly 1965: 77; Haffner 1979: 65). On the

farms, of up to 34 hectares, the land was cultivated by land workers

10 The different languages of the groups are classified as "Indo-Aryan relic

languages," i.e., they are not pure but predominantly Indo-Aryan languages

(Honsson 1989). On the whole, the languages are closely related and form a

relatively homogeneous group compared to the Nepali and Bihar languages.

11Cf.Jest 1966; Rai 1985; G.M. Gurung 1989.

Pahariya-Migration to the Tharu's Settlement Area... Ct 189

or tenant farmers. The landlords extracted the profit and did not

invest, contrary to the practice in an exemplary modem agricultural

system. Many smaller farms, by contrast, were forced to let and

later to sell their land due to shortage of capital. The new beginning

thus quickly found itself in a cul-de-sac of landlessness.

After the resettlement projects were terminated in 1961,

colonization continued without any planning. Uncontrolled

clearings and an increase in the number of illegal settlements

characterized the situation. One consequence of this development

was that the government took steps to combat illegal colonization

and deforestation. Under the management of a Settlement

Commission, initiated by the "Forest Department, 4,400 squatter

families (approx. 22,000 persons) were resettled in 1964/65; the

commission "cleared the settlers from a large area of forest," to cite

the. Chief Conservator of Forests (Willan 1965: 159). This campaign

also" cleared" the forest of three old Tharu villages with some 4,000

people at the express request of King Mahendra. It can be seen as a

nature conservation measure, since the area was declared a

protected zone for the threatened rhinoceros and, from a later

perspective, it can be looked upon as the foundation stone for the

national park established in 1973.

The problem of illegal squatting has still not been brought under

control. Around 1979/80 there were some "suleumbasi

movements"; 12 estimates suggest between 14,000 and 32,000

families were involved in illegal squatting (Ojha 1983: 41; Kaplan

& Shrestha 1982). In 1993, there were also several sukumbasi

settlements along the East-West highway.

In addition to the most numerous group of "enforced migrants," the

"dispatched migrants" also have to be considered (Conway &

Shrestha 1985: 70) - members of well-situated families who wished

to extend their economic activities to Chitawan.

In her ethnohistorical study on Bandipur (Tanahu district), Iltis

(1980: 1260 declares that the resident Newar traders regarded the

12 sukumbasi == people without any apparent means of livelihood.

190 • Aspects of Migration and Mobility in Nepal

opening up of Chitawan as a .chance to extend their north-south

trade, Bandipur-Shrestha established the trading place

Narayanghat, from which the Indian border was accessible in a one

day's march. It is not surprising that some of the large Safari hotels

today belong to grandchildren of Bandipur-Shresrha,

Not only the traders, cleverly speculating with land, but also the

established jimindars were able to extend their economic situation

by acquiring land. The smallholders, on the other hand, were

fighting for survival. Lack of capital caused problems, as did living

and working in a strange environment. The colonists, who, of

course, were not familiar with the ecological conditions in the Rapti

valley, built some settlements in areas susceptible to flood (Haffner

1979: 66£). Some lost fields through flooding and river erosion and

had to cope with crop losses caused by wild animals. If an attempt

is made today to assess the socioeconomic situation of the

immigrants, then it can be maintained that, after the difficult initial

stages, living conditions in Chitawan nevertheless improved for

many colonists, comparee! with their former siruation.P

Of course, the rapid development and colonization of Chitawan did

not leave the Tharus unaffected. The old established Tharu

jimindars tended to succeed in keeping their property, but many

small peasant farmers seem to have been cheated of their land in the

development phase. Often the ownership was unclear, and as the

jimindari system was only altered after 1964 (M.C. Regmi 1976:121), dubious land transactions could be made. For example, in '

1951 25 bigha of land were given away for 15 muri (approx.' 750kg) of rice and three bottles of brandy. In 1960, 35 bigha of land

were sold for 3,000 NR. In 1986 the same land had the value of60,000 to 150,000 NR per bigha! '

Indeed, the traditional shifting-cultivation system had already been

abolished in 1951, but only after 1957 were land documents

13 The results of a study carried out in 1979 by Conway & Shrestha (1985)on . the colonists' landed property in the mountains before theiremigration and in Chitawan at the time of the study reveal a modestlypositive trend.

"1

Pahariya-Migration to the Tharu's Settlement Area... • 191

handed over to the farmers, and this was done only for the plots that

had actually been cultivated. Settlers who had not been granted any

land 'by the project " ...encroached not only the pasture land of the

indigenous settlers but also the fields of the latter as well which

enhanced the hostility of the indigenous settlers towards the hill

people" (Kansakar 1979: 138).

The inexperience of the Tharu population in money matters,

especially in the valuation of their land - up to then it had been

available in abundance - was welcomed by the businessminded

bazaar dealers and landlords.

"We can only live happily in our own community"

The Pattern of Relations between Tharus and Pahariyas

Whenever one talks to the Tharus about their situation, the

comment is inevitably made: "Satjugi - formerly everything used to

be better! Since these Pahariyas have been in Chitawan, we have

been doing badly!" Such or similar statements not only point to an

apparently conflict-ladened multi-ethnic constellation in Chitawan,

they also prove the power of ethniciry - a strong identification with

one's own ethnic gro'up.'

If one considers the pattern of relationships between Tharus and

Pahariyas, the following points become obvious: Although the

problems of the landless workers and small-scale farmers are' similar

and although the landlords of both groups are regarded as equally

privileged, this socioeconomically related' classification 'Of

Chitawan's population is hardly recognized. The ethnic

classification, the dichotomy between autochthonous and

immigrant population groups, is what the Tharus especially attach

importance to.

This strong' ethnicity of the Tharus is, however, being eroded. Like

, many ethnic groups that have been integrated into a Hindu society

r

192 .e Aspects of Migration and Mobility in Nepal

and are being Hinduized, the Tharus have also accepted the Hindu. ideal.

- They label themselves, in toto, å pure Hindu caste (jat) .14- Among the various Tharu groups, different status rankings

exist that regulate marriage alliances. The Chitawan Tharusstand at the lowest level. .

. - They are giving up certain things - such as. keeping pigs _that are considered "impure."

- They are introducing typical Hinduptljas (e.g., Satyanarayan

puja) and engaging more and more Pahariya Brahmins forcertain rituals.

On the other hand, these efforts to "become Hindu" seem to be

half-hearted because the Tharus do enjoy the fact that from infancy

·on their life has been less regulated in many respects. To a certain

degree, the stereotype that orthodox Hindus have about the Tharus

is a response to their free lifestyle, especially with respect to

sexuality, but it may also be with respect to their "backwardness" if

criteria like education, mobility, etc. are applied.

A Nepalese team of authors writes for example:

The Tharus are one of the most primitive races inhabiting

Nepal. ... They are by nature sincere and simple-minded.

This is especially true with the Tharus of Chitwan. They are

steeped in the darkness of ignorance and are rather obstinate.(Shrestha, Singh & Pradhan 1975: 27)

Similar stereotypes are also found on a local level. The insults that

the Pahariyas use for the Tharus - for example, ghonghi khanemanchhe (== snail-eaters) and ban manchhe (== people from the forest),

have the same message: Tharus are backward and uncivilized.

Tharus in turn label the Pahariyas garib chusai barai (== bloodsuckersof the poor). On the other hand, they are collectively idealized as the

more pure, the more competent people, who can cope better with amodern way of life.

14 In the Muluki Ain (1854), they were classified as "enslavable alcoholdrinkers" who just nearly qualified for classification in the "pure" or"warer-acceprable castes" (Höfer .1979).

. Pahariya-Migration to the rharu's Settlement Area... ct 193

The Tharus' attitude towards the Pah ariy as, especially towards the

Bahuns and Chhetris, is thus extremely ambivalent: it reflects the

ambivalence between Tharu identity (i.e. ethnicity) and the Hindu

ideal, between tradition and progress, between a "small and great

tradition" (Kolver 1986).

It remains to be seen if and how far the ethnic groups living

together in Chitàwan will succeed in abandoning .this rigid

polarization. Only. time will tell if the foreign - as Erdheim (1988)

describes it from a socio-psychological perspective - continue to be

regarded as a threat rather than as a spur to one's own identity

development.

The beginnings of a constructive dissolution of the cliché

may. possibly be the attitude of· some representatives of the

Tharu elite who have· rhernarized the "backwardness" of their

'own group and· demanded more education.15· On the other

hand, .traditional concepts of ethnic identity often remain in a.

"traditional, much weaker and largely implicit idea of identity," ~s

Gellner (1986: 137) described· it in the case of the Newars.

These ideas, including idealizing one's own ethnic identity, are

expressed by the Tharus, for ·example, in statements like "Formerly

everything used to be better!" - in spite of malaria and lack of

infrastructure.

These are statements, however, that are also frequently heard in our

own (i.e. European) culture.

15 The Tharus in Chitawan are, however, far from forming an ethnic

organization - as many ethnic groups have done, including the Tharus

in Dang (McDonaugh 1989).

194 • Aspects of Migration and Mobility in Nepal

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