The relationship between ethnic politics and democracy presents a paradox for scholars and policy makers: ethnic politics frequently emerge in new democracies, and yet are often presumed to threaten these new democracies. As ethnic politics is becoming increasingly central to Nepali politics, this book argues it has the potential to strengthen rather than destabilize democracy. Drawing on years of ethnographic fieldwork, Susan Hangen focuses on the ethnic political party Mongol National Organization (MNO), which consists of multiple ethnic groups and has been mobilizing support in rural east Nepal. By investigating the party’s discourse and its struggles to gain support and operate within a village government, the book provides a window onto the processes of democratization in rural Nepal in the 1990s. This work presents a more nuanced understanding of how ethnic parties operate on the ground, arguing that ethnic parties overlap considerably with social movements, and that the boundary between parties and movements should be reconceptualised. The analysis demonstrates that ethnic parties are not antithetical to democracy and that democratization can proceed in diverse and unexpected ways. Providing an in-depth discussion of the indigenous nationalities movement, one of Nepal’s most significant social movements, this work will be of great interest to scholars and students of Asian Politics, South Asian Studies, and Political Anthropology.

This book argues that ethnic politics have the potential to strengthen rather than destabilize democracy. It studies one of Nepal’s most significant social movements and examines the role it has played in the process of democratization in Nepal. It demonstrates that ethnic parties are not antithetical to democracy and that democratization can proceed in diverse and unexpected ways.

Ethnic and nationalist movements surged forward in Nepal after restoration of democracy in 1990. This book analyses the rise in ethnic mobilization, the dynamics and trajectories of these movements and their consequences for Nepal.

Focusing on the Nepali ethnic group living on the borderlands of Sikkim, Darjeeling, and east Nepal, the book 'Ethnicity and Democracy in the Eastern Himalayan Borderland' analyses the growth, success, and proliferation of ethnic politics on the peripheries of modern South Asia. Based on extensive historical and ethnographic research, it critically examines the relationship between culture and politics in a geographical space which is replete with a diverse range of ethnic identities. The book explores the emergence of new modes of political representation, cultural activism, and everyday politics in regional South Asia. Being Nepali offers new perspectives on political dynamics and state formation across the eastern Himalaya which is fuelled by the resurgence of ethnic culture. NB CATALGUSTEKST CHICAGO: This book presents a close look at the growth, success, and proliferation of ethnic politics on the peripheries of modern South Asia, built around a case study of the Nepal ethnic group that lives in the borderlands of Sikkim, Darjeeling, and east Nepal. Grounded in historical and ethnographic research, it critically examines the relationship between culture and politics in a geographical space that is home to a diverse range of ethnic identities, showing how new modes of political representation, cultural activism, and everyday politics have emerged from the region.

The indigenous population, with their rich culture and heritage, represent an important component of Indian and Himalayan civilizations. Politics of Ethnicity in India, Neapal and China reviews the social, cultural and political processes that have shaped these indigenous societies in India, Nepal and China in recent years. The ethnic minorities, legally recognized in India and Nepal have emerged as powerful groups influencing the political imagery in both these countries. In Nepal, the staggering diversity of the Himalayan population poses a problem for the authorities. They include economically and culturally diverse groups, spread throughout the region. The state, partially inspired by India is now looking at institutionalizing procedures to integrate the indigenous people as citizens. In India, the threat of ethnic conflict has driven the Indian state to recognize new states and form autonomous district councils, paving way for an asymmetrical federalism where federal units are being devolved special powers. The acknowledgement of indigenous languages and scripts by the Constitution of India has offered the possibility for janjatis/adivasis to assert themselves. Likewise, the recent policies in favour of ethnic minority groups and their culture in Nepal have generated various initiatives from local communities to develop their often endangered culture. Both in India and Nepal, these changes impact the discourse held by leaders who are now claiming a history and culture for their own group. The construction of an identity through narratives, village theatre and other cultural expressions have become part of the subtle process of reinventing tradition. The Politics of Ethnicity in India, Nepal and China analyzes the reshaping of ethnic boundaries through acculturation, conversion, education, and religious movements, in times of conflict as well as in times of peace, highlighting how the indigenous people of India and Nepal frame a new sense of identity informed by 'reinvented' custom. This may offer a way to conciliate self-governance and democracy. In India, development programmes launched in different regions by the states have led to further deprivation of indigenous people and conflicts over environmental issues. This volume enables the reader to grasp the reformulation of identities influenced by cultural strategies of empowerment. As mentioned earlier, in both India and Nepal, the tribal has been considered a political agent in the national imagination. Besides, it is not by chance that current concern over biodiversity in a globalizing world has in many ways laid hope in tribal practices which are regarded as sustainable. Yet biodiversity also comes with the promise of a different lifestyle contrasting with the homogenized consumerism which dominates today's capitalist economy. Adivasi/janajati societies have often developed a policy of resisting global, capital, savage and corrupt industrial exploitation. For instance, they maintain 'sacred groves' as religious emblems of indigenous knowledge in central India and in the Khasi and Garo hills. This volume also discusses the progressive discovery of tribal art and its present status in the national context. It traces the story of how these art forms came to be recognized as such, underlining factors such as state patronage, which played an important role in this process. Retracing the path these artefacts took from local workshops to craft-exhibitions, museums and shops in the capital of Orissa State and on to those of the Indian Union capital city (New Delhi).