| dc.description.abstract | The study was based on the interpretive epistemology and social constructive ontology
with a critical-dialectical perspective. Empirically, it followed grounded theory approach
for an in-depth case study and analysis of the Tharu movement in the two districts of
the Tarai region: Dang in western and Sunsari in eastern Nepal. The study sites and
research participants were selected by using the theoretical sampling method. Four
Village Development Committees (VDCs), two from each district, were selected on the
basis of their geographic-political setting, demographic structure and historical
background of the Tharu movement. The nature of the study was thus qualitative, and
sources of data were both primary and secondary. The methodological cut-off-point for
the study has been remained from 2006 to 2015- the era of the popular movement and
constitution-writing. However, subsequent analysis of the post-constitutional and federal
context is also a part of the study due to rapidly changing political situations and fluidity
in the scope of present research.
The study concludes that the causes and characteristics of the movement were
multidimensional, and often remained structurally rooted in the national politics in
general and local development activities in particular. The Thesis notes that the Tharu
movement has come up with three historical phases: a) phase of social and cultural
mobilization in the Panchayat era; b) phase of political campaign after 1990-2006; and
c) phase of ethnic and regional movement manifested as ‘identity politics’ in the post
2006-context. While the Maoist movement has contributed to shape out the political
mobilization of the Tharus in the name of ‘Tharuwan’, the contemporary Tharu
movement has been popularly known as ‘Tharuhat’ movement. The thesis arguably
rejects this narrow world view of the movement as Tharuhat or Tharuwan and sees how
the broader framework has been created to construct ‘Tharu movement’ in general.
Historically, movements of Kamaiyas and Kamlaharis and the agitations for land rights
and the peasants’ welfare have also contributed to shaping the present-day Tharu
movement, though the agendas of these groups were still kept lagging behind in the
framing of mainstreams of the Tharu movement. Moreover, the movement did not have
a well-defined ideological base and unified leadership foundation in the villages inviting
a number of spaces for political complexities in the region.
The shifting of agendas from narrow material world-view to a broader political and non
material world-view after 2006 was significant. However, the entry of Tharu movement
in the national politics and international concern has occurred with a number of internal
as well as external factors. The thesis outlines such factors as leading to the increase of
political awareness among the Tharus and their thrust for identity, continuity in the
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movements of Kamaiya and Kamlahari, the rise of Madhes movement, ethnic
movements, and identity-based claims, movements for and against the autonomous
regions in the Tarai region and the subsequent debates in the process of constitution
writing and state-restructuring. The findings reflect that the political dimension of the
rural development has been extended both empirically and theoretically. Most
importantly, the movement has also contributed to shaping and legitimizing the issues
of ethnic identity, inclusion and proportional representation in the constitution. It has
also widened the presence of Tharu movement as a detrimental factor of Tarai politics
in the changing context of federalism.
In spite of having significant achievements in civil and cultural rights and ethnic
identities, the movement in grassroots still has some prominent issues related to
political and economic rights, including the transfer of power in favor of poor strata of
the Tharus, tenancy and land reforms, recognition of customary practices, rehabilitation
of the Kamaiyas and Kamlaharis, and reduction of poverty and inequality. Along with
these factors, the findings reflect that changing of power relations in the villages and
widening of economic opportunities had been less prioritized at the grassroots as was
being done with the ethnic and regional issues at the leadership and central level. The
creation of multiple identities was evidently observed in the villages which brought many
people (from different class, regional and ethnic backgrounds) together at the same
place for collective movements (e.g. in land and gender issues). The study concludes
that the consequences of the movement were politically value-loaded, which affected
development outcomes in multiple ways for the benefits of the local elites who used to
represent a wider sphere of power structures in the villages, including the movements
of the Tharus and others, political parties, non-governmental organizations and the
state- bureaucracy. Moreover, little changed for the mass of poor Tharus – indeed,
the findings of the study confirm an important contemporary critique of many
movements to represent renegotiation rather than a transformation of unequal
power relations.
The study recalls that already in the 1950s, organizations emerged (e.g. the Tharu
Welfare Society-TWS) that started to engage with the faith of Tharus – though more
along welfare and reformist agendas (e.g. fighting against child marriage, and
promoting girls’ education). However, Tharu-related activism exploded after 2006
in the context of the peace agreement and the subsequent negotiations for a new
constitution within the Constituent Assembly and outside it. In this context, Tharu
leaders quickly realized that framing demands along identity lines was a powerful
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political strategy. Here, the study asserts that these leaders on the one hand
consisted of the old Tharu elite, but on the other hand, of newly emerging persons
who saw these dynamics as an opportunity for upward mobility. As a consequence,
the number of leaders and organizations claiming to represent the cause of the
Tharus mushroomed, including, among others, existing and new NGOs that now
turned political. This heterogeneity in the leadership got reflected in the ambiguity of
demands. On the one hand, there was the unified demand for recognition of the
Tharu identity (as a whole). On the other hand, the implications of this demand
were contested. While some demanded a separate Tharuhat state (including
struggles against other groups in the Tarai), others wanted a quota system or
positive discrimination in the allocation of funds, or even joined other groups
(including Madhesi) too. But most leaders were united in the view that priority was
to be given to the identity issue; once 'the Tharu' got recognition, economic
improvements would follow automatically.
The thesis critiques this identity-based strategy through the eyes of the grassroots.
In short, the empirical data allow to argue that the masses of poor and ultra-poor
Tharus – though initially supportive of the movement – increasingly got
disillusioned. Through a number of evidence-based reflections and narrations, the
study shows how people assess many of their old and new leaders as actually
responsible for their misery, and that the emphasis on Tharu identity as a whole
hides intra-Tharu exploitations. He gives many empirical examples of Tharu leaders
having kept Tharu bonded labor, or newly emerging leaders appropriating state
schemes that were meant for the poorer strata. The study then shows that the
leaders' emphasis on Tharu identity at times created tensions in villages between
Tharu and other groups – people that were neighbors before. This theoretical and
methodological approach allowed the thesis to generate highly interesting,
differentiated and relevant insights into the Tharu Movement. The study then
details, for example, that the Tharus are a highly heterogeneous 'ethnic group'
which is almost impossible to generalize as “one people”. Above all, empirical
works at the grassroots show the socioeconomic differentiation within this group,
with a mass of households struggling with utmost poverty, and a small stratum of
influential and well-off families on top. These strata are interlinked through social
relations of dependency incl. tenancy and even bonded labor relations.
Coming to the conclusions and recommendations, the study takes a careful and
differentiated position as well. The Thesis concludes with a theoretical framework of
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“Movement Mobilization Framework of Contested Rural Development”. Through this
grounded theory of the empirical findings, the study seeks to make apparent the power
relations and their implications that are exerted by the state to the Tharu movement and
vice-versa. This framework demands to contextualize the Tharu Movement as
closely interwoven with its (changing) context, i.e. within the broader historical,
social, political and economic conditions and processes in the Tarai region, and this
region's position vis-à-vis Nepal (in general) and adjoining India. To some extent, the
movement has challenged the institutions of the state through its advocacy and
campaigning against the dominant nature of the development. Yet ironically, the
movement has played a critical role in creating an elite-manipulation through different
channels of civil society and political activism. The findings thus conclude that, contrary
to the rhetoric of liberal foundations, there was an increasing manipulation of identity,
welfare and democracy to promote elite interests. This manipulation, in turn, has been
evident with the fluid nature of networks and alliances.
This research was framed within the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research
(NCCR North-South) core issues of comparative and transdisciplinary study of
‘Contested Rural Development’ (CRD). Through the present study it is therefore
expected to contribute to the emerging debates in the fields contested development
through the viewpoints of social and ethnic movements in Nepal and the beyond. In
particular, the rationality of this study lies in understanding the post-conflict agitations of
the Tharus in Tarai-Nepal and their nexus with the state-restructuring process, identity
politics and the idea of development in the federal context. | en_US |
