This volume represents one part of a larger research project
undertaken by the Central Department of Sociology andAnthropology at Tribhuvan University from 2011 to 2013
to design a Social Inclusion Atlas and Ethnographic Profiles(SIA-EP) for Nepal. The SIA-EP project has four interrelated
components, including a country-wideNepal Social Inclusion
Survey (NSIS), a Nepal MultidimensionalSocial Inclusion
Index (NSII) combining original surveying with the findingsof other recent surveys and the 2011 Census, a Social Inclusion
Atlas that mapscaste/ethnicity data, and finally a series ofEthnographic Profiles describing the 42 highly-excluded
communities of Nepal. The overall objective of the SIA-EP
research was to promote a more informed understandingof Nepal’ssocial diversity by producing research based on
the most current information of the country’s cultural andlinguistic diversity andthe status of social inclusion of different
social groups. The combination of quantitative and qualitative
information produced through this research is expected tocontribute to policy design, research, and education.

Editors
Om Gurung
Mukta S. Tamang
Mark TurinPerspectives on Social
Inclusion and Exclusion
in Nepal

Editors
Om Gurung
Mukta S. Tamang
Mark TurinCentral department of sociology/anthropology
Tribhuvan University
Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal

Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal
Copyright @ 2014
Central Department of Sociology/Anthropology
Tribhuvan University
Published byCentral Department of Sociology/Anthropology (CDSA)
Tribhuvan University (TU)
Kirtipur
Kathmandu, NEPAL
Tel: 0977-1-433852
Email: cdsatu@cdsatu.edu.np
Website: http://www.cdsatu.edu.np
First Edition:
March 2014
1000 Copies
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording orotherwise, without prior permission.
ISBN: 978-9937-524-50-6

Printed in Nepal by:
Jagadamba Press
Design and layout by:
Jagadamba Press

Table of Contents
Preface
Manju Thapa Tuladhar
Acknowledgements
Om Gurung, Mukta S. Tamang and Mark TurinIntroduction
David Holmberg

1

Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Implications for
Research in Nepal
Mukta S. Tamang

11

Perspectives on Multiple Dimensions and Intersections
in Social Inclusion
Meeta S. Pradhan

38

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) andEthnographic Profile (EP) Nepal Social Inclusion
Index (NSII): A Proposed Methodology
Arun Kumar Lal Das, et al.

57

A Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal:
A Proposal
Mahendra Lawoti

122

Nepal: Study of Political Inclusion and Research Methods
Krishna Hachhethu

173

Ethnographic Research in Nepal: MethodologicalApproaches, Relevance and Applications
Dilli R. Dahal

191

The Inclusive State: A Philosophy and Sociologyof Social Inclusion
Gérard Toffin

218

PrefaceThis edited volume is a compilation of papers presented at aworkshop organized by the Central Department of Sociology/
Anthropology (CDSA) at Tribhuvan University from 6-8 May
2012 in Kathmandu, Nepal. The workshop was organized as partof an ongoing research project undertaken by the CDSA to generatea Social Inclusion Atlas and Ethnographic Profile (SIA-EP). The
objective of the workshop was to inform and refine concepts andmethodologies used in the SIA-EP research program throughdialogue with social scientists and concerned stakeholders.
The SIA-EP research project was formally launched in February
2012. Its primary aim was to promote a more informed
understanding of Nepal’s social diversity by producing current
research-based information on the country’s cultural and linguistic
diversity and explore the status of social development among
different caste and ethnic groups. As an initiative undertaken bya university department, the project involved a multidisciplinary
team of scholars who designed and then implemented the research
initiative.

During the workshop, more than thirty papers were presented
on concepts and methods for social inclusion and exclusion
research in Nepal. Among these were papers that dealt withissues regarding the relevance of ethnographic studies, as well as
approaches to ethnographic research. Most of the papers engaged
with theories of social exclusion, inclusion, and cultural diversity,
thereby generating perspectives in the context of Nepali society,and offering insights on how research on such timely issues could
be best furthered.
Ideas generated during the workshop contributed substantially tothe later implementation of all the components of SIA-EP research
program, which involved four interrelated components. First, the
Nepal Social Inclusion Survey (NSIS), consisting of a national
sample survey covering 98 caste and ethnic groups. Second, theReanalysis of National Survey Data including the 2011 Census
of Nepal to generate disaggregated statistical information withinsocial groups. Third, the designing and building of Ethnographic

Profiles for 42 pre-determined highly excluded groups. Finally,
and through the use of GIS technology, the Social Inclusion Atlas
which plotted the 2011 census data onto a map. All of thesecomponents were geared toward producing a comprehensive pictureof Nepal’s social diversity and the state of social inclusion throughthe systematic generation and presentation of both quantitativeand qualitative information.
The research was carried out with generous funding from theRoyal Norwegian Embassy in Nepal through Social Inclusion
Research Fund (SIRF). As such, it is one of the largest research
projects undertaken by CDSA in its history. Together with researchfindings published separately, we are confident that this volume
on “Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal”
will be useful for planners, researchers, educators, students, andgeneral readers interested in understanding the concepts of social
inclusion and exclusion particularly within the context of Nepal.
I thank all the authors for their contributions and are grateful toour editors, Professor Om Gurung, Dr. Mukta S. Tamang and Dr.
Mark Turin, for their valuable assistance in bringing this work to
fruition.
Manju Thapa Tuladhar, Ph.D.
Lead Advisor, SIRF

Acknowledgements
While the persistence of institutionalized social exclusion in
Nepal has received attention from political leaders, development
workers, academics, activists, journalists, civil society leaders andothers, the extent and dynamics of social exclusion has remained
seriously understudied. In order to address this lacuna, the Central
Department of Sociology/Anthropology (CDSA) at Tribhuvan
University undertook a research project to construct an atlas ofsocial inclusion supported by ethnographic profiles of communities
in Nepal. This multidimensional project was supported by theRoyal Norwegian Embassy in Kathmandu through SNV/Nepal.
The primary objective of the research was to promote an informed
understanding of Nepal’s social diversity through the production ofhigh quality and up-to-date, research-based information regarding
the country’s social, cultural, and linguistic composition, as well as
the status of human and social development. In order to carry out
the research effectively, CDSA formed a multidisciplinary researchteam. From the outset, the team felt it necessary to clarify both theperspectives and methods of the research on social exclusion, towhich end the CDSA organized a three-day research methodology
workshop from May 6-8, 2012. The broad objective of themethodology workshop was to sharpen the research perspectives
for understanding social exclusion and inclusion in Nepal froma range of theoretical vantage points. The specific objective of
the meeting was to refine and finalize the research methodology
through consultation with experts and multiple stakeholder
representatives. More than 150 participants from different fields
participated in the workshop, including planners, policy makers,
academics, political leaders, international organizations, donors,
government administrators, activists, civil society leaders, andjournalists. About 40 experts were invited to write perspective
papers to contextualize social inclusion in Nepal and help forma robust methodology for fieldwork. The workshop was thus
envisioned as providing a platform from which expert researchers
could present their perspectives and research methodologies toeach other, as well as share them with wider stakeholders for
feedback.

There were two expected outputs of the workshop. First, theworkshop was intended to finalize a comprehensive researchmethodology for fieldwork, data collection, and analysis. Secondly,
the workshop was to lead to the production of two volumes ofcollected papers under the tentative title “Perspectives andMeasures on Social Exclusion and Inclusion-Nepal.” In point offact, of the 40 experts who were invited, only 30 presented papers.
Of those, only six papers were submitted for consideration for
publication. Now thoroughly reviewed and assessed, these papers
have been compiled and published here in a single volume as the
background papers that frame the research project.
The Social Inclusion Atlas-Ethnographic Profiles (SIA-EP)
methodology workshop would not have been possible without
the cooperation and contribution of a number of institutions
and individuals. On behalf of the Department, we would like tothank all those who supported the workshop for their generous
cooperation and lasting contributions. In particular, our sincere
thanks go to the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Kathmandu forproviding the research funding through SNV/Nepal; to Tribhuvan
University for granting permission to the scholars to undertake theresearch; to the Social Inclusion Research Fund (SIRF) Screening
committee for providing valuable input; to the SIRF Secretariat
for managing the funds and facilitating the entire project; andto the National Foundation for Development of Indigenous
Nationalities (NFDIN), the National Dalit Commission, and the
Nepal Academy for supporting and collaborating in the research.
We are also grateful to the former Vice Chair of the National
Planning Commission for inaugurating the workshop andencouraging our activities. Thanks are also due to scholars from a
range of disciplinary backgrounds for presenting valuable papers
and revising them for publication in this volume. We extend
our deep gratitude to Dr. Bal Gopal Vaidya, Dr. Jit Gurung, Dr.
Vidhyanath Koirala, Dr. Mangal Siddi Manadhar, Dr. Terence
Turner, Dr. Kathryn March, Dr. Sumitra Manadhar Gurung, Dr.
Jane Fajans and Dr. David Holmberg for chairing sessions andproviding valuable comments. We are also thankful to the many
stakeholders who actively participated in the workshop and provided
useful feedback that helped revise the research methodology,
and to the administrative staff in both the Department and the
SIA-EP office for helping with workshop logistics. As we headed

towards publication, we were delighted to receive contributions
from Dr. David Holmberg and Dr. Gérard Toffin, in the form of
an introduction and epilogue respectively. During the production
process, we were most fortunate to receive support from Amy
Leigh Johnson, a graduate student at Yale University, who worked
tirelessly as our editorial assistant in the early months of 2014
to bring this project to a timely conclusion. As editors of thisvolume on social inclusion in Nepal, we are delighted to bringsuch important research to a wider audience through publication.
Om GurungTribhuvan University, Nepal
Mukta S. Tamang
Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Mark Turin
Yale University, USA
March 2014

Introduction | 1

Introduction
David Holmberg, Cornell University

The Social Inclusion Atlas of Nepal and Ethnographic Profiles
The Social Inclusion Atlas of Nepal and the accompanying set
of forty-two Ethnographic Profiles (SIA-EP) is an ambitious andcomprehensive research effort by a highly accomplished, multidisciplinary team of social scientists and junior researchers. The
team includes anthropologists, sociologists, population specialists,
economists, statisticians, geographers, political scientists,
historians, and others in an unprecedented attempt to produce an
overview of Nepal’s contemporary diversity and assess patterns ofinequality and social inclusion geographically. The team worked
in the context of an aspiration to transform Nepal into a just,inclusive, and multicultural socio-polity. Since the consolidationof Nepal in the late 18th century, an elite drawn from highcaste groups has sustained an effective monopoly in positions ofinfluence across the range of sociopolitical life through multiple
political regimes.
Large sectors of the population within the borders of Nepal areeither inherently marginalized, like dalits (formerly referred to
as “untouchables” ), historically denied access to influence, like
Nepal’s adivasi-janajati or “indigenous nationalities,” or notconsidered to be full citizens of Nepal, like madhesi or people ofthe southern plains. The situation for women is highly variable as
we move across different cultural groups, but there is no questionthat in public spheres of the state and civic life, women are also
kept to the side. Other gender and sexual minorities are largely
absent from consciousness and discourse.
The SIA-EP is not so much an effort to develop theories ofthe dynamics of inequality and inclusion—whether economic,
political, social, or cultural—as it is to provide a comprehensive
set of data points on inclusion for further in-depth research andto build a solid empirical platform from which to devise efforts toenhance inclusiveness and produce a fully multi-cultural society
and polity. The social scientists who undertook this project under2 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

the direction of the Central Department of Sociology/Anthropology
at Tribhuvan University divided their efforts across four different
sub-projects. The first was a sophisticated re-analysis of existingdatasets to develop a Nepal Social Inclusion Index (NSII). The
NSII team mined data from the National Living Standards Survey,
the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey, the Nepal Labour
Force Survey, the 2011 Census of Nepal, as well as data from the
SIA-EP project itself, in order to construct their index. Second,
the team developed an original survey, the Nepal Social Inclusion
Survey (NSIS), that asked 325 questions to 152 households fromeach of 98 caste and ethnic groups identified in the 2001 census1.
A total of 14, 709 households were surveyed. The data generated
from the NSIS was incorporated as well into the indexing project.
A third parallel initiative of the SIA-EP has been to localize andregionalize this data geographically, to which end a team produced
maps to display geographic disparities.
Parallel to this demographic and geographic effort, the researchteams undertook detailed ethnographic research on forty-twoof the most excluded populations as designated in a prior effort
to generate an index of exclusion for Nepal, The Nepal Multidimensional Exclusion Index (Bennett and Parajuli 2012). Fortytwo fieldworkers under the supervision of seasoned ethnographers
were deployed to study each of these groups in at least two distinct
locales2. The team focused their efforts on five different clustersof marginalized groups (for a complete list of groups see Dahal’s
article in this volume): Hill janajati (indigenous nationalities),
Tarai janajati, Hill dalit, madhesi dalit, and madhesi Other Castes.
Although a few of the forty-two groups, mostly Hill janajati are
well known in ethnographic literature, many others, especially
fifteen Dalit groups, eight Tarai janajati groups, and ten madhesi
castes, are virtually unknown in the ethnographic literature.

1. The 2001 census recognized over 102 groups, plus a category of “unidentified.” But some of these categories were too vague or groups were too small tosurvey. In two cases, the actual survey was administered to substantially fewer
than 152 households because the populations were so small.
2 A main emphasis of the Social Inclusion Research Fund that sponsored the
SIA-EP project is capacity building in research, especially of groups that havebeen historically excluded. The Ethnographic Team recruited ethnographers
primarily from among sociology and anthropology graduates and wherever possible attempted to find ethnographers from excluded populations.

Introduction | 3

Thus, the SIA-EP research has generated original findings on largely
unknown groups and expanded and consolidated information on a
few of the better-known marginalized populations in Nepal. The
results of all these ethnographic efforts will result in a numberof concrete contributions. First, all the ethnographic field notes,
photographs, audio recordings, and video footage produced will
be organized into an archive so that future scholar and policy
makers can have access to the raw data. Second, the SIA-EP will
publish an ethnographic profile for each of these groups condensed
from longer profiles. 3 The profiles will follow a template for easy
access and comparison of information. These templates, like thearchive, are meant to provide guidance for future research anddevelopment efforts. It has long been an axiom of anthropologicalinvolvement in development that projects cannot successfully
proceed without baseline research, ethnographic understanding,and the involvement and investment of local communities. These
profiles were generated in that framework and are an important
step towards broadening the knowledge base of Nepal.
The papers in this volume focus on the conceptual andmethodological complexities confronting a research effort of thismagnitude. Before introducing these papers, I offer, for those
not already familiar with Nepal’s diversity, a brief sketch of thecomplex reality confronting the SIA-EP team. The most recent
census of Nepal identified 125 different caste and ethnic groups in
Nepal. Each of these currently recognized groups—and the picture
has changed substantially even over the last 25 years (see Tamang
in this volume)—are contending either to maintain their inclusive
position or to acquire inclusion in a new Nepal.

Nepal’s Diversity
The wider picture of Nepal’s stunning diversity stems fromthree main historical migrations stretching over centuries andcontinuing into the present. Movement into what is now thenation-state of Nepal most likely begins with movements of sectorsof peoples who became what are now known as adivasi-janajati or“indigenous nationalities.” The histories of these movements are
3

Tentative plans are to locate this archive digitally both at the Central Department of Sociology/Anthropology and at an international educational institution. For further information on the SIRF, see: <http://www. socialinclusion.
org. np>.

4 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

lost, except in a few instances, in an as yet largely unrecovered andperhaps unrecoverable history4. All we know is that the movementsof some of these groups have been very recent (Sherpa, Oraon,
Munda, Bodo etc. ) and others so ancient that they constitutethe first human inhabitants of different locales and were among
the ancestors of Nepal’s array of adivasi-janajati populations,most of whom speak Tibeto-Burman or other non Indo-European
languages (Austroasiatic or unclassified) as their mother tongues.
These peoples generated, sustained, and transformed largely
autonomous and regionally distinct linguistic, cultural, and social
practices though their interrelations with each other, with cultures
to the north in Tibet, and to the south in India.
The second influx stems from waves of migration of caste peoples,
who now constitute what, for convenience, I will designate asparbatiya groups in Nepal. Their ancestors began moving insignificant numbers into parts of the central Himalayas in the
12th century after Muslim invaders spread their conquest andcontrol eastward across northern India. These peoples spoke
Indic languages—variants of north Indian languages—that
eventually became modern Nepali, currently the language of“official business” in the state of Nepal, and found their culturaland religious inspiration from Hindu forms as they flourished innorth India at the time. Their elites were able to establish small
kingdoms in many regions of what is now Nepal, small kingdoms
which in turn were in contiguity and even conflict with developing
indigenous polities.
As these groups moved into Nepal, probably intermarrying in someinstances with sectors of the indigenous populations, they applieda Hindu caste logic that had been internal to their own social andcultural life in their relations with the people already inhabiting
the hills of Nepal who did not share these social ideologies. In aparallel development, Newars, indigenous to the Kathmandu valley,
had begun to adopt forms of caste distinction internally. As elite
sectors of parbatiya Hindu groups came to dominate indigenous
principalities in the hills and eventually the Kathmandu Valley
4

Field archeology, historical linguistics, and genetic research are the primarymethods for recovering this history, and for specific movements in particularregions archaeology focused on migrations of adivasi-janajatiis essential. Archaeology related to indigenous migrations is not well developed. Genetic work
is in its infancy (see van Driem 2008).

Introduction | 5

through the conquest and negotiations of Prithvi Narayan Shahand his direct ancestors, high caste parbatiya, actively supported by
the state structure, migrated throughout the mid-hills and valleys
of Nepal where their elite became more often than not dominant
in administrative and economic life.
The formal legal codes of the state developed in the 19th century
instituted strict hierarchies that were firmly based on Hindu
ideology applied to the unique array of diversity in Nepal. These
codes structured a state organized from top to bottom in all publicand civic life according to a fixed hierarchy of jat or caste groups
and a political elite whose rights to rule were established throughjat membership and kinship relationship. Nevertheless, the earlystate of Nepal allowed considerable regional autonomy. In many
areas of Nepal, what are now known as adivasi-janajati groups
were able to sustain unique and often oppositional and resistantcultural forms.
A third major migration began shortly after the malaria eradication
campaign in the Tarai in 1955 opened up an immense area, by
Nepali standards, of potentially productive land. People moved
into the Tarai from both the overpopulated plains of North India
and from the middle hills of Nepal where the carrying capacityof land in support of subsistence had begun to meet its limits
in many places. These movements produced the current complex
set of Tarai groups (either of hill or plains origin, of high caste
or low caste, of Indian indigenous identity or Nepali indigenous
identity) along with dalit and Muslim groups all living alongside
one another in a formerly heavily forested area that had only beensparsely populated by indigenous populations, including somevery small populations of now extinct or nearly extinct culturesand languages.
The reality of inequality and social exclusion with which we arefamiliar in contemporary Nepal took its form in the history of
migration coupled with the history of socio-political domination.
These structural inequalities setthe stage for the most recent socialand political upheavals punctuated by the first People’s Movementin 1990, a ten year civil war culminating in a second People’s
Movement in 2006 and the cessation of the Hindu monarchy, andfinally now, furtive steps toward constructing a new socio-politicalorder in Nepal. Demands for recognition and empowerment from

6 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

adivasi-janajati, dalits, madeshis, women, and sexual minorities havebecome a ubiquitous feature of modern socio-political discourse in
Nepal. These movements have produced a leveling in Nepali civil
discourse that has yet to be matched by a leveling in greater socialand political practice. The continuing paucity of faces and voicesfrom groups constituting the majority in Nepal are an unavoidable
reality of current administrative, political, educational, economic,
journalistic, and academic life.

Concepts and Methods
The set of papers in this volume were initially produced in theearly phases of the SIA-EP project. They address conceptual andmethodological conundrums confronting the SIA-EP team as they
began their efforts. At the most general level, three papers takeon abstract concepts of social inclusion and exclusion in their
particular applicability to the context of Nepal. Several argue
that the terms “inclusion” and “exclusion” are not transparent
or universal. Mukta Tamang, in his paper “Perspectives on Social
Inclusion and Implications for Research in Nepal,” traces theoriginal application deployment of these concepts in Europeansocial policy discourse, and reviews key critiques of those concepts
as applied in that context. In particular, he notes the historicaland cultural specificity of the concepts as originally articulated
in France and greater Europe and the need for rethinking themfor Nepal. Drawing on social theory, Tamang opens up alternative
ways of thinking about social inclusion from anthropological andsociological perspectives as applied to the unique dimensions ofsocial and historical reality in Nepal. In so doing, he provides
a rapid overview of the contemporary facts of exclusion anddivides state approaches to diversity into three historical periods:“exclusionary inclusion,” “assimilationist inclusion” and“multicultural inclusion.”
Similarly, Meeta Pradhan, in her paper “Perspectives on Multiple
Dimensions and Intersections in Social Inclusion,” provides
a concise overview of the concepts of inclusion and exclusion
in sociological literature, stressing the multiple dimensions of
the identities of groups and individuals that confoundsimplistic quantitative approaches. Pradhan provides a particularlycompelling example of how the complexity of social reality in South
Asia make the production of a generic category like “women” andIntroduction | 7

assessment of their relative inclusion/exclusion impossible unless
one adopts an “intersectional” perspective. Drawing on feminist
literature, she offers a framework that considers multiple factors(such as caste, class, gender, culture, etc. ) to derive a more complete
picture of inclusion and exclusion in the unique configurations in
Nepali society. Arun Kumar Lal Das et. al. in their “Nepal Social
Index (NSII): A Proposed Methodology” make a more practicalcomparative examination of how inclusion and exclusion have been
operationalized in studies elsewhere in the world and in previous
studies in Nepal before laying out the basic features of their own
techniques of measuring of inclusion and exclusion in Nepal.
Their article allows us to see the difficult problems in generating
and operationalizing a social inclusion index.
In addressing the importance of issues of inclusion and exclusion
in Nepal, Mahendra Lawoti also emphasizes the multi-dimensional
nature of the problem in his contribution, “A Comprehensive
Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal.” Here, Lawoti offers ways ofmeasuring aspects of inclusion and exclusion that have historicallyeluded quantification, and draws particular attention to theabsence of cultural and social discrimination in previous attempts
to gauge exclusion and inclusion in Nepal. Lawoti proposes a higher
statistical weighting to the social and cultural variables in theindex, assigning more importance to these domains than to politicalones. Finally, he proposes that some facets of discrimination are
hard to operationalize in an index and suggests some alternate
approaches.
Krishna Hachhethu takes on the question of methods ofstudying political inclusion in “Nepal: Study of Political
Inclusion and Research Methods” by first reviewing briefly thehistory of the study of politics in Nepal. He then identifies a
key distinction in the formulation of a central hypothesis: thegreater a group’s participation in political life, the greater its
inclusion. Hachhethu then provides examples of sets of questions
administered in the Nepal Democracy Survey (Hachhethu 2004)
that addressed issues related to inclusion and to participation. In
conclusion, he discusses the question of customary governance, a
topic to be considered in the ethnographic profiles.
As a complement to the concepts and methods of assessment of
inclusion/exclusion, Dilli R. Dahal shifts focus to the production of

8 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

ethnographic profiles around the theme of inclusion, and speaks to
the question of “Ethnographic Research in Nepal: MethodologicalApproaches, Relevance and Applications.” Himself a seasoned
ethnographer of Nepal, Dahal briefly reviews the history of
ethnography in Nepal and lays out the template the team is applying
in the production of the ethnographic profiles. This template isimportant because it acted as a guide for the fieldworkers, manyof whom were relatively inexperienced. Of special note, in his
discussion of ethnographic tools Dahal addresses the question of
long-term versus short-term research, establishing rapport andgaining acceptance in marginalized communities, the ethics ofresearch among disadvantaged groups, and the link between theory
and ethnographic practice.
This collection of papers as a whole constitutes a major
contribution not only to how we think about the application ofinclusion and exclusion to the social reality of Nepal, but they
advance, through a thoughtful comparative assessment, ourgeneral understanding of the cross-cultural applicability of terms
that have gained considerable currency in global debates about
inequality and the policies that stem from them. The contributors
are to be commended for a benchmark set of papers that will
guide future research and analysis of inclusion in Nepal and add
an important dimension to international debates. If knowledge isat the foundation of effective social policy, the authors are to becelebrated for making a significant contribution.

The Politics of Data
Knowledge is always formed in power relations and produces
effects in the world, both intended and unintended. Classification,
enumeration, and compilation of data at the core of SIA-EP
efforts must also be understood in this context. In greater SouthAsia, from the beginning of the Raj, British colonists classified,counted, and mapped people in India as part of the technology of
their rule, culminating in the first pan-Indian census in 18711872 and a set of late 19th century gazetteer projects that bothenumerated and compiled data (see Cohn 1996; Dirks 2002; Risely
1891). These projects of knowledge generation were instigated toprovide information in order to better administer and control the
population. Classification, enumeration, and compilation of data
in Nepal historically have served the agendas of different forms ofIntroduction | 9

state government from the oligarchy of the Rana-Shah era to thedevelopmental state in the Panchayat era period and beyond (seeKansakar 1977 for a history of enumeration efforts in Nepal). For
most of its history, internal colonization has been the experienceof many groups (Bhattachan 1998: 123) and the history of datacollection cannot escape this knowledge-power nexus.
Nevertheless, the SIA-EP reflects a major transformation andreversal in data production in Nepal that has taken form since
the beginning of effective advocacy for a new inclusive andmulticultural democracy in 1990 followed by the eventual collapseof the Hindu monarchy and the establishment of a secular state.
Where classifications like the legal hierarchies of the 19th century
worked to essentialize groups and to include and exclude groups, thegroups simultaneously instantiated and dominated in that process
have now appropriated those designations for empowerment.
Beginning in 2001, the census began counting members of different
groups, identifying over 100 groups, a number that expanded
to 125 in the most recent census of 2011. Classification andenumeration are no longer the uncontested efforts of governments
to circumscribe, control, rule, or, in a more modern era, “develop”
citizens; classification and enumeration have become the vehicles
for demanding recognition as groups vie to be officially designatedand minority groups argue, among other things, for more power
based on demographic reality often challenging the accuracy ofcounts. I have witnessed, for instance, an active education driveby leaders of one adivasi-janajati group instructing their members
on how to answer questions on the 2011 census including theregistration of names, language, group identity, and religion.
Although there is evidence (e. g. Turin 2000) as well as anecdotes
of undercounts and miscounts of minority groups, as well asquite obvious inflation of Hindu religious identity in the recent
censuses, the fact remains that enumeration and classification are
becoming democratized and encompassed in a new and more open
politics in Nepal.
The SIA-EP project attempts to bring greater rigor to data on
inequality and inclusion through a re-analysis of existing data andthe generation of new data. Although the SIA-EP is framed as apurely empirical project oriented toward more precise mapping ofrelative inclusion and exclusion across multiple spheres of life, theknowledge generated will be deployed, no doubt, to inform debates

10 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

about affirmative action policies and constitutional issues. If there
is a caution in the history of classification and enumeration in India,
instantiation, ossification, and essentialization of a once more
fluid social reality led to unintended consequence and new forms ofconflict and suffering (Dirks 2002; Shneiderman and Middleton2008). One thing that seems clear is that until recently, expansion
and centralization of power and knowledge production in Nepal led
to similar instantiation and essentialization. One can only hopethat sophisticated and nuanced projects like SIA-EP which are
guided by an inclusive and truly multicultural spirit will point topathways of reduced strife through the empowerment of excluded
peoples.

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Bennett, Lynn, and Dilip Parajuli. 2012. The Nepal Multidimensional
Exclusion Index: Making Smaller Social Groups Visible and Providing aBaseline for Tracking Results on Social Inclusion. Washington, DC: The
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Bhattachan, Krishna B. 1998. “Making No Heads or Tails of the Ethnic‘Conundrum’ by Scholars with European Head and Nepalese Tail.”
Contributions to Nepalese Studies 25 (1):111-130.
Cohn, Bernard. 1996. Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge: The British
in India. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Dirks, Nicholas B. 2001. Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making ofModern India. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Driem, George van. 2008. “Linguistic Population Prehistory of theGreater Himalayan Region: Interpretations of Emergent Genetic
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Hachhethu, Krishna. 2004. State of Democracy in Nepal: Survey Report.
Kathmandu: Kathmandu: SDSA/N and International IDEA.
Kansakar, Vidya Bir Singh. 1977. The Population Censuses of Nepal and the
Problems of Data Analysis. Kirtipur, Kathmandu: Centre for Economic
Development and Administration, Tribhuvan University.
Risley, H. H. 1891. The Tribes and Castes of Bengal. Calcutta: Secretariat
Press.
Shneiderman, Sara, and Townsend Middleton. 2008. “Reservations,
Federalism and the Politics of Recognition in Nepal.” Economic &Political Weekly (May 10):39-45.
Turin, Mark. 2000. “Time for a True Population Census: The Case of the
Miscounted Thangmi.” Nagarik (Citizen) 2 (4):14-19.

Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Implications for Research in Nepal| 11

Perspectives on Social Inclusion and
Implications for Research in Nepal
Mukta S. Tamang, Tribhuvan University
The concept of social inclusion, originated in the European
countries of the North and gradually spread in the Global
South, has become one of the pressing national agendas in
Nepal during the last two decades. Promises and plans to makethe Nepali state and society inclusive are articulated in a rangeof documents. These include the Interim Constitution, various
national laws, and policies as well as monographs of the National
Planning Commission, national and international development
agencies, and non-governmental organizations. Social inclusion isprominent in discussions of academic communities and among thegeneral public. The concept of social inclusion has become both auseful tool for analyzing the Nepali state and society and a way ofenvisioning its future.
What is social exclusion? How should social inclusion beunderstood and implemented in the case of Nepal? What special
measures should be taken for inclusion of excluded groups in ameaningful way? Various perspectives and alternative proposals
have been put forward during discussions in the constitutionmaking and political transition period. At the same time, Nepal
has introduced some important measures on social inclusion. In
this article, I review various perspectives on social inclusion andthe debate within Nepal in order to propose ways to conceptualizesocial inclusion. I argue that in the context of Nepal, social
inclusion and related research should encompass the agenda ofestablishing harmonious social relations based on equitable humandevelopment, meaningful representation, respect for cultural
diversity, and intergroup solidarity.

What is Social Exclusion?
It would be helpful to explicate the notion of social exclusion
before clarifying the concept of social inclusion. Scholars on social
exclusion have defined it as a “dynamic process of progressive
multidimensional rupturing of the social bond” (Silver 2007: 1).

12 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

According to Silver, the social bond consists of “social relations,institutions, and imagined identities of belonging constituting
social cohesion, integration, or solidarity. Social exclusion
precludes full participation in the normatively prescribed activities
of a given society and denies access to information, resources,
sociability, recognition, and identity, eroding self-respect andreducing capabilities to achieve personal goals” (ibid.). Studies
have indicated that social exclusion is (a) a condition, (b) a relation,and (c) a process.
Social exclusion encompasses the condition of poverty, deprivation,
marginalization, and powerlessness. As Amartya Sen stated, it
can also be viewed as a state of capability failure. Transcending
individual capability, the concept of social exclusion helps us
broaden the understanding of poverty by calling attention to theequitable distribution of the material resources among different
social groups. The concept of social exclusion is thus not justanother way of explaining poverty and deprivation. The concept
seems to add additional dimensions to understand and interpret
deprivation and distributive justice.
Social exclusion encompasses poverty and includes multiple
dimensions of marginalization in analyzing deprivation beyond
the economic realm. Income and expenditure are certainly linked
to the life chances of an individual, but they are not sufficient tofully understand the difficulties of human life. To fully understandsocial life, it is necessary to analyze multiple dimensions of problems
of marginalization and powerlessness and their interrelationships.
It is impossible to understand the dynamic nature of poverty
without analyzing causes of economic deprivation. The problemsof homelessness, educational failure, and lack of skills for the labormarket, and childhood malnutrition and subsequent ill health anddiseases all contribute to social exclusion. To take an example fromthe Nepali context, being deprived of primary education in his
or her mother tongue, an adivasi janajati or a child belonging tomadhesi community fails in formal education and is forced into
unfavorable work conditions; or a dalit child, due to treatment as
untouchable and caste discrimination, lags behind for her whole
life in the economic realm.
Social exclusion can also be understood as relationship because lackof mutual support and cooperation between members of a society

Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Implications for Research in Nepal| 13

and discriminatory, unequal, and failed relations between powerfuland powerless groups in a society function as determinants of
exclusion. Discrimination is a rupture of the relationship between
sovereign citizens and the state, the state that should have ensured
dignity and provided services to all its citizens equally. Similarly,
it is a failure of coordination between different institutions that
regulate the relation between the state, civil society, and market
economy.
Social exclusion is a process whereby an excluder continuously
and actively attempts to gain a higher position by excluding
others. Such active exclusion is manifested in everyday behavior,language, and conduct of individuals belonging to dominantgroups. The behavior is reproduced through the family, education,
religion, gender relations, values, roles, laws, etc. In contrast to
the restricted understanding of poverty that tends to limit itself
in locating people in different classes based on possession of
wealth and material resources, the concept of social exclusion does
not omit the active excluder. Poverty analysis locates people ina hierarchal scale. The concept of social exclusion, on the other
hand, does not slot marginalized groups into an up or down ladder,but views them either as being inside or outside of the system(Touraine 1992, quoted in Silver 1994).
Some scholars have also defined exclusion as an obstacle to open
and healthy communication between different ethnic, linguistic,
religious, and cultural groups. This perspective emerged out of
the thinking on deliberative democracy and suggests that thisobstacle is critical to overcome to create a positive democraticenvironment (Habermas 1975). In terms of process, if one ethnic
group, class, caste or linguistic group has a monopoly over the
public voice, through control of language, media, and technology,
this can restrain the processes of group decision making of theconstitution, law, or policy. In turn, biased laws adversely affectinter-group relations and contribute to exclusion.
Social exclusion also helps us see social relations not as static but as
flexible in time and space. For example, the study of poverty informedby social inclusion should not be limited to the enumeration ofpoor people and description of their economic characteristics. It
is equally important to consider how people enter the poverty
cycle and are able to come out of it, and how their experiences and14 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

struggles are affected by the conditions of poverty. Studies haveshown that even if the conditions predisposing people to poverty
are the same, not all groups fall into the poverty trap (O'Brien and
Penna 2007). In similar vein, poverty may be temporary, but there
is high probability that uneducated, unemployed, differently abled,
single women, and people belonging to adivasi janajati, madhesi,
dalit, and linguistic and religious minorities have different chancesof coming out of poverty. Certain disabilities and conditions pushthem back in the trap of poverty even when they are able to comeout temporarily. The concept of social exclusion tries to understandsuch complex dynamics beyond class.

European Origin and Critique of the Idea
The concept of social exclusion gradually adapted in Europe, after
it was first coined in 1974 by a French high official, Rene Lenoir.
Since the 1980s, the concept has become an important dimension
guiding social policy making in that region. Although exclusion was
initially viewed as a social problem linked to disability, substanceabuse, and related deviations, it gradually included other social
problems and the people affected. By the end of the 1980s, themajor issues of exclusion came to be the long-term unemployment
problem faced by the young and unskilled in Europe and the
problems of poverty and displacement due to globalization andthe closure or relocation of European industries elsewhere. In
subsequent decades, social movements raised additional issues
including discrimination based on race, language, and ethnicity,and the problems of immigrants, refugees, and students came tothe forefront of the discussion of social inclusion. Moreover, theneed to positively address the discrimination against the minority
Roma community in Europe and, more broadly, ethnic, linguistic,
and religious diversity effectively came under the purview of social
exclusion (Silver 2010).
Although a range of social problems are addressed by the conceptof social exclusion, different countries in Europe have focused on
different aspects of social exclusion. For example, in Britain it isclosely related to poverty, which is in line with the liberal paradigmof classical political philosophy associated with John Locke. The
government of Tony Blair first established a Social Exclusion Unit
under the Prime Minister’s Office. The Unit extensively studiedgroups that suffered multidimensional marginalization such as

Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Implications for Research in Nepal| 15

the homeless, people with physical and mental disabilities, andsubstance abusers, as well as problems such as unemployment andpoverty. To assist in this study, the London School of Economics
formed a Center of the Study of Social Exclusion. The Social
Exclusion Unit was created in the Cabinet Office, and a social
exclusion action plan was formulated (Room 1999).
In France, emphasis was on the problem of integration into thewider national society and lack of social solidarity. The conceptof social solidarity comes from the French sociologist Emile
Durkheim. In classical sociology, the concept of whole and parts
was employed to analyze the European society. The integrationof all members of a society through social institutions such as
religion, state, education, family, and law was considered not only
a necessity, but an inevitable stage in social development. This
perspective had a substantial influence in the social policy making
in many countries.
Talcott Parsons and later sociologists reformulated this theory
by linking it with system analysis, which came to be known as
neo-functionalism. The neo-functionalists focused on explicating
how the social system operates and solidarity is maintained(O'Brien and Penna 2007). According to them, society consistsof independent but interconnected subsystems. Examples are:the economic subsystem based on theory of competition; politicalsubsystem based on theory of power; cultural subsystem based ontheory of normative values; and social subsystem based on theoryof mutual help and friendship. According to them, conditions ofsocial exclusion arise with failure in the operation of the social
system and in relations between the system and its subsystems.
The meeting of the European Council in 2000 in Lisbon,
Portugal, can be considered as a milestone in the adoption of asocial inclusion strategy in Europe. The meeting formulated a tenyear strategy known as the “Lisbon Agenda” for modernizing theEuropean socio-economic system. In brief, the concept of social
inclusion was originated and developed in the particular context ofEuropean society and history. The concept is based on a particularkind of social theory, and it has been utilized in a particular
way for policy making in welfare states (European Commission2009).

16 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

But social inclusion was also gradually adapted to other countries
outside Europe after the International Labor Organization (ILO)
and the United Nations (UN) incorporated the concept in theirprogramming (Atkinson and Marlier 2010). Within the last three
decades, the concept has spread to the countries of Asia, Northand South America, and Africa. During this spread, the concept ofsocial inclusion became broader and was refined and reformulated
according to national situations.
The above discussion shows the concept of social exclusion
encompasses and goes beyond poverty or economic deprivation.
Therefore, economic affluence alone cannot lead to social inclusion.
Exclusion and poverty rather have cause-and-effect relations;exclusion also gives durability to poverty. Social inclusion analysis,
therefore, takes into account social relations and solidarity asimportant aspects.
Does this mean that success in achieving social solidarity signifies
social inclusion? The answer has generally been in the affirmative,
because in Europe, solidarity is an established concept that guides
social policy-making. However, critiques of the theory of social
solidarity suggest that there is a severe limitation to this view
if solidarity is equated with assimilation or integration. Critics
have pointed out that that if social solidarity is interpreted asassimilation, it may lead to other conditions of exclusion.
Scholars have put forth two major criticisms (Bhabha 1994;
Goldberg 2002; O'Brien and Penna 2007). The first is related
to how the European model of social inclusion encourages
assimilation. The functionalist as well as neoliberal concept ofsocial solidarity is based on a particular interpretation of evolutionof society. According to this interpretation, all types of political,
cultural, and economic aspects evolves along a unilinear trajectory.
In this evolutionary idea of social change, the world ultimately
converges into a single system through a universal moral andpolitical consciousness which anticipates that all cultural andother diversities will eventually disappear. The critics suggest thatthe imagination of a world without diversity, created by erasure of
the aspirations of the groups making up a multicultural society
and through assimilation of all cultures into a broader one ofEurope or another powerful group, is impractical in the 21st
century. This perspective of unilinear societal development andPerspectives on Social Inclusion and Implications for Research in Nepal| 17

assimilation is incongruous from a social inclusion point of viewas marginal groups are expected to be included in the terms set
by their powerful counterparts. Moreover, it does not help one
understand the objective fact that idea of assimilation itself is used
to legitimize discrimination based on social, cultural, gender, andethnic identities and social backgrounds of individuals and groups.
A second criticism is caution about the limited relevance of theconcept beyond Europe. The concept of social inclusion emerged
in a particular period in European cultural and political history
in which social solidarity in the form of social inclusion was being
articulated. The strategy of social inclusion became necessary for
Europe to present itself as a successful player in the free market
system in competitive economic globalization at this particularjuncture of history. Social inclusion, therefore, can best be viewed
as product of new phase in the capitalist development of Europe,
which also demands the reconfiguration of the nation-state. Also,
the process of globalization necessitates social solidarity between
societies and states. To the extent that this notion of international
solidarity is European in origin, it can also be seen as an attemptby Europe to continue its imperial hegemony. Thus, according
to these critics, social inclusion should be seen as a concept thatdeveloped in the context of European history along with the processof globalization of capitalism.
Why are people socially excluded? There have been various
interpretations and analyses of this issue, synthesized andcategorized into three models by Lou Wilson (2006). The firstis related to social rights, distributive justice, and equality. Thismodel has been used by liberal democratic and democratic socialist
philosophies to formulate and implement state policies in Europe
and elsewhere. According to this perspective, certain dominantgroups control the state, and by abusing power, exercise illegitimate
control over state resources, resulting in exclusion. Thus, toreduce social exclusion, the state should intervene and seize wealthand resources from the powerful groups and redistribute them to
excluded groups.
According to the second model, groups with different social
backgrounds, ethnicity, languages, etc., are always struggling to
expand their power and influence. Such struggle is characteristicof modern society and an inevitable part of it. Because every

18 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

individual and group struggles to be included and to exclude othersin this win-or-lose game, the losers gradually become a separate
class, which, when stabilized, develops a particular lower classset of customs and practices. Thinkers who believe in individual
freedom and free market competition propose this model of social
exclusion as resulting from individual failures and free market
failures.
The third model is that of social integration, which developed fromthe Durkheimian theory of social solidarity, and is the basis of thefunctionalist approach mentioned above. It regards apparatus of
the state and components of the labor market system as aspects
that need to be integrated, and regards social exclusion as resulting
from failure of the state to integrate them. It argues that exclusion
is the result of breakdown of relationships between society andindividuals. When a citizen suffers from marginalization, he or she
is excluded from basic social and political rights (Alexander 1985).
Following this model, the European Commission emphasizes theidea that each citizen has the right to a certain basic standard ofliving and a right to participate in the major social and occupational
institutions of the state. The attempt at establishing employment,
housing, health care, education, etc., as citizenship rights is an
instance of such a perspective.
The history and consciousness of exclusion in South Asia is older
and different from that of Europe (Vitanen 2000; Sheth 2004;
Bhattacharyya, Sarkar, et al. 2010). This difference is due to thesocial and cultural system of exclusion imposed by the Hindu caste
system, which excludes certain groups from services, opportunities,
and respect. The experience of exclusion in Nepal is more or lesssimilar to that of South Asia, but it has some special characteristics.
It is important to take into consideration specific aspects of thehistorical, political, and cultural context when discussing social
exclusion in Nepal.

What is Social Inclusion?
Social inclusion is generally considered the ending of social
exclusion, but actually it is much more than that. While theconcept of social exclusion is related to the problems prevalent insociety, social inclusion is about participation of all members inthe social processes and the nature of their relationships. On thePerspectives on Social Inclusion and Implications for Research in Nepal| 19

one hand, the condition of social exclusion should be eradicated;on the other, the condition of social inclusion is to be promoted.
Merely eliminating the conditions of social exclusion does notcreate conditions of social inclusion, although that may be its
major objective. Social inclusion demands something beyond theelimination of exclusion. What are these things?
First, the agenda of social inclusion demands an end of the statusquo of inequality. Its objective is not only the creation of social
solidarity in the sense of assimilation as discussed above: social
solidarity may address social exclusion but it cannot necessarilychange the unequal power relations present in the society. On thecontrary, it is possible that coercive social harmony makes possible
a continuation of inequality. Inclusion under the conditions of thedominant class in the name of social harmony and solidarity thus
can legitimize existing exclusion. Inclusion aspires for solidarity
based on equality with difference.
Second, social inclusion requires that social problems be resolved
based on the principle of equality. It is not enough to declare
the inclusion of the groups suffering racial discrimination,
untouchability, and/or ethnic-linguistic discrimination. Special
measures should be in place to change such unequal relations into
equal ones. For example, affirmative action and reservations, as
compensation for historical oppression by the dominant group,
are essential components of inclusive policies. Additionally, it
advocates social equality through enactment and implementationof non-discrimination laws.
Third, social inclusion does not mean assimilation into themainstream of the dominant culture. Often in the name ofinclusion, groups that are discriminated against on the basis of
ethnicity, language, religion, etc., are forced to abandon theiridentity, lifestyle, and language. Ending exclusion by such means
gives birth to another type of cultural exclusion. The essence ofinclusion lies in respect of identity, sociability, and culture of otherpeople.
Thus, in other words, social inclusion does not mean creation of a
uniform society with the same contour and color without plurality.
Instead, it regards plurality as the basis of human civilization bothbecause plurality is a fact and it should be treated as an ideal.

20 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

According to Taylor (1992), acceptance of plurality means respectof people and cultures different from one’s own. Respecting culturaldifference on the principle of equality means guaranteeing theautonomous rights of decision-making with regard to reproductionof one’s lifestyle, tradition, and culture.
Social inclusion is also linked with concept of social capital. Social
capital is viewed as social networks for mutual support (Bourdieu
1985) and is an essential element of social inclusion. For societies
with multiple cultures, the need for positive inter-cultural social
networks and communication is even more essential. If the relations
between individuals, between an individual and the society, andan individual and the state are not based on mutual help, social
inclusion is impossible. In a broad sense, social inclusion means
uniting the national and global society consisting of multiculturalgroups based on the principle of both autonomy and mutual
cooperation.
In sum, social inclusion means escaping from the cycle ofpoverty. It is the permanent dismantling of the reproductionof poverty along with its manifold dimensions and causes toachieve a just and equal distribution. This could be captured by
the concept of equitable social development of all. The second
theme in social inclusion foregrounds the need for meaningful
representation and participation. Freedom from poverty andmeaningful participation in social activities enhance democracy
and transparent communication. As a process, social inclusion
is the capacity to participate in activities of social life and to
be able to participate in making policies, programs, and lawsthat affects the lives of the people. The third theme in social
inclusion is social bond and solidarity between individualand groups. For sustainable inter-groups solidarity, one, however,needs to avoid the policy of assimilation since the recognition ofgroup identity is essential for meaningful sense of belonging.

Social Inclusion in Nepal
Social inclusion entered into Nepali national debate throughvarious mediums and resonates the conceptualization andapplication elsewhere as discussed above in the literature review.
Social and political movements against exclusion by historically
excluded groups, intellectual analyses of Nepali society (GurungPerspectives on Social Inclusion and Implications for Research in Nepal| 21

1998; Pradhan 2006; Rawal 2008; Bhattachan 2009), andinitiatives of the Nepali state and the international development
community (DFID and the World Bank 2006) all contributed todeepening the discussion and lengthening the agenda of social
inclusion in Nepal. Concept of social inclusion also has been
extensively discussed in the context of new constitution making
in Nepal (Oommen 2010; Tamang 2012). The concept of social
inclusion has been instrumental in bringing the different excluded
groups and the state into constructive dialogue in multiple ways.
The adoption of the agenda of social inclusion has contributed toending the decade-long violent conflict in the country in whichmore than 16,000 people died. It also heralded the government’s
commitment to respect the social, economic, cultural, and politicalrights of the excluded communities. The concept has thus proved
to be tool for peace and conflict resolution as well as a tool fordevelopment of minority rights.
The government of Nepal introduced social inclusion as one of
the four pillars of the tenth Five Year Plan, also known as Poverty
Reduction Strategy in 2003. The concept was politically endorsed
in 2006 in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the
Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) and seven political parties to end
the political conflict and draft a new constitution through elected
representatives. The Interim Constitution 2007, subsequently
promulgated, reflects further work on institutionalizing theconcept, and states in Article 33 (d) that the state shall have
responsibility “to carry out an inclusive, democratic and progressive
restructuring of the State by eliminating its existing form ofcentralized and unitary structure in order to address the problems
related to women, Dalits, Indigenous Nationalities [Adivasi
Janajati], Madhesis, oppressed and minority communities andother disadvantaged groups, by eliminating class, caste, language,
gender, cultural, religious and regional discrimination.”
The first Constituent Assembly (CA), which worked for four years
from 2008 to 2012 on drafting a new constitution, likewise placed
significant emphasis on inclusion. Social inclusion is one of the
key terms that appear in draft reports submitted by all eleven CA
Committees. A total of more than 60 entries can be detected in thereports and recommendation submitted by various CA committees.
Echoing conceptualization of social inclusion in terms of social
bond consisting of social cohesion emerging out of meaningful

22 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

participation and representation, the CA reports deploys theconcept to envision the “inclusive state,” “inclusive democracy,”and “inclusive rule” itself. For example, the Constitutional
Committee report recommended, "Committing ourselves to build
the foundation of socialism while adopting democratic norms
and values including a system of people’s competitive multiparty
democratic proportionate inclusive rule" to be included in thepreamble.
Recommendations by CA Committees reflect the larger articulation
on nature and dynamics of social exclusion in Nepal. Like in othercountries, the social exclusion in Nepal is multidimensional.
Different social groups in Nepal experience single to multiple
barriers for inclusion. Barriers to inclusion include ethnic, caste
gender, linguistic, religious, location, untouchability, disability, andclass based exclusion. Due to the historical roots of classificationof social groups in caste hierarchy and associated differential
privileges accorded by the state, caste and ethnicity based exclusion
is of greatest severity in Nepal. The groups belonging to former
untouchable caste groups and indigenous people have higher levelof exclusion based on caste and ethnic identity. Similarly, thesegroups who do not share the dominant culture, language, andreligion often suffer from linguistic and religion-based exclusion
in terms of access to information and participation in the publiclife. For example, many of the groups especially indigenous
groups and people living in tarai-madhes are excluded due to theirlack of access to information in their native tongue. Exclusion
based on untouchability particularly is damaging for the group
identified as dalit. Women from across all groups face gender
based discrimination in different degree and nature. The same isalso true for location and class as factors causing exclusion acrossthe groups. Multidimensionality of exclusion is also reflected inintersectionality of factors affecting different groups. For example,
for a woman belonging to a dalit community living in the regionof tarai-madhes, it is likely that she would be excluded on morethan six grounds, including language, location, caste identity,
religion, and untouchability, besides discrimination faced as being
a woman. The groups who are excluded in various social indicators
also have higher rates of poverty and dispossession. As discussed
in the previous review, the poverty for these groups also operates ascause for exclusion and vice versa.

Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Implications for Research in Nepal| 23

Social stratification and hierarchy has traditionally guided therelationship between different groups in Nepal. The tendency tomaintain hierarchy and caste status that is entrenched amongcertain sections of the population, despite the interdependence
between groups, has caused the persistence of exclusion of minority
caste and ethnic groups in participation and representation in
the public sphere. With such active motivated excluder, inclusion
becomes a challenge that has caused rupture in social bonds andled to political conflict. This shows that exclusion in Nepal, as
discussed earlier, can be taken as both process and relation.
In order to address social exclusion in Nepal, a number ofconceptualizations and initiatives have been underway in the
country. These conceptualizations of inclusion are analogous tothe broader concepts articulated elsewhere; there are however somespecific emphasis based on Nepal’s socio-historical context. The
first and overwhelming emphasis one finds in Nepal is on the"representation and participation" of the citizens in all the entitiesof the state. The inclusion here relates to the right to participate
in decision-making and explicitly means presence/representationof people from different social backgrounds in political life,
institutions of governance, public institutions, as well as nationaland societal processes. The second emphasis is on the national
aim of an equitable society where economic equality, prosperity,and social justice prevail. The term inclusion in this context
would translate into human development for all in terms ofinclusive access to education, health, employment, and women’s
empowerment, among other resources. The third dimension of
the recommendation refers to recognition of diverse cultures andgroup identities. I would add that implicit to this is aspirationof inter-group solidarity based on equal respect and the overallcommitment to non-discrimination.
Based upon this, three interrelated issues would be crucial forunderstanding social inclusion in Nepal. The first issue is inclusive
economic growth and equal social development as necessary
preconditions for social inclusion. Second, social inclusion entails
representation and participation of the different caste and ethnic
groups in public institutions and decision-making. And the thirdemphasis would be the recognition of group identity and intergroup solidarity. In the following section, I offer discussion on why
the first three agendas are crucial in the research for promotingsocial inclusion in Nepal.

24 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

Inclusive Economic Growth and Equal Human Wellbeing
Poverty is the biggest challenge related to social inclusion in
Nepal. Although there has been economic growth, there is stillpoverty concentrated in certain groups and regions. The available
data shows that poverty is concentrated among dalit, adivasi
janajati, muslim, madhesi, and the remote rural areas. For somecaste and ethnic groups, poverty has even increased during thelast decade. The National Living Standard Survey, for example,
has shown that there has been increased inequality despite
economic growth in the country. Research studies have indicatedthat such inequalities reduce economic growth and produce farreaching adverse effects on social relations. In a region or society
where poverty is prevalent, illiteracy, unemployment, ill health,and crime are likely to be rampant. Moreover, the studies havedemonstrated that laws, policies, perspectives, as well as economicand educational opportunities made available, are all responsible
for such inequality, and they in turn have disturbed social relations.
Many scholars have reanalyzed the 2001 census and other data
for a comparative picture of different caste and ethnic groups.
Among them, the study conducted by DFID and WB in 2005
extensively studied the state of social exclusion (DFID and theWorld Bank 2006). Building on this, a study conducted by
Bennett and Parajuli (Bennett and Prajuli 2011) has made acomparative analysis of more than 80 different caste/ethnic groupsof Nepal using multidimensional exclusion measures. This study
used eight indicators: for measuring economic status, 1) per capita
consumption; for assessing health and nutrition status, 2) age
and height of children, 3) availability of drinking water, and 4)
availability of toilets; for educational status, 5) school attendanceof children aged 6 to 13 and number of children aged 14 to 20
who have passed primary education, 7) women’s literacy in thefamily; and for assessing influence and access, 8) representation as
member in parliament, administrators, managers, and technicalexperts. According to these indicators, among all the caste/ethnic
groups, Musahar and Dom among tarai dalits and Kusunda, Raji,
Raute, and Chepang among hill janajati appeared at the most
excluded categories and hill Bahuns and Newars figure as the mostincluded ones.

Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Implications for Research in Nepal| 25

The reanalysis of the data from the 2001 census, National Living
Standard Survey (NLSS 2004), and Nepal Demographic and
Health Survey (NDHS 2006) shows a similar situation. Thesestudies help us understand not only the extent of poverty prevalent
among caste/ethnic groups but also the poverty level of groups
within each group. For example, according to NLSS 2003/2004,
average per capita income of bahun-chhetri was Rs. 18,400,
whereas adivasi janajati had income of Rs. 13,300. Similarly, theliteracy rate of bahun-chhetri was 72.3 percent, whereas that ofadivasi janajati was at 48.8 percent. As shown in the table below,
18 percent of bahun-chhetri and 14 percent of newars were below
poverty line. In contrast to this situation, 46 percent of dalits, 44
percent of hill janajatis, and 41 percent of muslims were under
the poverty line (CBS, World Bank et al. 2006). The table below
presents the percentage of poverty within various ethnic/caste
groups and their ratio to total poverty.
Poverty in Terms of Caste/Ethnicity
Social group

Percent of
Poverty
18.4
21.3
45.5

Ratio ofPoverty
15.7
1.9
10.9

Caste Group

Bahun-Chhetri
Other Madhesi groups
Dalit

Adivasi Janajati

Newar
Hill Janajati
Terai Janajati

14
44
35.4

3.4
27.8
9.2

MuslimMuslim41.3

8.7

Other minorities

Other minorities

31.3

22.3

30.8

100

Nepal
Source :CBS, World Bank and ADB, 2006

This study also shows that Nepal’s overall poverty rate has
decreased from 41 percent in 1995/96 to 31 percent in 2003/04.
But unfortunately, poverty did not decrease equally for all groups.
For example, during this period, the poverty of hill brahmanchhetris decreased by 46 percent, while the decrease was only
6% for muslim and 10% for adivasi janajatis. Perhaps as aconsequence of such disparities in poverty reduction rates, there26 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

was an alarming rise of inequality amidst economic growth. This
trend shows that if state policies remain as they exist now, it will
require about a decade for newar and bahun-chhetri communities
to end poverty, but even half a century would be inadequate toeliminate the grinding poverty of dalits, adivasi janajati and otherminorities.
With introduction of concept of social inclusion, our understandingof poverty has expanded in recent years, and as mentioned, it iscommon now to point to its multidimensionality. Poverty isexpressed in low education, poor health, little social capital,organization, and empowerment, among other dimensions.
Moreover, social inclusion demands that the persistence and causesof such poverty be understood in the specific social situation ofeach caste and ethnic group. This contextualization is needed
because the causes of poverty are often significantly different forpeople belonging to different social groups. For example, poverty
is obviously a class issue for people belonging to bahun-chhetri
community and largely resulted from inefficiency of poverty
reduction measures and failure of service delivery offered by thestate. But for adivasi janajati, dalit, madhesi, and other minorities,
the causes transcend the inefficiency of state programs. Poverty
for these groups are perpetuated due to exclusion based on ethnic,
linguistic, cultural, and religious identities. Language barriers,social networks and cultural identity bar them from accessing
services even when they are available. For them, social exclusion,functions as a cause of poverty.
Research on historical dimension of existing poverty also is relevant
for understanding nature of present social inclusion. For example,
the poverty of adivasi janajati is also attributed to the history of
dispossession of their land by powerful sections of society. Besides
the dispossession of land and resources, they were subjected tolabor servitude in the past. The impact of discriminatory law
based on caste hierarchy that legalize discriminatory privileges
to higher caste groups have a lingering effect. Although different
social groups in Nepal have specific kinds of relationship with thestate, adivasi janajati, dalits, madhesi and other minorities had acommon experience of oppression and exploitation. Thus, while
analyzing their present poverty, the history of their dispossession,
forced labor, and slavery should not be forgotten (Holmberg,
March, et al. 1999; Regmi 1999).

Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Implications for Research in Nepal| 27

Inclusion in Representation and Participation
The second important research agenda of inclusion in Nepal isrelated to representation and participation in public institutions anddecision-making processes. The issue of proportional representation
was raised by social and political movements in Nepal even earlier
than the issue of poverty. For two centuries (beginning from 1769
when Prithvi Narayan Shah began territorial expansion to the endof Rana regime in middle of 20th century) Chhetri and Thakuris
ruled the country in a feudalist and authoritarian way. The regime
was supported by certain families of Brahmans acting as royal
priests, judges, landlords, clerks, advisors, and scribes. At the local
level, dominant families belonging to adivasi janajatis were also
appointed as local commissaries. However, they were classified as
praja (subjects) and were rarely part of the national and regional
positions of power. Most dalits were full-time agricultural laborers,
and they depended on technical skills such as iron-work, leatherwork, and tailoring. The very low representation of marginalized
peoples in the central state institutions is evident in the list of
signatories to the Muluki Ain of 1854. Among the signatories, 78
percent were hill Brahman-Chhetri-Thakuri and 15 percent werehigh-caste Newars (Gurung 2003). Interestingly, the situation ofpolitical exclusion even after introduction of democracy in 1950
remained virtually identical to that of 19th century Nepal.
Early in 2000, Govinda Neupane in Ethnic Question in Nepal:
Social Structure and Possibility of Cooperation (2000) brought
forth a picture of ethnic representation in a new way. The bookrevealed the status of social inclusion in Nepal by portraying
ethnic representation in political parties, executive, legislative,
and judiciary, along with representation in different constituent
bodies, bureaucracy, civil society, and private sector. As is clear
from the following table, adivasi janajati, dalit, madhesi, and otherminorities are largely excluded from these arenas due to several
reasons. The table below shows the state of representation in the
country:

20

159

190

97

106

7

75

85

36

41

1011

CabinetPublic Administration

Legislature

Political party leaders

Local government

Industry/commerce

Education sector

Cultural Organizations

Science and Technology

Civil Society

Total

34.9

Difference %Source: Adapted from Neupane, 2000:82

31.6% of Nepal's Population

Percentage

14

Constitutional bodies/Commissions

66.5

66.5

75.9

58

69.1

77.3

16.7

55.5

58.8

77.6

60

62.5

56

9.6

5.6

231

8

18

22

11

20

30

18

43

20

3

6

32

#

77

%

#

181

Newar

Bahun/Chhetri

Judiciary

Institutions

15

15

15

29

18

11

48

16

11

18

7.6

9.4

24

14

%

Caste/Ethnicity Index of participation in Governance, 1999

-15.1

22.2

108

1

2

6

2

0

23

25

3

36

4

2

4

#

7.1

7.1

1.9

3.2

4.9

2.1

0

12

15

1.2

14

13

8

1.7

%

Janajati

-19.7

30.9

170

4

6

0

7

15

31

26

9

46

5

3

18

#

11.2

11.2

7.4

9.7

0

7.2

35.7

16.2

17.8

3.7

17.4

15.6

12

7.7

%

Madhesi

-8.4

8.7

5

1

4

#

0.3

0.3

1

1.5

%

Hill
Dalit

-1

0.1

1

1

#

0

0

1

%

Others

100

100

1520

54

62

123

97

42

191

165

245

265

32

25

235

Total

28 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Implications for Research in Nepal| 29

Figures on representation in parliament between 1991-1999
corroborate the above picture. For example, results of four elections
after establishment of multiparty democracy in 1990 showedthat hill high-castes remained dominant in the parliament. The
people belonging to Bahun and Chhetri groups were dominantwith 62 percent representation in the 1991 election, 70 percent
in the 1994 election, 65 percent in the 1999 election, and 56
percent in the 2008 election. There were no dalit representatives
in the first two parliaments during this period. However, in the2008 constituent assembly election, inclusion of some excluded
groups was to a greater extent successful due to the proportionate
representation and reservation system introduced in 2007. The
representation of dalits rises up to eight percent from virtuallynone and of adivasi janajati to 37 percent in the constituent
assembly 2008. Thirty-one ethnic groups were successful insending their representatives to the parliament for the first time(Vollan 2010). This indicates that appropriate state policies canrevert the existing exclusion toward building an inclusive society.
Although analysis of representation by broader subgroups showssome progress, individual caste and ethnic groups who werebeing marginalized remain unrepresented or under-represented.
For example, Bahun and Thakuri among hill caste group; Tarai
Brahman, Yadav, Kayastha, Baniya, Rajput, and Koiri among
madhesi group; and Newar, Gurung, Limbu, Rai, Sherpa andThakali among adviasi janajati have representation higher thantheir population. The groups such as Magar, Tharu, and Tamang,
who have sizable populations, have substantially lower proportionof representation compared to their population size. Although therepresentation of Bahun-Chhetri as a combined group is high,when we break down by specific caste groups, the trend in last
four elections shows that representation of Chhetri is in decline.
For example, the total population of Chhetri is 16%, whereas theirrepresentation in the constituent assembly 2008 is only at nine
percent. The Chhetri representation was 9.8%, 11.2%, and 12.2%
respectively in 1991, 1994, and 1999 parliament (Lawoti 2011).
With gradual ending of feudalism and emergence of Westminsterstyle parliamentary democracy, even Chhetris seem to lag behindin political representation.
Analysis of inclusion in bureaucracy, judiciary, media, NGOs, andtrade and industry shows similar disparity. Since the introduction

1416

17.49

Total

Percent

5801
71.65

0.91

4034

1441

293

74

60

11

3

Others30

Total100.00

8096

5525

2136

397

38

12.27

1592

1169
(620)

346

75 (58)3Madhesi

8.22

1066

980 (40)36

50 (1)

2

Dalit

0.90

117

104

12

1

0

Others

78.58

10193

7625

2132

387

49

NB: The number of Newar and muslim under janajati and madhesi communities is indicated in bracket respectively.

Source: Awasthi and Adhikary, 2012

9.94

805

538

893
(703)

Third

4

237

Second

3

30

First

2

Dalit
0

Janajati

Madhesi0

Janajati

8 (7)71 (68)Special

1

2012

2006

444
(374)

Level
(Class)SN

Comparative number of existing officer level civil servants (excluding Health Service)
Total

100

12971

9878

2526

513

54

30 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Implications for Research in Nepal| 31of reservation policy in civil service in 2007, some improvement
was expected. Available data however, shows a contrary resultand discouraging trend in the inclusion of the excluded groups
in the civil service. As the study by Awasthi and Adhikary (2012)
demonstrates, the proportion of janajati and madhesi in existing
officer level civil servants has decreased. For example, janajati
representation has dropped to 12.27% in 2012 from 17. 49% in2006 and madhesi representation decreased to 8.22% in 2012
from 9.94 in 2006.
The situation of representation in civil society and media is notvery different. A study carried out by Parajuli and Gautam (2008)
has shown that 80 percent of people involved in media are from
Bahun-Chhetri community, and only 15 percent are Newars andother adivasi janajatis. The social composition of 36-member
executive committee of Nepal NGO Federation- federation of about
22,000 NGOs in Nepal (www.ngofederation.org accessed 12/1/214) shows that about 58 percent of members of executive committee
are from Bahun-Chhetri group with negligible proportion of dalit
and madhesi with 5.5% and 2.7% respectively. Representation ofadivasi janajati and women however appears to have increased
to about 33% for each. Obviously, in the absence of meaningfulreservation in higher education, the number of professionals, suchas advocates, professors, teachers, doctors, engineers, and NGO
workers from the excluded groups will remain low due to theirlimited access to education.
Current situation of dominance by certain groups in organs of
the state, the civil society and professional sector has become asource of severe discontent among the historically excluded groups
and they often link this situation with a “dimension of internalcolonization.” In-depth research on the causes and dynamics ofsuch differential outcomes in representation is yet to be made.
The argument that merit-based competition and selection are
the underlying causes of such outcome necessary for selectionof qualified individuals inadequately explains the situation.
It would be prejudiced and even racist to suggest that certain
groups are industrious, laborious, and hardworking by nature or
are genetically clever. It would be equally irrational and unfair tosuggest that a particular group lagged behind because they were
naturally simplistic, lazy, drunkard, and less able.

32 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

If research is necessary for nuanced understanding of dynamics
of exclusion in representation, it is also important for devising
appropriate policies for inclusion. Now that there is a generalagreement emerging that all public institutions should be
inclusive and should reflect the plurality of the Nepali society
and provide mechanisms to compensate the historically oppressedand discriminated groups such as adivasi janajati, dalit, andother minorities, there is a need to articulate this in a form thatis conducive to social solidarity and stronger bonds. Policies andprograms such as affirmative action and reservations based on
sound research are critical in this regard.

Recognition of Group Identity and Inter-Group Solidarity
Another important aspect of understanding social inclusion in
Nepal is the recognition and respect of group identities. The
movement for ending exclusion based on ethnicity, language,
religion, and identity, and the demand for social inclusion based onequal dignity of all social groups has been established as a powerfulpart of democratic movement in Nepal. The agenda of recognizingcollective identities with associated language, tradition, andcustoms has been one of the central elements in this articulation.
The need for restructuring the state and radical transformation ofits values came in forefront due largely to the failure of the state of
Nepal to recognize and accommodate diversity.
Nepal has practiced three approaches to managing and recognizing
group identities. The first is the Hindu caste hierarchical system
of Muluki Ain of 1854 of the Rana period. It classified the
Hindu caste groups and the non-Hindu cultural and religious
communities into a single hierarchy of caste system characterized
by the notion of purity and impurity (Pfaff-Czarnecka 1997).
This system considered it legal, and thus natural, for those at
the higher levels of caste hierarchy to have higher privilege. Castehierarchy is often endorsed by Hindu religious philosophy andemphasizes interdependence between groups in often asymmetricalexchange. I call these practices exclusionary inclusion. Suchprocesses put in motion in South Asia and Nepal have fostered
the process of imitation of higher caste ethos famously referred to
as “Sanskritization” for upward social mobility (Srinivas 1972;
Sharma 1977). On the other side, the situation that pressurizedPerspectives on Social Inclusion and Implications for Research in Nepal| 33

the groups other than higher caste to adopt higher caste customs
for upward social mobility created a considerable resentment
among subordinated groups (Bista 1993).
The second approach is the assimilation of identity that waspracticed by the Panchayat system. Similar to other post colonialstates, the Nepali state during this period encouraged all othergroups to abandon their original tradition and identity andassimilate into the language, religion, culture, and tradition of thehill high caste group. This approach was backed up by the classicalmodel of national unity situated around a single language, dress,
religion, and culture. In Nepal, as the panchayat system was basedon feudalist, authoritarian Hindu kingship, it also demanded
unconditional devotion or reverence to the Shah hereditary kings
and their crown (Burghart 1984). Such assimilationist line ofnation building not only misrecognized various other identities, butalso despised and persecuted them by branding them secessionists
and antinational elements. Such perspective of viewing identity
can be termed assimilationist inclusion in Nepali context.
All political movements in Nepal from anti-Rana to antiPanchayat movement leading to 1990 movement had articulated
agenda of ethnic/caste equality. The political change of 1990 was
a partial success as it was able to redefine Nepal as a multilingual,multiethnic nation-state for the first time (Tamang 2008). This
conception of identity adopted by the state after reinstitutionof multiparty democracy in 1990 can be termed multicultural
inclusion. This is the third approach in which plurality recognized
and inclusion is with identity. During this period, Nepal madesome notable achievements. For example, in 2001 the parliament
officially recognized the adivasi janajati identity by classifying
59 groups as adivasi janajati through the National Foundation
for Development of Indigenous Nationalities Act. Similarly, 26
groups which had been suffering from caste discrimination anduntouchability were identified as dalits through formation of a
Dalit Commission. Similarly, the state in recent years also took
initiative to form bodies to address the issues of Muslims andgroups referred to as Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
The recognition of the diversity and exclusion however remained
a limited and even contradictory one. Nepal continued its false
identity as the only Hindu kingdom of the world in the 1990

34 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

constitution, and it discriminated other languages by defining theKhas Nepali language as the language of official use in government
offices (Gellner 2002). Adivasi janajti who aspired for preservationand promotion of their culture, language and spirituality were
not able to do so as freely as they wished. Nor were the promisesof ending untouchability, signed as legislation several times,
implemented in practice.
Inability to revert the past state policies of non-recognition
or assimilation of cultural diversity had a damaging impact on
indigenous and other minority communities. Due to such policies,
not only did their language and culture come to the verge ofextinction, but also they ended up in a situation of persistentpoverty. The new generation is compelled to grow and live viewing
their own culture and history as inferior to the dominant ethos
and forced to assimilate for a better future. Such situation infact brewed a strong sense of resistance and even rebellion. The
discontents are reflected in the political movements in Nepal ofwhich violent political conflict between the state and Communist
Party of Nepal (Maoist) is one example.
Nepal has taken important steps toward addressing the aboveand move toward multicultural inclusion. The respect of identities
is illustrated by the state policies of granting equal status to all
languages of the country, provision of primary education in mothertongue through multilingual policy and preservation of nearly
extinct languages. Adoption of secularism by Interim Constitution
2007 is another milestone in this regard. Using cultural symbols
of all groups in national life and observing public holidays on
major festivals of various ethnic groups can be seen as symbolic
recognition by the state of ethnic identities. Now it is time torewrite the history that include the history of diverse people andpreserve it as national heritage according to the principle of social
inclusion. It is apparent from the past that the perspective toview culture and accommodate diversity is central to identity andtherefore peoples’ feeling of being excluded and included in thenational life and social processes. Research of a serious nature isneeded not only to better understand the country’s diversity, butalso to find ways of accommodating diversity in a manner that
fosters social solidarity and national unity.

Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Implications for Research in Nepal| 35

Conclusion
Although originating in Europe, the concept of social inclusion
has spread to several countries during the last three decades.
Social inclusion also took up different forms in different countries
according to each country’s contextual specificities. Like other
South Asian countries, there has been a deeper and distinct type ofsocial exclusion in Nepal compared to Europe. In order to address
this situation, Nepal has classified adivasi janajati, dalit, madhesi,
minorities, and muslim societies as socially excluded groups andinitiated policy revisions for facilitating social inclusion. Such callby the state also responds to social and political movements in
Nepal and public and intellectual debates for democratization of
the country. The first steps towards social inclusion is identificationof excluded groups, determination to end their exclusion, andaffirmative policies for their inclusion. Nepal seems to have madeencouraging progress in this regard with some major challenges.
There are three aspects which need to be addressed for social
inclusion in Nepal. The first is equitable development. Irrespectiveof caste and ethnic belonging, every individual is to be ensured
dignified living. The second is representation. Proportional
representation, ideally proportionate to population of each
community, of all caste and ethnic groups in the state apparatus
and public institutions is paramount in promoting social inclusion
in Nepal. The third relates to recognition of groups identities andinter-group solidarity. The assimilation runs contrary to social
inclusion. The three components are inherently related to agenda
of social inclusion in Nepal and thus for the research. I believe that
aim of social inclusion in the Nepali context is to achieve equitable
human wellbeing, proportionate representation in public entities,
and a just social bond through respect for solidarity between
diverse social identities, and autonomy of the people to participate
fully in the life of our national society.
Further, the issue of social inclusion is about human relations
based on mutual respect. It is also an issue of human existence.
Dignity or absence of it affects the quality of human life. That is
why it has become an issue of primary interest the world over. The
concept of social inclusion assumes that the current unequal social
relations are human made and thus can be changed. Access of all tosociality is important both for affective and practical reasons. When36 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

people feel that their dignity is respected, equality and solidarity
among the members of a society are deepened. Similarly, educationand material affluence encourages people to be harmonious
and respectful to members of another society (Honneth 1996;
Chandhoke 1999). The initiation toward ending social exclusion
along with acknowledging strengths and weaknesses of the past
is a natural process for a welfare state. Informed research cancontribute to this agenda in significant ways.

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Perspectives on Multiple Dimensions and Intersections in Social Inclusion | 39

Perspectives on Multiple Dimensions
and Intersections in Social Inclusion1
Meeta S. Pradhan, PhD

Introduction
The public discourses and changes in legislation on social exclusionand discrimination based on ascribed statuses surfaced openly in
Nepal after the political changes in 1990 with the restoration of
democracy (the “First People’s Movement”) and the declarationof Nepal as a multi-ethnic and multilingual state. This agenda
continued to rise to prominence with the initiation of politicalunrest in the mid-1990s and became well recognized and establishedsince 2006 after the Second People’s Movement (Jana Andolan II).
Since then the discourse on social inclusion has been focused onequal rights, increased representation, affirmative action, and on
the recognition of group rights, and has been tied closely to the
proposed federal system of governance. Concomitantly the censusesof 2001 and 2011 have documented the presence of 103 and 125
different caste and ethnic groups, respectively, in the country. The
wealth of such diversity needs to be better understood, not just interms of knowledge building in terms of the socio-cultural values,
norms, and traditions, but also the variances in social, economic,
and political outcomes and the structural barriers that many ofthese groups face in improving their life conditions and outcomes.
This is a critical start for appropriate policy and programs to be
designed and implemented in the coming years.
The key objective of this paper is to provide some insights onsocial inclusion, particularly in relation to its multiple dimensions
and the need for an intersectional analytical approach during
the design, data collection, and analysis of the “Social Inclusion

1

This paper was prepared to contribute towards the discussions on the methodology of the study entitled “Social Inclusion Atlas and Ethnographic Profile(SIAEP)” carried out by the Department of Sociology/Anthropology, Tribhuvan
University, and commissioned by the Social Inclusion Research Fund (SIRF),
with financial assistance from the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Nepal. I would
like to thank the reviewers whose feedback has helped to improve the paper.

40 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

Atlas and Ethnographic Profile” (SIAEP) study. There are three
key issues that I believe are important to keep in mind that thispaper will focus on. They are, first, a discussion on the element of
the dualism embedded within the concepts of inclusion/exclusion;
secondly, a discussion on the multiple dimensions of inclusionand exclusion; and thirdly, a brief discussion on the case for aneed for an analytic framework that takes into consideration anintersectional perspective during the SIAEP study. The paper
starts with a brief presentation of the social structure of Nepali
society in relation to principles of inclusion and exclusion. It thengoes on to discuss the three issues mentioned and then concludes
with a few questions that will potentially help the research team in
the planning of the study.

The Nepal Context
In the socio-political history of Nepal there have been two
important manifestations of the social structure that has been
the basis of stratification, hierarchy, and discrimination – namely,
caste and gender. The enduring nature of the caste system in
Nepal and India, as an institution, is evident by its persistence
despite changing social, legal, and economic conditions, though
in attenuated forms (Grusky and Ku 2008: 27). Unlike thesystem in India, the caste system in Nepal is a mix of both aritualistic ordering of groups of individuals as well as a “sociallycreated system of social stratification established and sanctioned
by secular power” (Greenwold 1975: 74). In Nepal, non-Hindu
ethnic and indigenous categories of people were incorporated
into a modified caste hierarchy where socially, culturally andlinguistically distinct ethnic and indigenous categories of people(the janajati) were subsumed within this structure based on theirdegree of similarity and differences with the cultural practicesof the “upper caste” Nepali-speaking Hindus (Höfer 1979)2
and the system was legalized through the promulgation of the first
National Code (Muluki Ain) in late 1854.

2

The five tiers of the adapted caste hierarchy in Nepal are: (i) the tagadharis (thewearers of the sacred thread), (ii) the namasinya matwali (non-enslaveable alcohol drinkers), (iii) the masinya matwali (the enslaveable alcohol drinkers), (iv)the pani chalne choi chito halnu naparne (impure but touchable castes), and (v)pani nachalne choi chito halnuparne (the impure and untouchable castes) (Höfer
1979).

Perspectives on Multiple Dimensions and Intersections in Social Inclusion | 41

Among Hindus, patriarchal and patrilineal systems marked byconsistent paternalistic behavior towards women are intertwinedwith religious ideologies that prescribe strict conventions, norms,
and behaviors. But the legal adaptation of the caste system that
integrated all non-Hindu ethnic groups also promoted restrictionsin the roles and status of women, even among the relatively moreegalitarian janajati groups (Acharya and Bennett 1981; Pradhan
2002). Studies of ethnic groups from the mid and high hills suchas the Sherpa, Thakali, Magar, Tamang, and Limbu have shown
the relatively more egalitarian roles and autonomous positions of
women in terms of household decision making, mobility outsideof the home and community, and roles in the family business andmarketing (Jones and Jones 1976; Acharya and Bennett 1981;
Molnar 1981; Watkins 1996; March 2002). Despite this Nepali
women in general have continued to be discriminated against andpolarized gender roles and attitudes continue to permeate life in
Nepal, intersecting with caste and ethnic identities. Moreover,discrimination of the “third gender” citizens – the lesbian, gay,bisexual, trans-sexual, and inter-sexual (LGBTI) population –has only very slowly been coming into the discourse of “gender
discrimination” within the country. Despite the importantmeasures taken at the policy level by the government and theSupreme Court to recognize the equal rights of the LGBTI
population, their continued discrimination and exclusion stems
from the social and cultural norms that have defined the categories
of sex and sexual identities (Federica Moscati & Phuyal 2009).
The post 1990 period in Nepal heralded a rise in discourses on
identity politics (Lawoti 2010), particularly those based on caste,ethnicity, and region, in stark contrast to the earlier national
agenda of forging a united state identity vis a vis Nepal’s powerfulneighbors and as a measure of political and cultural dominance of
the upper caste elites. Caste, ethnicity, and region based politicalparties, organizations, and federations proliferated nationally(Lawoti and Guneratne 2010). Additionally the decade between
1996 and 2006, the time period of the Maoist insurgency, aimed at
unseating the constitutional monarchy and installing a democratic
republic, caused severe political, economic, and social instability
throughout the country. The Maoists maintained an ideologicalcommitment to class, caste, and gender equality, though there
was a clear gap between rhetoric and practice (Pettigrew and
Shneiderman 2004). Yet, high levels of participation of young

42 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

women in the “People’s War” was one of the most reported aspectsof the conflict, and striking photos of young, gun toting guerrilla
women in unprecedented, highly unconventional roles often madethe headlines during these years (ibid).3 Additionally the Maoists
are credited with pushing the ethnic agenda as well as the dalits’
agenda, highlighting the political, economic, social, and cultural
exclusion of these categories of people.
Legislative changes and national debates also thrust issues ofwomen’s rights and the exclusion of dalits into the forefront during
this period. The Nepal Citizenship Act 2006 provided the rightof any individual whose mother or father is a Nepali citizen togain citizenship, as opposed to the prior requirement of providing
proof of father’s citizenship. Secondly, the country also followed
the international trend towards liberalization of abortion laws in
support of women’s reproductive rights. In 2000 the National Dalit
Commission, and in 2002 the National Women’s Commission,
were formed to promote and protect the rights of dalits and womenheralding positive institutional change4.
The post Jana Andolan II period has also seen a sharp rise in the
demand for state recognition of group rights based on ethnicity
and region, especially by the madhesi and the janajati populationin the country, particularly in the context of the proposed federal
system of governance. The contested position on the call for “ethnic
federalism” by these groups left the previous Constitutional
Assembly in a state of non-action even after four years.

Social Exclusion and Social Inclusion
The intention of this paper is not to review the extensive
literature on social exclusion (or social inclusion) in terms of its
history, the evolution of the concept, and approaches of social
exclusion, particularly in the social sciences and social policy
literature. Scholars have succinctly pulled together a preliminary
3

4

Refer to Pettigrew and Shneiderman (2004) for a discussion on the contrasting
narratives of agency and victimization of women during the Maoist movementin Nepal, and the new experiences for Nepali women of all caste, ethnic, class,and regional backgrounds that have introduced them to “potentially transformative possibilities.”
Subsequently, both commissions have been near defunct due to continued political manipulation, limited power, and a lack of adequate resources.

Perspectives on Multiple Dimensions and Intersections in Social Inclusion | 43

review of the concept and how the terms and concepts can beunderstood. Pradhan (2006) contextualizes this particularly in
the Nepali context. I believe it is important to briefly revisit theconcept of social exclusion and social inclusion before moving on
to a discussion on the dualism inherent in the manner in whichmost often the concepts of social exclusion and inclusion have beenused.
Within the social policy discourse, social exclusion focuses on how
formal and informal institutions and practices work to disconnect
groups and individuals from social relations and create barriers totheir ability to fully participate in the activities that would be normal
and accessible for other groups in the same community (Powerand Wilson 2000; Bennett 2008). Scholars have examined social
exclusion from both an individual and group perspective, where
there is “disadvantage, alienation and lack of freedom” for certain
groups relative to others (Gore and Figueiredo 1997). Exclusionof individuals or groups can be based on several dimensions or amultiplicity of disadvantages—class, caste, ethnicity, race, gender,
age, religion, political representation, physical abilities, or evenbased on geographic locations such as rural or urban areas, as well
as areas that are remote with very difficult accessibility (Sen 1992;
Jordan 1996; Hills et al. 2002). The overlap and reinforcement of
economic, social, religious and political categories of exclusion overdecades result in “hard core” excluded groups, such as low caste,indigenous, and marginal ethnic and tribal groups, for instance,
in South Asia (Kabeer 2000). Thus Kabeer contends that social
exclusion reflects the social and cultural devaluation of people
based on “who they are” (or rather who they are perceived to be) as
well as “where they are” (Kabeer 2000, 2006).
Social inclusion, on the other hand, remains less discussed
theoretically in the literature probably due to the manner inwhich the two terms have been considered as obverse of each other,like the two sides of a coin (Pradhan 2006). In the social policy
literature (particularly in Europe and Australia), it is most often
used in reference to overcoming the condition of social exclusion
or integration into the mainstream society5. Thus it has also been
defined in relation to social exclusion; where, “social exclusion
is defined as the opposite of social integration, mirroring the5

Refer to Wilson (2006) for example.

44 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

perceived importance of being part of society, of being ‘included’”(de Haan n.d: 26). “Inclusion” has also often been associated withintegration and assimilation; these are likely to be problematic if
the underlying conditions, structures, and institutions remain thesame.
The Gender and Social Exclusion Assessment (GSEA) of the WorldBank (WB) and Department for International Development (DFID)
in Nepal defines social inclusion as "the removal of institutional
barriers and the enhancement of incentives to increase the accessof diverse individuals and groups to development opportunities"(World Bank and DFID 2006). The term social inclusion has been
discussed more widely in the context of Nepal particularly after thepolitical changes in 1990. Currently social inclusion has become
mainstreamed within the National Planning Commission of Nepal(NPC), the World Bank, other bilateral donors, and the Social
Inclusion Research Fund (SIRF) Secretariat in Nepal, althougheach agency uses the term for different purposes.
Unpacking the Dualisms
As mentioned earlier, social exclusion and inclusion are often
used as obverse terms, or as binary opposites—where one is the
opposite of the other. There is an element of dualism embedded
within the concepts of inclusion and exclusion. There are twoissues that need to be considered here. Firstly, that social inclusionand social exclusion are not exclusive terms or conditions. Therecan be simultaneous inclusion and exclusion where individuals orgroups can be included in one domain while being excluded inanother (Jackson 1999). As Pradhan (2006) points out, Parbate
Dalits are included in the domain of the national language ofthe country, while they are excluded from political and economic
domains (2006: 9). Similarly, Newars in general might be excluded
from the dominant language and culture, but are included in thepolitical and economic domain (ibid).
Secondly, in gaining insights from the feminist perspective ofgender analysis, all forms of social inclusion might not necessarily
be desirable (just as all exclusion, might not be either), particularly
when the terms and conditions of inclusion are not re-conditioned
to overcome the inherent structural inequalities and barriers. Thiswas made very clear in the early years of efforts at inclusion ofPerspectives on Multiple Dimensions and Intersections in Social Inclusion | 45

women in the work force, where women were included into the“formal” employment arena but were continued to be treated“differently” (or “unequally”); while certain professions werefeminized, work continued to the split along gendered roles, andwage differential persisted at all levels.
The example from Zwarteveen and Neupane’s (1996) study ofwomen’s (non)participation in the Chhattis Mauja irrigation
scheme highlights the issue of whether women were “excluded”
or used their agencies and became “free riders,” thereby not
only overcoming “exclusion” but actually finding ways to takeadvantage of the paternalistic ideology and the ensuing exclusion.
Though women were not formal members, although though they
are front center in irrigated farming, and do not participate in the
management, they were not negatively affected or victims since
they used their agency to cut across legalities by stealing water,
not having to pay fines, etc. Therefore a portrayal of “weakness”
actually worked in their favor. This example raises the question of
how individual agency functions within the structures, institutions
and processes that create and sustains exclusion.
Thus it becomes important to understand the dualism inherent in
the concepts of inclusion and exclusion. The question of inclusion,
therefore, is best conceptualized as a sort of sliding scale rather thanas a binary function, so that inclusion and exclusion are the extreme
poles of a continuum of relations of inclusion/exclusion. Thus
for the inclusion of the politically less represented, economicallydisadvantaged, and the socially discriminated individuals orgroups, the terms and conditions of their “integration” into societyneeds to be on what it means for them to be “included.” Not all
inclusion might be desirable if it means having to let go of the very
specificity that is tied into their identity.
In the context of Nepal, social exclusion and/or inclusion is notjust a singular and linear phenomenon, but a multi-factorial andlayered one, depicting the inherent dualisms of the concepts.
Social exclusion and inclusion is often experienced simultaneously
by different individuals and groups both within and between thegroups. For example, janajati and dalit groups suffer from exclusion
within the broader social structure, yet there are inequalities anddiscriminatory practices within the different sub-groups that makeup the broader categories. Not only do certain sub-groups of dalits,

46 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

for instance, face the discrimination against their collective identity
as dalits but then they also have to endure within group exclusion,internal hierarchies, and patriarchal values. The combination of
barriers related to overall social and economic rights as well as
discrimination of a vulnerable group of people within a minority,
results in greater hardships for the “minorities-in-minorities,”
which is often overlooked by multicultural discourses (PfaffCzarnecka 2010).
Therefore a key point which needs to be highlighted is thatinvoking the two terms has moral and political implications, thatis: exclusion is “bad,” inclusion is “desirable,” and that we needto find ways to include the excluded all the time (Jackson 1999).
This implication of individuals or groups being either excluded
or included, in a form of binary function, belies the pluralistic
forms of exclusion and the multiple dimensions of the lives andexperiences of individuals and groups. It also belies the individual’s
own agency in terms of their own claims and attributions which
they make about their position in the social order, their own viewsof where they belong and where not, based on their “locationand positionality,” as Anthias (2002) theorizes in her study thearticulation of race and ethnicity by migrant youth.

Multiple Dimensions of Inclusion and Exclusion
The multiple dimensions of the lives of an individual or groupare important to understand since lives and experiences arenever quite one-dimensional. Thus there is a need to take into
consideration the multiple identities inherent in individuals andgroups of people. As discussed earlier, the discussions on social
exclusion (or inclusion for that matter) tend to often focus on
extreme ends of what is most likely a multiplicity of experiencesof being included in some spheres while being excluded in others.
While hierarchies and inequities create categories of exclusion,
scholars have also been acutely aware of how multiple dimensionsof exclusion or inequalities create important differences within
and across categories of individuals and groups.
The failure to take into account the diversity and differencesamong women’s experiences in Nepal and in India, particularly
in relation to the women’s movement, have been pointed out by
a number of scholars. Tamang (2002) critically assessed the role

Perspectives on Multiple Dimensions and Intersections in Social Inclusion | 47

of various agents, including that of NGOs and international aid
agencies, in “excluding and silencing radical diversity” in thewomen’s movement in Nepal. She also builds the case for how
the processes of “development” has been the “locus classicus ofgeneric apolitical consciousness-less Nepali woman,” where asingle category of “the Nepali Woman” has failed to acknowledge
the multiple intersections of gender, caste/ethnicity, and political
ideologies. Dalit scholars in Nepal and in India have pointed out
how women’s movements in both countries have tended to focus
on the experiences of upper caste and middle class women (Rao2003; Tamang 2004; Sonalkar 2004). Across the border, theneed to “exorcise the ghost of ‘monolithic identity’” in the Indian
feminist movement was brought into sharp focus by dalit women
who questioned whether issues pertaining to dalit women and theiroppression had been paid sufficient attention and whether the
primarily upper-caste women’s movement had any right to speakfor dalit women (Sonalkar 2004).
The detrimental effects of treating women as one category andblurring the differences among them, for instance by the casteand economic class of the households, has been pointed out by astudy of women-only community forest groups in Nepal. Buchy
and Rai (2008) show how three specific axis of exclusion—caste,class, and gender relations—result in the consistent exclusion of
women and the poor in the case of management of local forest
resources. The formation of women-only Forest User Groups(FUGs) as a strategy to improve women’s participation is rather
problematic in targeting women as a homogeneous group, and fails
to challenge the structural constraints that affect women and thepoor (2008: 129-130). The strategy not only completely bypasses
gender issues, but also ignores the multiple axes of exclusion in the“community” that cut across women’s conditions and positions.
They end up becoming “just an exclusive group assigned to
manage a portion of (degraded) resource following the same rules
regulations as the mixed FUGs, but with more constraints” andthereby fails to address gender or social equity issues (ibid: 143).
With more economically better-off and high-caste women leading
the FUGs, benefiting the poor and lower-caste women might notnecessarily be in their interest. Such institutions are more likely“to reproduce existing relations of inequality between ‘women’and ‘men’ and strengthens comparison between particular kindsof women and their men folk, rather than build the basis for more
equitable gender relations” (Cornwall 2003: 1329).

48 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

It is essential at this point to add a reminder that thoughmultiple identities and dimensions can lead to multiple
levels of oppression and discrimination (the double and triple
discrimination faced by groups of individuals such as “poorTarai dalit women,” for example) there is also heterogeneity inthese experiences, which are relational in nature. For example,
while women across the board face similar problems in relation
to reproductive rights, rape (within and outside of marital life),
domestic violence, discriminatory experiences as a girl child),
women from the lower caste groups face the additional social
discrimination which they share with the men from their own
caste groups. While the multiple categories of class, gender, caste,
and region affect the experiences of dalit women, making theirexperiences of exclusion layered, they share horizontal inequities
with their male folks in terms of economic, cultural, and politicalexclusion and discrimination.6

The Intersectional Framework
Thus we see that within society, markers of differences (especiallythose related to oppression) such as race, caste, ethnicity, gender,
religion, sexuality, class, (and even geographic region in the case of
Nepal) do not have independent influences nor do the always act
independently. While hierarchies and inequities create categories
of exclusion, scholars have also been acutely aware of how theintersections of multiple dimensions of exclusion or inequalities
create important differences within and across categories ofindividuals and groups (Jackson 1999). Many of these markers
of differences (and discrimination) most often inter-relate and are“inter-locking” (as opposed to having only additive effects). Thisentails the need for examining “the relationship among multiple
dimensions and modalities of social relations and subject formation”
using the framework of intersectionality (McCall 2005: 1771).
Thus rather than only examining distinct social identities—such as
gender, caste, ethnicity, race and class for example—as distinctive
social hierarchies, intersectionality examines how they mutuallyconstruct one another. The collective significance of not just a
series of social identities, but also categories of multiple identities
6

It should be noted here that the gender equality movement in Nepal is stilllargely focused upon heteronormative women-men relationships, and has yet
to include the third gender, thereby excluding the LGBTI citizens and theirrights.

Perspectives on Multiple Dimensions and Intersections in Social Inclusion | 49

that potentially stand as an organizing category in themselves, iswhat constitute the essence of an intersectional perspective andanalytical framework. The intersectional framework offers a means
to address both identity and oppression together as a category. It
argues that it is important to look at the way in which “different
social divisions inter-relate in terms of the production of social
relation and in terms of people’s lives... classes are always gendered
and racialized and gender is always classed and racialized” (Anthias
2009:10 in Pfaff-Czarnecka 2010).7
The concept of "intersectionality" has been used by feminist
scholars to illuminate the “interlocking” hierarchies of identitythat characterize individual experiences and the production ofsocial life (Collins 1990 & 1999, in McCall 2005; Crenshaw
1997). Black and multiracial feminist theory in the US have argued
that race and gender are socially constructed, which influencesindividual identity and provides principles of organization in
the social system which produces and maintains social hierarchy(Collins 1999). Collins refers to the “interlocking systems of race,class and gender” as constituting a “matrix of domination,” within
which individuals can simultaneously experience disadvantage andprivilege through the combined statuses of gender, race, and class,(as well as age, sexuality, and ability/disability) (ibid; Weber 2001,
in Browne and Misra 2003). This experience of disadvantage(oppression) and privilege (or the ability to resist oppression)
occurs at three levels: the personal, community, and systemiclevels of social institutions. All three levels are sites of dominationand can also be potential sites of resistance (Collins 1999: 227,
in Kharel 2010). Thus, the intersectional lens breaks down unidimensional understanding of inequality and oppression.
McCall’s (2001) use of intersectionality as a central category ofanalysis in her work on examining the interrelationships of class,gender, and race within the context of new economic structures,
employment, and immigration, leads to additional insights on
the complexity of these interrelationships. The differential basisof oppression entails that individuals or groups of people canexperience exclusion from multiple dimensions such as religious,
7

Refer to Browne and Misra (2003) for a succinct review of theories of intersectionality from a black and multiracial feminist theoretical perspective, andevidence for intersectionality in US labor markets.

50 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

social, economic, and political. Studies of the intersections ofrace, gender and the labour market in the US show that womenof all minority groups suffer a smaller gender penalty in earnings
compared to white women when they are compared to men of thesame race (Browne and Misra 2003; Greenman and Xie 2008).
Intersections of Gender and Caste/Ethnicity
Polarized gender roles and structures that permeate life in Nepal
intersect with caste and ethnic identities, as well as class. Bennett’s(1983) seminal work on the life of upper caste parbatiya women(Bahun and Chettri) depict the contradictions and social pressuresthey face within their marital families, despite their high status
within the caste hierarchy. Cameron’s (1995) work with low caste
women in western Nepal shows how due to their low status in two
hierarchies—gender and caste—the work of untouchable womenhas changed with the changing economic needs of the communityfrom that of primarily artisan-related production with a varietyof paid agricultural and non-agricultural work. Furthermore, shedetails how the intersection of caste and gender has resulted indiffering gender ideologies and set of meanings (for the differential
values of productive and reproductive work and marriage practices
for instance) within different caste groups among Hindu women(Cameron 1998). The more recent work of Kharel (2010) shows
how there is a strong association with the term and identity ofdalits by political and human rights activists among the dalits,
as opposed to the discomfort and hesitation to be called Dalit
due to the historical sigma and discrimination attached to it. Yet
these politically conscious, upwardly mobile actors live with thecontradiction and disconnect between their private lives and public
lives on a daily basis. Additional she also looks at the differencesin women's status and meanings of gender across the occupationalgroups she studies. Thus the analysis of multiple dimensions of
exclusion provides better insights into where and how locations of
exclusion (and by extension, of inclusion) occurs and changes fordifferent groups of people.
Gender, Caste/Ethnicity and Community Group Participation
In my own study of how rates of participation in a number ofdifferent “community groups” have changed over times from agender and caste perspective in western Chitwan, the results showedPerspectives on Multiple Dimensions and Intersections in Social Inclusion | 51

someinteresting
variations based on
the level of analysis(Pradhan 2011). At
first an examinationof the differences inthelikelihoodsofparticipation between
men
and
women
showed an increase
in
the
rates
of
participation
among
women, in general,
in a manner that wassignificantly different
for men. Secondly, examining the variations by caste/ethnic
categories showed that, compared to the upper caste Brahman/
Chhetri/ Newar individuals, the overall likelihood of participation
for all Hill janajati individuals was much lower. Finally, upon
testing an interaction effect between caste/ethnic category andgender, the results suggest that for women from the hill janajati
category, their rates of community group participation weresignificantly higher (66 percent) compared to men from the same
caste/ethnic category. As shown in Figure 1 participation for
Hill janajati men and women (the predictive log odds) showed aconsistent wide gap over the years (ibid).

Methods of Analysis: Intersectional Analysis in the SIAEP
Study
There are a number of different approaches that have been usedin conducting analysis from an intersectional perspective. McCall
acknowledges the complexity that arises when the subject of analysis
expands to include multiple dimensions of social life and categories
of analysis (2001: 2). In order to address the complexity of theanalysis required she presents three approaches defined principallyin terms of their stance toward categories: the anticategoricalcomplexity, the intracategorical complexity, and the intercategoricalcomplexity. Each approach differs in how they understand and use
analytical categories (such as Dalit men, Madhesi women, poor hill
Brahmins, low income men, medium class women, etc.) to explore
the complexity of intersectionality in social life.

52 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

The anticategorical approach deconstructs analytical categories
in recognition of the complexities of social categories and thefluid nature of subjects and structures. A second approach (the“intracategorical” approach) questions the boundary-making
and boundary defining process itself and is thus critical about
categories as such. Researchers using this approach tend to focus
on particular social groups at neglected points of intersections inorder to reveal the complexity of lived experiences of such groups(i.e. Black women in the US labor force). Both these approaches
are used in case studies—in-depth studies of a single group or
culture or site that generally employ more qualitative researchmethods that have generally been distinguished by their ability toreveal diversity, variation, and heterogeneity where quantitative
researchers see singularity, sameness, and homogeneity (ibid:
1782). Therefore the focus is on an intensive study of a single
social group, but is extended to be compared with other more
standard groups. For example, in the case of Nepal, an intensive
study of educated urbanized dalit men and uneducated dalit men
provided an important element for understanding the intersections
between caste, education and employment status in Kharel’s(2010) study.
The third approach (“inter-categorical”) focuses on the complexityof relationships among multiple social groups within and acrossanalytical categories unlike the focus on one social group as in
the former approach. It makes comparisons (for example, in termsof the case of Nepal, of ethnicity and income) among each of thegroups constituting a category: men and women, Bahun and dalit,
working and middle classes. This approach views the subject as“multi-group” and the method as “systematic comparative.”8 As
more categories are introduced (for example, education, religion),
into the analysis, the analysis is systematically repeated for eachgroup. For example, for each group of dalit men and women, in
depth analysis of categories that are educated (or not) and employed(or not) needs to be systematically addressed to better understand
8

McCall acknowledges that not all research on intersectionality can be classified
into one of the three approaches, since some research crosses the boundaries of
the continuum, belonging partly to one approach and partly to another. Yet acentral element of her argument is “that different methodologies produce different kinds of substantive knowledge and that a wider range of methodologies
is needed to fully engage with the set of issues and topics falling broadly under
the rubric of intersectionality” (ibid: 1774).

Perspectives on Multiple Dimensions and Intersections in Social Inclusion | 53

how the intersections of these different categories might or might
not create variances in access, perceptions, and experiences.
Despite the perspectives presented, the intersectional framework
is not necessarily devoid of ambiguity. Scholars are criticallyinterrogating the assumptions underpinning intersectionality
scholarship in terms of a lack of clarity in definition andmethodology, as well as the empirical validity of the framework,
while calling for a more complex way of theorizing identity andoppression (Nash 2008)9.
In the current context of study of SIAEP, the three inter-related
concepts and their elements—the social exclusion/inclusion
plurality, the multidimensional nature of social constructs andidentities, and the effects of the intersection of these constructs—
are critical in improving our understanding of how the interaction ofmultiple categories organize social structures and institutions. Theintersection of such multiple categories in turn influences equality
and social justice in most of life conditions and opportunities fordifferent groups of people. In this paper I focus more on categories
of class, caste, ethnicity, and gender as examples, but othersocial categories of age, sexual orientation, bodily conditions ofdifferential abilities (or disabilities), religion, marital status, (forexample widowhood for Hindu women), languages for example,
are other markers, the intersection of which will have important
insights to offer.
Last but not the least there are two points that I would like to flag.
First, while it is important to keep in mind how “the excluded
are simultaneously excluded and dominated” (Silver 1994: 543),
it is also extremely useful to understand how the “excluded anddominated” use their agency in their daily life to circumvent
structural barriers and life conditions. The SIAEP study will
have survey data from 98 caste/ethnic groups and additional
ethnographic data from 42 social groups. Attempts will have to bemade by researchers and scholars to make full use of the available
data during the analysis phase to better understand the multiplicity
of factors that affect the “exclusion” and “inclusion” of groups
9

Additionally the use of “black women” as quintessential intersectional subjects in scholarship in the northern hemisphere has also been questioned (Nash2008).

54 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

relative to one another. Secondly, it is also important to rememberthat in the long run, the social groups that we have labeled as“categories” such as madhesi, janajati, Bahun-Chhetri, Newar, etc.
may soon become indefinable due to growing multiculturalism in
the nation. Thus a perception of “impenetrable” categories andtheir relevance in different contexts also need to be taken into
perspective. The SIAEP study has an opportunity to take into
consideration these perspectives in the design, data collection,
and, in particular, the analysis of the wealth of data that is being
collected, which can help in a more nuanced understanding of theexperiences of exclusion of individuals of the specific ethnic groups
that are being studied intensively.

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58 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas(SIA) and Ethnographic Profile (EP)
Nepal Social Inclusion Index (NSII): A
Proposed Methodology
Prof. Arun Kumar Lal Das, Dr. Tika Ram Gautam,
Dr. Chaitanya Subba, Dr. Tulsi Ram Pandey,
Dr. Yuba Raj Luintel, Dr. Narendra Mangal Joshi,
Dr. Rudra Suwal, and Dr. Kushum Shakya

1. Introduction
Nepal Social Inclusion Index (NSII) is a major component of
the research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic
Profile (EP) undertaken by the Central Department of Sociology/
Anthropology (CDSA), Tribhuvan University (TU), Nepal.
Literature regarding social exclusion and inclusion has beenreviewed here in order to develop a conceptual framework for NSII.
NSII is a composite index to be derived from aggregated indicesconsisting of 50 indicators. Although, in definition, there areboth inclusion and exclusion related indicators, exclusion related
indicators have been transformed here into inclusion related
indicators. These indicators cover 18 domains in six dimensionsof social inclusion in the context of Nepal. This paper attempts
to derive a NSII that could highlight the removal of risk factorsof exclusion and changes in the drivers of inclusion. However,identifying the dimensions and indicators of social inclusion isitself a challenging task. Despite this challenge, it is hoped that the
paper will contribute to the understanding of the social inclusion
process in Nepal.

2. A Brief Review on Social Exclusion and Social Inclusion
Although concepts of social inclusion and exclusion have newly
emerged, there are already a range of literatures available on
the subject. Therefore it would be better to review literatures on
exclusion and inclusion separately.

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 59

2.1 Social Exclusion and Inclusion
Over the last few decades, the concepts of social inclusion andexclusion have gained wider currency and coverage among academia,
media, and the political community at global as well as national
levels. One can notice that the issues of inclusion and exclusion arebeing raised in our everyday life by mass media, academic writings,
and political campaigns. These issues are raised also by social
categories organized in terms of caste, ethnicity, gender, region,
religion, language, and class-based identities. Before developing
the Social Inclusion Index (SII) for Nepal, it seems important tohighlight the basic concept of inclusion and exclusion discussed invarious literatures at the global as well as national-local context.
The following three points were taken into consideration while
doing the literature review.
This research can draw on international examples of
performance measurement.
It can add value and improve measurement.
Nepal’s particular circumstances might require a different
approach.
During the literature review, it was also found that this approachhas been adopted by the Australian Government (AG) (2009) as
well. Various attempts have been made internationally to definesocial exclusion and inclusion.
The concept of social exclusion was officially launched intodevelopment studies discourse in 1993 when the International
Institute of Labor Studies (IILS) of the International Labor
Organization (ILO) launched a research project on social
exclusion with the support of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP). It analyzes exclusion that can make antipoverty strategies more effective. This effort also focuses on theinsight that many processes of subordination, stratification, andsegregation, particularly within the context of high or risinginequality, have not been effectively captured by poverty or eveninequality methods of analysis (table 1 of annex 4). Therefore, a
new approach to exclusion has been developed.
Arjan de Haan (nd) equates the concept of exclusion with theconcept of deprivation as a multi-dimensional phenomenon and60 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

parcel of social relations that helps to ground the understandingof deprivation firmly in tradition of social science analyses. For
him, the term exclusion has usually been attributed to Rene
Lenoir (1989 [1974]) whose “excluded” includes a wide variety ofpeople: not only the poor, but also handicapped, suicidal, elderly,
abused children, substance abusers, etc. (about 10 percent of theFrench population). The term “social exclusion” gained popularity
in France during the 1980s. At this time, it was used to referto various types of social disadvantage, related to the new social
problems that arose including unemployment, ghettoization,and fundamental changes in family life. Haan's analysis of social
exclusion is presented in details in the following paragraphs.
Later, social exclusion has been, more broadly, definedas “the process through which individuals or groups
are wholly or partially excluded from full participation
in society they live in. The concept has two defining
characteristics. First, it is a multi-dimensional concept.
People may be excluded, for example, from livelihoods,
employment, earnings, property, housing, minimum
consumption, education, the welfare state, citizenship,
personal contacts, or respect (Silver 1994). But it focuseson the multidimensionality of deprivation, on the fact thatpeople are often deprived of different things at the sametime. It refers to exclusion (deprivation) in the economic,
social, and political sphere. Secondly, less discussed in theliterature but perhaps more relevant for the theoreticalcontribution of the concept, social exclusion implies a
focus on the relations and processes that cause deprivation.
People can be excluded by many different sorts of groups,
often at the same time: landlords exclude people fromaccess to land or housing; elite political groups exclude
others from legal rights; priests may exclude scheduled
castes from access to temples; minorities may be excluded
from expressing their identity; labor markets, and also
some trade unions, exclude people (non-members) fromgetting jobs; and so on (25).
He further writes:
The disadvantages faced by the excluded tend to beinterrelated. People belonging to minorities or school

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 61drop-outs may have a greater risk of being unemployed
or be employed in precarious jobs (and hence low-paid),
less educated, recipients of social assistance, possesses
little political power, and fewer social contacts. Researchon social exclusion focuses on the extent to which these
dimensions overlap. Which of these dimensions is central
depends on the context. The concept of social exclusion
provides the basis for context-specific analyses, and canallow definitions of integration to be contested. Thusin some societies or among some groups labor market
participation may form the crux around which otherelements of deprivation revolve; whereas elsewhere oramong other groups religious identity is more important(25).
Although exclusion is broadly defined in terms of deprivation, it
can be taken as rupture of social bonds which is cultural and moral(for example, between individual and society). Poverty is seen as
an issue which is separate from “social exclusion”—perhaps akinto the underclass debate—rather than as an element of social
exclusion. People can be (and usually are) excluded in some areas(or dimensions) and included in others. Jackson (cited in Haan, nd,37), in her critique of the notion of social exclusion, emphasizes
that women are not categorically excluded, but integrated inparticular ways, through reproductive labor for example.
Explaining exclusion in terms of broader categories the WorldBank (WB 2006) has produced a report, Gender, Caste and Ethnic
Exclusion in Nepal, examining gender, caste, and ethnicity as
three interlocking institutions that determine individual andgroup access to assets, capabilities, and voice based on sociallydefined identity.
These varying discussions described above often confuse us
about the concept of social exclusion. Andrew (2011) tries toclarify the ambiguities in the concepts of exclusion, deriving
value added from the concept, and says that social exclusionneeds to be re-conceptualized in a way that decisively opts for aprocessual definition, without reference to norms and/or poverty.
New definition has been proposed as structural, institutional, or
agentive processes of repulsion or obstruction. For further clarity
it would be better to compare the terms “social exclusion” and“poverty.”

62 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

2.2 Social Exclusion and Poverty Compared
Haan (nd) compares social exclusion and poverty and writes that thenotion of “relative deprivation” is more closely related to a conceptof social exclusion (30), and it is often noted that rising inequality
in various countries contributed to the popularity of the notion ofsocial exclusion. Townsend (cited in Haan, nd, 30) emphasizes theconcept of relative deprivation. Notions of vulnerability are closer
to the concept of social exclusion. According to Chamber (cited in
Haan, nd, 30) vulnerability is not a synonym for poverty, whereas
poverty is lack or want, and is usually measured for convenience ofcounting in terms of income or consumption. Vulnerability means
insecurity, defenselessness, and exposure to risk and shocks.
In fact, exclusion begins from a fixed point in time and exists
at each level of society in each dimension differently. Group
formation is a fundamental characteristic of human society, andthis is accompanied by the exclusion of others. The concept takes
us beyond mere descriptions of deprivations, and focuses attention
on social relations and the processes and institutions that underlie
and are part and parcel of deprivation.
Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen’s work (1981, quoted in Haan, nd,31) on capabilities has stressed that what counts is not what (poor)
people possess, but what their possessions enable them to do. He
argues that Townsend’s concept confuses the lack of commodities
with the individuals or household’s capabilities to meet social
conventions, participate in social activities, and retain self-respect.
He further conceives that capabilities are absolute requirements
for full membership of society. He also draws attention awayfrom the mere possession of certain goods, towards rights, andcommand over goods, using various economic, political, and social
opportunities within the legal system. In a recent contribution,
Sen (1998:31) welcomes the social exclusion framework, becauseof its focus on relational roots of deprivation. He believes that thesocial exclusion framework reinforces the understanding of poverty
as a deprivation of capabilities.
So far, as the literature shows, the issue of social exclusion gained
prominence in public discourse after inclusion was incorporated as
one of four pillars of the 2003 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 63(PRSP), which is also Nepal’s Tenth Plan. Major dimensions of
exclusion mentioned in the plan are given in table two of annex
four.
2.3 The Measurement of Social Exclusion and Inclusion
Going through the writing by Arjan de Haan (nd, 32) one canfind a number of ways applied to measuring social exclusion andinclusion. Of central emphasis in the UNDP’s Human Development
Index is poverty assessments’ correlates. More challenging is
operationalizing what Sen (1998) called the relational roots ofdeprivation. The London Research Centre (1996) provides anindex of deprivation of areas with a large set of economic andsocial variables (mainly six major factors). On the other hand, theFrench Action Plan for Employment mentions 35 quantitativeevaluation indicators to evaluate social inclusion initiatives.
Britain’s New Labor’s “poverty charter” proposes 30 measures
to track movement towards nationally defined social integration
goals, whereas the French Panel Studies focuses on the subsequent
activities of participants in training programs. Silver (as noted in
Haan, nd, 32) also refers to the notion of measurement of social
capital, to capture exclusion and inclusion in social networks.
Bennett (2005) deals with empowerment and social exclusion byindicating that social inclusion changes at the system level—in
the external institutional environment or the rules that determine
the distribution of the assets, capabilities, and voice necessary
to exercise agency. She identifies three major dimensions of
exclusion: household/family is the most problematic for women,
community is the most problematic for dalits, and Nation is themost problematic for janajatis.
Recently, Bennett and Parajuli (2011) have suggested making
smaller groups visible to explore the situation of exclusion. For their
purpose they added one more variable influence, in the calculationof exclusion (see table three). But NHDR (2009)-Montenegro
mentions key areas related to inclusion/exclusion. HDI, on theother hand, focuses on legal and policy background, poverty andexclusion, access to employment, access to health care, access tosocial services, housing and transportation, social, and politicalparticipation. Major indicators included in HDI are given in table
three of annex four.

64 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

NHDR (2007) of Bosnia and Herzegovina discusses social
inclusion in Bosnia and Herzegovina primarily based on Human
Development Indices. However, the report highlights the Human
Social Exclusion Index (HSEI). It shows interdependence of thefactors responsible for social exclusion (see table two of annexfour). It classifies HSEI into two categories; HSEI-I and HSEI-II.
This report further elaborates key dimensions with 18 indicators
measuring “at-risk of deprivation” as exclusion.
UNDP (2011) attempts to measure multidimensional social
exclusion measures using the approach used by OPHI in obtaining
MPI. It uses 24 indicators in three dimensions (see Annex two).
However, OPHI (2011) attempted to measure acute poverty as
Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). It uses ten indicators
belonging to three dimensions that mirror HDI (see table three ofannex four).
However, Frank (2009) had already explored nine standards ofequality: one hundred percent, the social minimum, equalizationof lifetime income profiles, mobility, economic inclusion, income
share, lowering the ceiling, avoidance of income and wealthcrystallization, and international yard-sticks. In order to measureinequality, he provides scalar quantity (which implies that all
the different features of inequality are compressed into a single
number) and numerical representation.
Bennett and Dahal (2006), too, have explained regional
inequalities among major caste/ethnic groups (seven) based on
certain indicators (see Table three of annex four) of exclusion. The
concept of exclusion, therefore, depends upon the approach andcontext used to define it. Huxley et al. (2006) also emphasizes
exclusion and inclusion by identifying two broad approaches. The
first considers a rights-based approach as social exclusion thatreflects deprivation of rights as member or citizen of a particulargroup, community, society, or country. The second is rights-based
conceptions on social inclusion. They defined social inclusion as a)relative to a given society (place and time), b) multi-dimensional(conceived in terms of rights or key activities), and c) multilayered(causes operate at individual, familial, communal, societal, andeven global levels). They also identified two broad approaches
to the measurement of social inclusion: a) social indicators ofinclusion and b) perceived inclusion measures.

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 65

Moreover, Human Development Report (2011) raises the issue ofsustainability and equity, highlighting HDI and its components.
Major components are life expectancy at birth (years), mean yearof schooling (years), expected year of schooling (years), grossnational income per capita (GNI-PI). It further shows HDI of 187
countries with very high, high, medium, and low HDI.
GSEA (2006) analyses relationships between people, institutions
and organizations. Institutions are defined as “rules of the game.”
Organizations are defined as group of individuals, bound by acommon purpose, involving a defined set of authority relations
and dedicated to achieving objectives with particular “rules of thegame.” For poor and excluded people to gain greater access to assets
and services, the “rules of the game” must change in their favor.
HDR-2007, Ghana, broadly mentions a number of indicators
under the title “toward a more inclusive society.” It explores thecontext of exclusion as insecure livelihoods, poverty and exclusion,
geographical disparity, low access to public goods and services,
resource degradation, cultural norms of discrimination, unequal
gender relations, health status, disability, age related exclusion,formal educational status, human rights and citizenship, political
relations, gender and exclusion, weak coping strategies, andsurvival mechanisms.
Considering the issue of exclusion, many countries in the world
today are committed to creating an inclusive society. They havetheir own plan and vision to move ahead to achieve this goal. For
example, the Australian Government’s vision of a socially inclusive
society is one in which all Australians feel valued and have theopportunity to participate fully in the life of society. “As Australia’s
distinctive approach, social inclusion can only be fully understoodin relation to a particular vision of membership, belonging, andsocial integration that cannot be defined independently of context”(Silver 2010).
In a recent report concerning the concept of inclusion, NHDRKosovo (2010) defines social inclusion as a “process which
ensures that those at risk of poverty and social exclusion gain
the opportunities and resources necessary to participate fully ineconomic, social and cultural life and to enjoy a standard of living

66 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

and well being that is considered normal in society in which theylive.” It further ensures that they fully participate in decisionmaking that affects their lives and guarantees access to theirfundamental rights.
HDR-Ghana (2007) further describes some progressive efforts
made to move from exclusion to inclusion. Defining social
exclusion as multi-dimensional often involves incorporating
economic, social, and spatial exclusion. These dimensions areseen to interrelate and reinforce each other. A classic exampleof the multidimensional manifestation of social exclusion is thecase of People with Disabilities (PWDs). Some Ghanaian cultural
norms identify physical disability as a factor to exclude people
from becoming a chief. Furthermore, PWDs lack recognition andstatus in society and have limited opportunities for educational or
vocational training.
The important thing is to move ahead from exclusion to
inclusion through clear conceptualization. NHDR-Kosovo (2010)
conceptualizes social exclusion as a process and state of being
excluded from the life of community, municipality, society, andthe world. It shows the relationship between social inclusion andhuman development. Major concerns are economic and labormarket exclusion, access to education and exclusion, health careservices and exclusion, and political participation exclusion. It
highlights how discrimination—deliberate or otherwise—affects
Kosovo’s socio-economic balance, its political process, and its EUoriented policy goals.
As mentioned in NHDR-Kosovo (2010), EU defines social
inclusion as “a process which ensures that those at risk of poverty
and social exclusion gain the opportunities and resources necessary
to participate fully in economic, social and cultural life and toenjoy a standard of living and well-being that is considered normal
in the society in which they live in.” Major areas with indicators
are given in table three of annex four.
Grouping indicators into EU’s indicators and supplementary
indicators, Australian Government (2009) provides acomprehensive list of 33 social inclusion indicators (table three ofannex four). In this report, however, dimensional indicators look
like exclusion indicators.

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 67

Regarding the issue of social exclusion, ADB (2010) presents an
overview of gender equality and social inclusion in Nepal. It focuseson citizenship, family law, property rights, the police, employment
and labour migration, trafficking, conflict reconciliation andpeace, gender-based violence, social security and protection,
participation in governance, health, education, agriculture andnatural resource management, water supply and sanitation, ruraltransport-infrastructure, and energy.
2.4 Social Inclusion in the Context of Nepal
A vast socio-cultural diversity is one of the major characteristics
of Nepal around which issues of inclusion and exclusion haveemerged. SIRF (2011), one of the leading organizations working
in the areas of inclusion/exclusion, provides an account of thesocial inclusion in Nepal as outlined below.
Nepal is home to a mosaic of ethnicities and languages.
More than 61 ethnic groups and diverse nationalities residein the country. Despite the socio-cultural diversity, Nepal
is facing a vicious cycle of poverty which mainly is thecause of spatial heterogeneity and structural inequalities.
The spatial causes of poverty can be seen due to theregional imbalance in the development process, while
the structural inequalities have been coupled by “haves”
and “have not’s.” Structural inequality has further been
compounded by the caste system of the country. Althoughanti-discrimination provisions are contained in the 1990
Constitution, caste discrimination remains ingrained in
Hindu-dominated Nepalese society. Poverty and lack ofsocial services (health, education, water and sanitation,etc.) remain pressing problems for rural, lower castes andindigenous peoples, despite economic development andpoverty alleviation having been the primary objectives of
the Nepali budget for the past years. Additionally, thebitter truth is that lower castes and minority ethnic groups
are disproportionately affected by widespread social andeconomic problems aggravated by poverty. Four groups ofpeople are excluded from the contemporary development
processes either through political exclusion (decentralized
efforts of development, basic citizenship rights, etc.) or
through economic exclusion (concentrated urban market

68 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

centers) or through social exclusion (socio-cultural
attributes, a legacy of age old culture, etc.). These fourgroups are: i) Dalits or lower caste people, ii) Indigenous
people or Janajati iii) Madhesi or Terai inhabitants andiv) Women.
Thus there are various dimensions of inclusion perceived in Nepal.
The details of inclusion and categories explained in SIRF (2011)
are elaborated in the following sections.
2.4.1

Social Inclusion and Dalits

The dalit community in Nepal is not only discriminated against in
the use and access of public utilities and places, but also excluded
from the legal system and public policies. Through laws and plans(e.g. the Local-Self Governance Act) which have made affirmative
provisions for dalits' participation in local bodies, and the 10th Five
Year plan aiming for the enhancement of dalits limited accessibility
in natural resources, the government has been intervening toincrease the participation of dalits in local and central governance.
Yet the results of such nominal policies have been proved as tokens
and can be labeled as formally inclusive only. Often dalit activists
and people/institutions working for dalits raise their voices on
pertinent issues like untouchability, discrimination, poverty, social
prejudice and cultural barriers, inaccessibility in resources, andlack of representation in governance and the political system.
2.4.2

Social Inclusion and Madhesi Community

In spite of having a long history of origin and habitat, the madhesi
community is practically considered to be foreigners. They
continue to be marginalized and have faced exclusion in active
political participation, administration and governance, decisionmaking, and policy planning. Moreover, they face problems likeissues of citizenship. The madhesi people feel highly discriminatedand have almost lost “the sense of belongingness to this nation.”
The exclusion of the madhesi community (comprising 32 percentof the country's human resources) from the national mainstream
has been a negative factor for the sound economic development in
the country.

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 69

Many of the modern-day basic facilities have not yet reachedmadhesi people. Nearly 40 percent of the madhesi population are
dalit and indigenous janajati who are inherently disadvantaged
in many social and economic aspects. Again, poverty is very highamong the Muslim population living in rural areas who also
have low rates of literacy. There has been little effort to preventsocial, economic, and political exclusion and to reintegrate those
who have become excluded through unemployment, landlessness,and homelessness. In addition, immediate attention needs to beprovided to ascertain citizenship rights to the landless madhesi
people, and to maximize their representation in the political andadministrative units of the country.
2.4.3

Social Inclusion and WomenThe Interim Constitution of Nepal (2007) has guaranteed theright of equality to women; however, discrimination and problems
concerning women manifest themselves in a number of ways in
Nepal. Due to an age-old patriarchal value system, women are
inherently disadvantaged in many social and economic aspects. Only
very recently were women granted the legal right to own property,
and in 2003, women were granted the right to abortion, but withstrict medical restrictions. Child marriages, restrictions on widows
remarrying and arranged marriage practices are still followed
widely. Women often face domestic violence and harassment, withlittle recourse to legal provisions, as gender discrimination is deeply
entrenched in society. Comparatively, women work more thanmen in and outside the household and receive significantly lower
wages. Their employment is limited to the unorganized sectors,
and despite affirmative action programs, their participation in
the government is low. The low status of women in Nepal canbe traced to a number of interrelated economic, legal, cultural,political, and institutional factors. Women's poverty is exacerbatedby caste and ethnicity-based discrimination, as the caste systemdefines access to resources and opportunities, leaving women moredisadvantaged than men at every level. Women have unequal accessto food, education, and health care, limited opportunities to earn
incomes, restricted access to and control over productive resources,
and few effective legal rights. They are further disadvantaged by alack of awareness of their legal rights and opportunities in termsof gender.

70 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

2.4.4

Social Inclusion and Indigenous (Janajati) Communities

The Nepali state has recognized 61 indigenous communities
only in 1999. However, the state has defined the communities
conservatively by calling them “groups that face socio-economic
and cultural backwardness.” Social scientists believe that there are
more indigenous people/communities than recognized by the state.
An in-depth anthropological-sociological survey is necessary forascertaining the precise number of such communities and people.
Indigenous people face consequences in terms of discrimination
because of their small population and also historic and current
inequitable treatment by the state and society. Some of thepressing problems relevant to the janajati groups are: linguistic
discrimination, religious domination and cultural imperialism,
abolishment of land rights, access to resources and inadequate
recognition of indigenous/traditional knowledge endowment,
exclusion in political participation and migration

3. Nepal Social Inclusion Index (NSII)
Developing a social inclusion index for Nepal would be pioneeringwork. In order to develop NSII for Nepal dynamics of exclusion
and inclusion in Nepal’s context must be clearly understood. A
conceptual framework should be developed based on forms of
exclusion prevalent in Nepal. The following section discusses thisissue.
3.1 Conceptual Framework on Nepal Social Inclusion Index(NSII)
Most of the literatures on exclusion/inclusion (ADB 2010; AG
2009; Andrew 2011; 2005; Bennett and Dahal 2006; Bennett
and Parajuli 2011; Frank 2009; Haan nd; Sen 1981, 1998;
HDR 2001; HDR 2007-Ghana; HDR 2011; LRC 1996; NHDR
2007-Bosnia and Herzegovina; NHDR 2010-Kosovo; OPHI
2011; Silver 2010, and nd; UNDP 2011; World Bank 2006)
focus on exclusion rather than inclusion. They define the term
exclusion as multidimensional phenomenon in terms of processes
and consequences. As a consequence, the concept exclusion isincreasingly being used to indicate deprivation, on the basis of thefact that people are often deprived of different things at the sametime. Accordingly, Arjan de Haan (nd: 26), also refers to exclusion

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 71(deprivation) in the economic, social and political spheres. Social
exclusion is often compared with poverty as deprivation. More
broadly, social exclusion has been defined as the process throughwhich individuals or groups are wholly or partially excluded fromfull participation in the society they live in. Importantly, theconcept of social exclusion provides the basis for context-specificanalyses and allows for definitions of integration to be contested.
Thus exclusion, as a process and consequence, is a universal
phenomenon that differs from context to context, country tocountry, and society to society, and so on.
The notion of exclusion is relative to the notion of inclusion. NHDR
(2007) of Bosnia and Herzegovina discusses social inclusion there,
primarily, based on Human Development Indices which, again,in fact highlights the Human Social Exclusion Index (HSEI) as
another side of inclusion. RHDR (2011), on Beyond Transitions,recognized human development as the goal of development andindicates social inclusion as an important process for removing
the obstacles preventing people from realizing their capabilities.
It also offers a road map for the policy implementation for theachievement of higher levels of human development. This notion
should be clearly reflected in the Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) Projectin Nepal. The concept is similar to EU’s definition from Kosovo’s
NHDR (2010) that social inclusion is a “process which ensures thatthose at risk of poverty and social exclusion gain the opportunities
and resources necessary to participate fully in economic, socialand cultural life and to enjoy a standard of living and well beingthat is considered normal in society in which they live.” It further
ensures that they fully participate in the decision-making which
affects their lives and ability to access their fundamental rights.
Social inclusion, therefore, is not simply a reversal of social
exclusion in terms of status. Elements of the process of social
inclusion that contribute to overcoming social exclusion (likeparticipation and involvement) have intrinsic value. Social
inclusion involves at least two steps. One is removing barriers ina wide sense: barriers to participation and to access to resourcesand opportunities. The second is promoting a change in attitudes.
Even though legal structures might be in place, policies are needed
to cultivate solidarity, counteract entrenched social prejudices,and encourage the participation of individuals facing barriers.
Such barriers cannot be entirely removed only by government

72 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

interventions. Micro level interactions such as social harmony andintegration can also eventually lead to social inclusion. Therefore
these are important elements of the social inclusion process which
involve changing attitudes towards what is accepted as “normal.”
3.2 Multiple Forms of Social Exclusion and Inclusion in Nepal
The issue of social exclusion draws wider attention in a morediversified society like Nepal. Social exclusion in Nepal
comprises multiple forms of deprivations faced by people. Hereis a hypothetical story that reflects a real situation of a rural dalit
family facing multiple forms of exclusion.

A Brief Story of a Rural dalit Family
A poor dalit family was surviving with very minimum of
resources. For a long time, the main source of income for thefamily was producing artisanal works fetching local demand.
One unlucky day, a daughter fell ill. They did not know thereason for the illness and waited for a couple of days hopingthat the fever would cure itself. When the situation became
dire, they contracted a local ojha (priest). The ojha chanted
something with wood ash and assured them that the childwould be all right within a couple of days. This, too, did notwork at all. Then their access to the local doctor was denied
because the doctor was of a high class family. The father of thechild went to the temple to pray for his child. He was not evenallowed to enter into the temple premises because he was a
Dalit. Unfortunately the situation of the child worsened, andultimately the child died. The father of the child burst intotears and uttered in a crying voice that “had someone in thecommunity suggested properly about the treatment of my child,
had he had enough knowledge and money for treatment of mychild, last but not the least if he would have been allowed
inside the temple and had prayed to god his child would nothave died.”
The story highlights multiple forms of exclusion faced by a family
simultaneously. The family, at first, is excluded economically. It has
no access to productive resources or to formal labor market. This
forced the family to survive with inadequate income. Consequently,Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 73

the family members are likely to live in unhygienic conditions,with no safe drinking water. They might be illiterate and theiraccess to health services is likely to be limited, pushing them intosocial exclusion in terms of minimum social services. As they liveon outskirts of the village, they may be socially disconnected too.
They are discriminated to enjoy even the medical services available
locally. They are grossly discriminated in sharing the religious
temples also to pray for survival of the child. This is an example ofdiscrimination on the basis of their belongingness to a particular
caste. Their cultural freedom is also denied. One may go into
details of the sex of the child and would probably come to knowthat the baby was a girl and that is why the parents responded solate in the treatment. Therefore, the quest for inclusion largely
varies across communities and according to the local context.
Figure1. Multiple Forms of Exclusion Faced by the Family

Political
Exclusion: No
Participation

EconomicExclusion:
PovertySocial Exclusion:
Illiteracy

CulturalExclusion
Religious

Socially
excludeddalit family

Discrimination
Exclusion:
Untouchability

Gender
Exclusion:
Female baby

Figure 1. clearly demonstrates exclusion in multiple forms and paves
the way to a social inclusion index envisaged here.

The process of inclusion in a given context should have twosimultaneous steps. The first step is to accelerate the drivers infavor of inclusion. The second step would be elimination of the
exclusion risk factors. To increase the rate of acceleration of drivers
demands the formation of legal structures followed by policies that

74 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

can cultivate solidarity and lead to a society where diversity is
considered as strength. These two simultaneous steps demandattention to the various dimensions mentioned here.
The social and economic dimensions are very much popular andhave remained in the core of social exclusion/inclusion so far.
These dimensions have, therefore, been widely used. However, thecultural dimension is all the more important to address because
cultural freedom enlarges the range of options in any opportunity.
For example, a single language, Nepali, was imposed in the past,
which did not ensure basic literacy rights to all, and simultaneously
restricted chances of being educated in other languages. The
deprivations in normal culture are thus intrinsic to the context
of social inclusion. Similarly, political dimension is importantas it provides opportunities for changes in the way people value
government and feel ownership over decisions. The persistentexclusion of the majority of people in the country is believed tohave occurred because of the total deprivation of the common
civic rights of the people. Consequently, the majority of the people
are forced to lead miserable lives. Moreover, people of Nepal
are further discriminated based on various socially constructedvalues and beliefs. Such discriminations include barriers toparticipate in or perform specific activities in the public sphere.
For example, untouchability regarding dalits prevailed in Nepal
and has cultivated discriminations of various kinds, including
spatial segregation. These values, shaped on the grounds ofuntouchability, entirely restrict freedom of people to practice theirown culture without being posed the risk of exclusion. Anotherstriking feature of Nepali society is the persistent dominationof males in all spheres, which has resulted in very strong social
barriers to women when exercising their fundamental humanrights. The patriarchal value system of male domination prevalentin Nepal is the root cause of female subordination and social
exclusion. The gender dimension is thus all the more relevant
in a country like Nepal. All dimensions discussed here, however,are equally important, relevant, and interlinked with each other.
They interact simultaneously, leading to better or worse lives.
The three dimensions—political, discrimination, and gender—are
thus included here to represent the drivers of the social inclusion
process. Social, economic, and cultural dimensions on the other
hand have been introduced to focus on evaluating the inclusion
process in terms of how far removal of the exclusion risk factors
has taken place.

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 75

In this sense indicators selected in political, discrimination, andgender dimensions are indicators of the drivers of social inclusion
in terms of policy, institution, and values. However, at the sametime, the indicators in those dimensions, for someone, could be
the indicators of empowerment as well as considered as exclusion.
But we need to interrupt the pace of social process at some fixed
point of time in order to measure the level of social inclusion or
exclusion.

This paper argues that change in value system regarding
discrimination and gender is the change that leads to social
inclusion. For example, allowing dalits to enter into temples is, inthis research, an indicator of change in value system towards social
inclusion. Likewise, wider acceptance of remarriage of a widow canbe regarded as value changes towards gender inclusion.
There could be numerous approaches for bringing changes thatlead to people's well being. Empowerment has proved to be a viable
complementary process of social transformation. It is a bottomup approach and attempts from below to raise peoples’ awarenessto understand the value of and control over resources andopportunities around them. Inclusion, on the other hand, is a topdown approach that removes institutional barriers and provides
incentives to uplift those who are deprived /excluded. Although
the two complementary processes are undoubtedly geared towards
human development, they differ in approach and pace. The pacelargely depends upon the local context. However, in the Nepali
context, where a majority of the population is out of the mainstream of development, inclusion could be initiated faster thanempowerment. Indicators could be common to begin with for thetwo processes. Female literacy level at a particular point of time,for example, could be an indicator of female empowerment insocial dimension. Increasing awareness and understanding of thevalue of education to push them toward educational institutions
are some of the empowerment processes which may increase theliteracy level. Inclusion, on the other hand, is also initiated at
the same level to remove institutional barriers. The institutional
barriers could be both absence of educational institutions andfemale un-friendly educational facilities. Another form of distinct
institutional barriers in the Nepali context are persistent social
values which do not recognize the importance of female educationand push them to operate within the social boundary demarcated76 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

by men. Removal of these barriers in conjunction with incentives(i.e. scholarship for girls, free text books, extra classes, and strict
instruction to schools to create a supportive environment for girls)
are some of the ingredients that drive ahead the inclusion process.
Measurement of inclusion with an indicator at a particular pointof time may look like measuring empowerment, but the approach,as well as path to follow, is different.
The discussion above is geared toward all human dimensions. It
also provides a basis to look into as many spheres of human lives as
possible. The study, therefore, aims at designing a social inclusionindex that encompasses both the components of social inclusion
mentioned above. The Figure 2 clearly demonstrates how theprocess of social inclusion moves forward. The first box on the left
indicates the level of inclusion to start with. The two boxes in the
middle are simultaneous steps, i.e. the change in drivers as wellas the elimination of the exclusion risk factors needed to arrive at
higher levels of inclusion.
For the SIA Project, we need to develop a social inclusion index
for Nepal. For this we have identified six major dimensions;four are new, which has been the major concern for us. These
new dimensions were identified as political, cultural, gender anddiscrimination with specific indicators conceptualized to someextent (for example, EU talks about cultural life, ADB (2010)
presents overview of gender equality and social inclusion in Nepal,
HDR (2007)-Ghana and NHDR (2010)-Kosovo conceptualized
cultural norms of discrimination and discrimination including
spatial exclusion). Therefore, in the process of developing
Social Inclusion Index (SII) for Nepal in this SIA research, theunique socio-cultural context of Nepal determines/influences thedimensions and indicators of social inclusion here. Hence, this SIA
research attempts to develop a multidimensional social inclusionindex (NSII).

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 77

Figure 2. Change in Inclusion Brought by SimultaneousInterventions
Change in drivers: Change invalue system, institution andpolicy (political, discriminationand gender) value inclusion

Social inclusion
at lower level

Social inclusion
at higher level

Elimination of exclusion risk
factors: Increase in access toopportunities (social, economic,
and cultural)

4. Development of Social Inclusion Index
The discussions above clearly demands an index to monitor boththe built-in components of social inclusion. The development of
the social inclusion index is far more challenging for simultaneous
evaluation of both the components. Inclusion is a continuous
process to be preceded by the formulation of inclusive policies.
The implementation of very urgent actions to remove people fromdeprivations should be followed later. The forms of deprivations
vary across local contexts and at different levels of development.
As the society under consideration moves ahead, newer forms ofdeprivations may emerge with the change of social values andnorms. As we go along, people may not value something in theway they did in the past. Rural people in Nepal, for example, used
to consider deprivation of girls from educational opportunities
as a normal phenomenon. But they now consider it as a form ofdeprivation. The measurements, therefore, should address the

78 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

dynamic nature of social inclusion. The index envisioned here is,however, geared towards measuring the current state of inclusion
in Nepal. It should, nevertheless, be able to accommodate thechallenges to cater to the need of future challenges of inclusion.
Thus, initiations and use of an index could be a good start tomeasure the present status. Furthermore, this forms a basis onwhich subsequent refinements in the index, both in terms of
the approach and coverage, could be achieved. The following
sections accommodate full descriptions of all selected indicators
by dimensions. It also contains a brief account of relevance of theselected indicators.

5. Selection of Dimensions and Indicators
The selected indicators by dimensions have been briefly discussed
below. Each dimension and indicator is dealt with separately forclarity.

Economic Dimensions
To survive is the fundamental right of human beings. Survival ofpeople depends on economic activities performed by individuals.
Type of economic activity, indeed, does not only demarcate
individual’s access to other resources and opportunities, but also
determines level of living. Inclusion in economic dimension heremeans that people should have equitable access to resources andshould also have full employment opportunities in order to lead a
respectable level of living.
The following section is devoted to the rationale behind theselection of the indicators (annex 5) of social inclusion in theeconomic dimension.
Land Holding (Resources): The ownership of agricultural land, in
the Nepalese socio-economic set up, is perceived to be an indicatorof better social status. It is also considered as one of the essential
productive assets in the rural agrarian economy. Every two in three
employed persons are engaged in the agriculture sector (CBS/N
2008). Average area of land holding is, therefore, considered as ameasure of productive resources. Per capita landholding is regarded
here as access to productive resources.

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 79

Non-agriculture Activities (Opportunity): The “usually active
population” comprises all persons above 10 years whose activity
status, as determined in terms of the total number of months during
12 months period, is “economically active” and/or “inactive”
as defined within the labor force framework. Non-agricultural
economic activity of the population of the working age is one ofproxies of better employment opportunity. However, the average
duration of economic activity is a proxy of underemployment status
and has implication in earning. Therefore percentage of person
involved in non-agricultural activities and duration of economic
activity are chosen as indicators of employment opportunity. It
is measured in terms of number of months a person is engaged
in non-agriculture activity, in a year, among the population of 10
years and above, within all ethnic groups.
Food Sufficiency (Standard of Living): Adequate food is an
important pre-requisite for human survival. Moreover, it is themost fundamental right of the people. The proportion of people
who consume adequate food in terms of two meals a day throughout
the year is introduced as indicator of food sufficiency. Adequacy is
supposed in terms of food sufficiency, as an individual requires atleast two meals a day.
Poverty (Standard of Living): Every one in four persons in Nepal
has until now been classified through the CBN approach as poor.
The method considers basic calorie needs and minimum non-food
expenses. Poor people are deprived of this very fundamental rightof survival. Such people are also likely to remain in persistentpoverty for many generations. Although head count poverty is oneof the vital indicators of economic dimension of social inclusion,
it is difficult to obtain it at disaggregated level. Therefore,
two alternative indicators—share of food expenditure in total
consumption and people in elementary occupation—are selected
as the proxy indicators of poverty. It is a general assumption thathigher share of food consumption implies higher level of poverty.
Similarly, the elementary occupation is likely to generate low
income leading to poverty.
Housing (Standard of Living): The type of house, examined interms of foundation wall and roof, is used to assess the status
of housing condition. Apart from the assessment of the qualityof housing, efforts will also be made to explore the adequacy of80 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

the living space per person as another indicator of quality of life.
Standard size of dwelling space per person is measured adopting
methodology of MPI-Oxford and regional human development
report.
Cooking Fuel Use (Standard of Living): A majority of households
in rural Nepal use traditional cooking fuel that has serious
implications for their health. The percentage of household using
commercial fuel is proposed here as an indicator of better standardof living and economic well-being as well.
Access to Electricity (Standard of Living): The access to electricity
in the household is taken as an indicator of standard of living.

Social Dimensions
Human capabilities—health and education—play a vital role inhuman development as they enable people to live a quality life.
Social dimension covers the level of basic education, health, andsanitation facilities that enable individuals to lead healthy lives
with full capability to communicate in the society they live in.
Social relationships/connectivity are required to lead the happy lifethat each individual desires.
The following section accommodates a very short justification of
the indicators (annex 5) in the social dimension.
Access to Safe Drinking Water: Drinking water is the second mostvital human need after fresh air. Safe water is not only urgent
for survival but it has close relation with better health. Although
it appears very basic and irrelevant, it still has a major role toplay in Nepal where a very small proportion of population haveaccess to water at satisfactory level both in terms of quantity andquality. Percentage of household using safe water is introduced as
one of the main social indicators. Here, tap water is regarded assafe water.
Sanitation Status: Better sanitation is one of the prime factors
for healthy living. It should be in the core of health services. The
effectiveness of other medical services has a bearing upon thesanitation level. This is an indicator of performance of the basicsocial services. Level of use of modern toilet is recommended here

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 81

as basic indicator of sanitation. “Modern” is used in the sense thatthe toilet corresponds to either of the two types: sewerage facility
and safety tank.
Medical Affordability: Percentage of persons living in household
who could not afford medication or dental checks for every childin the past 12 months is introduced to evaluate the use of healthservices. As it applies to all caste/ethnic groups it is important
regardless of eco-belt and region.
Malnutrition: Malnutrition of the children is a painful event for
many parents. It is a representative indicator for both health andquality of life. The nutritional level of persons of all ages does notseem relevant in the Nepalese context, where around one thirdof the children are malnourished. Percentage of malnourishedchildren measured in terms of stunting is proposed here.
Child Mortality: Reduction of child mortality has long been in
the core of health sector development. It is also a very important
indicator of well-being. High child mortality rates imply poor life
style because no parent can afford to keep a child unfed and undernurtured. Percentage of persons living in a household which has
experienced child death is introduced in the Index.
Adult Literacy and Enrollment: Literacy enlarges a person’s
ability to communicate in society. The literacy status of adults
also enhances people’s choices and has some consequences inskill development. Gross enrollment rate at basic, secondary, andtertiary education levels is chosen as another indicator of level oflearning process, as well as access to educational services.
Basic Level of Schooling: Percentage of children who havecompleted primary level of schooling is an important indicator oflevel of schooling. (A Millennium Development goal to be achievedby 2015.) Completion of basic level schooling of grade 1-8 in theage reference of 13-14 is included.
Social Connectivity and Social Distance: Person to person contact
and regular meeting with friends, relatives and other membersof the society are equally important in leading respectable andhappy civic lives. Although information would be based on recall
memory of the respondent it is important to include from the82 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

social connectivity point of view because it strongly signifies social
harmony.
Frequency of meeting with friends and relatives indicates the social
connectivity of an individual, which is an important indicatorof the larger social network. Sometimes people perceive to beaffected negatively by prevailing social distance and differences ofidentities, which is another important indicator of social capital. It
is challenging task to measure this indicator. However, an attempt
has been made to measure it as it is important from the perspectivethat social inclusion is possible through social cohesion.

Political Dimensions
It is widely accepted that political exclusion leads to social
disparities and distances, inequitable resource distribution,
uneven development, and social unrest. After the fall of the
Berlin wall, it is well recognized that political exclusion is theroot cause of “deep-rooted” conflict. Identity-based chronic
exclusion from access to state power is likely to push the mobilized
excluded groups towards radical strategy—either paralyzing thestate apparatus or overthrowing the exclusionary regime. Nepal
has already learned a good lesson from the armed insurgency of
1996-2005 that successfully garnered the support of traditionally
excluded groups like adivasi janajati, dalit, madhesi and women.
On the other hand, experiences elsewhere divulge that politicalinclusion deradicalizes politically mobilized groups, provides
opportunities “to accumulate greater influence and resources” at
low cost and “discourages the sense that the state is unreformableor an instrument of narrow class or clique, and accordingly, needs
to be fundamentally overhauled” (Goodwin 2001: 415).
Political inclusion manifest in various forms: participation in
public life and decision-making process, representation in policy/
decision-making institutions, full enjoyment/exercise of human/
peoples’ rights, sharing power and resources, equitable “rules of
the game,” increased “agency”—“a distinctive human capacity
for reflection on action and innovative interpretation, despite theconstraint of social structure” (ibid.: 51)— and effective “voice,”equalization of human dignity and so on. “Agency” is generally
reflected in the level of political awareness, capacity to analyze
the political events/phenomena and processes, collective claim

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 83making and interest groups forming which can be better realized
through political inclusion only. “Voices” are articulated in termsof “grievances,” “demands,” or “claims,” and political inclusion isreflected in the accommodation of such claims. Voice and agency isalso a marker of political empowerment as well as disempowerment.
It is claimed that “lack of political voice,” a broader indicator ofsocial exclusion, “may contain elements that, although inherently
subjective, may prove very useful for the analysis of certain aspectsof poverty and social exclusion.” Based on these concepts of politicalexclusion/inclusion, some key indicators have been identified tomeasure crucial aspects of political exclusion/inclusion.
Political inclusion enlarges people’s capability to ensure their
participation in the decision processes which shapes their lives
in the way they desire. A conducive political environment which
entails a good community life is also included in the index. Public
and private sectors are both likely to contribute to exclusion byeither fostering discrimination or failing to act to protect theexcluded. In the political dimension focus here is geared towards
enlarging people’s capability to ensure their participation in thedecision-making processes which shapes their lives in the way they
desire. Decisions made at various levels of the government are very
instrumental in shaping the lives of the people. Social mobilization,
which utilizes social capital, has now emerged as equally importantmeans for development. People now organize in groups and workfor themselves. The role of such groups is not only complementary
to the government activities but provides basis for its interventions
for social change. In addition, the groups are viable means andends of the social transformation process. Their participation in
the context of social inclusion should, therefore, be initiated at alllevels to frame the policy decisions in favor of people. To be able to
do so, it becomes all the more important to ensure representationin legislative and executive branches of government. Althoughlegal provisions are in place, their implementations are still tobe realized. One of the main reasons behind this is the implicit
bureaucratic hurdle which fuels the temptations of those whoare in the main stream to discriminate against the voiceless. The
followings are the indicators (annex 5) proposed to measure thelevel of social inclusion in the political dimensions.
Involvement in the Election: Percentage of people involved in the
recent election will be used as one of the indicators of political

84 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

inclusion. Involvement will be measured in terms of recent election
on the basis of proportion of individuals who voted.
Representation in Political Parties: The presence in the various
tiers of the political parties is also considered relevant here in thecontext of political inclusion. However, the percentage of members
at the central level committees of all the political parties is ameasure of political inclusion in the party system. This appears
to be good indicator of political inclusion for the voice of the
excluded people. Therefore it is measured in terms of percentage
of individuals represented in political parties from broad ethnic
and gender categories.
Representation in the Council of Ministers: The council of ministers
is the main implementing agency of the policy and programs forthe people. The inclusion at this level is instrumental in policy
and program interventions for inclusion. Thus the percentageof ministers from among the community under investigation isperceived to be a good indicator of political representation indecision-making position. It is therefore measured on the basis of
the ministries convened during the last ten years reference period.
Representation in the Bureaucracy: The bureaucracy is the main
implementing agency. Poorly enforced laws can make inclusive
legislations meaningless. Ineffective implementation of the policy
and programs is one of weakest characteristics of underdeveloped
countries like Nepal. The implementation of social development
programs, even if targeted, is most likely to lag behind whenthe voiceless are not included. Proper representation is not only
a basis for effective implementation of special interventions.
Rather it bridges the gap between the people and government toaugment people’s participation. The percentage of people in thebureaucracy is chosen as another indicator of political inclusion.
The proportional share is measured regarding equal share of allsocial categories.
Representation in the Local Users Groups: Users Groups at the
local level have proved to be an efficient implementing agency. The
active participation of all the concerned people not only provides
an opportunity to achieve what they wish to, it is also a very good
platform to communicate with each other and lead a happy social
life. Proportion of people in the user communities is conceived

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 85

to be a reliable indicator of political inclusion. In this research,
participation of people in community forestry user’s group is taken
as reference of representation in the local users groups.
Voice and Agency: Voice and agency is a marker of politicalempowerment as well as disempowerment. Responding voice ofpeople is a broader indicator of social inclusion. It is importantin terms of both private and public sphere and therefore measured
on the basis of perception of an individual respondent regardingwhether their voices are listened to by the concerned agency ornot. This indicator measures the proportion of individuals who
consider their voice is listened to by the agency.

Cultural Dimensions
Culture is the social heritage created by man through generationsof its practices. It is developed in the course of its long term efforts
made for enhancing the comforts for its existence. As a social
heritage it is an inheritable resource. It is transmitted to people
from one generation to another. It provides them the structured
set of social condition for their living manifested in the form of
their arts and artifacts, social organizations and commonly held
ideas, beliefs, and values. Such a social and cultural setting evolved
through generation of practices emerges in the form of symbolic
identity of a community of people who follow a particular type ofcultural tradition.
Language is one of the important symbols of culture of a populationthat helps its speakers to develop a sense of belongingness undera specific cultural tradition. There are cases that the common
identities developed through speaking a common language havemotivated people of some areas to raise a collective voice, evenfor the claim of their own separate state. The customary form of
its political organization may also be taken as another kind offeature of culture of the population. Even in societies connectedwith formal type of modern bureaucratic organization, local affairsof the population are generally settled by their customary type ofpolitical organization. The attachment provided by adherence to acommon form of religious beliefs and performance of related rituals
also contribute to develop a sense of unity among the followers.

86 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

It is a fundamental right of all such cultural groups of a society
to have freedom to follow their cultural practices. Where such afreedom is prohibited for some groups in comparison to others
exclusion becomes a real risk. There are multiple manifestationsof this type of exclusion across society. People speaking minority
languages may not have adequate opportunity to read and write.
This in turn prohibits their chances to reap the opportunity ofjob market and to take part in other social and political processes.
The social, cultural and religious values of a society shape theattitude of its members to members of other cultural communities.
Sometimes these attitudes may turn into discriminatory practices
found in the behavior of these people. In a multicultural society
like Nepal it is likely that such a risk of social discrimination isvery high. This is the reason why cultural dignity has emerged
today as an important dimension of human development. People
everywhere are now demanding equal recognition of their culture.
Therefore, social inclusion defined in terms of cultural features
also needs special attention. Some proposed indicators (annex 5)
are the following.
Customary Politics: The nationalities in Nepal are linked withcustomary political systems. However, all communities could havetheir own form of customary politics. The customary politicalsystem implies an inbuilt system formed by the community itself.
The community usually reaches a consensus to elect a decision
making body which deals with all the social affairs, including useof the resources, social activities, and providing justice in case of
disputes. Persons may wish to be tied with the traditional system
to lead a happy conjugal community life. Cultural inclusion,
therefore, means that there should not be any interventions inthese traditional political mechanisms by those who practice a
different culture. Cultural freedom should lie with the person tochoose to practice in the way she/he wishes to. This is an indicatorof the group which is likely to have minimum intra group variance.
Individual in the context of changing social values and norm
should, nevertheless, be allowed to practice differently. Perceptionof the people in this regard should be respected. Percentage of
persons who perceive to have enough opportunity to practice thecustomary politics of the community to which she/he belongs isperceived to be an indicator of cultural inclusion. It is measured bywhether an individual of any community practices any customary
politics or not.

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 87

Religion and Rituals: Nepal, although economically poor, isculturally very rich. Although dominated by the Hindu religion,
almost all of the religions are practiced here. The Buddhist
religion originated from the Nepali soil. Of around 80 nationalities
reported in Nepal, 59 are officially recognized. They mostly sharedistinct cultures and values different from Hinduism. In addition
to the nationalities, there are around 40 caste groups practicing
distinct cultures. Cultural liberty means that everybody shouldhave absolute freedom to practice their culture. Moreover, thestate, which has been persistently dominated by Hinduism, shouldadequately address the problem to ensure cultural inclusion. Someof the indicators of the cultural inclusion based on the religion andrituals are as follows:
Religious Recognition: Percentage of persons who perceive that
their religion is at the equal footing to rest of the religions practiced
in the society, measured in terms of perception of an individual.
Religious Discrimination: Percentage of persons who have been
discriminated on the basis of their religious background. It ismeasured in terms of individual feeling and experiences of religious
discrimination throughout his/her life.
Language: Language is the main medium of communication. Apartfrom communication, its use largely projects culture. Freedom to
use any language comfortable to a person is important componentof cultural inclusion. The following are the indicators proposed forthe study.
Opportunity of Primary Education in Mother Tongue: Percentageof persons who have opportunity to receive basic education in
their mother tongue. It is measured in terms of availability ofopportunity of getting basic education in their mother tongue ornot.
Linguistic Barrier: Percentage of persons having experienced
that linguistic barriers have constrained them from accessing
opportunities. It is measured by whether he/she felt any linguistic
barrier in accessing opportunities or not.

88 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

Discrimination Dimensions
The notion discrimination has its connection with the notion ofhuman dignity and respect. The notion, therefore, reflects the statusof human value and self-respect in a society where she/he lives. In
a broad sense, it is the additional concept that the characteristicsof the people or community are also valued in the societies that
construct the prejudices of dominance, denial, or restriction, andthat lead to exclusion. Such personal characteristics are adducedon basis of ethnic or caste, sex, place of origin, or color of skin/race.
In this section we are mainly talking about ethnic and caste based
discrimination.
In ethnically diverse societies, dominant ethnic groups may define
and impose many discriminatory practices including language,
cultural, and religious practices for the disadvantaged groups.
Social groups living in certain regions with poorly developed
infrastructure may have limited access to state support and services
that can lead to their exclusions. Humans are equally treated in all
the religious beliefs. However, the Aryan civilization in this partof the world classified people according to their occupation basedon varnashram system. The varnashram classified people into fourgroups. The Brahmin is at the top involved in knowledge generationand imparting it to the Chhetriya the rulers. The ruling group the
Chhetriya is in the second tier. The traders and farmers are at thethird layer. Those involved in rendering services to the community
is put at the lowest. The varnashram had been legalized by Nepal's
oldest law General Code (MulukiAin) 1854 AD. As a result, theBrahmin and Chhetriya are persistently occupying the top two layersof the society and continue to be in the mainstream in Nepal. Thisis a paradox that those who work hard and produce are considered
inferior to those who usually exploit them. The persistent social
values and prejudice in Nepal is the main determinant of the ageold discrimination. Dalits who are lowest in varnashram system aremost oppressed group in Nepal. They are considered untouchable.
There are some other groups such as janajati, madeshi, and womenwhich are also lagging behind their counterparts. However themagnitude of such deprivation is not that acute for them as in thecase of dalits mentioned above. Even though the constitution andlaw prohibited and imposed punishment on caste and ethnicity
based discrimination, it is still prevailing rampantly and affects
overall inclusion of discriminated community (which is normallynot consider in scholarly development debates).

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 89In the debates of development indexes (eg. Human Development
Index, Poverty Index, or Exclusion Index) one may raise thequestion: can discrimination be an index since it is the processthat brings outcome for the indexing variables? For example, due
to discrimination in labor market (eg. discrimination in wage rate)
the income level of a person or a social group differs from thatreflected in the income index. But we argue that to understandoverall contexts, the process should also be index so that it shows
how processes are exclusionary in different social groups. Talking
about discriminatory behaviors and process, Bhattachan et al.
(2001) mentioned there are 205 types of discrimination practices
for dalits in Nepal (even though there are some comments on thisnumber) and similarly SAKSHI Human Right Watch Andhra
Pradesh published 148 types of discrimination practices in India1.
Similarly, there are ample of evidences that prove the caste andethnic discrimination practices that lead to exclusion. A bookedited by Prof. Sukhadeo Thorat and Katherine S. Attewell titled,
Blocked by Caste: Economic Discrimination in Modern India1 provides
evidence on caste-based exclusion in Indian Society. For example,
Thorat and Attewell ran an experiment to test caste discriminationin the urban labour market and found that in modern private
enterprises (including IT), applicants with a typical Muslim or
dalit name had a lower chance of success than those with the same
qualification and an upper caste Hindu name. In another chapter,
Jodhka and Newman report on detailed interviews with humanresource managers of 25 large firms in New Delhi. All the managers
insisted “family background” (including the educational level ofparents) was critical in evaluating a potential employee. This isclearly discriminatory, for dalit applicants may not have the samesocial and educational background as those from the upper castes.
Another set of chapters explores the patterns of discriminationin public services and public institutions, including in healthcare services, in schools, and in programmes of food security.
Sanghmitra Acharya gives a detailed account of various forms of
discrimination experienced by dalit children in gaining access tohealth care from both private and public providers in rural Gujarat
and Rajasthan. Untouchability was reported by children “seven out
of 10 times” from “doctors, laboratory technicians, and registered
medical practitioners”, and it was “more vigorously practiced by1

www.sakshiap.org/toplinks/aboutdalits/Current Situation

90 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

pharmacists, ANMs and AWWs.” Geetha Nambissan writes ofsimilar experiences of dalit children in schools in rural and urban
Rajasthan. Similarly in the case of the public distribution system(PDS), an analysis by Thorat and Lee, drawing on a survey of
PDS outlets in 531 villages across five states, shows that there
was discriminatory behavior against dalits by the PDS staff inrespect of prices in 28 per cent of villages and in respect of quality
in 40 per cent. In 26 per cent of the villages, dealers practiced
untouchability “by dropping goods from above into cupped Dalit
hands below, so as to avoid ‘polluting contact'.”
All above mentioned studies show that there are exclusionary
behaviors, prejudices, norms in social, economic, cultural andpolitical activities for certain groups. But those behaviors,
prejudices and norms have never been measured in national
context so as to quantify as an index. When reviewing the different
literatures, it is hard to find any studies or development indexes
that mention a discrimination index.
The discrimination dimension, defined here as human dignity
and respect, focuses mainly on discriminatory practices induced
by social values and norms, and refers not simply to thediscrimination in its usual meaning. Rather it encompasses wide
range of phenomena regarding human value and self respect.
This research takes the first-step to measure discrimination to be
included in a Social Inclusion Index.
Measuring the extent of discrimination and indexing poses adifficult empirical challenge. We have to be careful that selfreported data are unlikely to accurately reflect attitudes if there
are perceived stigmas attached to caste, ethnic, gender and others
discrimination views.
We try to measure this to develop the social inclusion index. On
basis of review of type of discrimination practices in Nepal andIndia we categorized discrimination in three broad domains: spatial
segregation, discrimination in access to goods and services, anddiscrimination by dominance due to prejudice and attitude. It is
not possible to include all the discriminatory practices mentioned
in literature to be included in this indexing but these three broad
domains cover almost all main discrimination practices in Nepalesesociety (see annex 5).

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 91

In the exclusion debates, spatial segregation is one main area thatfrequently comes up. It mainly includes denial of entry of certain
caste or ethnic group to enter house (or different section of house)of other social groups because of their caste and ethnic belonging.
dalit caste group is normally not allowed to enter into other caste
groups’ homes even if they adhere to the same religious belief.
Similarly, they are not allowed to enter religious place or temple
or religious function. They are not allowed to share equal facilities
like water source, tea-shops, milk collection center, schools, public
meetings, and so on.
Denial to Entry into the House: Percentage of population that has
experienced that they are denied entry into the houses of othersocial groups only because of their caste/ethnic background
Denial to Entry into Religious Places: Percentage of people thatare not easily allowed to enter religious places established for thecommunity to which they belong because of their faiths.
Denial in Sharing Public Space: Percentage of people which is not
fairly allowed to share all social facilities such as water source,
teashop, milk collection center, school, public functions likemeetings, feasts, etc.
Discrimination in access to and delivery of goods and services
is another main area frequently mentioned in literature.
Discrimination in wage-rate on basis of caste belonging, free labor
service from discriminated caste group, system of halia, or any
form of bonded labor, forced labor (sinofalne), or denial of certain
occupation. For example, selling milk by dalits, opening tea orfood shop by dalits, are some of main features in exploitation on
exchange of services and goods. Similarly, denial to admission inschools, health services, or any other institution, hostel and rentout room for certain caste groups, even if they can afford for theservices, are also mentioned. And unequal access to government
services from center to local level due to belonging to certain caste/ethnic groups is another frequently mentioned discrimination
issues.
Exploitation in Goods and Services: Percentage of people who
conceive that they have been exploited when exchanging theirgoods and services (mainly in traditional occupation, sino, haliya,

92 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

bali ghare, work without wage, selling/buying milk, sale meat, offer/receive help, etc.).
Access to Goods and Services: Percentage of people who conceivethat they have equal access to all goods and services (including
road, admission in any institute, room/hostel rent, etc.) available
in the market, even if they can afford to consume it.
Fair Access to Services: Percentage of people who feel that they havefair access to all services provided by the government/community
at local level.
Identity and Respect: Domination, downsizing, and insults tocertain caste group due to prejudices or beliefs or attitudes are
areas which frequently comes up. Besides these, there are otherdiscriminatory practices, but due to limitation in data collection
they have not been included here.

Gender Dimensions
Gender dimension of social inclusion embraces several issues thatare crucial in shaping female-male relationships under Nepali
value system. This dimension, of course, intends to measure
women’s status induced by age-old patriarchal value system. The
proposed Social Inclusion Index, however, takes into account 12
key indicators capturing the main problematic areas of genderdisparity and inequality in the specific context of Nepal. These
indicators are broadly categorized into four domains, as follows.
This note briefly explains why those domains are considered
important and why the particular indicators are chosen in eachdomain.
Access to public services (primarily educational and healthopportunities)
Economic autonomy
Participation and decision making in public life, andSexuality, control over body, and gender based violence
Access to basic services, such as education and health, economic
opportunities and autonomy, and opportunities to participate inpublic life (such as politics and local groups), are the critical areasof women’s empowerment that can potentially bring women inResearch on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 93

equal footing with men through the process of creating an enabling
environment. This index, therefore, emphasizes on these domains
of inclusion in a relatively extensive manner. For example, in
education, we have chosen two indicators to decide how far womenare discriminated against men in one of the vital areas of public
opportunities. We look particularly at what level of disparity
girls face while getting enrollment up to the secondary level of
education. This is followed by an assessment of whether girls are
discriminated in choice over types of school they are admitted
compared to their male siblings. This, we think, best captures thefoundational aspect of gender inequality that would vitally open
up or constrain life chances for women and men in their later lives.
Access to key forms of assets (such as land) and opportunity
for girls and women to have their own separate funds at theirdisposal is another important area in a society such as Nepal,
where ancestral properties are inherited along the male lines.
So we attempt to see what proportion of women own land as aproxy indicator of women’s economic autonomy, complemented
by what proportion of women have disposable assets of various
kind (such as daijo-pewa) at their own control. As a point ofcaution, while we are aware that having land ownership alone
does not automatically guarantee that women also have control
over it (particularly in the changing policy landscape of tax
exemption in land transaction if the land has been registeredin female’s name), we need to recognize that land ownershipis still a critical form of asset in an agrarian society such as Nepal.
Bringing women out of home is one of the critical junctures ofencouraging women to break their confinement to domesticity so as
to allow them to join the public life. Hence, women’s engagement
in social networks, organizations, and political forums is amatter of vital importance to their empowerment. We have taken
three indicators in this domain to capture women’s engagement
and participation at different levels, from local social groups torepresentation in decision-making bodies such as the central working
committees of political parties. There are many more areas to lookat in this domain, such as women and men’s representation inbureaucracy and in parliament (the current Constituent Assembly,
for example). In order to maintain a balance with other domainsof disparity and inequality, however, we preferred to reduce the list
to a few key indicators only, and hence, representation of womenin the local users’ groups, management committees, sahakaris,

94 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

and representation of women in the central working committee ofpolitical parties have been taken into account.
Gender-based violence, particularly violence against girls andwomen, is one of the widespread and frequently observed andreported phenomena in Nepal. Girls and women experience violence
not only in the public places, but also at home massively, where
they are supposed to remain safe. Violence has many dimensions,from stereotyping to sexual harassment, from unwanted gestureof sexual intimacy to psychological torture, from workplaceharassment to rape, and so on. Since it is very difficult to capture
the prevalence of sexual harassment, which varies across society,we attempt to capture women’s experience of what they think—
whether they experienced a sense of offence by men at home andin public life during the last year. Since the debate of genderbased violence falls under the broader debate of women’s controlof over their own body, and their sexuality, we have chosen two
more indicators to capture this by examining whether the married
women were given opportunity to choose their life partners andto influence reproductive decision. Key indicators chosen (annex
3, table 4), in gender dimension, for the purpose of the social
inclusion index are as follows:
Gender Parity in Enrollment: School enrollment provides anopportunity to enhance capability. Gender parity in enrollment (upto secondary level) is one important indicator of gender inclusion.
Discrimination in Schooling: Children should have equal
opportunities in schooling. However, boys and girls are found to
be treated unequally by parents. Percentage of boys/girls in private
schools is another important indicator of social inclusion in termsof gender.
Land Ownership: Land is regarded as important asset, as well asmeans of subsistence production. Percentage of women having
land ownership would be another indicator of gender inclusion.
Economic Autonomy: Women who report that they have (or do
not have) “some” separate funds at their disposal (daijo (dowry),pewa-pat (personal assets) or any asset of that sort including bankdeposits, deposits in local saving and credit groups, and sahakaris(cooperative)) indicate economic autonomy.

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 95

Representation of Women in the Local Users’ Groups,
Management Committees, Sahakaris: Representation is essential
to influence decision-making. Decision-making starts from local
level. Percentage of women in the local users’ groups, management
committees, sahakaris is one important indicator of representation.
Representation of Women in the Central Working Committeeof Political Parties: Percentage of women in the central working
committee of political parties.
Involvement of Women in the Election: Percentage of women
involved in voting at local level in the recent election.
Representation of Women in the Bureaucracy: Percentage ofwomen in the bureaucracy.
Representation of Women in the Professional and Technical Jobs:
Percentage of women in the professional and technical jobs.
Violence against Women: Percentage of women who feel they havebeen (or never been) offended by men during the last one year indomestic and public life.
Marital Decision: Decision over marital partner has direct
implication for women’s life. Proportion of married women who
consented before taking decision over their marriage
Reproductive Decision: Decision on reproductive activities has
direct impacts on health status of women. Share of married womenable to influence reproductive decisions is an important indicatorof gender parity.

6. Computational approach of social inclusion index
The Social Inclusion Index envisaged here should be able toassess the status of social inclusion. It should also facilitate valid
comparisons over time. Six dimensions are included in the index.
Determination of the relative weights for the specific indicator toarrive at the dimensional index calls for deeper investigation. The
relative importance of the chosen dimension is equally important.
This largely depends on the local context and is likely to varyas the context changes. Equal weights both for the dimensional

96 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

indicators and the indices are, however, proposed. The simple
arithmetic mean is initiated at the present.

Economic Dimensional Index
1

Land holding index = (Mean area– Minimum area)/ (Maximum
area-Minimum area).
2 Non- agri-index = (% of persons in non agricultural activity –0%) / (100-0).
3 Economic activity index = (Average duration of economic
activity– Minimum observed)/ (Maximum observed Minimum observed).
4 Poverty index 1 = 1- (Percentage of food expenditure Minimum % observed)/ (Maximum % observed - Minimum %observed).
5 Poverty index 2 = 1- (Percentage of population in elementary
occupation - Minimum % observed)/ (Maximum % observed Minimum % observed).
6 Food sufficiency index=(% of persons with adequate food -0)/(100-0).
7 Quality of house index = (Percentage of households living inhouse having at least two of three housing qualities-0)/ (1000); concrete roof, cemented wall, concrete foundation are only
considered as quality of house indicators.
8 Living space index= (% of person with living space 5m^2 ormore -0)/ (100-0).
9 Commercial fuel index= (% of persons using commercial fuel0)/ (100-0).
10 Lighting index= (% of person living in electrified house-0)/(100-0).
Economic access index= (Average area of land holding index+
Non agri-involvement index + Economic activity index)/3
Poverty index= (Poverty index 1 + Poverty index 2 +Food
sufficiency index) /3
Standard of living index= (Quality of house index + Living spaceindex + Commercial Fuel index + Lighting index)/4
Economic Dimension Index EDI= (Economic Access Index +Poverty Index + Standard of living Index)/3.

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 97Social Dimensions Index
11 Safe water index= (Percentage of people using safe water-0)/(100-0).
12 Sanitation index= (Percentage of people using modern
toilet-0)/ (100-0).
13 Heath service accessibility index=1-(percentage of people
could not afford medication for every child in the past 12
months-0)/(100-0).
14 Nutritional index =1-(Percentage of malnourished children-0)/ (100-0).
15 Child mortality index=1- (Percentage of people which everfaced the evidence of any Child death-0)/(100-0).
16 Literacy index = (Adult literacy rate -0)/ (100-0).
17 Enrollment index = (Gross enrolment rate at basic, secondary,and tertiary level-0)/ (100-0).
18 Education attainment index= (Percentage of children who
have completed basic level of schooling-0)/ (100-0).
19 Social connectivity index= (Annual frequency of meetings
with friends and relatives- Minimum frequency)/ (Maximum
frequency area-Minimum frequency).
20 Social distance index= 1-(Percent of population who have thefeelings that they have been negatively affected by prevailingsocial distance and differences of identities-0)/ (100-0).
Health index= (Safe water index + Sanitation index+ Heath
service Accessibility index+ Heath care index+ Child Mortality
index)/5.
Education index= (Literacy index +Enrolment index + Education
attainment index)/3
Social dignity index= (Social connectivity index + Social distanceindex)/2
Social Dimension Index (SDI)= (Health index + Educationindex+Social dignity index)/3.

Political Dimensions Index
21 Political representation index 1= (Proportional voting sharein recent election -0)/ (100-0).

98 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

22 Political representation index 2=(Proportional share inpolitical parties -0)/ (100-0).
23 Political representation index 3= (Proportional share incouncil of ministers-0)/ (100-0).
24 Bureaucratic representation index = (Proportional share inbureaucracy-0)/ (100-0).
25 Local participation index= (Proportional share in the local
users groups-0)/ (100-0).
26 Voice/agency index =1-(Percent of population who have theexperiences of ‘not being heard’ of their voices by concerned
governance institutions-0)/ (100-0).
Political representation index= (Political representation index 1+
Political representation index 2+ Political representation index 3+
Bureaucratic representation index+ Local participation index)/5
Voice/agency index = Voice/agency index
Political Dimension Index (PDI)= (Political representation index+ Voice/ agency index)/2

Cultural Dimensions Index
27 Customary politics index= (Percentage of person who perceivethat they have enough opportunity to practice their customary
politics -0)/ (100-0).
28 Religious recognition index 1= (Percentage of persons who
perceive that their religion is at the equal footing to rest of thereligions -0)/ (100-0).
29 Religious recognition index 2=1-(Percentage of population
who have the experiences that they have been discriminatedon the basis of religious background -0)/ (100-0).
30 Language recognition index 1= (Percentage of persons who
have opportunity of getting basic education in their mothertongue-0)/ (100-0).
31 Language Recognition index 2=1-(Percentage of population
having experiences that linguistic barrier has constrained
them from accessing opportunities -0)/ (100-0).
Customary politics index= Customary politics index

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 99

Religion index= (Religious recognition index 1+ Religious
recognition index 2)/2
Language index= (Language recognition index 1+ Language
recognition index 2)/2
Cultural Dimension Index (CDI)= (Customary politics index+Religion index+ Language index)/3

Discrimination Dimensions Index
32 Spatial segregation index 1= 1-(Percentage of population who
have the experiences that they are not allowed to enter thehouses of other social groups only because of their caste/ethnic
background-0)/ (100-0)
33 Spatial segregation index 2= 1-(Percentage of people whoare not easily allowed to enter religious places or temples
established for the community to which they belong by theirfaiths-0)/(100-0)
34 Spatial segregation index 3= 1- (Percentage of people who are
not fairly allowed to share all social facilities -0)/ (100-0)
35 Fair market index=1-(Percentage of persons who conceivethat they have been exploited in exchange for their goods andservices-0)/ (100-0).
36 Market accessibility index=(Percentage of persons who
conceive that they have equal access to all goods and services
available in the market even if they can afford to consume it0)/(100-0).
37 Service accessibility index 1= (Percentage of persons who
feel that they have free access to all services provided by thegovernment at the local level-0)/ (100-0).
38 Discrimination index =1-(Percentage of population who
have experiences of being insulted or degraded due to their
attachment to their cultural, religious beliefs or any caste andethnicity or belongingness to particular region or they haveexperiences of discrimination of any other kind-0)/(100-0).
Spatial segregation index= (Spatial segregation index 1+ Spatial
segregation index 2+ Spatial segregation index 3)/3
Access to market index= (Fair market index+ Market accessibility
index + Service accessibility index 1)/3

100 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

Discrimination index= Discrimination index
Discrimination Dimension Index (DDI)= (Spatial segregationindex+ Access to market index + Discrimination index)/3

Gender Dimensions Index
39 Gender non-violence index 1= 1-(Percentage of women who
feel that they have experienced physical/psychological tortureby men in the domestic/public life during the last year -0)/(100-0).
40 Gender non-violence index 2= (Percentage of married
women who were consulted before taking decision over theirmarriage-0)/ (100-0).
41 Gender non-violence index 3= (Percentage of married women
who were consulted in taking reproductive decisions -0)/ (1000).
42 Gender balance index 1= (Gender parity in enrolment (up tosecondary level-Minimum value)/ (Maximum value-Minimum
value).
43 Gender balance index 2= (Gender parity in enrolment inprivate school)-0)/ (100-0).
44 Gender resource balance index 1= (Percentage of women
having land ownership -0)/ (100-0).
45 Gender resource balance index 2= (Percentage of women who
report that they have “some” separate funds at their disposal(daijo, pewa-pat or any asset of that sort including bankdeposit in local saving and credit groups, and sahakaris, orsomewhere else) (at least some level of threshold)-0)/(100-0).
46. Gender representation index 1= (Percentage of women in thelocal user’s group-0)/ (50-0).
47 Gender representation index 3= (Percentage of women voted
in recent election -0)/ (100-0).
48 Gender representation index 4= (Percentage of Women in theworking committees of all the political parties -0)/ (50-0).
49 Gender representation index 4= (Percentage of women in
Bureaucracy-0)/ (50-0).
50 Gender representation index 5= (Percentage of women in
Professional / technical jobs-0)/ (50-0).
Gender non-violence index= (Gender non-violence index 1+
Gender non-violence index 2+ Gender non-violence index 3)/3

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 101

Gender balance index= (Gender balance index 1+ Gender balance
index 2)/2
Gender resource balance index= (Resource balance index 1+
Resource balance index 2)/2
Gender participation index= (Gender representation index 1+
Gender representation index 2+ Gender representation index 3+
Gender representation index 4+ Gender representation index 5)/5
Gender Dimension Index (GDI)= (Gender non-violence index +Gender balance index + Gender resource balance index+ Genderparticipation index)/4
SOCIAL INCLUSION INDEX=(EDI+SDI+PDI+CDI+DDI+GDI)/6

7. Policy Implications and Limitations
Social inclusion index (NSII) for Nepal has some policy
implications, as well as some limitations. They are discussed here
as follows:
7.1 Policy Implications
Nepal Social Inclusion index proposed here goes beyond analyzing
economic factors to encompass political, cultural, discrimination,and gender dimensions impacting the quality of human life.
Political participation enlarges choice of the people to shape lives
as they value. The cultural dimension takes into consideration
freedom to express culture. The discrimination dimension
accommodates the issues surrounding the removal of persistent
discriminatory practices for social solidarity and harmony to leada happy community life. The gender dimension has been included
to shed light upon distinct discriminatory attitudes and practices
to be changed for gender inclusion.
Apart from the measurability of levels of inclusion in aggregate by
NSII, its built-in sub-indices could be policy tools to design inclusive
policy formulation and program implementations. It provides thedetail description of empirical aspects ethnic and gender categories
in terms of a number of inclusion related indicators. Thus by102 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

providing realistic scenario of the current situation of ethnic andgender categories it guides policy formulations. It also provides
a basis for evaluation of inclusion-oriented policy and programs.
Government of Nepal has formulated a number of inclusive policies
in the past, reservation policy for example. Based on those policies
various programs have also been designed. Indices computed inthis research will thus evaluate the situation of effectiveness of
inclusive policy and programs.

7.2 Limitations
Dimensions and indicators of inclusion vary across time andspace since type and level of development directly influence social
inclusion. Therefore, dimensions and indicators chosen here may
not entirely cover all dimensions of social inclusion in the context
of Nepal.
It is difficult to pinpoint any of the dimensions to be a cause ofanother. They are, however, highly correlated and are in interaction
either on a one-to-one basis or in combinations. Likewise theindicators are most likely to behave so. The approach adopted
does not take into consideration such inter and intra dimensional
relations.
Indicators proposed here will be only obtained at the aggregate
level. It will not be further disaggregated for inter-sectional
analysis.
The quest for inclusion largely varies across communities andaccording to the local context. Some examples from the Nepali
context are in order;
Dalits need equal treatment in terms of their social equity inthe area they live in.
Females need equal treatment in the family they live in.
Madheshis need their identification as equal citizens.
The nationalities envisage retrieving their lost cultural values.
This poses a problem to infer the relative importance of thedimension as well as of the indicators therein. As the theories
of inclusion are in the process of evolution, evidences could not
be found yet to form a strong theoretical basis to attach unequalResearch on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 103

weights. This calls for a deeper investigation which is beyond thescope of the present study. This is another striking limitation of
the present computation method of the proposed index. Besides
this, overall result of the computation depends on the quality andreliability of data to be obtained.

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Asian Development Bank. 2010. Overview of Gender Equality and Social
Inclusion in Nepal. Manila, Philippines.
Australian Government. 2009. Social Inclusion: A Compendium of Social
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Bennett, Lynn. 2005. “Gender, Caste and Ethnic Exclusion in Nepal:
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12-15.
Bennett, Lynn and Dilli Ram Dahal, and Pav Govindasamy. 2008.
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Social Inclusion Research Fund. “ Social Inclusion and Excluded Groups.”
http://www.socialinclusion.org.np/content-detail-51.html.
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106 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

Annexes
Annex 1: Definitions of the Indicators Used in Various
Dimensions
1. Social Dimension
Adult Literacy: Adult literacy rate has been defined as the selfreported ability to both read and write. All persons of fifteen yearsof age and above have been included as adults.
Gross Enrollment: Gross enrolment rate at basic, secondary, andtertiary education level is defined as ratio of total numbers of
persons enrolled at basic, secondary, and tertiary level educational
institutions to the total persons in the age group 5-21 multipliedby 100.
Basic Schooling: Basic schooling completion rate is defined asratio of total numbers of children (age 13-14) completing fullcourse of basic (1-8) schooling to total children in the same agegroup multiplied by 100.
Nutrition Level is measured in terms of stunting. Level ofmalnutrition of children is defined as ratio of total numbers ofchildren (aged 0 – 60 months) not having specified height to thetotal children in the same age multiplied by 100.
Health Service Affordability is defined as the percentage of persons
living in household that could afford medication for every child in
the past 12 months.
Mortality: Evidence of child death is measured as percentage of
person living in household having experienced any child (age 0-14)
death during past ten years.
Safe Water use is measured as percentage of persons living inhouseholds using tap drinking water.
Sanitation Level is measured as percentage of persons living inhouseholds using own modern toilet.

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Social Relationships are expressed as frequency of meetings withfriends and relatives during the preceding year.
Social Connectivity is measured in terms of percent of respondents
who have the feelings that they have mostly been negatively affected(receiving no help even in the difficult situations, such as accident,
illness, natural calamity, etc.) by prevailing social distance anddifferences due to caste, class, gender, region, religion, etc.,
affiliations.

2. Economic Dimension
Landholding: Average landholding size is defined as the ratio of
total agricultural land operated by the households to total numberof population.
Non-agriculture Activities: Percentage of persons of working age
in non-agriculture activities will be measured in one year reference
period taking usual economic activity into consideration.
Level of Underemployment: Average duration of economic activityof the economically active persons in past one year proxies the levelof underemployment status.
Food Expenditure to the total household expenditure expressed inpercentage is used as a proxy of poverty level.
Food Sufficiency: Percentages of persons who consume adequate
food in terms of two meals a day throughout the year measure thelevel of food sufficiency.
Elementary Occupation: Percentage of working population inelementary occupation mainly includes persons working on theirown account as defined in census 2011.
Housing Condition: Percentage of persons living in a good house
types refers to persons living in houses with at least two types ofhouses (concrete or brick foundation, concrete or tile roof, andbrick wall).
Dwelling Space: Living space per person will be calculated as theratio total living space to the total persons living in the household.

108 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

Cooking Fuel Use: Percentage of persons living in households
using commercial fuel for cooking.
Access to Electricity: Percentage of persons living in electrified
households.

3. Political Dimension
Participation in Election: Proportional participation of various
social/identity groups in the recent election refers to percentage of
votes cast by a particular group divided by percentage of voters of
the same group.
Representation in Political Parties: Proportional representation ofvarious social/identity groups in the central committee of politicalparties refers to percentage of persons in central committee of thepolitical parties of a particular group divided by percentage of
persons of the same group in the total population.
Representation in Council of Ministers: Proportional representationof various social/identity groups in Council of Minister refers topercentage of ministers of a particular group in the last ten years
period divided by percentage of persons of the same group in the
total population.
Representation in Bureaucracy: Proportional representation inbureaucracy refers to percentage of persons of a particular groupdivided by percentage of persons of the same group in the total
population.
Representation at Local Level: Proportional representation in
local user’s groups/consumer’s committees refers to percentage of
persons of a particular group divided by percentage of persons of
the same group in the total population.
Voice and Agency: Percent of population who have the experiencesof “not being heard” by the governance institutions concerned ismeasured as the percent of respondent who mostly faced problem
of not listening, such as treatment in health post, recommendationfrom VDC, receiving citizenship certificate, etc. and reflects theextent the voice/ agency not recognized by the state mechanism/agency or any leader outside their group.

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4. Cultural Dimension
Opportunity in Getting Primary Education in their MotherTongue: Percentage of persons who have opportunity of getting
basic education in their mother tongue refers to number ofchildren in school who were at least facilitated in their mothertongue expressed as a percentage to total number of children of thereference group at school.
Linguistic Barrier in Opportunity: Percentage of population
having experiences of linguistic barrier refers to perception of
the respondents whether the barrier has constrained them fromaccessing opportunities, such as any opportunity in government,
private, or public sector because of linguistic barrier.
Religious Recognition: Percentage of respondents who perceivethat their religion is at the equal footing to the rest of the religions.
It refers to the equal recognition, such as giving holidays for the
religious festivals, assistance/support from the government sides
given to that particular community.
Religious Discrimination: Percentage of population who havethe experiences that they have been discriminated on the basisof religious background. It is measured in terms of persons who
have frequent experiences of being discriminated because of
their affiliations to religion, such as not providing government,
community services, etc.
Customary Politics: Percentage of person who perceive that they
have enough opportunity to practice their customary politics. It
refers to the individual or community freedom to practice theircustomary rules and regulations without any state interventions,such as resolving community level dispute according to the customsof any particular community.

5. Gender Dimension
Violence Against Women: Percentage of women who feel that they
have experienced physical/psychological torture by men in thedomestic/public life during the last year will be measured on the
response of the adult women in the sampled households.

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Marital Decision: Proportion of married women who wereconsulted before taking decision over their marriage refers to all
married women in the sampled household.
Reproductive Decision: Share of married women to influence
reproductive decision refers to percentage of married women in thefamily who were consulted regarding child birth in terms of timeof first birth, number of children, sex of children, birth spacing.
Gender Parity in Enrollment of a particular group is the ratio of
number girls of the same group in secondary school to the numberof boys in school of the same group.
Gender Parity in Enrollment in Private School of a particular groupis the ratio of percentage of girls in private school of a particulargroup divided by percentage of boys in the private school of thesame group.
Land Ownership: Percentage of women having land ownershiprefers to percentage of women living household having land
registered in the name of any women in the household.
Economic Autonomy: Percentage of women having economic
autonomy refers to reporting of some separate funds at theirdisposal (“daijo”, “pewa-pat” or any asset of that sort includingbank deposit in local saving and credit groups, and sahakaris, orsomewhere else) by adult women in the household.
Representation at Local User’s Group: Percentage of women in thelocal user’s group of a particular group will be obtained by dividing
total numbers of women in the local user’s group of the selectedgroup by total number of persons of the same group in the user’sgroup.
Representation in Political Parties: Percentage of women in thecentral working committee of a particular group will be obtained by
dividing total number of women in the central working committeeof the political parties of the same group by total number of personsof the same group in the central working committee of the politicalparties.

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Participation in Recent Election: Percentage of women involvedin the recent election from a particular group will be obtainedby dividing percentage of women of the same group voted in the
recent election by total percentage voter of the same group in the
recent election.
Representation in Bureaucracy: Percentage of women in thebureaucracy of a particular group will be obtained by dividing total
number of women in the bureaucracy of the same group by the
total number of persons of the same group in the bureaucracy.
Percentage of women in the professional and technical jobs of aparticular group will be obtained by dividing total numbers of
women in the professional and technical jobs of the same group by
the total number of persons of the same group in the professional
and technical jobs.

6. Discrimination Dimension
Denial in Entry into Household: Percentage of population who
has the experience that they are not allowed to enter the houses ofother social groups only because of their caste/ethnic backgroundrefers to the perception of respondents in the sampled survey.
Denial in Entry into Religious Places: Percentage of people who are
not easily allowed to enter religious places or temples established
for the community to which they belong by their faiths refers to
the perception of respondents in the sampled survey.
Fairness in Sharing Social Facilities: Percentage of people which
is not fairly allowed to share all social facilities such as water
source, teashop, milk collection center, school, public functions
like meetings, feasts etc., refers to the perception of respondents
in the sampled survey.
Exploitation of Goods and Services: Percentage of people who
conceive that they have been exploited to exchange their goods
and services (mainly in traditional occupation, Sino, Haliya, Bali
Ghare, work without wage, selling/buying milk, sale meat, offer/receive help, etc.) refers to the perception of respondent in thesample survey.

112 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

Access to Goods and Services: Percentage of people who conceivethat they have equal access to all goods and services including
road, admission in any institute, room/hostel rent, etc., available
in the market even if they can afford to consume it refers to theperception of respondents in the sampled survey.
Fair Access to All Service: Percentage of people who feel thatthey have fair access to all services provided by the government/
community at local level refers to the perception of respondents inthe sampled survey.
Prejudices and Negative Attitude: Discrimination by dominancedue to prejudice and attitude refers to the perception of respondents
in the sampled survey and will be expressed by percentage of
respondents who have experiences of being insulted or degradedbecause of their affiliations to their culture, religion, caste, etc.,
such as calling by nickname, insulting or causing laughter in frontof any group or mass people.

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Annex 2: Indicators Chosen by the UNDP in Social Inclusion
Survey (2011)
A. Economic Exclusion
Inequality: At-risk-of-poverty rate (60 percent of median equivalent
expenditures in a country)
Subjective basic needs: In the past 12 months the household has
not been able to afford three meals a day, or pay bills regularly, or
keep the home adequately warm, or buy new clothes and shoes
Employment: Being unemployed or a discouraged worker
Financial services: Lack of access to a bank account on one’s own
nameMaterial deprivation housing: The household cannot afford a bed
for every member of the householdMaterial deprivation amenities: Household needs a washingmachine, freezer or microwave but cannot afford one
Material deprivation ICT: Household needs a computer or internet
but cannot afford one
Overcrowding: Household with less than 6m^2 per person

B. Exclusion from social services
Public utilities: Household with no running water or seweragesystemPublic utilities: Household heats with wood or with no heating
deviceEducation: Low educational achievements (basic schooling) andearly school leavers
Education: Household could not afford to buy school materials forevery child in the past 12 months

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Education: Household with young children not in school or preschool
Health care: Household could not afford medication or dental
checks for every child in the past 12 months
Health care: Medical needs not being met by the health care system
Social infrastructure: Lack of opportunities to attend events due todistance (lack of transportation).

C. Exclusion from participation in civic and social life andnetworks
Social capital: Rare or infrequent social contact with family or
relatives
Social capital: Rare social contact with friends
Social capital: Lack of support networks that could help in theevent of emergency
Social participation: In the past 12 months the household has notbeen able to afford inviting friends or family for a meal or drink atleast once a monthSocial participation: The household has not been able to afford tobuy books, cinema or theatre tickets in the past 12 months
Civic participation: Inability to vote due to lack of eligibility or
distance to polling station
Civic participation: No participation/membership in associations,teams or clubs
Civic participation: No participation in political/civic activities

Annex 3: Links Between Human Development and Social
Inclusion
The two concepts are complementary in policy terms: humandevelopment bears a stronger focus on what needs to be achieved;
while social inclusion focuses on how it should be achieved.

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Social inclusion adds the process dimension of exclusion (theagents, groups, and institutions that exclude) to the humandevelopment concept.
A social inclusion perspective can thus help sharpen strategies forachieving human development by addressing the discrimination,
exclusion, powerlessness, and accountability failures that lie at theroot of poverty and other development problems.
Social exclusion can limit freedoms and choices, both as aprocess and as an outcome, thus reducing human development.
Inclusion is therefore an essential precursor to universal humandevelopment. Organizations and laws are vital but less tangible
are social concepts such as values, trust, networks, family ties, andfriendships.

Annex 4: Summary Tables of Social Exclusion and Inclusion
Table 1: Methods of Inequality Analysis by ILO
Analytical Dimension

Whole

Part

State

Inequality

Poverty

Process

Polarization

Social exclusion

Table 2: Major Dimensions of Exclusion
Dimension
Dominant

GenderMen/
Boys

Subordinate

Women/
Girls

Caste
Tagadhari
Brahman,Chhetri

Race
Caucasoid

Language
NepaliReligion
Hindu

Geo-political
Parbatiya(Hill dweller)

Janajati/
Mongoloid

Other

Non-Hindu

Madhesi(Plaindweller)

116 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

Table 3: Dimensions and Indicators of Social Exclusion/

Table 3: Dimensions and Indicators of Social Exclusion/Inclusion by Various Institutional
Inclusion by Various Institutional and Individual Studies
and Individual Studies
Institution/
Individual
NHDR (2007)
7 Indicators

Dimensions

Indicator

Living standard*population below the income poverty* long term unemployment* those without health insurance* those over 15 years who did not complete
primary school* those who do not vote in elections,* do not participate in organized social activities* household without a telephone
HSEI-IHSEI-II*population without any*employment in a job
monetary income
below qualification*housing-house/apartment*employment in the
without a telephone
informal sector* those without health insurance* employment for healthbenefits based on theminimum wage
*those over 15 years*employment with nowithout a full primary
opportunity for further
schooleducation and training* wealth and assets

Health
Education
Participation
Access to services
Dimensions
Living standard

Health
Education
Bennett andDahal (2006)
9 Indicators

Economic
wellbeing
Education
HealthEmpowerment

Bennett andParajuli (2011)8 Indicators

Income/Consumption
Health
Education*percentage of male andfemale without education* maternal and child healthand nutrition*fertility and familyplanning*fertility*family planning knowledge andpractice* citizenship*exposure to media*women’s empowerment* consumption poor
* stunted* water excluded* sanitation excluded* access deprived* quality deprived
49

25 percent
25 (8.33x3) percent
25 (12.5x2) percent

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Influence
HDI(NHDR, 2009)
Montenegro
4 Indicators

Health
Education

IncomeEuropean
Union (EU)
4 Indicators

OPHI (2011)
10 Indicators

Economic andlabour market
Access to
education
Health careservices
Political
participation
Education

HealthLiving standard

AustralianGovernment(2009)

Poverty and low
income* influence excluded
25 (12.5x2) percent* empowerment deprived*Life expectancy at birth (years)
Life expectancy index*Adult literacy rate (percent)Education index*Combined primary, secondary
Gross enrolment index
and tertiary gross enrolment ratio(percent)*GDP per capita income (PPP US GDP index$)*Markets and factors of production such as labour, land, capital,
and ability to purchase good and services*Literacy and education focused on ‘life readiness’*Equal access to quality health care help
*Equally and fully participate in decision making processes*Years ofschooling*Child school
attendance*Childmortality*Nutrition* Electricity*Improved
sanitation* no household member has completed five
years of schooling*Any school-aged child is not attending school
up to class +* any child has died in the family* any adult or child for whom there isnutritional information is malnourished*the household has no electricity*the household’s sanitation facility is not
improved (according to MDG guidelines), or it
is improved but shared with other households*Safe* the household does not have access to safe
drinking
drinking water (according to MDG guidelines)
water
or safe drinking water is more than a 30-minute
walk from home roundtrip*Flooring* thehousehold has a dirt, sand or dung floor
Cooking Fuel *the household cooks with dung, wood or
charcoal*Assets* the household does not own more than one
ownership
radio, TV, telephone, bike, motorbike or
refrigerator and does not own a car or truck* At-risk-of-poverty rate after social transfers (EU)* Depth (degree) of deficient income (EU)* Income distribution (EU)* Income inequality (EU)* Persistent risk-of-poverty rate (EU)* More stringent risk-of-poverty rate (EU)* Income of people 65 years and over as a ratio of income of50

118 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

Lack of access tothe job market

Limited social
supports andnetworks
Effect of the local
neighborhood
Exclusion fromservices

HealthContextual

people under 65 years (EU)* Housing affordability (S)* Participation in the labour market (EU)* Employment rates (EU)* Employment of older workers (EU)* Long-term unemployment (EU)* Persons living in jobless households (EU)* People with a mild or moderate disability who are working (S)*Regional disparity in employment
rates (EU)* Assistance given and received (S)* Influencing decision makers (S)* Fear, and actual experience of violence (S)* Neighboring, community involvement
and communal relations (S)* Early school leavers not in education ortraining (EU)* Persons (adults) with low educational
attainment (EU)* Adult literacy (S)* Academic progress of Year 3 and Year 7
students in Australia (S)* Access to the Internet and information
technology (S)* Homelessness (S)* Access to services (S)* Teenage mothers (S)* Life expectancy at birth (EU)* Healthy life expectancy at birth (EU)* Self-defined health status (EU)* Risk of mental illness (S)*Total health expenditure per capita (EU)* Total social expenditure per capita (EU)51

Research on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 119

Annex 5: Summary of Dimensions and Indicators with Data
Sources
Annex 5: Summary of Dimensions and Indicators with Data Sources

Social Dimension
DomainIndicators
1.1 Education 1.1.1 Adult Literacy
1.1.2 Gross enrolment at basic,
secondary and tertiary level
1.1.3 Basic schooling
1.2 Health1.2.1 Nutrition (stunting)
1.2.2 Health service affordability
1.2.3 Child death
1.2.4 Households using safe water
1.2.5 Households using own modern
toilet1.3.1 Social relationships
1.3.2 Social connectivity

Remarks
HDI
HDI

SourceCensusCensus

MDG(modified to basic
instead of primary)
UNDP-HPI (Oxford)(Child instead of adult)
UNDP-RHDRMPI-Oxford
MDG, Oxford, RHDRMPI-Oxford (modified)Census1.3 Human
RHDR-UNDP (2011)
dignity andsocialrelationships
Economic Dimension
DomainIndicators
Remarks
2.1
2.1.1 Landholding (agricultural land)
Landholding / 2.1.2 Non-agriculture activities
employment
2.1.3 Duration of economic activity
2.2
2.2.1 Share on food and non-foodpoor or non-poor
Consumption/ expenditure
Poverty
2.2.2 Food sufficiency
food sufficiency
2.2.3 Elementary occupation
Poor or non-poor
2.3 Living
2.3.1 House condition
MPI- Oxford
standard
2.3.2 Dwelling space per person
MPI-Oxford, RHDR
2.3.3 Commercial fuel/fuel for cooking MPI-Oxford
2.3.4 Access to electricity
MPI-Oxford
Political Dimension
DomainIndicators
Remarks
3.1
3.1.1 Participation in recent election
Representati 3.1.2 Representation in central
Parties represented in CA
on/committee of political parties
Inclusion
3.1.3 Representation of various
Based on 10 year datasocial/identity groups in Council of
Minister

52

SurveySurveySurveyCensusCensusSurveySurveySourceCensusCensusCensusSurveySurveyCensusCensusSurveyCensusCensus
SourceSurveyParty officeCouncil of
Ministry120 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal
3.1.4 Representation in Bureaucracy
3.1.5 Representation in local user’sgroups/consumer’s committees
3.2 Voice3.2.1 Access to power and services
and agency
Cultural Dimension
DomainIndicators
4.1 Language 4.1.1 Opportunity of getting basic
education in their mother tongue
4.1.2 Linguistic barrier in accessing
employment opportunity
4.2 Religion 4.2.1 Religious recognition is at theand rituals
equal footing to the
4.2.2 Religious discrimination
4.3
4.3.1 Opportunity to practice their
Customarycustomary politics
politics
Gender Dimension
DomainIndicators
5.1 Sexuality, 5.1.1 Violence against womencontrol over
5.1.2 Control over marital decisionbody and5.1.3 Control over reproductive
gender based
decision
violence
5.2
5.2.1 Gender parity in enrolment (upDiscriminatio to secondary level)n in social
5.2.2 Opportunity in private
servicesschooling
DomainIndicators
5.3 Economic 5.3.1 Land ownershipautonomy
5.3.2 Economic control
5.4
5.4.1 Representation in the local
Participation/ user’s group
Decision
5.4.2 Representation in the central
makingworking committee
5.4.3 Participation in the recent
election
5.4.4 Representation in bureaucracy
5.4.5 Representation in theprofessional and technical jobs

53

Only one forest user’s groupfrom each sample location

Ministry ofGA
SurveyIndividual recognition

surveyRemarks
capability enhancement

SourceSurveylinguistic freedom

Surveyreligious recognition

Surveyreligious freedom
freedom to practice own
customs

SurveySurveyRemarks
Gender violence
Gender violence
Gender violence

SourceSurveyField survey
Field survey
CensusSurveyRemarks
Economic empowerment

SourceCensusEconomic empowerment

SurveySurveyRepresented in CA

Political
Party
SurveyMinistry ofGA
CensusResearch on Social Inclusion Atlas (SIA) and Ethnographic Profile ...| 121
Discrimination Dimension
DomainIndicators
6.1 Spatial
6.1.1 Denial in entry into housesegregation
6.1.2 Denial in entry into religious
places
6.1.3 Fairly allowed share communitylife
6.2 Access to 6.2.1 Access to fair market
good and6.2.2 Fair access to social service
services
6.2.3 Fair access to all services
provided by thegovernment/community at local level
6.3 Prejudice 6.3.1 Identity, recognition and respect
and negative
attitude54

Remarks
Access to public sphere

SourceSurveySocial contact/mutualinteraction among household
Community Life exposure

SurveyAccess to fair market
Access to social service
Access to services fromgovernment and community

SurveySurveySurveyIndividual identity

SurveySurvey122 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

A Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion
Index for Nepal: A Proposal1
Mahendra Lawoti

Introduction
This chapter proposes constructing a comprehensive exclusion/
inclusion index, which will measure important factors—culture,social, economic and political—that affect the phenomenon, for
Nepal. A comprehensive index of exclusion/inclusion would be
useful for lay people and policy makers interested in the issue toget a quick sense of different groups’ positions, and to academic
researchers for further investigating the issue. Even thoughdetailed studies of each marginalized and dominant group isdesirable for understanding and analyzing exclusion and inclusion,oftentimes it is necessary to compare among and across a large
number of groups. An index would become very handy for such
purposes. A comprehensive index is superior for such purpose
because incorporation of as many relevant dimensionsas possiblethat affect the phenomenon in the construction would make theindex more valid and robust.
The index could become very useful to researchers for testing
various hypotheses statistically, as well as non-statistically, on thecauses and consequences of exclusion and inclusion, interactionof different dimensions and aspects of exclusion and inclusion,and how the different dimensions affect each other to produce,
reinforce, or undermine exclusion or inclusion. For politicians andother policy makers, who rarely get time to read in depth studies
and analyses, reliable and valid data they can easily understandand make sense of in limited time is necessary to address policy
problems. Lay persons interested on the issue and advocatesof inclusion and social justice would find the overall index and1

An earlier version of the chapter was presented on April 11, 2012 at a workshop organized by the Research on Social Inclusion Atlas and Ethnographic
Profile project in Kathmandu. I would like to thank Professors Om Gurung,
Mukta Tamang, and Damber Chemjong for the invitation and the participantsat the conference and two anonymous reviewers and Mark Turin for helpfulcomments and feedback.

A Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 123

different constitutive components of the index useful for obtaining
comparative insights on various groups’ overall status, and invarious dimensions.
I have been interested and have been working on exclusion/
inclusion of multiple identity groups (dalit, indigenous
nationalities, and madhesi) in democracy, particularly in Nepal,
for around one and a half decade, including conceptualizing andmeasuring exclusion/inclusion. I have also worked as a consultant
for measuring democracy and press freedom and reviewing indicesfor various countries. I propose this comprehensive index on
exclusion/inclusion based on my long-term interest on the subject
and utilizing experience gained along the way working in different
research and consulting assignments.

Why Study Exclusion and Inclusion?
More than two-thirds of the population, comprising of identity
groups like the dalit, indigenous nationalities, madhesi andMuslims, encountered marginalization and exclusion persistently
in cultural, social, political and economic realms for more than
two centuries in Nepal. If women are included, the percentageof excluded population reaches a staggering 85 percent of the
population. Even though the marginalization and exclusion
became entrenched during the two centuries long (1769-1951,
1960-1990) authoritarian state dominated by elite families drawn
from the caste hill Hindu elite (CHHE), which conceptualized
and promoted Nepaliness exclusively in terms of language,
religion, and culture of their groups, exclusion persisted and wasperpetuated even during the democratic years (1951-1960, 19902002) (Bhattachan 1997; Lawoti 2005; Neupane 2000). While
many CHHE members are poor, they do not face cultural andsocial discrimination and are not constrained by the socio-cultural
discrimination in their pursuit of social mobility and hence often
have better opportunities for social mobility than members ofother groups in addition to being advantaged, such as throughlanguage and network.
The marginalization and exclusion has to be addressed if Nepal
is to aspire for a just and equitable society. Inclusion is also
imperative for preventing violent conflict and maintaining longterm peace in the country, if global and national trends provide any

124 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

indications. Ted Robert Gurr (1993, 2000) has authoritatively
demonstrated that violent ethnic conflicts steadily increased after
the end of Second World War and reached a peak in mid-nineties.
Others have pointed out that most of the violent conflicts withlarge number of causalities after the Second World War have notbeen traditional wars between countries but rebellions against
the state or civil wars between and among various groups withincountries or across countries. A large number of these conflicts
are identity based (Brown 2001; Harff and Gurr 2004; Harrisand Reilly 1998; Kegley Jr. 2009; Wimmer 2013). Nepal has
also seen the rise of mobilization based on identities, more so
after 1990, as well as identity based armed organizations andviolent ethnic conflicts among different groups. A large numberof armed organizations emerged and operated in Nepal after theturn of century, even though there has been considerable decline
in the number of active armed groups after the election to theConstituent Assembly in 2008 (Bhattachan 2000; International
Crisis Group 2011; Lawoti 2005; Lawoti 2007a; Lawoti 2012b;
Pathak and Uprety 2009). Exclusion has been identified as amajor contributing factor of violent ethnic conflict in Nepal as well
as around the world (Bhattachan 2000; Cohen 1997; Horowitz
1985; Lawoti 2012b; Wimmer 2013).
Inclusion is also necessary for economic growth and developmentof the country. A country cannot economically grow and develop
if only a handful of its population has access to resources andopportunities. The small group with access and opportunities
will be burdened for they will have to take the responsibility of
economic growth and developmentof the whole population and thecountry, unless they want to remain as a well off group among
the poor inside the country, but not well off compared to rest of
the world. Extensive empirical analyses have demonstrated that
exclusion contributes to continuation of economic stagnation andunderdevelopment and that inclusion facilitates economic growthand development. Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson (2012)
have demonstrated that countries with inclusive political andeconomic institutions that facilitate participation of everyone havebeen able to economically grow and develop while countries withrestrictive institutions were not able to economically grow andcontinued to face poverty. People inherently want to work hard
to improve their economic and other well being (De Soto 2002),
and when people do not face restrictions, they do well, leadingA Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 125

to overall economic growth and development of their countries.
Likewise, Esman (1997) has argued that non-group bureaucrats
may not be able to serve groups with different language andculture in certain areas due to inability to speak the language andunderstand their culture, way of life, needs and interests, andinhibit the development of the group as well as the country.
Scott E. Page (2008), additionally, has demonstrated that whenteams include members of different groups, the teams performbetter because members of different groups bring varied skills,
tools, and perspectives and such a make-up of the team enables
it to perform better than teams composed of individuals from thesame group, even if individuals in the homogenous team are highperformance individuals. The heterogeneous team performs better
because as a group it has more and wider range of skills and toolsthat the members from diverse groups and backgrounds bring.
Thus including members of diverse groups is a recipe for better
performance.
The Nepali state has begun to address the issue of exclusion,
especially after the regime transformation of 2006 that eventuallyended the nearly two and half century old Hindu monarchy. The
policies and formal institutional reforms to address exclusion haveoften been targeted toward broad categories, such as reservation
for dalit, indigenous nationalities and madhesi that does not makerecognize different level of exclusion among individual groups
within the broad categories. 2 These institutional reforms werecarried out, to some extent, based on existing understanding of
the issues, groups and problems after the state was sufficiently
pressured by the groups to initiate reforms. Despite some progress,
significant challenges still remain in addressing exclusion faced by
the various groups. A full understanding of various dimensionsof exclusion, interactions among the various dimensions, andtheir differential effects, individually as well as collectively, on
different groups is still lagging. Even though considerable studies
on exclusion havebeen conducted in Nepal in the last decade orso (Bhattachan 2008; Bhattachan et al. 2001; Gurung 2006;
Lawoti 2005; Shah 2006; Tiwari 2010; Yadav 1997, 2005), andthey have significantly enriched our understanding of dynamics
2

I label dalit, indigenous nationalities, and madhesi as broad identity categories
that contain many individual ethnic or caste groups.

126 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepalof exclusion, there are still gaps in knowledge base in important
realms. Research and studies on the following lines could increase
further understanding and could be useful for addressing exclusionin the society and polity.
One, as initial endeavors, the studies and analyses to date havefocused on broad categories of excluded groups, such as the dalit,madhesi, and indigenous nationalities. Though groups within broad
categories share common traits and sources of exclusion, there aredifferences among individual groups within the categories as well.
In the Tarai, for example, the Tharus (indigenous), dalit and other“upper” castes, and Muslims face group-specific problems that
contribute to their exclusion in different dimensions in addition
to the common problems they encounter as madhesi. Individual
group-specific problems and differential level of exclusion is an
issue not only with regard to the excluded groups, as has often been
pointed out, but even within the dominant group. For example,
Chhetri and Sanyasi of the caste hill Hindu elite (CHHE) havebeen under-represented in the Parliament since the nineties, while
Bahun and Thakuris have been over-represented despite sharing
the same language, religion and culture (Lawoti Forthcoming).
Anthropological literature on different ethnic and caste groups
can be helpful in identifying and determining some dimensions of
exclusion or inclusion of individual groups but such studies withdifferent purpose, or even if positioned with subaltern angle, may
not have information on all dimensions of exclusion and inclusion(Holmberg, March, and Tamang 1999; Tamag 2009). This
points to the necessity of next generation of studies and analysesof exclusion and inclusion to focus on individual groups and thechallenges and constraints they encounter and opportunities
available to them, in addition to analyzing different aspects ofphenomena among the broad categories.
Detailed information, knowledge and statistics on the status ofdifferent individual groups will enable comparative study andanalyses of intra-categorical group dynamics. Among other things,
such information and data will allow examination of questions,such as whether inclusion of one group leads to exclusion of othergroups. These types of questions can be examined more thoroughly
and definitively by comparing individual groups rather than broad
categories, because the latter contain individual groups withvarying position in the exclusion-inclusion continuum and a group

A Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 127

in the excluded category may be performing well economically whencompared to a group from the dominant category, even thougheconomic status is not the only dimension of exclusion.
Two, various dimensions of exclusion are not known or havenot been recognized by the state, the larger society, media, andeven the epistemic community, even for the broader categories
in addition to individual groups. It is essential to understanddifferent dimensions of exclusion if we want to address the
problem because not only could each dimension intrinsically hurtvarious groups but they could have incremental and reinforcing
effects on other dimensions of exclusion as well. Some exclusionary
factors interact with each other and reinforce exclusion in otherdimensions, creating a vicious trap of exclusion. In such cases, acouple of inclusionary policies targeted toward some dimensions
for a group may not be effective to reduce or end exclusion because
exclusion in other dimensions might hinder or resist the inclusive
policy or undermine and limit its impact.
Likewise, knowledge about exclusion in various dimensions will
also allow examination of whether a group might be performing
well in some dimensions while facing serious challenges in otherrealms. The Thakali, for example, have done well economically,
but they have lost significant aspect of their culture and traditions
when the elite tried to emulate the Buddhist Tibetan rulers andtheir traditions followed by the Nepali Hindu rulers and theirculture to gain access to the rulers at different times for economic
and political benefits, in a context where pleasing the rulers was acondition (Bista 1971; Fisher 2001). The lack of their own script,
for example, indicates and points to the challenges the group may
face in preserving, developing, and promoting their culture.
More knowledge about individual groups in different dimensions,and more so if knowledge becomes available across similardimensions (in addition to unique dimensions), would allow
analyzing cross-dimensional impacts. For example, how does
exclusion or inclusion in one dimension, say redistribution of
resources, impact recognition and representation and, vice versa?
Does increased political and/or economic representation, or inother sectors, lead to more recognition and economic mobility?
The index and its various aspects could be particularly usefulfor examining these types of questions about individual groups

128 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

and drawing out generalizations from examining a larger numberof cases. The findings could be useful in formulating additional
policies to address exclusion that persist in different dimensions,despite some progressive changes in other dimensions.
Three, little is known about the various extent and types of exclusion
faced by many small groups even though anthropological literatureof small groups might provide exclusion faced by the groups insome dimensions during the period of the study. Building anequitable and just society requires that the different problems andexclusion these groups face have to be recognized and addressed aswell as possible, not only of the numerically larger and mobilizedgroups who can pressure the state through mobilization or voting
power. The task of addressing small group specific problems would
incur more cost due to higher per capita investment necessary
and become more challenging due to the groups’ inability to
influence politically, but perhaps is more urgent because theyand their cultures could be in more dire straight because of theirsmall population size, which could inhibit the communities fromaddressing some of their problems themselves.
Four, especially with regard to this chapter and the project for
which it is written, indexing, as mentioned in the introduction,is important for comparing groups and analyzing the intra andinter dynamics of exclusion and inclusion among and between
groups. Indexing would be possible with more knowledge and dataon individual groups and more robust index can be constructed if
more information is available or collected.
Increasingly, exclusion and inclusion could be affected by groupmembers’ mobility, forced or in search of opportunities elsewhere,
as migration and immigration is increasing in many parts of thecountry, as well as to destinations abroad. Migration could improve
economic conditions through new opportunities, but it could be
detrimental in other ways. While migration from rural areas could
lead to loss of culture and tradition, among other things, to those
who are migrating, it could also affect their communities and its
members who remain behind (Macfarlane 2001). On the other
hand, migration could also affect recipient communities, such as
the Newars, madhesi and indigenous groups of Tarai, where massive
population shift has taken place, often displacing the indigenous
communities from their land and increasing vulnerability of their

A Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 129

culture, tradition, and lifestyle (Gaige 1975; Guneratne 2002;
Muller-Boker 2000).
The importance of studying identity-based exclusion does notmean negating class-based analyses. While the Nepali state
recognized identity-based analyses of the marginalized groups inthe last decade or so, 3 class-based analyses and policy formulation
to address poverty and under-development has been in place atleast since 1951 when Nepal became democratic, getting rid of
the oligarchic Ranas. Nepal initiated and has consistently pursued
development policies, programs and projects focused on reducing
poverty and inequality since then. It is a different matter that theobjectives and goals of the development plans and programs were
not achieved. Further, as economic, social and political dimensionof all Nepali citizens are taken into account in this study, eventhough as members of various identity groups, the class dimension
is firmly ensconced within this study as well, even though notdirectly and not only from it.

"Exclusion" to Facilitate Inclusion
Question as to whether to "exclude" members of some group to include
members of others have often been raised by critics of inclusionary
policies like affirmative action. In culturally diverse societies, if
distribution of resources has been influenced by identities andculture of groups, the fair, just, and widely acceptable method could
be to distribute resources proportionately, when that is possible,
among the various groups. If some resources are not divisible,
then groups could take alternation in accessing or using them or
different groups could access or be awarded different resources
with an overall balance on access to resources. The question of
exclusion does not arise in such circumstances. If a certain groupis over-represented in various public sectors consistently, thenit is morally defensible to limit the over-representation of thatgroup. Likewise, in some spheres, some dominant or privileged
group may be causing exclusion of other groups. In such cases,
some groups might have to be excluded in certain arenas to enable
other groups to be included (Dovi 2009). Dovi (1982) argues“democracies need to marginalize (1) those who oppress and (2)3The state promoted the identity of the dominant group since the formation of
Nepal (Lawoti 2010b).

130 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

those whose privileged status sustains oppression. ” Exclusion insome dimensions could be necessary sometimes for democracy andliberal institutions to function and deliver (Tebble 2006).
Similarly, but in a slightly different context, Ostrom (1990) has
argued that exclusion is necessary for viability and sustainabilityof a common pool of natural resources. Without exclusion,
tragedy of the commons could occur because increased usage and/or consumption of natural resources among competitive rational
human actors could lead to overuse, depletion, and ultimately
extinction of the resources. If everyone is allowed to use a finite
amount of resources, the free rider problem will arise. It will
not be in the interest of a rationale user to contribute as he canaccess and use the resources without contributing toward its
maintenance and development. Rational action at individual level
could lead to collective tragedy (Olson 1971; Ostrom 1990). Selfgoverning institutions of communities have been shown to avoid
the tragedy of the commons but one of the necessary conditions is
the exclusion of non-community or user groups from accessing theresources to prevent over use. The successful community forestryin Nepal and elsewhere is an example (Agrawal and Ostrom 2001;
Ostrom 1990).
Likewise, if some resources are essential for survival of some groups
and their identity, culture, and tradition, and if identity, cultural,and tradition does not harm other groups, and the other groups
do not need those resources for survival, the latter group can be
excluded in those realms. Survival of any group should trump overaccumulating wealth by others.
Exclusion of some groups from one or two spheres can be defended
morally in a democracy. First, all groups may not be interested to
be included in all spheres. On the other hand, even if all groups
want to be included, practically it may not be possible to include
them in all spheres and sectors. Such exclusion in specific spheres
can be defended if various groups fare well overall because of
their inclusion in multiple other spheres. Thus, all groups could
be excluded in a couple of spheres, balancing out and avoiding
persistent overall exclusion of any groups, if they are includedin multiple other spheres. As a result, different groups could be
more or less roughly equal overall (Walzer 1983). If some groups
consistently face inequality and exclusion, then that needs to be

A Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 131

addressed. That is the scenario in Nepal.

The Question of Fluidity and Identification of Groups
Some critics suggest that ethnicity is a social construct and are
fluid, as identities emerge and change over time and as a result
should not be studied or analyzed, or that it would be difficult todo so. Many Liberal and Marxist scholars often share this view
(Esman 1994; Horowitz 1985). If the same logic is to be followed,
then there would be no point in conducting class-based analysis,a favorite subject of the Liberals and Marxists because class is amuch more fluid than ethnicity. While scholars point that it could
take at least a few decades for ethnic identities to transform, evenwhen it does (Chandra 2006; Chandra and Wilkinson 2008),
class of a person could change several times within a decade. For
example, once a student graduates and gets a job, his class positionchanges. If he gets a promotion after a few years or better job
in another organization, his class position changes again. In a
couple of decades if the person reaches a senior position, his classchanges again. He becomes a member of an elite class. In between,
if he loses the job, his class status could lower again. Hence, classstatus of a person could change several times within a life span
whereas ethnic identity may not change as readily for a person
in his lifespan. Thus, if the logic of some Liberals and Marxiststhat ethnicity should not be studied and analyzed because of its
fluidityis to be extended, it would mean that they should not study
class in the first place because it is even more fluid.
Counter to the opposition of such critics, studies of ethnicity andidentities have become prevalent. “The ubiquity of identity-based
scholarship suggests an emerging realization that identities…
are ‘among the most normatively significant and behaviorally
consequential aspect of politics, ’” (Smith 2002: 302, cited in
Abdelal et al 2009:17). Stewart (2009: 316) provides a goodrationale for studying and analyzing ethnic groups: culturally
determined groups "may be fluid, and individuals may have a moreor less strong attachment to a particular group, may change their
attachments, and so on. Despite this, the group or groups to which
a person chooses to belong, or is seen as belonging to by others,
can have considerable relevance to that person's life chances, wellbeing, and political options and actions. ”

132 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

In Nepal, the fluidity argument is being made by the dominantgroup to resist change that would empower the traditionally
excluded groups through mobilization, which they have attempted
and attained to varying degrees. The aim of many dominantgroup members is to undermine analyses of inequality among
marginalized caste, religious, linguistic, regional and ethnic groups
and to discourage mobilization along those identities. Groupcohesion that facilitates organization and mobilization that isnecessary for challenging oppression and domination is enabled by
identification with certain identities (Gurr 1993; Lawoti 2012a).
Such mobilization along caste lines fostered modernization anddemocracy in India by making "lower" caste groups more equalwith "high" caste groups. Likewise, if causes and consequences of
ethnic equality are not studied, then the status quo or the prevalent
domination of the privileged group in cultural, social, political andeconomic realms would continue or get less eroded. When a newpolicy is not formulated, by default, old policies continue (Dunn
2011).
The importance to recognize and study ethnic groups in adiverse society does not mean that it is easy to do so, however.
Due to state policies and institutions, new groups may emerge
from "existing" ones or multiple groups will merge. On theother hand small groups may provide logistical challenges,
especially if there are numerous such groups, because the percapita cost of studying the groups would be higher. Question
could emerge about the population threshold for studying
smaller groups. In such a situation, what should be theparameter for recognizing groups and studying them? Since
consequential identities are formed either by the groups themselves
or due to state recognition or imposition (that could be detrimental
to some groups), groups recognized by the state and, if and whengroups that assert their different identities than those recognizedby the state and other groups should be studied and analyzed.
Numerical requirements should not be the basis for cutting offgroups as even less populated group may assert their identities.
When people do not assert their particular identities, as may be thecase when they want to merge with a larger group and take that
identity, then a need to recognize them as a separate group will notarise. This approach of recognizing groups accepts the theory ofsocial construction of identities.

A Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 133

Relevant Bodies of Knowledge for Constructing Index of
Exclusion/Inclusion
Literature dealing with identity groups provides information andanalyses to understand the types and depths of exclusion diverse
groups face. Exclusion of various ethnic groups (caste, linguistic,
religious, national, regional identity) have explicitly or implicitly
received attention, often to analyze sociocultural rights ofminority groups, group mobilization, and violent ethnic conflicts(Aasland and Flotten 2001; Gurr 1993; Gurr 2000; Horowitz
1985; Wimmer 2002), economic deprivation and poverty, as wellas under representation in politics and other influential sectors
in society (Allen 2005; Kymlicka 1995; Sen 2000; Taylor 1998;
Walzer 1993; Williams and Macedo 2005; World Bank 2001;
Young 1990). Despite providing rich information and analyses onformation of ethnic groups, discrimination minorities face, andfactors that contribute to their mobilization and consequences ofsuch political actions, the studies do not facilitate easy and quickcomparison of groups that policy makers and academics withinterest in quantitative analyses seek.
While the literature on ethnic politics has informed about
discrimination along ethnic lines and highlighted socio-cultural
discrimination and political exclusion, the literature on social
exclusion has pointed out the inequality in income level and social
outcomes (for evolution of the concept of "social exclusion, " seede Haan and Maxwell 1998; Sen 2000; Silver 1994). According
to Silver (1994) there are three competing paradigms of inclusionand exclusion: "the solidarity paradigm, founded in French ideas
about social solidarity; a specialisation paradigm, dominant in
the US and perhaps the UK, where exclusion is tied to notions of
discrimination; and a monopoly paradigm, dominant in Western
Europe, in which exclusion is associated with group monopoly
formation. "Despite the different interpretation based on different
national traditions, contexts, and debates, the concept of social
exclusion has picked up considerably in recent years, including in
Nepal. More systematic work on social and economic inequality
and exclusion has contributed in laying the path for constructing
an exclusion/inclusion index.
To enable systematic comparison of levels and intensities ofdifferent phenomenon for different countries, groups, and134 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

regions, indices have been constructed. The indices on economic
development, poverty, human development, freedom/democracy,press freedom, gender empowerment are some of the well-known
ones. Indices to capture diversity have also been created, whether
ecological, linguistic, and ethnic (Alesina et al. 2003; Biernat andCrandall 1999; Cederman and Girardin 2007; Chandra 2009;
Fearon 2003; Fearon and Laitin 2003; Huxley et al. 2006;
Ponterotto et al. 1995; Posner 2004; The Expert Group 2008).
Many of the indices have been constructed to capture economic
wellbeing or inequalities, including social inclusion that largely
measure income related phenomenon and social outcomes such as
education and wellbeing. Attempts have been made to constructexclusion and inclusion index in Nepal as well.
While most indices on social exclusion to date rely on datacollected by taking an individual or household as a unit, there is astrong and urgent need for collecting data taking group as a unit
as well. Frances Stewart (2009: 316), who calls group inequality“horizontal inequality” to contrast with “vertical inequality” thatmeasures inequality among individuals, eloquently makes a strong
case for the need to measure group based inequality to warrant
an extended quote: “[Group inequalities] affect well-being directly
and because they affect other objectives instrumentally. People's
well-being is affected not only by their individual circumstances,
but also by how well their group is doing. This is partly because
membership of the group is often an important aspect of a person's
identity, and hence the group's situation is felt as part of anindividual's situation; and partly because relative impoverishmentof the group increases the perception of members that they arelikely to be permanently trapped in a poor position, or, if they havemanaged to do better than others in the group, that they are likely
to fall back into poverty. "The Nepali Context
In Nepal the foundation for construction of inclusion/exclusionindex was laid down by the work that demonstrated ethnic problems
by exposing inequalities, injustice, and exclusion among various
identity groups and providing rationale for further in depth studies,including comparison of groups. Dor Bahadur Bista (1991; 1996),
Krishna Bhattachan (1995; 1999), Harka Gurung (1998; 2006),
myself (2005; 2007b; 2008a; 2010a; 2010b) and many others

A Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 135(Cameron 1998; Caplan 1972; Caplan 1970; Gaborieau 1972;
Gaige 1975; Guneratne 2002; Hofer 2004; Holmberg 1989; Jha
1993; Yadav 1997) contributed in this endeavor.
The hierarchical caste order is probably one of the earlier
framework that distinguished various groups existing in Nepal
even though it reinforced inequality and injustice in the society(Hofer 2004; Levine 1987). The 1990s saw vehement rejectionof the state imposed identity of being a part of the Hindu caste
fold by the indigenous nationalities. The Muslims also began toclaim that they were equal citizens of Nepal (Dastider 2007). The
madhesi had a more illustrious history of mobilization than that ofdalit and indigenous nationalities, but the state and “mainstream”
academia dominated by the dominant group refused to recognize
and treat it as a separate group till 2007 (Lawoti 2012a). The
madhesi had formed a political party in the 1950s and mobilized
yearlong in mid 1950s to oppose the imposition of Khas-Nepali
all over Nepal as the only language of instruction in schools, andcontinued to organize and mobilize in the 1980s and the 1990s(Lawoti 2012a), but the very well-funded studies (such as UNDP's
Human Development Report, Nepal), in line with the dominantgroup perspective, continued to lump madhesi Brahmin andKshetriyas with hill Brahmin and Chhetris in the "upper" caste
group, essentially refusing to recognize the madhesi as a separate
group. This was despite some literature recognizing madhesi asa separate category with a unique set of issues and problems(Bhattachan 2000; Lawoti 2005; Neupane 2000). Only after
the success of the madhesi movement in 2007 that paralyzed theTarai for three weeks did the hill “upper” caste centric state andacademia reluctantly recognized madhesi as a separate group.

Assessments of Exclusion/Inclusion Measures and Indices in
Nepal
Initial steps toward creating an exclusion/inclusion index beganwith measurement of inequalities and exclusion along a numberof indicators, as well as conceptualization of various dimension of
exclusion. The Human Development Reports measured economic
and social wellbeing of number of ethnic groups with a numberof indicators (NESAC 1998; The World Bank and DFID 2006;
UNDP 2004; UNDP 2009). Conceptually I proposed that themarginalized groups in Nepal were culturally discriminated and/136 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

or denied access to resources in the political and material realms(Lawoti 2002). Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities(NEFIN) came up with a five-fold category of Endangered, Highly
Marginalized, Disadvantaged, and Advanced in 2004 to classify
59 groups of indigenous nationalities recognized by the state.
Tiwari (2010) has identified horizontal inequalities in four
sectors for the broad identity categories: (1) inequality ineconomic outcomes, (2) inequality in social outcomes, (3)cultural discrimination, and (4) unequal participation in stateorgans. I have discussed exclusion in eight spheres for the broad
identity categories: (1) citizenship and participation, (2) cultural
discrimination, (3) symbolic representation, (4) representationin governance, (5) public policies, (6) knowledge generationand dissemination, (7) civil society, and (8) material well-being(Lawoti 2008b). Both of our approaches measure exclusion andinequalities for various broad categories with data ranging acrossa decade in the 1990s. Importantly they both recognize cultural
discrimination as an important dimension of exclusion.
Some have begun to compare exclusion among different individual
identity groups in Nepal. Vollan (2010) identified representation
data of 98 ethnic/caste groups in the Parliaments from the 1991,
1994, 1999 and 2008 elections to analyze the impact of quotas
for excluded groups. Lawoti (Forthcoming) used the dataset to test
claims and counter-claims made of the affirmative action policy.
Bennett and Parajuli (Not dated) (from here on called the B-P
Index) using the Multidimensional Poverty Index framework
developed by Alkire and Foster (2009) propose what they calla multidimensional exclusion index that capture exclusion infour socio-economic dimensions. Sabina Alkire and Maria Enna
Santos (2010) calculate a country profile of Nepal employing theMultidimensional Poverty Index.
The B-P Index has made considerable progress toward developing
and constructing a social exclusion index, but it has major
shortcomings based on its claim of measuring overall exclusion ofdifferent groups in Nepal. I discuss this index in more detail for
two reasons: one, to suggest how it can be improved; and two, todevelop an alternate index that will use the economic and social
outcome indicators of the B-P index but incorporate exclusion
in political, social, and cultural dimensions to come up with acomprehensive index of exclusion and inclusion.

A Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 137

The strength of the B-P Index is its analysis of data from the2001 census and a couple of large surveys to construct an index forincome/consumption, social outcomes in a few sectors, and accessto influence. 4 They expand on the multidimensional poverty
index (MPI) that is based on three dimensions (education, healthand living standard) by adding a fourth dimension of access toinfluence4 and employ econometric statistical tools developed by
the MPI for calculating a social exclusion index for 80 identity
groups. In the Nepali context this is a major contribution. However,
it is still largely a social exclusion index, albeit an incomplete one,as I argue below. 5
The major shortcoming of the B-P index is that it does notconsider cultural and social discrimination as part of exclusion
in Nepal. In doing so, in Amartya Sen's (2000) words, it leaves
out intrinsic factors, or constitutive relevance, that have excluded
numerous groups: "Being excluded can sometimes be in itself
deprivation and this can be of intrinsic importance on its own. . .
It is a loss on its own, in addition to whatever further deprivation
it may indirectly generate" (13). For example, dalits are victimsof untouchability, which harms intrinsically (in Sen's term) or
directly (in Stewart's term) in addition to being instrumental
in causing socio-economic deprivation. The rampant practice of
untouchability humiliates and demeans the dalit every day. That
itself is a major form of exclusion, in fact, it is the root cause,in addition to other forms of exclusion that the humiliating anddemeaning practices contribute toward, such as socio-economic
deprivation. Indigenous nationalities, on the other hand, have45

It considers female literacy rate and having someone from locality in influential
position (administrators, managers, professionals, technical officers and legislators) as indicators of influence.
The B-P index provides indices for 80 groups but does not provide data for 30
small individual groups, despite the title of the paper being "Making Smaller
Social Groups Visible…. " This is largely due to the methodology adopted anddata source, which are several surveys and the census. It is very difficult to getadequate number of cases (n) of very small groups from national survey data
to be statistically valuable despite development of statistical tools to analyze
cases with small 'n'. Even statistical analyses of small 'n' would require someminimum number of cases, and further, one is more constrained to infer fromstatistical analysis of small number of cases. If available survey data do notcontain relevant data, information can be generated employing other data collection approaches and methods, if resources are available.

138 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

suffered from cultural discrimination. Their language, religion,
and ways of life have been discriminated for centuries, as well as in
the contemporary period. Cultural discrimination and erosion havehurt them intrinsically and directly, and hence are major forms of
exclusion, in addition to contributing indirectly in other forms
of deprivation. Likewise, the madhesis, in addition to linguistic
and other form of cultural discrimination, suffer from extensive
prejudice that often suspects their loyalty toward the Nepali state.
It has been a direct and major deprivation because they have often
not been treated as equal citizens. Likewise, women face inequalityand discrimination simply because they are women, in addition to
the patriarchal norms contributing toward their socio-economic
deprivations. Many of these major intrinsic cultural and social
deprivations faced by identity and gender groups are not capturedby the B-P index and hence it is far short of being a comprehensive
index of exclusion, which should at least attempt to capture allforms of major deprivations faced by various groups.
In a multicultural society like Nepal, where both culturaland class cleavages exist, indices that either measure only culturalor economic aspects of exclusion are not sufficient to capture thecomplexity of exclusion of multilayered groups of people. Whileclass and ethnic inequality may coincide to some degree for manygroups, it may not, or may coincide to different extent for manyothers. To better understand the extent of exclusion/inclusion
and thereafter promote inclusion, equality and justice amongindividuals and various identity groups, this chapter, taking
lessons from various indices that provide quantitative measure ofphenomena such as democracy and press freedom, and minority
rights proposes a comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index to beconstructed for Nepal that incorporates four major dimensions:cultural, social, political and economic, and multiple subdimensions within them.
The cultural and social dimensions will be each recommended to
be assigned 30 percent weight of the Index and the economic andpolitical dimensions 20 percent each. The reasons for assigninghigher weightage to cultural and social dimensions is, following
Amartya Sen (2000), because they are intrinsic factors, while theeconomic and political dimensions are indirect exclusion and exist,
to some extent, because of the intrinsic factors. Apart from theabove rationale, the assignments are otherwise based on an ad hoc

A Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 139

basis. An alternate, but even more ad-hoc basis, would be to assign
each of the four dimensions equal weightage of 25 percent each.
Social exclusion indices and multidimensional poverty indices haveused various well tested economic and social outcome indicators.
Hence I will not elaborate on the rationale for incorporatingthem in the proposed index. Similarly, the political dimension of
exclusion is largely accepted in Nepal. In the following sections I
offer rationale for measuring social and cultural dimensions andtheir various sub dimensions.

Why Social and Cultural Exclusion and Deprivation Should
be Measured
Cultural Dimension
If the aim of an index is to measure social exclusion, thenconstructing an index based on economic and social outcome
indicators like income, health, and education would be valid.
If the aim is to measure under-representation in various public
and private organizations, then a diversity index (The Expert
Group 2008) as in India that calculates the under-representationof Muslims and others in various organizations would be fine.
However, the aim of the Research on Social Inclusion Atlasand Ethnographic Profile Project of the Central Department of
Sociology/Anthropology, Tribhuvan University goes much beyond
that. 6 It is an attempt to measure diversity as it exists in thesociety, the myriad forms of exclusion numerous identity groups
face in multiple realms, and identify factors that hinder or enable
inclusion and management of diversity. The larger goal I thinkis celebrating diversity by recognizing and respecting differences,
creating a society based on tolerance, dignity, equality and justice,and growing and developing by learning from and sharing witheach other (Kymlicka 1995; Mahajan 1998a; Parekh 1994; Young1990).
As mentioned above, a large number of people in Nepal face cultural(i. e. language, religion, ethnicity, and so on related) exclusion that

6

Please see the chapter by Om Gurung and MuktaTamang in this volume for thedetails of the project.

140 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

has intrinsically and directly demeaned their lives. They suffer
because of ethnic prejudice and cultural discrimination. These aremajor intrinsic factors of exclusion and if they are not captured,
any index on exclusion could be off the mark significantly because
the index will not capture the root cause of discrimination andexclusion as well as humiliation and demeaning encounter manymembers of marginalized groups face almost every day.
Multicultural citizenship requires that people belonging to all
cultural groups should be treated equally, their cultural markers
and elements recognized and protected, and that group members
have the freedom to fulfill their potentials. Cultural freedom
and equality are important elements essential in multiculturalsocieties because human beings grow and develop to their possible
potentials in their own cultural milieu and environment thatprovide a shared vocabulary of everyday life, embodied in practices
and institutions covering most areas of human activity (Kymlicka
1995). As Kymlicka (1995: 105) argues, "cultural membershipprovides us with an intelligible context of choice, and a secure
sense of identity and belonging, that we call upon in confronting
questions about personal values and projects. " On the other hand,
options and opportunities available for members of a culture will
shrink and their pursuit is less likely to be successful in situations
where one's culture is discriminated against or is decaying.
Different ideas, experiences, perspectives, lifestyles, and culturesthat enrich people and society are positive aspects of differences,which introduce the highly desirable quality of plurality or
heterogeneity (Mahajan 1998b). Differences are a politicalresource that can deepen democracy and society and the inclusionof socio-cultural groups makes available such resources to thepolity. Social and cultural difference brings in diverse perspectives,
skills and experiences to joint endeavors and to the society (Page2008; Young 1990: 115). Alternative models of socio-culturalorganization make more choices available to everyone for adapting
to new circumstances. Different ways of life and views correct andbalance each other and restrain each other's partialities (Parekh
1994; Young 1990). When human beings step out of their culture
and observe other cultures, they can appreciate strength andlimitations of their own cultures. "Cultural diversity is therefore anecessary condition of the human search for freedom and criticalself-understanding" (Parekh 1994). Hence various cultures,

A Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 141

especially minority cultures, should be protected and promoted.
Culture and its elements can be measured by looking at whether
various identity groups have unrestricted freedom and environment
to practice and follow religion, speak native languages (indicatedby the vibrancy of the language, for example) and whether group's
traditions and lifestyle are maintained and whether environment
for such exist, and the state and society's attitudes toward peoples
with different traditions, practices, and worldviews, and culture, as
indicated by public policies and laws or their absence, and societal
prejudices. Each group's wellbeing can be measured throughwhether the state recognizes their autonomy to live and govern
their lives according to their values and preferences, and whether
they practice autonomy, despite and in spite of the state awarding
it. Group autonomy, in addition to individual autonomy, is
important because it measures whether the groups and individuals
can do what they want, whether it is about retaining, reforming
or even discarding past traditions, and how they live theirlives without imposition of values and practices by the state andothers.
Some argue that intangible cultural factors should be left toqualitative discussion. They fear that attempting to reduce themto numbers runs the risk of distorting their meaning. This chapter,as well as the larger project, does not agree with such arguments,
with good reasons. Social science has grown and developed and has
innovated many approaches, methods, and techniques to such an
extent that intangible cultural factors are routinely measured, as
this and other studies that measure them demonstrate (Abdelal
et al. 2009; Gurr 2000; Harff and Gurr 2004; Neuendorf andSkalski 2009; Robinson, Wrightsman, and Shaver 1998).
Symbolism
An important sub dimension in cultural sphere is symbolism, asa sense of belonging as well as recognition of membership within
a community through representation of elements associatedwith different groups. Through symbols, meanings and norms
are constructed and communicated in societies. Symbols can bebased on cultural values, norms, traditions, and rituals, but can
go beyond them and be based on secular practices, such as theflag-raising in the US. Theories of nationalism have shown that142 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

symbols play important roles in creating a sense of community,
and traditions are often invented for such purposes (Anderson
1991; Hobsbawm and Ranger 1983). On the other hand, symbols
can be used to exclude people from the community of “nation. ”
Symbols can convey messages of deprecating self-worth, and hence
contribute in developing a sense of inferiority among marginalizedgroups while conveying subtle, less subtle, or even direct portrayalof dominant group members as superior in terms of intelligence,
work ethics, cultural norms and practices, and so on.
Symbolic exclusion differs from cultural discrimination in thatnational symbols are supposed to be common for all citizens tobring them together and unite them into a single community of“nation” whereas different groups may have, and follow, different
cultures. Group specific symbols could differ, but common symbols
are necessary to create a common community acceptable to all.
The state and society can maintain symbolic exclusion by recognizing
and imposing only certain groups’ cultural practices, traditions,heroes, and so on. Although cultural discrimination could cause
direct harm (e. g. through restricting language, religion), the effectof symbols is usually more indirect, and by definition symbols
are indirect. To a certain extent symbols’ effect will depend upon
how people perceive and receive them. Symbolic politics could beplayed out by nominating members of diverse groups to politicalor other bodies to present a façade of representativeness but whensuch representatives either do not have power to introduce agenda
and/or do not have equal voting rights at decision making stages orthe circumstances do not allow their effective participation or the
body does not enjoy power (for participation issues, see Arnstein;
Cornwell 2003; Dahl 1989). Participation and representation andtheir limits will be measured under different dimensions and subdimensions as they are relevant to them.
Symbolic politics have been employed effectively in mobilizing
groups in ethnically divided societies. Symbols have been invented,
reproduced, highlighted and employed, however, to propagate
domination, as well as to resist it. Symbolic exclusion could occur
through non-recognition and non-incorporation of identities,
culture, festivals, lifestyles, place names, and state declared national
heroes while adopting common symbols for the country. Throughmanipulation of symbols, dominant ethnic elite often conveys thatA Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 143

they are the ruling groups because of special capabilities, skills andfate. Ethnic elites are often able to mobilize their groups even insituations where the masses may not materially benefit from theresults of such mobilization. For instance, by raising the issue ofrecognition of languages, the elite have mobilized the masses eventhough the well-off strata disproportionately benefit materially if
linguistic domination or equality is achieved. Civil service exams
in a particular language would benefit mostly the elite but themasses nevertheless support linguistic movements because it
provides them recognition and self-worth (Connor 1994; Horowitz
1985; Smith 1998).
Symbolic inclusion could construct a common community ofequals acceptable to members of various groups. On the other hand,symbolic exclusion could, instead of bridging the gap, provide afurther basis for domination while inviting mobilization against
it by excluded ethnic, caste and religious groups. A deprecatedperception of others created through symbols, among the dominantgroup, could become their basis for resistance towards reforms.
Symbolic exclusion could be measured through public holidays
declared during festivals of various groups, national heroes
declared by the state representing various communities, stamps
publications commemorating different groups’ culture, peoples
and traditions, and so on. The argument, of course is not thatevery group’s festival etc. be declared a holiday. Rather, if somegroups’ festivals are declared as public festivals, other groups’
culture and traditions could be reproduced in stamps, place names,
national heroes etc. declared by the state so that as many groups
as possible could be included symbolically in one or other realm
to some extent. The argument is definitely that national symbols
etc. should not be dominated by culture, festivals, and members of
one ethnic group, as in the case in contemporary Nepal, even after
inclusion of a few symbols from a few marginalized communities
in the national pantheons and declaration of public holidays
during marginalized groups' festivals in the last decade or so. If
per capita calculation of symbolic representation is considered, amore balanced representation of symbols among small and larger
groups could be worked out.
Social Dimension

144 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

Some overlap exists between social and cultural discrimination,
but they have major differences as well. Cultural differences can
exist horizontally, without a hierarchy and inequality amonggroups after ending subordination of some groups by others, butsocial differences like the caste system, underpinned by hierarchy,
generate inequality among social groups due to the institutions
itself until the institution itself is completely eliminated. Different
caste groups may share language, religion and other culturalelements, but the hierarchy-based institution clearly establishes
inequality among different sub-caste groups.
Even after discrimination based on culture, which existed to alarge extent due to imposition of hierarchy for a long time by thestate among ethnic groups by labeling and treating them as castes,
is eliminated, cultural diversity should exist and be celebrated.
Horizontal cultural differences are, and should be, treated associal and public goods, whereas hierarchical social differences
are harmful and generate inequality. The aim is to eliminate
hierarchical based social discrimination that treat humans
beings unequally based on their membership in groups, whereas
horizontal cultural differences should be recognized, tolerated andprotected because it promotes equality, development and growthamong members of different groups when different group members
live based on theirtraditions, world views and values.
Social dimension can be broadly clustered into three subdimensions. First one is the discrimination members of different
groups may face based on their membership of the group. This is
an intrinsic form of discrimination. The discrimination could bebased on caste or gender, for example. Caste system by definition
creates hierarchy among different caste groups, while patriarchy
creates inequality between men and women through social
relationship backed by men’s control over material resources thatputs men above women.
The second cluster consists of social outcomes such as educationand health. The unequal outcome is to a large extent the result ofcaste system and patriarchy, and hence can be termed as indirectconsequences of intrinsic factors. Social outcomes have been
extensively measured in social exclusion indices. Hence I will
not elaborate the rationale for including them in this proposal.
Some of the regularly used and accepted indicators can be used toA Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 145

measure the social outcomes dimensions (see B-P Index) for theconstruction of a comprehensive exclusion/inclusion index.
The third cluster consists of solidarity among group members andtheir representation in civil society organizations, academia, andmedia. I will briefly discuss below the rationale for including themin an exclusion/inclusion index.
Mobilization of excluded groups is often necessary for thestate and other members of the society to respond toward thedemands of the excluded groups to end inequality and discriminationand promote equality (Harff and Gurr 2004; Rudolph 1965).
Solidarity facilitates mobilization of groups and enables the groups
to protect and promote their interests through mobilization,
especially among the larger groups. Even the smaller groups could
form coalition with other groups to increase their effectivenessin pressuring the state and other actors. Association of various
groups promotes solidarity by bringing leaders and cadres together,
identifying and/or constructing common agendas and developing
objectives, and establishing networks within and outside the group(Gurr 1993; McAdam, McCarthy, and Zald 1996; Rudolph andRudolph 1960; Tarrow 1998; McAdam, Tarrow, and Tilly 2001).
Various ethnic associations like Tharu Kalyan Kari Sabha wereable to create solidarity even among people speaking different
languages (Guneratne 2002). Since group solidarity could facilitate
inclusion, solidarity within communities should be measured, andthis could be achieved through measuring group's traditional andnew institutions and associations and their frequency and vibrancyof activities.
Exclusion from civil society organizations could undermineinterests of excluded groups. Gramsci (1971) has argued that theruling group creates hegemony by not only dominating the state
but also the civil society, which provides a discourse rationalizing
the system and the subordinate position of marginalized groups.
He argues that to obtain political power, one has to win over thecivil society, which not only influences the society, but affect thestate as well. Civil society groups often raise and develop new
agendas and issues and propose new policy alternatives, which
the state sometimes adopts (Young 2000). Civil society is also a
sphere from which governments sometimes recruit experts when
they adopt policies advocated by the movement. In the US,146 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

environmental advocates were recruited to run the environment
agency (Dryzek 1996) and public health advocates were recruited
in Brazil after the government adopted the public health movement
advocated policies (Weyland 1995). While the experts could steer
the government into an appropriate directions after they join
the state, the movement, however, could slacken and affect theoverall continuous effective advocacy of the issues (Dryzek 1996).
Exclusion in trade unions, non-governmental organizations andhuman rights organizations are examples of exclusion from civilsociety. The exclusion could occur at the level of membership,leadership and the policy and/or program. Even many Human
Rights organizations have been dominated by the dominant groupin Nepal and they have either largely ignored the issues of themarginalized groups, supported only those demands that do notappear to be threatening, or sometimes even worked against themwhen they perceived that the excluded groups’ demand went
against their groups’ privileges and interests by arguing that suchdemands are against individual rights and national interests, manyof which have been created and defined through universalization of
dominant values, norms and cultural markers while many others
have been influenced considerably by them.
Similarly, exclusion from knowledge generation and dissemination
could be harmful and they could rationalize and encourage exclusionin other sectors by other actors. Knowledge and power intermesh andknowledge can be employed strategically to dominate, ignore andexclude others (Foucault 1980; Rudolph 2005). Foucault (1980:
133) has aptly described the phenomenon: “‘Truth’ is linked in acircular relation with systems of power which produce and sustain
it, and to effects of power which it induces and which extend it.
” Similarly, literary culture and dissemination of certain type ofknowledge have played very important roles on the emergence andgrowth of nationalism (Anderson 1991; Gellner 1983). In divided
societies, the government and dominant society have occasionallyexploited media to perpetuate violence and genocide, as in Rwanda
and the former Yugoslavia (Snyder and Ballentine 1997).
Over-representation of the dominant group in key knowledge
generation and dissemination institutions in multiethnic societies
could lead to production and reproduction of knowledge that isskewed against the marginalized groups. It could contribute to the
exclusion of the marginalized groups and their issues in several ways.

A Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 147

First, as the same facts can be viewed and interpreted differently
by members of different groups as groups’ position, culture,
worldviews, and socialization influence perspectives and views,
when a group dominates knowledge generation and dissemination
sphere, the dominant group’s views and perspective could become
dominant and the views and perspectives of marginalized groups
could be excluded because researchers and opinion makers often
investigate and write on issues in which they are interested in.
Second, powerful positions in academia determine priorities overresearch, recruitment, and allocation of scarce research funds(Diesing 1992), while media editors, publishers and owners caninfluence coverage of issues and recruitment and deployment ofreporters on issues that they think are interesting and should
be covered. Thus, the marginalized groups’ issues may not be
researched or investigated, or could receive less time and otherresources due to the priority and preference of the powerful. Many
marginalized groups’ issues have been ignored or have received lessattention in Nepal because the dominant group administratorsand editors consider them as “trivial. ” Third, when the dominantgroup members research and investigate the issue of exclusion, theyoften come with different findings than from that of researchers
from marginalized groups. In such a scenario, the dominantgroup’s views have often prevailed in contests over interpretationin the media and academia due to their overwhelming numeric
overrepresentation, frequent repetition by the over-represented
members, and plain “spinning” at times. Fourth, the media andacademia dominated by one group often shut out or give less spaceand coverage to the news, events, and opinions of other groups
that it considers“unimportant” or even “harmful. ” Fifth, many
dominant group members, especially those in the media andacademia, often perceive the issues raised by the marginalizedgroups as a threat to their privileges and interests, and hence
have denigrated, defamed, and devalued those ideas and demands
deliberately in the name of “national interest, ” “public interest,” and so on.
Centuries-long promotion of the ruling group’s cultural values,
norms and perspectives by the state, and prohibition of organizationsof other groups and their views, created an atmosphere where the
CHHE controlled state, academia and media sponsored discourse
became hegemonic in Nepal in the Gramscian notion (Gramsci
1971). Many members of the marginalized groups internalized148 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

the discourse perpetuated by the dominant group that they weredisadvantaged due to their inherent backwardness and incapability,
while many dominant group members believed in their racist mythof superiority. The “high” caste hill Hindu norms and values guideeven many intellectuals in Nepal, despite their claim to be liberalor progressive.
Distorted knowledge generation and dissemination not only
undermined the marginalized groups and their issues, but also
constrained the information rights of the larger society by not
making available multiple and competing facts, opinions and views.
As a partial result, the mainstream society and the state sufferedfrom cognitive dissonance, due to which people unconsciously
filter out information outside the framework they use to view andunderstand the world, and therefore have been repeatedly shockedby events such as the rise of ethnic assertion in the 1990s, thegrowth of the Maoist rebellion, the madhesi movement in 2007
and the electoral victory of the Maoists in 2008 that the media andacademia had not analyzed and covered adequately and properly toprovide a well-rounded view (Lawoti 2008a; Lawoti 2008b).
As mentioned earlier, I do not discuss rationale for including
economic and political dimensions because they are generally
accepted and included in the exclusion/inclusion indices. They would
be incorporated as important dimensions in the proposed index.

Measuring Socio-Cultural Exclusion and Deprivations
Various methods have been used to construct indices in different
fields. Economists usually rely on quantitative data and formal
modeling to create indices of poverty and wellbeing, such as the
Human Development Index. Such indices can be created reasonably
well in fields were necessary data are available. However, thelack of available data on all aspects of an issue could constrain
measuring, even a well-discussed and quantitatively analyzed
phenomena like poverty. For example, Baulch (2006 (1996) : 83)
points out that the "traditional income/consumption approach's
concept of poverty would prefer to focus on…private consumption,common property resources and state-provided commodities…but
often settles for…private consumption alone…or private income
due to the difficulties of measuring consumption of state-provided
commodities and access to common property resources. " WhileA Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 149

recognizing the usefulness of such measures and indices, one
should be aware of their limitations as well.
Another example from beyond the field of economics could
help to make the usefulness, as well as limitation, clearer. The
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) (2011) publishes annuallyan Impunity Index, which is a list of the most dangerous countries
for journalists to operate. It constructs the Impunity Index by
dividing the number of unsolved murders of journalists per one
million inhabitants in a country. It is relatively easy to calculate
the Impunity Index and it can clearly identify the most dangerous
countries based on killings and unsolved murders of journalists,
and the index is very useful for getting a reasonably good senseof countries with dire threats to journalists, but it cannot shed
information on other aspects of press freedom. For example, in 2011
the CPJ identified the 13 most dangerous countries for journalists
solely based on killings of journalists and unsolved murdercases of journalists, when in fact a country could be dangerous
for journalists due to many other factors even when no one iskilled. Or, the situation may have become less dangerous, but if
the old murder cases still remain unsolved, the index could projecta more dangerous situation than the country may actually be.
Beyond developing indices with hard data obtained from eventsor actions, in different fields, scholars rely on expert or concerned
individuals' assessments to construct indices. For example, politicalscientists, sociologists, and others working on various issues suchas regime types, democratization, corruption, often rely on experts’assessments. The Transparency International's Corruption Index
is constructed based on business people's perception of corruption(Transparency International 2013). The Freedom House, on theother hand, publishes annual scores for Freedom (political rights
and civil liberties) and Press Freedom based on experts assessmentsof a large number of related issues. The Press Freedom investigatesaround 50 questions on three dimensions of legal, political andeconomic freedom. The processes occasionally lead to slightly
varied interpretations from different experts and this is sorted out
by discussion and comparison with past indices. It has produced
an index that covers most countries and is reasonably valid andhas been proven to be a robust measure (Freedom House 2000;
Freedom House 2009; Freedom House 2011; Reporters without
Borders 2010; Seligson 1997). 7

150 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

A single methodological tool cannot capture the varied typesof exclusion faced by diverse groups, who have very different
characteristics, such as either having a very small or large
population, concentrated in some localities or territoriallydispersed or both, and face different forms and extent of cultural,social, economic, and political exclusion, and face different levelof challenges, such as extinction or threat of extinction of
languages, lack of script, lack of literary culture in the group’s
language, etc. The community's effort in promoting its needs
and interests, and the state's response toward the community's
needs and demands, as well as impact of external factors,
could also affect exclusion and inclusion. Multiple approaches,
methodologies and tools, which are increasingly becoming thenorm for conducting good research for many issues and questions,
are necessary to capture the complexity of the exclusion/inclusion
in Nepal.
Multiple approaches should be employed for generating data andconstructing the purpose of comprehensive inclusion/exclusionindex in Nepal due to the nature of the Nepali society and theindex being constructed. If executed well, it could be a model.
If data are available (via census, etc. ) on income/consumption
etc. , such hard data can be used. Such types of data are notavailable for measuring cultural discrimination, untouchability
and other ethnic/caste prejudice. We can and should come up withquantitative data using scaling method relying on assessments ofexperts8, whose validity and reliability can be increased throughtriangulation, verification and vetting.

7
8

I have provided consultation to the Freedom House to prepare Freedom Rating
and Press Freedom for a few countries.
For example, Gurr (2010) measures Severity of Cultural Restrictions of around
275 minority groups around the world by looking at restrictions on observance of the group's religion (s) ; restrictions on speaking or publishing in thegroup's language or dialect; restrictions on instruction in the group's language;
restrictions on celebration of group holidays, ceremonies, cultural events; restrictions marriage and family life; restrictions on organizations that promote
the group's cultural interests employing 4 point scale: 0= the activity is notstrictly restricted; 1= the activity is restricted by widespread but informal social practice, for example, by job discrimination against people who observegroup customs or use the group's language; 2 = the activity is somewhat restricted by public policy; 3 = the activity is prohibited or sharply restricted bypublic policy. The data set has been widely used by scholars studying ethnic
movements, violent ethnic conflict, autonomy, self-determination movements
and so on.

A Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 151

Collecting and Generating Data
Data can be obtained for construction of an Exclusion/Inclusion
Index in at least the following four ways. First, some data canbe obtained from existing data sets and sources like the census
and national living standard surveys. If sufficient sample sizes are
not obtained for smaller groups from the national surveys, similarsmaller groups could be lumped together, as Bennett and Parajuli
have done, for the purpose of extracting data from the existingsources (see the fourth point below on collecting data on the whole
population of smaller groups). Going beyond Bennett and Parajuli,
however, the combined data can be extrapolated for constructing
index for the constituent individual groups. Such a method ofusing available data is not the most desirable way to go about,
but it is done frequently when funding is not available or to savecost. Even though indicators do not fully capture a phenomenon,
they have their use as they can convey some useful information.
The extrapolated data and index could represent and reflect theconditions of the very small groups to some extent, at the least. It
might be better to have some estimated data and index based on it
than not having anything at all.
Another set of data can be obtained from primary sources, such as
representation of various groups in various state, civic, and media
organizations, as well as data on public holidays during festivalsof different groups, highway named after various groups andtheir heroes, stamps published to commemorate various groups
and their heroes, locales, culture and tradition, etc. Archival
and interpretive analyses of laws and public policy affecting themarginalized groups can be carried out. The unit of analysis
for this data set should be the identity group. The data should
be presented in per capita basis to enable balancing equitable
representation between small and large groups. For example, if
a national hero declared by the state hails each from Magar andRaute group, the per capita calculation would show that the Rauteare over represented because less number of people have the same
number of state-declared national heroes compared to a groupwith a large number of members. Since most of the smaller groups
are excluded in most spheres, over-representation occasionally in
one sphere would probably not lead to over-representation overall
and become problematic. On the other hand, generally very small
groups face many more and severe external threats (see Kymlicka

152 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

1995) and the culture, language or even group may be in danger ofextinction (Bhattachan 2003; Gurr 1993). Over-representation ofsmall groups in a few realms is probably necessary to counter the
threats and challenges they face in everyday life in many sectors
due to their small population. If need be, a graded per capita
calculation could be carried out to balance the phenomena of underor over-representation.
The data should be broken down to gender in addition to ethnic/
caste groups. Collecting data along individual ethnic/caste groups
would allow flexibility in interpreting them, such as madhesi dalit
could be lumped in the madhesi or dalit category depending upon
the issue at hand (citizenship issue as madhesi, or untouchability
as dalit). If some useful and relevant data is already collected andanalyzed by some scholars, they can be used to save time andmoney.
The third type of data can be generated through assessment ofexperts. For example the practice of untouchability, ethnic/casteprejudice and cultural discrimination cannot often be captured
reasonably easily and reliably through past surveys, census etc.
New surveys can be launched to capture the attitudes of people on
the issue but beyond the high cost, they may not be able to measure
the phenomenon unless the questions are developed scientificallywith multiple questions to locate an attitude on a scale and tested
multiple times (for measurement of racism, see Biernat andCrandall 1999; McConahay, Hardee, and Batts 1981; Robinson,
Wrightsman, and Shaver 1998; Virtanen 1998). The ethnic andcaste prejudice data can be generated through assessments ofexperts and knowledgeable persons for a large number of ethnic
and caste groups at a reasonable cost. Analysis of laws and public
policies could be useful to know if the state is sensitive toward
the marginalized groups’ issues or is biased toward the dominantgroups, but will not capture the prevalence of the practices insociety. A number of experts specializing on different identityand gender groups could individually come with indices for thegroup/subject/gender. A joint meeting of the experts could settle
the differences through deliberations by reaching an acceptablemeasure after each expert provides his/her rationale for awarding
a certain rank/scale for different criteria under considerations. If
disagreement persists on some indicators, then the average on thatscore could be taken as the final measure for that criterion. The

A Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 153

Freedom House uses such a methodology, in addition to making
the data comparable with the past indices, to arrive at the Freedom(Democracy) Score and Press Freedom scores for all the countries
in the world.
The fourth and probably the most expensive method could be to
conduct a survey to capture both attitudes and general informationof group members (and hence collective group). Attitudinalsurveys that ask people whether they are allowed inside housesof "higher" caste for example could help to record the prevalenceof untouchability. The responses could depend upon how thequestions are framed, constructed and relayed. If attitudinalsurvey methodology is to be employed, scaling (a continuum ofvery high, high, not sure, low, very low or a range from 1-7 or
1-10, for example) and index construction (several questions
asked from different directions on an issue to get a composite andmore valid response) should be employed, and pre-testing carriedout to obtain more reliable and valid responses. For very small
groups, it might be necessary to conduct the survey to the whole
population or at least with a sample that contains large number of
their members.
The next section provides the questionnaire and instrument forcollecting data needed for constructing the Exclusion/Inclusionindex. They are organized based on issues. During the collection ofdata, the instrument could be additionally reorganized along datacollection methods (lumping survey questionnaire separately fromthose dealing with expert opinions, for example). The instrument
stand as a proposal and they would benefit from inputs of experts
and other stakeholders before they are implemented for collecting
data. The deliberations and input could make substantive (issues
and dimensions to be added) and semantic revisions (language,terms etc. ). They could also revise on the weights of different
dimensions and sub-dimensions. Finally, as per needs and funds
available, some of the items could be dropped or added.

CULTURAL

Religion

The group is restricted or free to observe and practice and promote its religion without constraints, such as build worshipplaces, publish religious texts, proselytize etc. ; Scale: 1-5 (1 = faces restriction in practicing; 2= free to practice religion, 3 = faces
restriction in spreading awareness about group religion; 4 = free to spread awareness about religion without proselytizing; 5 = free
to promote religion, including through proselytizing)

The group's religion is treated equally by the state (legal equality, equal support, if any, such as broadcasting religious rituals,
ceremonies in the state Radio and TV; its ritual is part of state agencies’ ceremonies, such as in the security sector and inauguration
etc. of state programs, etc. ) ; Scale 1-5 (1= faces legal inequality, 2 = legal equality; 3 = legal equality but not supported by thestate; 4 = legal equality and some support by the state; 5 = legal equality and extensive support by the state)

The group's religion is tolerated/not tolerated, treated with respect and as equal by the society (extent of existence of prejudice,
if any, violent attack and coverage/under-coverage of its rituals, ceremonies in private TV and Radio stations) ; Scale 1-6 (1= religion
and its infrastructure and people have occasionally faced violent attack; 2 = religion and its people face non-violent attack andcriticism) ; 3 = religion is tolerated (indifference) but not treated with respect; 4 = religion is treated with respect; 5 =religion istreated with respect but does not receive equitable treatment, such as coverage in private media like the radio, TV etc. ; 6 = religion
is treated with respect and receives disproportionate space in the private & public sector media)

The group’s religion receives international support in terms of religious discourse and material and funding support for its
survival, operational activities and expansion; Scale 1-5 (1= no significant international support in discourse, material and funding;
2=international support in religious discourse; 3=some international material support and networking in addition to support inreligious discourse; 4= some international support in networking, discourse, materials and funding; 5= extensive international
support in networking, discourse, materials and funding)

Language

The group's language faces restriction or is recognized equally or disproportionately by the state (language is recognized as
language of governance in entire Nepal or provinces or sub-provinces) : Scale 1-6 (1=restricted in using it in public or private sphere;
2 = allowed to speak but no formal recognition; 3 = official language at local/sub-provincial level; 4 = official language at provincial/regional level; 5 = official language at provincial and local level (in another region) ; 6 = official language for entire Nepal)

A.

1.

1. 1.

1. 2.

1. 3.

1. 4.

2.

2. 1.

1

6%

1

1

1. 5

1. 5

6%

30%

Name of Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ; Population of Group in the most recent
census . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DataIssues/dimensions/sub-dimensions
Wt. M. F.
sourceM = male, F = female

Data Collection Instrument for the Proposed Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index154 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in NepalState support toward group's language; Scale 1-6 (1= no support at all; 2 = instruction permitted in public schools; 3 =instruction permitted in public schools and support for text books publication; 4 = instruction permitted in public schools, support
for text book publication and hiring teachers; 5 = instruction permitted in public schools, support for text book publication andhiring teachers, and support toward establishing educational infrastructures like school buildings for promotion of the language; 6 =instruction permitted in public schools, support for text book publication and hiring teachers, support for establishing educational
infrastructure and other additional support, such as scholarship (residential, tuition, stipend)

Language is taught at schools; Scale 1-6 (1= language is not taught at public schools; 2= language taught up to grade 5(primary) ; 3 = language taught up to grade 8 (middle school) ; 4 = language taught for 12 years (high school, intermediate) ; 5 =language is taught up to 16 years; 6 = language is taught beyond 16 years)

The group's language has a script; Scale 1-5 (1 = no script; 2 = developing script; 3 = has a script; 4 = script is widely usedby the group; 5 = script is used widely in the country beyond the group)

The group's language has a literary culture; Scale 1-6 (1 = no literary culture; 2 = books are published in the language; 3 =books and magazines are published; 4 = books and magazines are published and grammar is developed;5 = Books and magazines
are published, grammar is developed and newspapers are published; 6 = grammar is developed and books, magazines, newspapers
are published and have wide circulation)

Language retention by the group, in percentage (language speakers from the group/ population of the community) (0 = no one
speaks the language; 100 = all members of the group speak language)

Language of the group spoken by other group members of other groups, in percentage (language speakers from non-ethnic
group/ population of ethnic/linguistic community) (0= no external speakers; high could go beyond 100 percent)Symbolic Representation

The group's festivals declared as public holidays (0 if absent or a ratio number if present – number of festivals/group population;
if half a day holiday is given, consider it as Half; if holiday only awarded to the group, consider it as One; if a day is a holiday in a
number of groups' festivals, divide One by the number of groups and divide the result by the population of the group)

The group's members declared as national heroes by the state (0 if absent or a ratio number if present – number of national
heroes/group population)

The group's issues and members illustrated in stamps (0 if absent or a ratio number if present – number of stamps/group
population)

Adoption of group's name or word representing or associated with the group as the name of the country, province, and local
governing units (0 if absent or a ratio number if present – number/group population)

Major highways named after group or group members (0 if absent or a ratio number if present – length of highway/group
population; level of highways could be weighted)

2. 2.

2. 3.

2. 4.

2. 5.

2. 6.

2. 7.

3.

3. 1.

3. 2.

3. 3.

3. 4.

3. 5.

Issues/dimensions/sub-dimensions

1

1

1

1

1

6%

0. 75

0. 75

0. 75

0. 75

1

1

Wt. M. F.

DatasourceA Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 155

Names of places (rivers, villages, towns, mountains etc. ) replaced, scale 1-5 (1= large number of place names replaced; 2= someplaces names replaced, 3= places names as they are or not replaced, 4 = group’s names imposed in a few instances, 5= group names
imposed in many instances)

Tradition and Ways of Life

Restriction to wear and retention of group's dress, respect they receive, and adoption by other groups; Scale 1-7 (1 = restricted
in private or public sphere; 2 = Not restricted to wear one group’s dress in public places; 3 = group’s dress denigrated by othergroups; 4 = group’s dress respected and adopted by other groups; 5 = group dress widely adopted by members of other groups; 6=thegroup’s dress is promoted by the state; 7=the group’s dress is imposed on others by the state)

Restriction to wear and retention of group's jewelries, respect they receive, and adoption by other groups; Scale 1-7 (1 =restricted in private or public sphere; 2 = not restricted to wear in public places; 3 = denigrated by other groups; 4 = respected andadopted by other groups; 5 = widely adopted by members of other groups; 6 = the group’s jewelries is promoted by the state; 7= thegroup’s jewelries is imposed by the state on the population)

Restriction to practice and retention of group's cultural events/rituals/ceremonies, respect they receive, and adoption by othergroups; Scale 1:5 (1 = restricted in private and public sphere; 2 = no restriction to practice in public sphere; 3 = denigrated by othergroups; 4 = respected and adopted by other groups; 5 = widely adopted by members of other groups)

Promotion or adoption (or the lack) of group's tradition/rituals by the state, such as conducting particularceremonies during
inauguration etc. ; Scale 1-5 (1 = none; 2 = adoption of some elements; 3 = adoption of considerable elements; 4 = significant
elements adopted by the state; 5 = mandated by law)

Adoption of group's traditions/rituals by the society (such as celebration of Dashain, honoring with Khada) ; Scale 1-5 (1=none; 2 = adopted by some section of society; 3 = adopted by considerable section of the society; 4 = adopted by large section of thesociety; 5= adopted by all or almost everyone)

The state recognizes and supports traditional institutions of the group; Scale 1-5 (1 = no ; 2 = recognizes some institutions; 3= recognizes considerable institutions; 4 = recognizes significant institutions; 5 = policies recognizing traditional institutions are
sincerely implemented)

The state recognizes and supports traditional professions of the group; Scale 1-4 (1 = no recognition and support; 2 =recognizes and but no support; 3 = recognizes and formulation of policies to support but lacks sincere implementation; 4 =formulated policies to support the profession and are sincerely implemented)

The group maintains traditions and practices that are detrimental to the wellbeing of other groups; Scale 1-4 (1 =none; 2 =some practices are detrimental; 3 = significant practices and traditions are detrimental; 4 = detrimental traditions and practices aresupported by formal law)

3. 6.

4.

4. 1.

4. 2.

4. 3.

4. 4.

4. 5.

4. 6.

4. 7.

4. 8.

Issues/dimensions/sub-dimensions

0. 75

0. 75

0. 75

0. 75

0. 75

0. 75

0. 75

0. 75

6%

1

Wt. M. F.

Datasource156 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

Autonomy of Group and Individuals

The state recognizes the right of autonomy of the group at different level (denial of autonomy by the center or autonomy atprovincial, sub provincial, non-territorial level) and backs with necessary laws and support; Scale 1-9 (1= denial of autonomy;
2= autonomy at sub-provincial level; 3= autonomy at sub-provincial level with adequate laws and support; 4= non-territorialautonomy; 5 = non-territorial autonomy with adequate laws and support; 6 = autonomy at provincial level; 7 = autonomy atprovincial and sub provincial level; 8= autonomy at provincial and sub-provincial level with adequate laws and support; 9= thegroup dominates the center)

The group has the formal right to veto on fundamental cultural issues that affects it; Scale 1-5 (1= no veto right; 2 = in someareas; 3 = in significant areas; 4 = group is completely autonomous; 5= group dominates other groups on cultural issues)

The group practices de facto autonomy over its own matters or faces constraints; Scale 1-4 (1= none; 2 = in some areas; 3 =in considerablearea; 4 = group has autonomy and dominates other groups)

The state recognizes international laws, covenants, treaties, and declarations that provide autonomy of groups in different
spheres and demonstrates sincerity in their implementation and supports international advocacy of autonomy to groups; Scale 1:6(1= no recognition of international treaties on autonomy; 2 = recognizes some international laws, etc. ; 3= recognizes significant
and relevant international laws, etc. ; 4= recognizes all relevant international laws, etc. ; 5= recognizes all relevantinternationallaws and demonstrates sincerity in their implementation by formulating necessary national laws; 6 = implements the national laws
sincerely; 7= the state recognizes laws and is active in advocating autonomy rights of groups in the international arena)

Individual members (women, men, and third gender; poor and rich;young and old) of group has equal rights in defining group's
identity, community needs, aspirations, and objectives of groups as against often old males doing so (1 = no, for instance, only
old males decide; 2 = have a role in some issues; 3= have role in significant issues; 4 = individual equality exists in most areas;
5=formal and informal equality among all members on community related matters)

SOCIAL

Caste/Ethnic/Religious/Identity and Gender Discrimination and PrejudiceThe group suffers from untouchability; Scale 1-6 (1=victim of extensive (inter and intra) untouchability ; 2 = victim ofsignificant (inter caste) form of untouchability; 3=victim of some level of untouchability; 4 = does not face untouchability; 5= grouppractices untouchability; 6= group is responsible for perpetuating caste based untouchability)

The state has promulgated laws to end untouchability and is sincere in their implementation; Scale 1-5 (1= laws promote
untouchability, 2= no laws have been formulated to end untouchability; 3 = some laws have been formulated against untouchability
but inadequate; 4 = state is not serious and sincere in implementing laws against untouchability; 5 = state is sincere in implementing
laws against untouchability)

5.

5. 1.

5. 2.

5. 3.

5. 4.

5. 5.

B.

6.

6. 1.

6. 2.

Issues/dimensions/sub-dimensions

0. 91

0. 91

10

30%

1

1

1

1

2

6%

Wt. M. F.

DatasourceA Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 157

The group suffers from ethnic and caste based prejudice; Scale 1-6 (1=victim of extensive (inter and intra) ethnic/casteprejudice; 2 = victim of significant interethnic/caste prejudice; 3=victim of some level of ethnic/caste prejudice; 4 = does not face ethnic/
caste prejudice; 5 = group holds prejudice against weaker groups; 6 = group is significantly responsible for perpetuating ethnic/casteprejudice)

The state has formulated laws to end ethnic/caste prejudice the group faces and demonstrates sincerity in their implementations;
Scale 1-5 (1= laws promote ethnic/caste prejudice; 2 =no laws have been formulated to end ethnic/caste prejudice; 3 = some laws
have been formulated to end ethnic/caste prejudice but inadequate; 4 = significant laws promulgated to end ethnic/caste prejudice
but state is not serious and sincere in implementing laws against ethnic/caste prejudice; 5 = significant laws promulgated to end
ethnic/caste prejudice and state is sincere in implementing laws against ethnic prejudice)

The group suffers from religious prejudice; Scale 1-6 (1=victim of extensive (inter and intra) religious prejudice ; 2 = victim
of significant interreligious prejudice; 3=victim of some level of religious prejudice; 4 = does not face religious prejudice; 5 = groupholds prejudice against minority religious groups; 6= group contributes in perpetuating religious prejudice)

The state has formulated laws to end religious prejudice the group faces and demonstrates sincerity in their implementations;
Scale 1-5 (1= laws promote religious prejudice; 2 =no laws have been formulated to end religious prejudice; 3 = some laws havebeen formulated to end religious prejudice but inadequate; 4 = significant laws promulgated to end religious prejudice but state is
not serious and sincere in implementing laws against religious prejudice; 5 = significant laws promulgated to end religious prejudiceand state is sincere in implementing laws against religious prejudice)

Group is suspected of not being loyal towards the Nepali state and nation; Scale 1-4 (1= faces extensive suspicion; 2= facessome level of suspicion; 3 = faces no suspicion; 4 = group is responsible for generating suspicion on other groups)

The state has formulated laws to end exclusion in citizenship; Scale 1- 6 (1= laws deny citizenship; 2= laws and administrative
mechanism delay in awarding citizenship; 3 = some laws formulated to treat equally in terms of citizenship but inadequate; 4= laws
adequate to treat equally in terms of citizenship; 5 = laws are adequate but administrative mechanism delays in acquiring citizenshipcertificates; 6= adequate laws to acquire citizenship certificates and no delay through administrative mechanism)

Group faces gender discrimination; Scale 1-7 (1=most members of group -face extensive gender discrimination, including
violence in the household and outside; 2 = Most members of group ( ethnic, caste, religious communities) face extensive gender
discrimination, including violence in the household but not outside; 3 = Most members of group face extensive gender discrimination
but not violence; 4= Some members of group face extensive gender discrimination but not violence; 5= Most members of groupface some level of gender discrimination; 6= Some members of group face some level of gender discrimination; 7 = no gender
discrimination in the group)

6. 3.

6. 4.

6. 5.

6. 6.

6. 7.

6. 8.

6. 9.

Issues/dimensions/sub-dimensions

0. 91

0. 91

0. 91

0. 91

0. 91

0. 91

0. 91

Wt. M. F.

Datasource158 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

Child aged 14-20 completing Primary School (see B-P)

Education level: number of school years completed

7. 1. 2.

7. 1. 3.

Access to clean drinking water (see B-P)

Sanitation (household without toilet, see B-P)

7. 2. 2.

7. 2. 3.

Strength of group identity; scale 1-4 (1= supposed group members resist and challenge the government or other designatedidentity; 2= challenge to the identity does not exist or is weak but less proportion of members identify with the group identity; 3= High proportion of group members identify with group identity; 4 =members of the group are active in promoting identity andprotecting group’s rights)

Existence and vibrancy of traditional institutions and their representative nature; Scale 1-7 (1 = traditional institutions
no longer exist; 2= existence of traditional institutions/organizations; 3 = existence of representative traditional institutions/organizations; 4 = regular meetings of traditional institutions/organizations; 5 = lobbying to the state by traditional institutions/organizations for group’s welfare and rights; 6 = peaceful protests by traditional institutions/organizations demanding rights andresources; 7= violent activities by traditional institutions/organizations demanding rights and resources)

8. 3.

Percentage of the population of the group

Group’s Identity, Strength, and Solidarity

Child height-for age (see B-P)

7. 2. 1.

Health OutcomesChild aged 6-13 in school (see B-P)

7. 1. 1.

Educational Outcomes

8. 2.

8. 1.

8.

7. 2.

7. 1.

Educational and Health Outcomes

0. 55

-

0. 55

5

. 83

. 83

. 84

-

. 84

. 83

. 83

-

5

0. 90

6. 11 Self-esteem/self-respect of groups with regard to individual and group abilities, hark working, social status, culture, history,
networking, etc. ; scale 1-5 (1= group feels that it is inferior to many other groups in terms of ability, working habits, culture,
network etc. ; 2 = members of the group feel that it is inferior to some other groups; 3 = the group feels that it is more or less equal
to other groups; 3 = the group feels that it is superior to some other groups in terms of ability, work habit, culture etc. ; 4= membersof the group feel very able compared to many groups in the society in terms of ability, working habits, culture etc. )

7.

0. 91

Wt. M. F.

6. 10. The state has formulated laws to end gender discrimination and demonstrates sincerity in their implementation; Scale 1-5 (1=laws promote gender discrimination; 2 =no laws have been formulated to reduce gender discrimination; 3 = some laws havebeen formulated to end gender discrimination but they are inadequate; 4 = More or less adequate laws formulated to end gender
discrimination but state is not serious and sincere in implementing laws against gender discrimination; 5 = adequate laws and stateis sincere in implementing laws against gender discrimination)

Issues/dimensions/sub-dimensions

Data
sourceA Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 159

0.55

0.55

8.5. Existence and vibrancy of modern ethnic/caste associations and their representative nature; Scale 1-7 (1 = modern ethnic/
caste association does not exist; 2 = existence of a modern ethnic/caste association but largely inactive; 3 = existence of modern
representative/elected ethnic/caste associations but largely inactive; 4 = regular meetings of modern representative/elected ethnic/
caste association; 5 = lobbying by modern ethnic/caste association; 6 = peaceful protests led by modern association; 7= violent
activities led by modern association)

8.6. Existence and vibrancy of NGO's in promoting group interests; ; Scale 1-6 (1 = NGOs of the group does not exist; 2 = existence ofsome NGOs; 3 = existence of large number of NGOs but largely confined to service delivery; 4 = Service delivery and some lobbying
and advocacy by NGOs; 5 = service delivery and extensive advocacy by NGOs; 6 = peaceful protests led by NGOs)

0.425

1

1

0.60

9.1. Representation in editorial pool of A category newspapers categorized by the Press Council, in percentage (depending upon availabilityof data and resource, more media personnel could be included – in such cases weights could be given based on ranks and circulationof the media)

9.2. Representation in academia (head of institutions, universities, office bearers of associations, and depending upon availability of data
and resource more academics could be included, including all professors at public universities – in such cases weights could be given
based on ranks and reputation of the institution), in percentage

9.3. The state has introduced laws and policies to ensure the group's representation in the state media and demonstrates sincerity
in implementation or has policies that favors the group, Scale 1-6 (1= laws that facilitate exclusion; 2 = no exclusionary nor
inclusionary laws; 3 = laws to ensure some representation, such as reservation; 4 = laws that ensure proportionate representation
but lack of sincere implementation; 5 = laws to ensure proportionate representation and sincerity in implementation; 6 = laws
facilitate over-representation of group)

Representation in Media and Academia

59.

8.10.Recipient of migration, a: percentage of its population in its core native areas

8.9. Migration, b: migration among non-indigenous groups; scale 1-4 (1 =very high level of out migration; 2 = high level of migration;
0.425
3 = moderate level of migration; 4 = none or very less level of migration)

8.8. Migration, a: out migration of Indigenous Peoples - percentage of group outside native land, in percentage

8.7. Existence and vibrancy of supra organizations/forums/fronts/federations and their vibrancy; Scale 1-6 (1 = supra organization 0.425
does not exist; 2= existence of federations; 3 = existence of federations and are representative in nature; 4 = regular meetings offederations; 4 = regular meetings of federations and lobbying by federations; 5 = peaceful protests led by federations; 6= violent
activities led by federations )0.55

Wt. M. F.

8.4. Existence and vibrancy of traditional leadership and their representative nature; Scale 1-7 (1 = non-existence of traditional
leadership; 2 = existence of traditional leadership; 3 = existence of representative (recruited through non-hereditary method)
traditional leadership; 4 = some role of traditional leadership to lead the community in its internal affairs; 5 = active role oftraditional leadership in lobbying to state agencies on behalf of community; 6 = leadership role of traditional leadership in peacefulprotests against the state; 7= leadership role of traditional leadership in violent activities against the state)

Issues/dimensions/sub-dimensions

Data
source160 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

0. 609. 7 Ethnic/caste specific media launched; Scale 1-6 (1= no group specific media launched; 2 = media launched but is irregular; 3 =Media is launched, including in native language; 4 = media is launched and is regularly published; 5= media is launched, is regular,
and widely circulated; 6 = Media in its native language dominates the media sector)

0. 84

0. 84

0. 83

0. 83

10. 1. Representation in major labor unions, in percentage (based on membership-depending upon availability of data and resource morelabor unions and their lower level membership could be included – in such cases weights could be given based on categories and levelof unions)

10. 2. Representation in NGOs and INGOs, in percentage (representation in peak organization leadership - depending upon availabilityof data and resource leadership of major NGOs could be included – if large number of NGOs are included, weights could be given
based on size – budget, personnel etc. - of organizations)

10. 3. Representation in leadership of major mainstream Human Rights organizations, in percentage (depending upon availability of data
and resource more organizations could be included – in such cases weights could be given based on size/influence of organizations –budget, reach, staff )10. 4. Representation in lawyer's professional associations, in percentage (peak organization -depending upon availability of data andresource lower level membership could be included, as well as other professional organizations like the professors’, engineers’ anddoctors’ associations – in such cases weights could be given based on level of association)

5

0. 60

9. 6 The academic sector has introduced policies to increase representation of the group and demonstrates sincerity in implementation thosepolicies; Scale 1-6 (1=policies and practices that facilitate exclusion; 2 = no exclusionary nor inclusionary policies and practices; 3= policies and practices to ensure some representation; 4 = policies and practices to ensure proportionate representation but lackof sincere implementation; 5 = policies and practices to ensure proportionate representation and sincerity in implementation; 6 =policies and practices that facilitate group’s over-representation)

10. Representation in Civil Society Organizations

0. 60

The media sector has introduced policies to increase representation of the group and demonstrates sincerity in implementation
those policies; Scale 1-6 (1=policies and practices that facilitate exclusion; 2 = no exclusionary nor inclusionary policies andpractices; 3 = policies and practices to ensure some representation; 4 = policies and practices to ensure proportionate representation;
5 = policies and practices to ensure proportionate representation and sincerity in implementation; 6 = policies and practices thatfacilitate domination of group)

9. 5.

0. 60

The state has introduced laws and policies to address the group's representation in academia (public universities) and demonstrates
sincerity in implementation or has policies that favors the group (such as usage of group language in civil service examination), Scale
1-6 (1= laws that facilitate exclusion; 2 = no exclusionary nor inclusionary laws; 3= laws to ensure some representation, such as
reservation; 4 = laws that ensure proportionate representation; 5 = laws to ensure proportionate representation and sincerity inimplementation; 6= laws facilitate over-representation of group)

Wt. M. F.

9. 4.

Issues/dimensions/sub-dimensions

Data
sourceA Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 161

20 %

C.

18. Citizenship and Influence

10

20%

1

17. 2. State recognition over uses of natural resources, laws and policies to facilitate control over natural resources and sincerity over
implementation of the policies by the state; Scale 1-5 (1=laws that hinders accessing resources; 2 = neither exclusionary nor
inclusive policies; 3 = recognition and passage of international laws that facilitate accessing natural resources; 4 = laws and policiesof the state to ensure access to natural resources; 5 = laws and policies of the state that ensures access to natural resources andeffective enforcement; 6= laws and policies that facilitate excessive access and use of natural resources)

POLITICAL

1. 5

17. 1. Representation in the community forestry user's groups in percentage (peak organization; if data and resources are available, top
leaders and/or office bearers of user groups' could be collected)

D.

2. 5

17. Influence and Control Over Natural Resources

3
2. 5

16. Influence and/or Control Over Trade and Industry, in percentage (representation in peak organizations of trade and industry –depending upon availability of data and resources, lower level officer bearers could be included in the count with higher weights forpeak organizations)2

15. Landholding (no landholding; moderate land holding; significant land holding; large landholding)

2. 5

13. Unemployment Level, in percentage

14. Land Alienation (none; some; considerable; extensive)

2. 5

12. Loss of Traditional Occupation, scale 1-4 (1=very high, 2 = high, 3 =moderate, 4= none)

11. Income/Consumption (see B-P)

5

0. 83

10. 6 Group specific civil society organizations; Scale 1-6 (1= no civil society organization exist; 2 = civil society organization in one
sectoramonglabor union, human rights, professional associations; NGO/INGO; 3 = civil society organization in two sectors; 4 =civil society organizations in three sectors; 5= civil society organization in four sectors –) ; 6 = civil society organization in four
sectors or more and vibrant in at least two sectors

ECONOMIC

0. 83

Wt. M. F.

10. 5. State laws and policies to ensure proportionate representation of the group in various professional civil society organizations;
Scale 1=6 (1=laws and policies facilitates exclusion; 2 = neither exclusionary nor inclusive policies or laws; 3 = policies andlaws to ensure some representation; 4 = laws and policies to ensure proportionate representation; 5 =laws and policies to ensure
proportionate representation and sincerity in implementation; 6= state laws and policies facilitates domination of the group)

Issues/dimensions/sub-dimensions

Data
source162 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

2

2
2
2

2

8
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

18. 2 The group's voting influence, percentage vote cast in election

18. 3 Influence at local level (see B-P)

18. 4 The state has formed bodies to study, develop, and empower the group; Scale 1- 6 (1= state has not formed any special group specificorganization, either for individual or category; 2 = the state has formed one organization for the category; 3 = state has formed anorganization for the group; 4 = state has formed organization/s but they are not supported adequately; 5 = state has formed group/
category specific organization/s and they are well supported by the state; 6 = public organizations are dominated by the group)

18. 5 The state has formulated laws and public policies to empower and promote political equality of the group (beyond policies consideredin other dimensions) ; Scale 1- (1= state has not formulated group specific laws/public policies, either for individual or category; 2= the state has formulated laws/public policies targeted toward the category; 3 = state has formulated laws/public policies targeting
the group; 4 = state has formulated laws/public policies but they are not enforced sincerely; 5 = state has formulated group/category
specific laws/public policies they are sincerely supported by the state; 6 = laws and public policies generally favor the group)

19. Representation

19. 1 Representation in the executive, in percentage (provincial executives to be added after federalism is adopted with lower weights;
different weights to different positions)19. 2 Representation in the Parliament, percentage (provincial legislatures to be added after federalism is adopted with lower weights)

19. 3 Representation in the Judiciary, in percentage (provincial justices to be added after federalism is adopted with lower weights; justices
from lower level branches to be included if data and resources permit )19. 4 Representation in civil administration, in percentage (special class; other levels to be included if data and budget permit) andconstitutional commissions)19. 5 Representation in security administration, in percentage (top level; other levels to be included if data and budget permit)

19. 6. Representation in political parties, in percentage, with weight given based on party strength in the Parliament-Legislature (topoffice bearers and/or central committee members, different weights given to different position, with significantly high weight to theparty head)

19. 7 Representation in local governance, in percentage

Wt. M. F.

18. 1
The group faces difficulties in acquiring citizenship; Scale 1-5 (1= considerable proportion of its population has not been able
to acquire citizenship despite attempt to get it; 2 = some members of the group has not been able to acquire citizenship despite
attempt to get it; 3 = considerable proportion of the group is without citizenship because it has not attempted to acquire it; 4 =group members face difficulties when applying for citizenship certificate due to language barriers, suspicion of the group's loyalty to
the nation and state; 5 = group members do not face difficulties when applying for citizenship certificates).

Issues/dimensions/sub-dimensions

Data
sourceA Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 163

1

2

20. Group Specific Ethnic Party, ratio of votes received/population of the group

Wt. M. F.

19. 8 The state has introduced laws and policies to assure the group's representation in various sectors and demonstrates its sincerity inimplementation; Scale 1-8 (1= laws that exclude; 2 = neither exclusionary nor inclusive laws; 3 = inclusive laws in one sector; 4 =inclusive laws in two sectors; 5 =inclusive laws in three sectors; 6 = inclusive laws for four and more sectors; 7 = inclusive laws that
ensure proportionate representation; 8= laws to ensure proportionate representation and sincere implementation)

Issues/dimensions/sub-dimensions

Data
source164 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

A Comprehensive Exclusion/Inclusion Index for Nepal | 165

Concluding Thoughts
Some questions could be raised with regard to the suggested
data collection proposal. Does it require collection of a very large
number of data, and hence could the proposal be too ambitious?
A national project, I think, should collect large number of data if
funds are available. It should not be that daunting if determination
exists. Govinda Neupane (2000) single handedly, and without
funding support, calculated representation of various groups innumerous public, private and civic organizations and institutions.
Other indices-constructing organizations probe issues extensively.
For example, the Freedom House's Press Freedom scores are
obtained by asking questions on three dimensions (legal, political,
and economic environment) and 23 sub-dimensions with 126
questions for each country.
This type of indices are not based on neat and clean formulae
as some econometricians would prefer, but are in a far better
position to capture a complex reality than through simple andneat abstraction obtained with measurement of a few variables.
In public policy domains, intuition based on experience can often
lead to processes and policies that are often as good as, if not better
than, rationalistic approaches. Lindbolm (1959) had argued, in aslightly different context, that the muddling through process, whichbuilds on past experiences and exposure, for making incremental
changes in policies are scientific even when they do not follow therational-comprehensive approach the scientific community may
call for. Likewise, with regard to contentious issues that deal withsocial justice movements and policy changes, Iris Young (2001)
has argued that activists and their knowledge base of issues might
be more useful and reliable in acquiring some type of informationand knowledge and reaching informed decisions based on them incertain areas than “neutral, ” “scientific” method by those who
believe in dispassionate deliberations.
The Freedom House' score can be pointed out as an example.
Like the proposed index in this paper, it generates Freedom Score
for all the countries in the world along two dimensions (politicalrights and civil liberties) based on numerous sub-dimensions.
More importantly as it is relevant to this proposal, it appears lessscientific and logical, and as such, some have criticized the score
for having "inappropriate aggregation" and "multiple problems of166 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

measurement, " as other measures have also been pointed out as
having a number of "weaknesses" (Munck 2009). Despite different
democratic indices being criticized for different shortcomings,
including for their conceptualization of democracy, most of thewell-known democratic indices, including the Freedom House
score, highly correlate with each other, meeting the external
validity criterion (Arat 1991; Mainwaring, Brinks, and PerezLinan 2001; Vanhanen 2000). The world's leading politicalscientists have consulted for the Freedom House in refining its
measures. The measure's strongest validity probably comes fromits application—it is probably one of the most widely, if not themost, used data set to analyze democracy by social scientists.
Likewise, the proposed data set might be criticized in a numberof ways but testing with other similar measures could demonstrate
its robustness. More important, by attempting to measurenumerous variables that have excluded various groups in Nepal,
it will more truly capture exclusion that many groups in Nepal
are facing. It is likely to meet both internal and external validity
at a higher level than previous indices of exclusion/inclusion
constructed for Nepal.

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Nepal: Study of Political Inclusion and Research Methods | 173

Nepal: Study of Political Inclusion andResearch Methods
Krishna Hachhethu
This paper is framed with a proposition: the higher the level ofpolitical participation, the greater the political inclusion. Its purpose
is to assist the methodologies designed for the Social Inclusion
Atlas and Ethnographic Profile (SIA-EP) study. The SIA-EP
study has four components and four methodological paths: Nepal
Social Inclusion Index (NSII), Nepal Social Inclusion Survey(NSIS), Ethnographic Profile (EP), and Social Inclusion Mapping(SIM). The first section of the paper makes a brief review onliteratures of social sciences in Nepal, a review of study/researchon Nepali politics in particular. The NSII team will benefit fromthe secondary data sources and information included in the review.
The second section deals with a case study of Nepal Democracy
Survey in the hopes that the NSIS team will become informed
about multiple dimensions of political participation and assist in
designing a questionnaire related to political inclusion. The third
section deals with the customary governance as one of the avenuesof political participation and inclusion which could be useful to
the EP team.

I.

Literature Review

The study of social inclusion is a new venture in social sciences
research in Nepal. At times Nepal was under regimented
partyless panchayat system (1960-1990), ethnographic study
was dominated by cultural anthropologists, and political science
research was focused mainly on conventional core issues likegovernment, parliament, political party, foreign policy etc.
(Hachhethu, 2002a). The dominant themes of social sciences
study/research was something different from what it is now.
Nevertheless, some previous studies brought into light the conflict
between dominant pahadi and discriminated madheshi (Gaige
1975), between privileged hill Brahmins and marginalized Limbus(Caplan 1975). Recently the focus of social sciences has changed.
New developments taking place in the landscape of Nepali politics
and society – i. e. restoration of multiparty democracy in 1990,

174 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

rise of ethnicity and regionalism in the post-1990 period, ethnic
mobilization during the Maoist insurgency (1996-2006), setting
inclusive democracy as national goal in the post-April 2006 Jan
Andolan II, legal provisions on reservation, affirmative action,and caste/ethnic based representation in the Constituent Assembly(CA), and adaptation of secularism, pluralism, and federalism
as core principles of the new constitution under the making –have worked as motivational factors for making social exclusion/
inclusion the topmost priority areas in contemporary social
sciences’ study/research. So, the contribution of foreign researchfunds is important to study on such pressing topics. The Social
Inclusion Research Fund (SIRF) has contributed to explore thealternative sources of knowledge for research on issues directly
related to the question of inclusion and exclusion.
Besides its provision for funding short term and long term
research on different dimensions of inclusion of the excluded
groups—women, dalit, janajati and madheshi in particular—to
be carried out by selected individuals and institutions, the SIRF,
in collaboration with Mandala Book Point, has published books
on its own initiatives, i. e. From Exclusion to Inclusion (2007),
Identity and Society (2009), State and Society (2010). Value isadded in production of knowledge on social inclusion/exclusion
by its partner organizations. Some noteworthy publications by
its partner organizations are: Ethnicity and Federalism in Nepal(2012) by Central Department of Sociology/ Anthropology,
Tribhuvan University; special issues of Contributions to NepaleseStudies (a journal published by Centre for Nepal and AsianStudies) on “Social Exclusion and Group Mobilization in Nepal”(V. 36. 2009), “Social Science Methodology, ” “Social Movements,” “Identity and Inclusion, ” and “Monism, Multiculturalism andPluralism from Social Exclusion and Inclusion Perspectives” (V.
39. 2012).
At the outset, the social sciences study/research in the post1990 period has exposed that the traditional hegemonic modelof national integration in Nepal has eventually produced unequalcitizens (Burghart 1996; Gellner et al. 1997; Gurung 1998).
Four outstanding works that provide comprehensive data-based
information about inequality between dominant hill high castes
and discriminated janajati, madheshi and dalit are: Questionof Caste/Ethnicity in Nepal (Neupane 2000), Nepal: Human
Development Report (UNDP/Nepal 1998; 2004; 2009), UnequalNepal: Study of Political Inclusion and Research Methods | 175

Citizens: Gender, Caste and Ethnic Exclusion in Nepal (World Bankand DFID 2006) and Nepal Living Standards Survey (CBS 1996,
2004, 2011). Findings of these studies about inequality of socialgroups in terms of Governance Index (GI), Human Development
Index (HDI), and Poverty Index (PI) have become major sources
for studies carried out for advocacy and lobby, applied research,
and academic research. There are some other noteworthy studies
which have contribution in specific areas, i. e. rights of minorities
and indigenous people (Bhattachan 2008), rise of ethnicity andethnic activism (Gellner 2009; Hangen 2010; Lecomte-Tiouine
et al. 2003), plea for consociational democracy in Nepal (Lawati2005). Very recently, the study of ethnicity and regionalism isincreasingly connected with discourse of federalism (Anand 2005;
Khanal 2007; Lawati 2010; Manandhar et al 2009; Sharma
2008; Shrestha, 2011; Tamang 2011).
The social sciences research, including those mentioned above,
have three limitations. One, a set of studies is confined to making
case study of a particular group living in one particular area. CNAS's
study of "Social Exclusion and Group Mobilization in Nepal" isan example. It investigated four social groups—Yadav, Tamang,
Muslim and dalit—in sample areas of Dhanusha, Sindhupalchok,
Banke, and Surkhet districts respectively. Two, another set ofstudies is research on one particular group of community, i. e.
Madhesh (Gautam 2008), Muslim (Dastidaer 2007), Tharu(Guneratne 2002) etc. Three, most studies give a macro levelpicture of aggregated data of hill high castes, janajatis, madheshis,and dalits. At best, data analysis of groups having each of thesefour common identities is disaggregated into categories of hill highcastes (Brahmin and Chhetri), dalits (Hill dalit and Tarai dalit) andjanajati (Hill janajati and Tarai janajati). Some disaggregated datais also available among the janajatis that falls into five categories:
most advantageous, advantageous, disadvantageous, mostdisadvantageous, and marginalized. So far as disaggregated data of
all or most of the 101 caste/ethnic groups of Nepal is concerned,
some previous studies give an account of tradition, culture, andhistory (Bista 1976; Sharma 1982) and caste/ethnic and language
based geographical distribution of population (Gurung 2006;
Gurung et al. 2006a; Gurung et al. 2006b; Sharma 2008), but
none of these cover the pertinent issues of social inclusion andexclusion. The situation is rightly observed by the SIA-EP project,"Nepal currently does not have a comprehensive knowledge baseof its caste and ethnic groups and social diversity. " So the project176 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

sets its goal, "The primary objective of the research is to promote
informed understanding of Nepal's social diversity by producing
research-based, high quality and up-to-date information regarding
the country's social, cultural and linguistic composition as well as
the status of human and social development. "The study of Nepali politics has evolved following the trendsof other social sciences. Most of previous scholarly works areconcentrated on the description of political development andanalysis of major events and trends in Nepali politics (Bara,
1977, 1983; Chauhan 1971; Gupta, 1964; Joshi and Rose 1966;
Shah 1982). Exceptions are the research on Nepali state frompolitical economy perspectives (Blakie et al. 1980; Pandey 1999;
Regmi 1988; Seddon 1979; 1987) and investigation on statesociety interface from ethnic and regional perspective but all are
confined to micro-level case studies of inter-groups relations, i.
e. relations between hill Brahmins and Limbus (Caplan 1975),
between hill high castes and dalits (Caplan 1972) and between
pahadis and madheshis (Gaige 1975). In aftermath of therestoration of democracy in 1990, the study of Nepali politics
has increased and proliferated in both content and methodology
for multiple reasons, including the entry of private research
centers into areas of political research1, availability of researchfunding for critical political issues, and shift in the interest ofanthropologists specializing in Nepal (Gellner, Lecomte-Tiouine,
Pfaff-Czarnecka, Fisher, etc. ) from cultural anthropology topolitical anthropology. Unlike the traditional method of study– qualitative – adopted mostly by TU political scientists—different institutions applied quantitative studies on areas likeelections, democracy, leadership, government, parliament, andpolitical parties (POLSAN, IIDS, Interdisciplinary Analysis,
SDSA/N etc. ). To react to faster changes in contemporary
Nepali politics, priority has been shifting from the study of legalstructural aspects—i. e. political parties, parliament, election,

1

Some notable private research centers which have generated a large number ofdata and information on different aspects of contemporary Nepali politics are
Political Science Association of Nepal (POLSAN) Nepal Centre for Contemporary Studies (NCCS), Society for Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs(SCOPE), South Asia Partnership/Nepal (SAP-Nepal) Informal Service Sector(INSEC) Nepal Foundation for Advanced Studies (NEFAS), Institute of Integrated Development Studies (IIDS), Interdisciplinary Analyst, Martin Chautari, Social Science Baha.

Nepal: Study of Political Inclusion and Research Methods | 177

local governance, decentralization in the 1990s (Baral, 2004;
Hachhethu, 2002b; Kumar, 1995; 2010) —to Maoist insurgenceand conflict resolution in the early 2000s (Baral 2006; Hutt
2005; Karki and Seddon 2003; Muni, 2003; Thapa 2003), toconstitution making, including the agendas of state restructuring,
inclusion, and federalism most recently (Baral 2008; Hachhethu
2009; Riaz and Basu 2010).
Rise of ethnicity and regionalism and its impact on contemporary
politics and constitution making gained prominence in the mostrecent political study/research because Nepal, for post-April 2006
Jana Andolan, set inclusive democracy as its national goal. Article
138 of The Interim Constitution of Nepal 2007 states, "To bringan end to discrimination based on class, caste/ethnic, language,
gender, culture, religion and region by eliminating the centralized
and unitary form of the state, the state shall be made inclusive andrestructured into a progressive, democratic federal system. " Inpursuance to this article, the Nepali state has taken several policy
measures, i. e. declaration of Nepal as a secular state, recognitionof multi-language policy, reservation and affirmative actions
to the marginalized groups, inclusive electoral representation,and designing federal structure primarily on the basis of ethnic
identity. But so far as the subject of inclusion and exclusion isconcerned, a study of Nepali politics has its own limitation: Thereis lack of disaggregated data analysis of each of 101 caste/ethnic
groups. Of course, Election Commission, Parliament, politicalparties' offices, Ministry of Public Administration, NEFIN and
NFDIN could be good sources for getting disaggregated data ofpower distribution among the 101 caste/ethnic groups in termsof number and ranking of their representation in political andadministrative structures. The second limitation is that political
study/research has not yet been inclusion/exclusion specific. But
several issues directly or indirectly related to political inclusion/
exclusion have been dealt with among different titles of research,
political participation in particular.

II. Political Participation and Political Inclusion
Participation and inclusion are two different concepts, but areclosely interrelated to each other. Political participation is largely
a citizen centric notion that focuses more on (a) mode of people’s
participation, i. e. voting behavior, protest/rally/movements

178 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

etc. , (b) agencies that mobilize people, i. e. political party,
trade union, civil society etc. , and (c) process/institutions thatfacilitates people’s participation, i. e. decentralization, local selfgovernance etc. A man/woman interacts with the state institutions
and governance at two levels: one, as an individual citizen of thecountry and two, as a member of social groups he/she belongs
to. Participation with group identity begs the components ofinclusion. Here, I see the logic of key proposition of this paper: thehigher the level of political participation, the greater the politicalinclusion. The meaning of participation and inclusion overlaps
when talking about group representation to and interaction withthe state apparatus. In Nepal, social group as a constituency ofpolitical participation is legally acknowledged with a provisionof reservation to the excluded groups (women, dalit, janajati,madheshi) and also with a quota system of representation (37%for janajati, 31% for madheshi, 30% for Khas-Arya, 13% for dalit,
and also 33% for women) under Proportional Representation (PR)component of the mixed electoral system.
Inclusion “refers to policies of including diversity and pluralityof peoples in decision- making and implementation process ofgovernance. It also includes empowerment of the marginalized
and the disenfranchised” (International IDEA and Forum ofFederations, 2009: 31). The scope of inclusion goes beyond
participation. The study of political inclusion inevitably
demands the study of identity, autonomy, collective rights, etc.
Moreover, it also includes agendas of restructuring the Nepali
state, i. e. secularism, federalism, multilingualism, proportional
representation of social groups in proportion to size of population.
UNDP/Nepal’s studies entitled Nepal Human Development
Reports (1998, 2004, 2009) are significant to understand thenature and scope of exclusion/inclusion in Nepal. Social exclusion
is defined as inequality among social groups based on gender, caste/ethnicity, and spatial categories. These reports list seven sourcesof inequality and exclusion: (1) unequal gender relations (2)hierarchical stratification of caste/ethnic groups (3) domination ofhill high castes values and culture (4) linguistic discrimination (5)religions discrimination (6) spatial exclusion and (7) geo-political
discrimination. HDI, GI and PI are taken as measuring rods tomap out gender, caste/ethnicity, and spatial based inclusion andexclusion. The studies also recommend some inclusive measures,
i. e. reservation and affirmative actions to the excluded groups,

Nepal: Study of Political Inclusion and Research Methods | 179

inclusive electoral system, (i. e. proportional representation ofsocial groups in proportion to size of their own population), andfederalism.
Nepal Democracy Survey – conducted in 2004 and again in 2007
in a total of 162 sampled polling stations (23 urban and 139 rural)of 41 sampled parliamentary electoral constituencies with 3249
and 4089 respondents respectively – entertained several questions
to find out people's response to inclusion/exclusion related issues.
For instance:
1.

Identity related questions:
Q: How would you like to identify yourself?
Q: How proud are you with community identity?
Q: How proud are you to be a Nepali?

2.

Included/excluded groups
Q: Who/which would you say the excluded groups in Nepal?
Q: Who/which would you say the included groups in Nepal?
Q: In your locality, which groups are included and whichgroups are excluded?
Q: In your opinion, which one is the most important reason
for marginalization/ backwardness?
Q: Who/Which are the most responsible for such backwardness?
Q: Which has the greatest sympathy to promote the cause of
backward communities?
Q: Which one is the best mean to fulfill the backward
communities' demand?
Q: What changes have you observed in the condition of
excluded groups during the last few years?
Q: What is your opinion in giving special provisions forbackward communities in the constitution?

3.

State Restructuring Agendas
Q: What is your opinion about retaining Nepal as a Hindu
state or changing it as a secular state?
Q: Which one do you like most about the form of government:
unitary or federal?
Q: In your opinion, what should be the official language of
Nepal – only Nepali or other major languages also?

180 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

Nepal Democracy Survey revealed many interesting and important
findings. Some of them are briefly highlighted below:
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

National identity remains the preference of many
citizens, but the trend is towards assertion of ethnic/
regional identity. People are proud of both their nationaland ethnic identities. People can have dual loyalties – tothe nation and to their communities – at the same time.
The hill high castes are generally perceived as included,
and others—dalits, janajati and madheshi—are considered
as excluded. This converges with general discourse about
caste/ethnic centric understanding of inclusion andexclusion in Nepal.
Besides rich, male, hill dwellers, madheshi high castes,
urban dwellers, and youths are seen as included, whereas
poor, women, plains settlers, villagers and old aged people
are taken as excluded. This finding helps to informhorizontal dimension of inclusion and exclusion withineach caste and ethnic groups, which is less talked about
in general discourse of inclusion and exclusion in Nepal.
Respondents acknowledged the improvement of situationof excluded groups since the last few years and also
opinioned that there should be constitutional provision
for inclusive measures.
Support to state restructuring agendas, i. e. secularism,
multilingualism and federalism is increased.

The findings of Nepal Democracy Survey more or less confirm thethree broad conclusions drawn by previous studies (CBS 1996,
2004, 2011; Neupane 2000; UNDP/Nepal 1998, 2004, 2009;
World Bank and DFID 2006). One, the state designed national
integration process—monarchy, Hinduism and Nepali language
had long been considered as three pillars of Nepali nationalism –is exclusionary, which led to produce inequality among the socialgroups. Two, Nepali state and politics is dominated by the Hillhigh castes (Brahmin and Chhetri) since they have overwhelming
representation in all the structures of state apparatus, i. e. cabinet,
parliament, judiciary, bureaucracy, political parties, constitutional
bodies, etc. Three, recently the Nepali state has taken some inclusive
measures on issues related to religion, language, recruitment, andrepresentation.

Nepal: Study of Political Inclusion and Research Methods | 181

Coming back to the question of political participation, I repeat
the key proposition of this paper: the higher the level of politicalparticipation, the greater the political inclusion. Politicalparticipation is a multidimensional concept that can be broadlyclassified into five aspects:
1.

2.
3.
4.

5.

Becoming political citizens/community, that entails
knowledge on political issues, sources of politicalawareness and agencies of political socialization (i. e.
family, educational institutes, mass media, activist
organization, political party and leadership).
Interaction with political institutions and movement, that
includes level of participation in movement, protest,
campaign, election etc.
Inclination to political ideology, that seeks values and beliefof citizens and their trust to political institutions andleaders.
Involvement in formal and informal process of governance,that includes interactions with community leaders, nongovernmental organizations (CBO, NGO, civil societyetc), government offices, political party and local leaders.
Representation in state's formal organizations, that entails
membership of political party and other public platforms(i. e. CBO, NGOs, civil society etc. ) and position informal state organizations, i. e. elected bodies (parliament,
local government, national government) and politicallynominated post (i. e. planning commission, constitutional
bodies, bureaucracy, court, police, army and diplomaticjobs, etc. ).

As stated above, political participation is expressed in different
forms. Surveys carried out by Political Science Association of
Nepal (POLSAN) on voting behavior and opinion polls conductedperiodically by Interdisciplinary Analyst also give about empirical
data of different types of political participation of Nepali citizens.
Questionnaires adopted in the CNAS's study of "Social Exclusion
and Group Mobilization in Nepal" will also be equally important.
Moreover, Nepal Democracy Survey entertained several question
to find out people's political participation in different forms.
Questions adopted by Nepal Democracy Survey in each of fivedifferent forms of political participation are listed below.

182 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

1.

Becoming political citizens/community
Q: Do you know about:
A. The Jana Andolan II
B. G. P. Koirala becoming PM of the country
C. Comprehensive Peace Agreement between thegovernment and Maoist
D. Maoist PLAs being kept in cantonments
E. Formation of interim parliament including the
Maoists
F. Madhesh Andolan
Q: What is your level of familiarity with:
A. Constituent Assembly
B. Reservation
C. Federalism
D. Republic
Q: For news, how often do you:
A. Read newspaper
B. Listen radios
C. Watch television
D. Communicate face to face

2.

Interaction with political institutions and movement
Q: Have you ever participated in:
A. Protest/movement
B. Involved in Jana Andolan II (if yes, nature of yourinvolvement)
1. Participation in rallies and protest program
2. Mobilized people
3. Defied curfews
4. Arrested/imprisoned
Q: How much trust do you have in:
A. National government
B. Parliament
C. Maoist
D. Political parties
E. Civil service
F. Police
G. ArmyH. Courts
I. Election commission

Nepal: Study of Political Inclusion and Research Methods | 183

3. Inclination to political ideology
Q: Which party do you vote in the upcoming CA election?
Q: How suitable is democracy for Nepal?
Q: In given three statements, which one do you like most:
1. Democracy is preferable to any other kind ofgovernment
2. In certain situation, an authoritarian government
can be preferred
3. It does not matter to people like me whether we havea democracy or dictatorship.
Q: What do you think about monarchy, should it be retainedor abolished?
4. Involvement in formal and informal process of governance
Q: How frequently do you discuss politics with your friends
and colleagues?
Q: With whom do you feel free to discuss politics openly?
Q: On the whole, how satisfied are you with the working of
the government formed after the last year's Jana AndolanII?
Q: If you or your family member is physically danger andneed help, whom would you
approach first?
Q: What are two major challenges facing this country today?
5. Representation in state's formal organizations
Q: Are you close to any political party, if yes which party?
Q: How often do you participate in the activities carried out
by:
A. COs/NGOs/civil society
B. Ethnic or madheshi or dalit organization
C. Women organizations
D. Political parties
Some key findings of Nepal Democracy Survey on implicit issuesof political participation are highlighted below.
1.

The higher the level of educational attainment, thegreater the level of political participation. The higher
the level of political awareness, the greater the level ofpolitical participation. The more the exposure to themedia, the greater the level of participation. So, there is184 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

2.

3.

III.

a correlation between educational attainment, politicalawareness, media exposure and political participation.
The hill high castes group had the highest number of
respondents who participated in the activities conductedby CBOs/NGOs/Civil Society, women's organization andpolitical party.
Trust to state/political institutions by hill high castes ishigher than trust of those considered as excluded groups(dalit, janajati, and madheshi).

Customary Governance

The SIA-EP project has a component of ethnographic profile.
Those listed for this methodological path are classified into fivegroups: Hill janajati, Tarai janajati, Hill dalit, madheshi dalit,
and madheshi Castes. Of 42 identified groups for this purpose,
all are highly excluded groups and are numerically very small
communities, except the Tamang. The available literaturesuggests that small ethnic groups are less focused upon than
numerically higher ethnic groups in social science research/study
in Nepal. Nepal Bibliography of Indigenous Peoples (Gurung and
Bhattachan 2006) gives a glance of publication about ethnic
groups of Nepal, including those that belong to small minorities.
A brief introduction of social and cultural life of some small
ethnic groups is also included in some pioneer studies of Nepali
people and society (Bista 1976; Sharma 1982). A publication by
National Committee for Development of Nationalities also givesa brief introduction of 61 ethnic groups (N. D). Ethnography ofsome small ethnic groups is also available in book form, i. e. on
Dhimal (Dahal 1980), Chepang (Dhungel 1994), Bhand, Bote,
Kumal, etc. (Dahal 1999). SASON’s publication (2012) includes
ethnography of Yamphu and Chepang in article form. CNAS’s
journal Contributions to Nepalese Studies also occasionally gives
coverage to small janajatis, i. e. an article on Dura was publishedin its volume 25, number 2, 2008; and another article on Pahari
included in its volume 36, number 1, 2009. Occasional paper
published by Central Department of Sociology and Anthropology/
Tribhuvan University is another source for ethnography of somesmall ethnic groups, i. e. Chepang (1990), Sherpa (1994, 2003),
Yolmo (2005). Recently, the scope of study on small ethnic groups iswidening as indicated by publications of extracts of SIRF’ granted
research reports in title of Social Inclusion and Nation Building inNepal: Study of Political Inclusion and Research Methods | 185

Nepal: Abstracts of Researches (2009, 2013). Researches carriedout under SIRF’s grants include ethnography of Chepang, Dhimal,
Bankariya, Raji, Athpahariya, Darai, Santhal, Putwar, Rajbahak,
Nagarkoti, Yamphu, Bote, Majhi, Uranw, Kumals, Pahari, Baram,etc.
Investigation on customary governance of janajatis among thelisted 42 highly excluded groups, taken into consideration forethnographic profile component of SEA-EP study, has its own
value. Customary law recognizes social, cultural and religious
practices, including community justice system, which exist as
traditional usages. Customary practices that are contrary to
democracy and universal human rights, e. g. child marriage, dowry,bounded labour etc. should not be allowed to continue. Some noteson customary law/practice/governance in Nepal are listed below.
1.
2.

Customary governance is largely existed as traditional
practices of indigenous groups, for instance Bhejaof
Magar, Rodi of Gurung and Guthi of Newar.
Customary governance has some democratic attributes,
like:a. Direct election of community leader (often maturedmale) ;
b. Participatory process of decision making and rule byconsent not by majority;c. Volunteer services for community benefit so low costof development projects; andd. Accountable and free from corruption.

3.

Customary governance has its own jurisdiction on
following areas:a. Social, cultural and religious activities of thecommunity;b. Irrigation, seeds, pasture and food security;c. Labour exchange;d. Dispute settlement; ande. Management of informal structure of local power.

4.

But customary governance is in decline due to number ofreasons:a. Longstanding state’s design national integration
through assimilation of indigenous groups into

186 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

b.

c.

d.

hill high castes’ culture, language and religion, notthrough accommodation of indigenous’ language,
culture and religion. So Nepali state has a tendency
to eliminate customary governance.
Impact of modernization through centrally designed
syllabus of education, expansion of intra-structuredevelopment, extension and expansion of bureaucracy,
and internal migration leading to destroy cultural
territory of indigenous peoples.
Customary law and governance is largely primitive,
exclusionary, feudal and undemocratic. Young andwomen are excluded in decision making process.
So new generation is less attached and attracted tocustomary governance.
Scope of customary governance is narrow confining
intra-community affairs. It does not cover essential
parts of modern life, like education, health andinfrastructure development.

Nevertheless, the study of customary governance is important for
many reasons. As impact of rise of ethnicity, the idea of autonomous
region for ethnic groups is suggested by State Restructuring
Committee of the self-expired Constituent Assembly. The proposedautonomous region is different from local government as the former
is envisaged as an institution that operates largely in line withcustomary governance of the concerned ethnic group. It is, indeed,in conformity with ILO 169; Nepal is one of the signatories ofthis convention. The ILO 169 makes a mandatory provision
for the state/government to respect the rights of indigenous
people/community—prior consultation with and participationof indigenous people in areas of their inhabitation—in affairs,
like political representation and developmental projects. Manygroups in high Himalayan region still rely very much on theircustomary governance. This is not because the state recognizes
them but because the presence of state and its legal regime in theregion is minimal. The smaller ethnic groups are least exposed tomodern state system and many of them live in particular cluster
which suggest that the question of inclusion and exclusion of thesegroups should be investigated in different perspectives:•

The study of customary governance of each group could bea major thrust to measure the level of their participation

Nepal: Study of Political Inclusion and Research Methods | 187••

in decision-making process.
Relations with other groups living in neighboringclusters also gives a comparative picture of position of
the marginalized group vis-à-vis other groups in arenas ofpolitical inclusion.
Their interaction with modern formal organizations
and institutions of the state (i. e. local elected bodies,
local political parties, CBOs, NGOs etc. ) should also be
included in preparation of ethnographic profile of each oflisted groups.

Conclusion
The SIA-EP seems a very ambitious project seeking a comprehensive
study on inclusion and exclusion in Nepal. It is more broadbased, both in contents and methodology, than any other previous
studies done on inclusion and exclusion in Nepal. The SIA-EP’scontribution will not be confined to generating new data but will
also be useful to review/re-analyze the available knowledge on thesubject. This paper is expected to assist the study team of the SIAEP by informing the available literature on social sciences in Nepal,
particularly those related to political participation and inclusion.
Besides, it briefly informs about conceptual notion of politicalparticipation, political inclusion and customary governance.
Questions used by Nepal Democracy Survey and highlights of
its findings, indeed, help the SIA-EP study team in sharpening
the contents and methods of the research; Particularly the NSIS
team is expected to take it into consideration while designing thequestionnaire.

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Hachhethu, Krishna. et al. 2008. Nepal in Transition: A Study on the Stateof Democracy, Stockholm: International IDEA.
Hangen, Susan I. 2010. The Rise of Ethnic Politics in Nepal: Democracy in
the Margins. London: Routledge.
Hutt, Michael (ed. ) 2003. People’s War in the Himalayan Kingdom:
Analysing Nepal’s Maoist Rebellion. London: Hurst and Company.
Interim Constitution of Nepal. 2007.
International IDEA and Forum of Federations. 2009. English-Nepali
Glossary of Federalism Terms. Kathmandu: International IDEA and
Forum of Federations.
Joshi, Bhuwan Lal and Leo Rose. 1966. Democratic Innovations in
Nepal: A Case Study of Political Acculturation. Berkeley: University ofCalifornia Press; Kathmandu: Himal Books.
Khanal, Krishna. (ed. ). 2007. Federal System in Nepal: Challenge andOpportunity (in Nepali). Kathmandu: National Peace Campaign.
Kumar, Dhruba (ed. ). 1995. State, Leadership and Politics in Nepal.
Kathmandu: Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies.
Kumar, Dhruba (ed. ). 2000. Domestic Conflict and Crisis of Governance in
Nepal. Kathmandu: Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies.
Lawoti, Mahendra. 2005. Towards a Democratic Nepal: Inclusive Political
Institutions for a Multicultural Society. Kathmandu: Mandala Book
Point.
Lawoti, Mahendra. 2010. Federal State Building. Kathmandu: Bhrikuti.
Lecomte-Tilouine, Marie and Pascale Dollfus. 2003. Ethnic Revival andReligious Turmoil: Identities and Representations in the Himalayas. New
Delhi: Oxford.
Manandhar, Mangal Siddhi and Pushpa Sharma. 2009. Bases of Federalism
and Delineation (in Nepali). Kathmandu: National Coalition against
Racial Discrimination.
Mishra, Chaitanya and Om Gurung (ed). 2012. Ethnicity and Federalism in
Nepal. Kathmandu: Central Department of Sociology/Anthropology,
TU.
Muni, S. D. 2003. The Maoist Insurgency in Nepal: The Challenge and The
Response. New Delhi: Rupa and Co.

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NESAC. 1998. Nepal: Human Development Report 1998. Kathmandu:
Nepal South Asia Centre.
Neupane, Govinda. 2000. Question of Caste/Ethnicity in Nepal (In Nepali).
Kathmandu: Centre for Development Studies.
Panday, Devendra Raj. 1999. Nepal’s Failed Development: Reflections on
the Mission and the Maladies. Kathmandu: Nepal South Asia Study
Centre.
POLSAN. 1991. Nepalese Voters. Kathmandu: POLSAN.
Regmi, Mahesh Chandra. 1988. An Economic History of Nepal. Varanasi:
Nath Publishing House.
Riaz, Ali and Subho Basu. 2010. Paradise Lost? State Failure in Nepal.
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Adroit.
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Sharma, Janaklal. 1982. A Study on Our Society (in Nepali). Kathmandu:
SajhaPrakashan.
Sharma, Pitamber. 2008. Unraveling the Mosaic: Spatial Aspects of Ethnicity
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UNDP/Nepal.

Ethnographic Research in Nepal | 191

Ethnographic Research in Nepal:
Methodological Approaches, Relevanceand Applications
				Dilli R. Dahal, CDSA, T. U.

Introduction
Each social science discipline—anthropology, sociology, politicalscience, economics, geography and psychology—has its own
concepts and methods of research. Fieldwork is considered the“hallmark” or “trade-mark” of anthropology. Without doing somelevel of fieldwork, a person cannot become an anthropologist.
In almost all the anthropology programs in universities of theUnited States of America, Europe, and India, empirical data
is mandatory for preparing either an M. A or PhD thesis. Thisparticular methodological approach is the major departure between
anthropology and other social science disciplines when collecting
data and interpreting “facts. ”
Ethnographic field research in anthropology has a long history.
The fieldwork tradition in anthropology began alongside the
British colonial expansion in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
This tradition of fieldwork in academic anthropology was followed
and elaborated upon by the leading anthropologists of the 20th
century. Among them, Bronislaw Malinowski with the Trobriand
Islanders in the Pacific (1914-18), E. R. Radcliffe-Brown with
the Onge of the Andaman Islands (1910-11), and Franz Boas
with the Inuit of Baffin Island (1920-22) were the pioneers. Fromthe beginning, many anthropologists have carried on a cottage
industry of writing about their fieldwork experiences as a way ofpassing accumulated “tricks of the trade” to the next generationof scholars (Becker 1998). Such fieldwork experiences wereclearly jotted down in the excellent monographs by Malinowski(1922), Evans-Pritchard (1937, 1940, 1973), Berreman (1962),
Chagnon (1992), and others. These fieldwork experiences ofanthropologists eventually became the standard for ethnographic
field methods.

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My intention here is not to discuss in detail the philosophicaland methodological approaches of ethnographic writings andtheir shortcomings in Nepal and elsewhere. The paper deals withthree interrelated topics relevant while preparing the ethnographic
profile of various ethnic/caste groups of Nepal under the scope of
SIA-EP Project, and which are organized under the following threeheadings in this report: (i) Context of Ethnographic Research in
Nepal, (ii) Preparing Ethnographic Profile in the Context of SIAEP Project: Some Philosophical and Methodological Approaches
and Issues and, (iii) The Use of Ethnographic Profile: Relevanceand Applications.
The paper argues that without understanding the general theories
of anthropology and ethnography as a subject and method, a good
ethnography of the cultural group/community cannot be prepared.
The major problem in ethnographic research in Nepal is the lackof use of appropriate theory and proper research methods requiredin collecting ethnographic data and interpreting “facts. ” Thisis particularly true among Nepali scholars, who are attempting
to write ethnographic accounts of various ethnic/caste groups of
Nepal without knowledge of anthropological theories and field
methods in ethnography. The other serious problem in conducting
ethnographic research in Nepal is not only methodological, butalso ethical. The question of “Human Subjects” is gradually
becoming a serious concern in ethnographic research and writings
in Nepal.
I.

Context of Ethnographic Research in Nepal

In Nepal, though efforts to describe an ethnography of various
ethnic/caste groups began almost two centuries ago (Kirkpatrick
1811; Hamilton 1819; Hodgson 1874), there is little information
on what kinds of tools and techniques were being used to collectethnographic information on various groups presented in thesetexts. It is not known, “Who were their informants?” or “Howthe data were generated in the sense of academic anthropologicalfieldwork”? Brian Hodgson, a British Resident in Kathmandu,
collected tons of materials (104 volumes) from Nepal concerning
history, Buddhism, ethnography, language, flora and fauna(Dhungel 2010), but it is not known even today who were his
informants or how ethnographic accounts of various ethnic/
caste groups were generated and compiled in his text. In brief,Ethnographic Research in Nepal | 193

in the context of standard ethnographic format, the validity andreliability of his ethnographic data demand careful scrutiny.
Academic anthropology began in Nepal when Nepal was opened
to the outside world after 1950, and since the 1960s hundreds
of foreign anthropologists (particularly British, American, andFrench) were involved in collecting ethnographic information
on various cultural groups (see Sharma 1973; K. C. et al. 1984;
Khatry 1997). Some of the examples of excellent ethnographic
monographs using anthropological tools were the books written
by Fürer-Haimendorf (1964), Bennett (1983), Ortner (1976),
Hitchcock (1966), and Pignede (1966). In brief, ethnographic
research in Nepal is extensive and follows the traditions of boththe Boasian School of America and that of the British School ofSocial Anthropology.
A number of Nepali anthropologists (Bista 1967; Dahal 1979;
Regmi 1971; Rai 1985; Shrestha 1971) and Nepali scholars(Sharma 1982; Gautam and Thapa 1994) wrote books andarticles on various ethnic/caste groups of Nepal. Some of the books
written by Nepali scholars have attempted to write in the areaof anthropology without giving due attention to anthropologicaltheories and the use of standard anthropological researchtechniques. The most important weaknesses of authors of thesebooks are that they attempted to provide ethnographic accountsof different ethnic/castes of Nepal without giving any information
on how, where, and when the data were collected. Even Bista’s
charismatic book Fatalism and Development (1990) has serious
methodological issues in presenting facts, though it is assumed
that he used “unobtrusive measures” in collecting information.
In other words, many books and articles on ethnography of Nepal
were written without the knowledge of anthropological theories
and research methods. In this context, it is worth mentioning
Evans-Pritchard’s remarks to his puzzled students on how one
goes about anthropological fieldwork:
The first imperative is a rigorous training in general theory[anthropology and other social and natural sciences, myemphasis] before attempting field research so that one
may know how and what to observe, what is significant in
the light of theory. It is essential to realize that facts arein themselves meaningless. To be meaningful they must194 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

have a degree of generality. One must know precisely
what one wants to know and that can only be acquiredby a systematic training in academic social anthropology(1973: 1).
II: Preparing Ethnographic Profile in the context of SIA-EP
Project: Some Conceptual and Methodological Approaches
and Issues
There are both methodological and conceptual issues to consider
while preparing ethnographic profiles in the context of SIA-EP
project. The first part of this section briefly notes some of themethodological tools and related issues under consideration while
preparing ethnographic profiles of the target groups of study. The
second part highlights conceptual issues while dealing with topics,
such as ethnography and social inclusion/exclusion, in reference tohighly marginalized groups of Nepal.
The methodological tools for preparing ethnographic profile andproblems associated with it are discussed in the following threesub-sections: i) Ethnic/Caste Groups Chosen for Preparing theEthnographic Profile, ii) Topics Considered for Preparing theEthnographic Profile and, iii) Ethnographic Techniques.
2. 1 Ethnic/Caste Groups Chosen for Preparing an Ethnographic
ProfileNepal is not only a multi-cultural country, but also a land ofdiversity in terms of geography and levels of socioeconomic
development. According to the 2001 census, there are 100
ethnic/caste groups, 92 languages, and nine religious groups in
Nepal. The recent 2011 Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) datashows that there are 125 ethnic/caste groups, 123 languages,
and 11 religious groups in Nepal. However, while preparing theethnographic profiles the SIA-EP project is guided to choose the“highly marginalized” 42 ethnic/caste groups based on Bennett
and Parajuli’s (2010) socioeconomic analysis of 100+ ethnic/caste
groups of Nepal (see Annex 1 for the list of highly marginalizedgroups with their population size based on the 2001 census). In
fact, Bennett and Parajuli (2010) extensively relied on the few
socioeconomic data provided by the CBS, hardly making any effort
to cross-check whether the data sets are adequate for socioeconomicEthnographic Research in Nepal | 195

analysis (some of the cultural groups have a low sample size) or toverify the reliability of the data. In brief, this sample of culturalgroups for detailed study is purposively chosen, and there is little
option except to prepare ethnographic profiles of these targetedgroups.
2. 2

Topics Considered for Preparing an Ethnographic Profile

Ethnography is the detailed description of custom or culture of agroup of people, e. g. the ethnography of the Lhorung Rai or the
Hawaiians. According to Weiser (1996: 307), “An important goalof ethnographic research is to describe and understand the culturalplace and its influence on the everyday lives of its members. ”
There are standard topical lists and domains around which toorient general ethnographic inquiry. The list used, however,depends upon the mode of inquiry, and sometimes modificationof the topic is desirable considering the local cultural setting.
The anthropological Survey of India launched a project on “ThePeople of India, ” where ethnographic surveys were carried out on
4, 635 communities of different states of India between 2 October1985 and 31 March 1992. The topics considered for preparing
ethnographic profile included four broad areas: (i) Population sizeand distribution, (ii) bio-anthropological information, (iii) sociocultural and economic information, and (iv) change (Singh 1999).
Of course, within these four broad areas there are many subtopics
included for collecting information.
While preparing an ethnographic profile of ten ethnic/caste groupsof Jhapa district, Nepal by the Center of Nepal and Asian Studies(CNAS) in 2010, 11 broad topics were considered:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Origin and History
Population Size and Distribution
Settlement Pattern
Language
Kinship, Descent, and Family Structure
Material CultureLife Cycle Rituals
EconomyTraditional Leadership and Political Organization
Religion and Festivals

196 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

11 Change
On the other hand, Adibasi Janajati Uthan Prathisthan (AJUP)
in 2010 prepared an ethnographic profile of 59 adivasi/janajatigroups while considering 12 broad topics which are slightly
different than CNAS:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

General Introduction
Ethnic History
Geography or Territory
Social Structure and their Relationships
Religion, Religious Traditions, and Other Customs
EconomyFolklore and Material culture
Political System
Mother tongue
Education
HealthParticipation and Counselling

These differences of topics are primarily due to the mode ofinquiry. CNAS’s research was carried out in a limited time becauseof constrains of funds available from the government, whereas
AJUP lacked trained ethnographers for preparing a proper
ethnographic profile. Eventually these value-loaded differences in
topics impacted the importance of topics desirable for preparing
the ethnography, eventually affecting its end products.
Though both institutions attempted to collect ethnographic data,
they missed an important domain: “Local Knowledge” as a modeof inquiry, (as the reviewer of this paper has clearly pointed out).
By “local knowledge” I mean the cultural categories of peoples
expressed in myths, rituals and folk tales and in the knowledgeof biodiversity and local medicinal plants. While preparing
ethnography, in whatever form they exist, local knowledge needs
to be collected. In Nepal, there is clear ambivalence in tracing
the origin and history among various groups of people. With
the rising development of "nationalism" among various groupsof people in Nepal, collecting information on local knowledgeof people is mandatory to preparing good ethnography. The
notion of nationalism is systematically linked with the conceptof cultural territory or belongingness of a group of people living

Ethnographic Research in Nepal | 197

in a particular area (such as Limbuwan, Khambuwan, Tharuhat,
Madhesh, and so on). In other words, the epistemological issues
involved in the physical vs. the subjective aspects of reality ofcultural territory is linked with nationalism, and can be resolved
only by collecting detailed ethnographic information on the origin
and history (through written and unwritten sources) of various
groups of people concerned. According to Kottak (2000: 10), thepredilection of anthropologists (ethnographers) is to move fromsetting to setting, place to place, and subject to subject, in order
to discover the totality and interconnectedness of social life. The
domain of local knowledge is clearly highlighted by the SIA-EP
team while preparing ethnographic profiles (see Table 1).
In the context of SIA-EP project, the following nine broad
domains of culture are considered for preparing the ethnographic
profile of 42 highly marginalized groups of Nepal: (i) Origin andHistory, (ii), Population Size and Distribution, (iii) Physical/
Biological Features, (iv) Social Organization, (v) Culture and otherSocial Aspects, (vi) Economy, (vii) Polity, (viii) Gender, and (ix)
Change. There are many subtopics within these categories andlocal knowledge is included in each topic. These larger domainsof culture along with their dimensional indicators and specificcultural categories are given in Table 1.
Table 1. Format of Ethnographic Profile: Domains of Culture,
Dimensional Indicators, and Specific Cultural Categories
Dimension

Dimensional
indicators

Origin andHistorySociety andterritory

Population
Size andDistribution

Demographic
structureKinship, family,
marriage,socialization

Physical/BiologicalFeaturesPhysical identity

SocialOrganization



Kinship, family,
marriage,

Indicators
Concept of traditional territory or
settlement history, self-ascription, andidentification by others/state
 local, regional, national, transnational,
global ancestry, genealogy
 Inter-ethnic relations, migration andlongitudinal length of settlement,
territorial relationship politico-historical process
 Number, distribution, and age andsex structure

Kinship structure with clan
and lineage system; rites of passage:
lifecycle rituals (conception ofdeath);
festivals, feasts, and fairs
 Child rearing practicesSkin color, hair color, and other bodily
features

Kinship structure with clan andlineage system; rites of passage: Kinship structure with clan
Kinship, family,
marriage,and lineage system; rites of passage:socialization
lifecycle rituals (conception ofdeath);
festivals,infeasts,
and fairs
198 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion
Nepal
 Child rearing practices
Physical/BiologicalFeaturesPhysical identity

SocialOrganization



Kinship, family,
marriage,socialization

Culture andother Social
Aspects6

Skin color, hair color, and other bodily
features

Kinship structure with clan andlineage system; rites of passage:
lifecycle rituals (conception of death);
festivals, feasts, and fairs
 Child rearing practices



Language
Customs andpractices Religion, ritual,folklore Education
 Health Status

Written/oral tradition; language
spoken in the family; identity
 Life-style; food and drinks;clothing;jewelries; ornaments; festivals
 Religious practices and belief system
 Socialization; customary education
practice; education in mother tongue;
present educational status
 Concept of body, health, and healing;
traditional healing and western
medical practices

PolityCustomary laws
State politics

Customary laws and politics
Political organization; authority; ruleof succession; role andresponsibilities; community
representation in traditional politicalstructure; participation andrepresentation in modern politicalprocesses

EconomyAdaptation
Naturalresources
Other resources
Occupations
IncomeHuman habitat relations
Land/forest/water and other natural
resource management
Major means of livelihood; agriculture
and livestock
Occupation
Labor relations
Arts and craft
Monetary and non-monetary
income; rule of inheritance

GenderRole andparticipation of
women

Women's status across all aspects oflife; gender division of labor; property
inheritance; decision making; accessto, control over, and ownership ofproperty
Changes in family structure,
education, language, and dress

ChangeSocial, economic
and politicalindicators
Source: SIA-EP Proposal, 2010
Source: SIA-EP Proposal, 2010

Ethnographic Research in Nepal | 199

2. 3 Ethnographic Tools for Collecting Information
Doing ethnographic research includes two interrelated activities.
First, the ethnographer enters into a social setting and gets toknow the people involved in it and participates in the daily routineof this setting. Second, the ethnographer writes down in regular,systematic ways what he/she observes and learns while participatingin the daily rounds of life of others (see Emerson et al. 1995).
The basic idea of doing ethnography is to live in close contact
with people. Fieldwork in its ethnographic sense would provide an
immediate and uncensored sense of people in their surroundings
and their everyday life.
According to Malinowski, the primary task of the ethnographer is“to grasp the native point of view, his relationship to life, to realize
his vision of his world” (1922:25). In his famous book Argonauts of
the Western Pacific (1922), Malinowski noted principals of method
under three main headings:
First of all, naturally, the student must possess realscientific aims, and know the values and criteria ofmodern ethnography. Secondly, he ought to put himself
in good conditions of work, that is, in the main, to live
without other white men, right among the natives. Finallyhe has to apply a number of special methods of collecting,manipulating fixing the evidence (47).
Malinowski clearly said that an ethnographer must stay (place ofcontext) among the people where he/she is going to do the detailed
study. This notion of context is, of course, very important to any
social science enterprise, both at the theoretical level, where weknow how context is key to interpreting any behaviour, and also at
the practical level of actually conducting research on the ground.
For cultural anthropology this is especially important since few
other disciplines require the total immersion in “context” that sopointedly defines fieldwork.
“Ethnographic Present” (i. e. that the ethnographic accountapplies only for a particular moment) was a distinct method of
describing people at least some years ago. Now it is realized that

200 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

it is a rather unrealistic construct. Cultures have been in contact,and have been changing, throughout history (Clifford 1990). In
the context of Nepal, the cultures of people have been changing
over the years due to several social, economic, and political factors.
While preparing ethnographic profiles, researchers were advised tocollect information on change experienced by the targeted group.
One of the basic differences between ethnographic research andresearch in other social sciences is building rapport or validating
legitimacy of the researcher in the field setting. An ethnographer
is always prepared to be accepted by people who are the targetof study. An ad-hoc and impulsive exercise without legitimacy inthe eyes of the targeted people yields poor quality data. Earning
research legitimacy is a big challenge for the researcher in any
field setting. There are differences in character, in the very notionof person, and the idealized relationship between individual andgroup—in short, an entire cultural orientation that is part andparcel of everyday life and the research process for studying thatlife.
In this context, Evans-Pritchard (1973) puts forward fascinating
remarks regarding what he had to do to be accepted while doing
fieldwork with the Nuer of Africa around 1940s, “I had no
particular interest in cows when I went to Nuerland, but the Nuer
had, so willy-nilly I had to become cattle minded too, eventuallyacquiring a herd of my own as the price of acceptance, or any otherrate of tolerance” (2).
In a similar way, Chagnon had to share his food to be acceptedby the Yanomamo people and whenever displaying friendship,and he had to provide something to a Yanomamo when he became
his informant; If a Yanomamo gave him something, he must
reciprocate it with knives, fishhooks, axes and so on (1992:12)
There are varieties of ethnographic methods. Normally the
ethnographic field techniques include observation, participant
observation, interviews, genealogy, life history, case study, andunobtrusive measures. Ethnographic methods in understanding
human culture typically include direct observation and interviewingof families in naturalistic settings in homes and communities over

Ethnographic Research in Nepal | 201

long periods of time. Field notes and qualitative information are
central (Weiser 1996: 310). The section below briefly highlights
some typical ethnographic techniques used when collecting data in
the field and explains how these techniques are being used by the
SIA-EP Research Team.
2. 3. 1 Observation
In the initial stage of fieldwork an ethnographer watches andobserves peoples’ day-to-day behavior, and notes “why people
do certain things in certain ways?” It is the direct, firsthandobservation of daily behavior of peoples. A researcher has to pay
attention to hundreds of details of daily life, seasonal events,
and unusual happenings. He/she must observe individual andcollective behavior in varied settings. Many ethnographers record
their impressions in a personal diary, which is kept separate from
more formal field notes. Later, this record of early impressions
will help to point out some of the most basic aspects of cultural
diversity (see Malinowski 1967; Emerson et al. 1995). Evans
Pritchard (1940) experiences and observations were remarkable inthe context of fieldwork among the Azande and Nuer.
Azande would not allow me to live one of themselves; Nuer
would not allow me to live otherwise. Among Azande I wascompelled to live outside the community; Among Nuer I
was compelled to be a member of it. Azande treated me asa superior; Nuer as an equal (15).
Though Evans-Pritchard (1940) has not clearly mentioned why he
was not accepted by the Azande to live among them, it is, however,clear that the situation or the cultural context differs from one
place to another and an ethnographer must decide how he/she isgoing to do the fieldwork for the particular cultural group. The
SIA-EP researchers not only observed the setting of the study area
but also participated in cultural activities of the people, such as
how Chidimar community hunts birds in the forest or how rituals,
such as death rituals, are performed by the Musahar community.
2. 3. 2 Participant Observation
Fieldwork—especially what we call “participant observation”—

202 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

is the heart of cultural anthropology and a distinct method of
ethnographers. A researcher has to participate in daily practicesof people such a cooking, eating, agriculture (plowing, harvesting,etc. ) as well as various life cycle rituals such as birth, death, andmarriage. While participating with people we are more profoundly
able to understand the day-to-day life of people.
Theoretically, this particular ethnographic technique looks easy,
but it is one of the most time consuming techniques of collecting
data as the researcher has to note down all events of the community
and must participate in the community life accordingly.
2. 3. 3 Interviewing
Participating in local life means that ethnographers constantly
talk with people in various day-to-day activities and ask questions
to them about what they observe in the field. Interviews withpeople always yield better results if one knows the local languageof people. Interviewing with people for certain kind of information
generates information on the research topic. The interview isboth quantitative and qualitative in nature. Interviewing is donewith different types of people depending upon the subject matter.
Interviews with the household-head for socioeconomic survey, or
key informants interviews, or in-depth study, or case study areamong the types of information to be collected in the field.
However, defining the head of household is a little complex andtricky, particularly in Nepali society. Normally the head of household
is understood as the eldest male or female in the family. In many
situations elderly people are not able to tell exactly the requiredsocio-economic data for analysis (such as income, expenditure, theeducation level of the family members and sometimes even theright age of a person in the family). In this kind of situation, therole of informant could be played by any knowledgeable person of
the family. Especially in the nuclear family, when the man is away
for work abroad, it is the eldest female or spouse who has to play
the role of the head of family.
Normally a questionnaire is prepared for the household survey orsome check-list questions are prepared for key informant interviews

Ethnographic Research in Nepal | 203

or focus group discussions, or the “case study” method is adopted
for generating ethnographic data.
2. 3. 4 How to put questions to an informant?
There are hundreds of styles of putting questions to an informant.
But it should not be forgotten that one must place “culture” atthe center for framing questions to an informant. Let me cite myown example of how I was ignorant in framing questions to an
American farmer in North Dakota when I was doing ethnographic
research with them in 2001-2002. I noticed that even in the rural
setting, American farmers are like other Americans: They arevery sensitive about their property and the privacy of their way oflife. Once I innocently put a very straightforward question to an
American farmer: “How much land (in acreage) do you own as a
farmer?” This straightforward and direct way of asking made thisa quite sensitive question. The farmer was a little embarrassed,
uncomfortable, and reluctant in replying to my question. I later
realized that no farmer would answer if the query were put in thisway since it violated the American sense of individual privacy andthe sacredness of the relation between property and the self.
In Nepal, of course, ownership of land is systematically linked tothe economic status of the family. The higher the amount of land
owned by a family, the higher its socio-economic status. There isa natural tendency here, too, for a farmer to conceal this kind of
information in the first conversation with an outsider (even to a
Nepali researcher). Yet his motivation is not so much to maintainprivacy per se, but to avoid showing to be either rich or poor in thelocal context. Nevertheless, family ownership of land can be easily
verified, either by asking neighbours (they know it and are happy
to share it, in contrast to American farmers who may know it but
be equally reluctant to share it) or from the District Land Record
Revenue Office (NEP:Mal) where the land record of an individual
farmer can be found.
Understanding the cultural sensitivity of respondents/people isvery important while gathering ethnographic and socioeconomic
information in the field. Let me put here my own experience of
how I was kicked out from the field by a local male respondentwhile gathering basic household level data of a Tamang family.

204 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

When I first entered into the Melamchi Valley (Sindhupalchowk
district, Nepal) with my research colleague in connection with the
Melamchi Water Supply Project around 1990, it was difficult tocollect the basic household level information from the respondents.
Informants of these areas, the Tamang people, were rather reluctant
to provide the detailed household level information, particularly
regarding the females of the household and information such as
the name of the wife, daughter-in-law, daughters, and sisters, andtheir social characteristics, such as age, education, and work. WhenI was collecting information with a Tamang informant, he becamevery angry with me and asked, "Why I wanted to know about his
chelis (wife, daughter –in-law, sisters, and daughters). ” "Why I am
interested in them?” Though I tried to convince him, he was notsatisfied with my answers and literally took a stick to push us out
from his village area.
The reasons were obvious. The Melamchi Valley was famous for
women trafficking in those days. Even the fathers and husbands
were encouraging their own chelis to go to Bombay to make money(see Dahal 2011). In this case, I should have avoided asking
questions about this kind of family background information in theinitial stage of fieldwork. Later, when I knew the people better, it
would have been easier for me to collect such information. In otherwords, this example raises the issue of how research methods arethemselves structured by the culture in which they originate.
2. 3. 5 Genealogical Method
In many parts of the world everyone is related to, and spends most of
his/her time, with everyone in their immediate social environment,
and this affects rules of behavior. This is most common in Nepali
society whether one talks about Hindu caste groups or adivasi/
janajati groups. Anthropologists even classify such societies as
kin–based.
Anthropologists normally develop genealogical notation to deal
with principles of kinship descent and marriage, which are thesocial building blocks of non-industrial cultures.
People in non-industrial cultures spend their lives almost exclusively
with relatives. An ethnographer must record genealogical data
to reconstruct history and understand current relationships. In

Ethnographic Research in Nepal | 205

many ethnic/tribal and peasant societies, where there is no formal
political structure, these links are basic to social life and to politicalorganization. Marriage is also crucial in organizing non-industrial
societies because strategic marriages between villages, tribes andclans create political alliances. In the setting of Punjab provinceof Pakistan, Kurin (1980) explains how he had difficulties incollecting the genealogy of people of the area after Punjabi villagers
said, “You never really know who a man is until you know who his
grandfather and his ancestors were. ”
However, this distinct ethnographic tool has not been widely usedby native and foreign anthropologists to understand a culture of
the group of people in Nepal. This could be due to two reasons:a) lack of theoretical understandings in kinship studies and b)
It requires patience in collecting this kind of data as it demands
good informants to provide a genealogy of EGO's (i. e. informant)family. The SIA-EP researchers were clearly advised to collection
information on genealogy of selected families under the target
group so that it becomes easier to understand the number ofgenerations they have been living in their area, population growth,marital alliance, and so on.
2. 3. 6 Unobtrusive Measures
Unobtrusive measures involve a collection of techniques in social
sciences for collecting data without the knowledge of respondents.
Bernard (1995:) writes, “Unobtrusive observation includes all
methods of studying behavior where informants don’t know thatthey are being studied” (332).
Marshall (1994) notes two types of unobtrusive measures: the covert
and indirect. The covert, not openly practiced, included covert
participation, undisclosed note taking or use of one-way mirrors.
The indirect techniques involve the use of personal documents andother records which might offer indirect measures of variables suchthat the need of interaction between the investigator and his/her
subject is obviated. Tools used are journals and diaries, letters,
reports, and papers.
In the context of ethnographic research in Nepal, Dor Bhadur
Bista used the techniques of unobtrusive measures while writing
his most popular book, Fatalism and Development (1990). Bista’s206 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

usual technique of collecting information for this particular book
was to raise an issue such as “bahunbad” in any discussion forum(whether it is in the classroom or among friends and colleagues
in CNAS). In fact, most people had little idea how Bista wasclandestinely using such information for the book.
2. 4 Some Methodological Issues
The nature of ethnographic research, however, varies according to
the research area – the rural or the urban. Some of the problems
doing fieldwork in the urban area and narrated by anthropologists
are: (a) The appropriateness of the sample size and demarcating
the boundary of the field (Ortner 1993), and b) the lack ofparticipant observation and relying exclusively on field-based
interviews (Sanjek 2000). The other serious methodological issues
in the context of preparing ethnographic profile of target groups
in Nepal are: (a) Duration or length of field work, (b) locationof fieldwork and sample size, (c) protecting human beings while
doing ethnographic research, and (d) conceptual issues in social
inclusion/exclusion research in Nepal.
2. 4. 1 Duration/Length of Fieldwork
While preparing an ethnographic profile of various cultural groups,
the collection of primary data of the respective ethnic/caste groupis mandatory. But the major question is how much time is requiredor what length of the fieldwork is desirable when collecting theethnographic information of the concerned group? In this context
remarks by Evans- Pritchard (1973) is fascinating, “I would saythat the first study of a people takes, if it is to be thorough, up to
two years” (10). Evans Pritchard himself spent 20 months while
studying the Azande (1937) and one year in Nuerland. Malinowski(1922), who is also considered as the father of ethnography, spentalmost four years in the field because of unavoidable circumstances.
Chagnon (1992) first spent 15 months, and a total of 60 months(1964-1991), while studying the Yanomamo in different contexts
and situations.
In the context of Nepal, length of fieldwork of foreign
anthropologists varies under different field settings. Most of themspent 8-20 months in the field, for example Hitchcock (14 months
at Banyan hill in 1961-62; Caplan (13 months, 1964-65) ;Ethnographic Research in Nepal | 207

Ortner (18 months, September 1966-February 1968) ; Holmberg(20 months, December 1975-July 1977) ; and Fricke (8 months,
June 1981-January 1982). Both Holmberg and Fricke, however,continue spending some time with their target group Tamang intheir respective areas of study to collect longitudinal socioeconomic
data since the 1990s.
On the other hand, the Anthropological Survey of India launcheda project on “the People of India” where ethnographic surveys
were carried out on 4635 communities of different states of India
between 2 October 1985 and 31 March 1992. This particular
project spent an average 5. 5 days in the field for each community(Singh 1999: xi-xiii). However, this project has prepared a brief
ethnographic profile only (hardly 2-6 pages for most of the groups
under study).
Though we expect that some level of quantitative socioeconomic
and political data of the target group will be obtained directlyfrom another research team of this project (i. e. the Nepal Social
Inclusion Survey), some other domains of culture (see Table 1)of the target group must be collected in the field while preparing
ethnographic profile. Considering the emerging issues of cultural
identity and social exclusion of the target groups in question, somespecific socio-economic and cultural domains, such as the history
and origin, social organization, material culture and economy, andlife cycle rituals, must be considered. In other words, 4-5 days are
simply spent in the field while developing rapport with the people
concerned.
It should be noted here that the common practice of ethnographers
is to spend a fair amount of time in the societies they study before
actually beginning to collect data in a formal way. Again the
ethnographic research is planning to collect information at leastin two sites of the target group wherever possible: Core areas (Nep.
Thak Thalo) and the peripheral areas (where a lot of the same
cultural group migrated in recent years, or where the concentrationof people is higher than other areas).
In brief, the basic issue when conducting ethnographic study on
the target groups is real vs. ideal number of days to be spent in
the field while collecting ethnographic data. Preparing a true
ethnography takes time (Shwedner 1996). My concern as an

208 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

ethnographer for the SIA- EP Project is that an ethnographer
must spend a maximum number of days in the field (90-120
days), and, if possible, two times in the same year for the samegroup, considering festivals, rituals and other social occasions of
the community/cultural group to be studied.
In brief, using ethnography in the format of actor's concept ofsociety is very well represented in the SIA-EP project while
preparing the ethnography of various groups of people. But at thesame time, lived-in-models of experience, practice, and sensationof ethnography is not well reflected because of short duration offield work (also see Bloch 1992). Preparing ethnographic profileof this nature demands more time and resources.
2. 4. 2 Location of Fieldwork and Sample Size
The Ethnographic Research Team (ERT) is prepared to conduct
field research in at least two locations of the target group where
the Nepal Social Inclusion Survey (NSIS) is also conducting
household surveys of 98 ethnic/caste groups of Nepal. The NSIS
has identified 2-6 places (i. e. settlements) for the survey of each
community.
The ERT will consider two sites (i. e. settlements) for theirfield research to provide comparative data for the same group:
The core area or the original settlement (Nep. Thak Thalo) of thetarget group and the peripheral or new migrant areas of a culturalgroup (where the density of population is highest compared toother areas). The sample size of the particular cultural group(number of households for detailed study) will be consideredbased on the number of days to be spent in the respective field
location.
2. 4. 3 Protecting Human Beings While Doing Ethnographic Research
The other major problem in conducting research in social science
is not only methodological, but also ethical. Ethnographic research
is not an exception. A note on the question of “Human Subjects”
issue (that is, protecting the privacy of research informants) in
Nepal is gradually becoming a serious concern. Anthropologists
and other social scientists working in Nepal have long been free
to do whatever they like to do in collecting and publishing theirEthnographic Research in Nepal | 209

research products. There is always potential for doing harm to thevery people being studied. Little is known about the implicationsof private matters made public in Nepal. Lionel Caplan's, Landand Social Change in East Nepal (1970) is one of the examples ofsuch books in Nepal (see Dahal 1996 for details).
In the United States of America and Europe, protecting humanbeings in research is a serious concern. As of 2000, approximately
four thousand Internal Review Boards (IRB) of the government
were operating in the United States for protecting human beingsin research, mainly at universities, hospitals, and private researchfacilities (AAA 2001). Because of the heightened concern forthese matters in western countries, ethical concern while doing
ethnographic research in Nepal is warranted.
In the context of preparing an ethnographic profile in the SIAEP Project, serious attention was paid to protecting the privacyof individuals and whether an informant was willing to provide
information on a particular event or family matter and so on.
Photographs and audio-visuals of the particular group wereprepared seeking their consent only.
2. 4. 4 Conceptual Issues While Doing Research on Social Inclusion/
Exclusion in Nepal
One of the major problems in doing research on social inclusion/
exclusion in the light of the highly marginalized 42 groups of
Nepal is not only the meaning and interpretation of the term, butalso determining who are really the included/excluded groups inreference to other groups in Nepal. The other major concern is thevalue loaded western concepts and definitions on social inclusion/
exclusion in which most of our indexes on social exclusion arebeing developed in recent years.
The three major constraints/processes that need to be clearly
understood while explaining the larger issues of social inclusion/
exclusion in the context of Nepal are: (i) Lack of disaggregatedsocioeconomic and political information within the various groupsof people in question, ii) forms of exclusion and discrimination
among various groups, and iii) intra-group exclusion anddiscrimination.

210 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

It is clearly mentioned in various reports that there is intra-group
exclusion and discrimination within dalits (Bhattachan et al.
2003; Dahal et al. 2002). There is a clear hierarchical structure,ranking, and discrimination among various Dalit groups andsocial discrimination among them is clearly observed in food anddrink and while performing the life cycle rituals
Let us talk about the “dalit groups” of Nepal. According to Dalit
Commission (2002), there are 22 cultural groups within dalits.
These dalit groups can also be broadly categorized into three
distinct cultural groups of people: Hill dalit, Tarai dalit and Newar
dalit. Except a few western anthropologists such as Gellner (1995)
and Maharjan (2012) it is rare to encounter studies about the
Newar dalits living in the Kathmandu Valley. No doubt, some ofthese groups are quite economically well off within the Newar
community. Some Newar dalit groups even do not like to callthemselves as dalits (Nepal Rastriya Dalit Ayog 2011). While
comparing the socioeconomic situation of Hill and Tarai dalits,
Hill dalits are socio- economically and politically much better off
than the Tarai dalits (TEAM Consult 1999; Dahal et al. 2002).
There is little known about the socioeconomic status among
various dalits groups in this larger Dalit category as data are simply
aggregated all the time in the single “dalit” category.
In Nepal, serious discussion has been avoided on intra-caste based
discrimination and exclusion. This kind of discussion makes manyelites and leaders of dalit, adibasi/janajati, and women groups who
are much benefited socially, economically and politically whenaddressing the issues of vertical dimensions unhappy. Subba (1992)
has clearly pointed out how intra-group conflict and discrimination
has emerged among the scheduled caste and tribes of India becauseof the quota or reservation system that has benefited the few richand educated groups within them.
Other major discriminations are related to culture, language, andreligion, whereby the ethnic/caste groups are marginalized in termsof education and other development efforts. The vertical hierarchyof society leading to exclusion is entirely a cultural or politicalconstruct. On the other hand, spatial diversity has contributed
to significant level of social inequality in Nepal. In a way, spatial
diversity has also contributed to rich cultural variety even if thosein remote areas are more deprived than others.

Ethnographic Research in Nepal | 211

Up to today, the process of exclusion of various groups of people
in general is understood in vertical dimension as part of thehistorical legacy of the state apparatus. There is little sincere
effort to understand inter and intra group differences in inclusion/
exclusion of the various groups of people in question. In brief,
because of the lack of proper understanding of the socioeconomic
status of various groups of people in Nepal, forms of exclusionand discrimination vary greatly among various cultural groups (seeDahal 2012 and Gautam 2014). There is a need of systematic
data collection efforts on social, economic, and political indicatorsfor every dalit, adibasi/janajati, women, and madhesi groups so thatit becomes easier to assess their socioeconomic status compared toother groups within them and Nepal as a whole.
By the nature of its distinct methodological approaches, theresults of ethnographic research are complex, subject to multiple
interpretations in meanings and analysis (see AAA 2009). In
other words, the ethnographic research is not the kind of silver
bullet that provides immediate benefits to individuals and society.
The subject matter itself is closely embedded with different goalsof the researcher, partly linked with the academic goals guided
to fulfil his/her theoretical ideas. In other aspects, it provides indepth knowledge of the social, cultural, economic, and politicaldimensions of the concerned community, society, and nation as awhole. Academically it could develop a new theory in understanding
human identity in the strict sense of biological and cultural terms.
The most relevance and applications of ethnographic research, as
Weiser (1996) puts it, “Ethnography gets out there in the midstof some cultural place and in the midst of cultural practices andgets at the meanings and experiences and moral significances of
those cultural activities to the participant themselves” (309). The
following are some of the applications and relevance to preparing
ethnographic profiles for Nepal:
It explores cultural similarities and differences and provides crosscultural examples of various marginalized groups in question andtheir abilities to cooperate and understand each other. It attempts
to prepare 42 cultural monographs of highly marginalized culturalgroups of Nepal, providing electronic portal to ethnographic text,
photography, video, audio and other materials.

212 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

In recent years, ethnic, linguistic, sectarian, and regional contrasts
have become robust and assertive in Nepal, and elsewhere. In otherwords, there has never been a frank, critical, and open discussions
about who or what is a particular ethnic identity of people. For
example: How has the concept of madhesi been conceptualized byvarious ethno-linguistic groups, government, and elites of Nepal?
Is madhes or madhesi a cultural term or a geographical territory? In
recent years, why have the Tharus of the Tarai not wanted to label
themselves as madhesi as they demand a separate territory within
the Tarai? To address these questions the researchers attempt toprovide the history of people through oral traditions (if there is no
written history of the target cultural group). Detailed accounts ofrites de-passage and social organizations of a cultural group are thelinks to understand a separate cultural identity than others.
In Nepal, some scholars have attempted to provide ethnographic
accounts of various cultural groups, but because of poor
methodological and theoretical guidelines their books are not up
to the mark of scientific anthropology. Sometimes some scholars
simply lined up a few dubious “facts” to fulfill their political agenda
in the name of the culture and people of Nepal. The present SIAEP reports are a guide to all who are interested in ethnographic
research in Nepal. The marriage of extensive fieldwork and theory
helps us discern ways in which different cultures interacted andasserted themselves in various relationships.
Finally, its relevance to students and teachers is immense withreference to the concepts of caste/ethnicity in Nepal and elsewhere.
This is more so in the context of newly developed course on "Masterof Philosophy in Anthropology" at the Central Department of
Sociology and Anthropology, Kirtipur. Caste as an ideology andvalues practiced in Nepal is little understood up to today. The
ethnographic data related to the untouchability in Nepal, its
practices, ethnic/caste relations, issues of ethnic/caste identity
and its process of transformation help to understand the processof inclusion/exclusion and level of socioeconomic development ofvarious groups of people.

IV: Conclusion
The major problem in ethnographic research in Nepal is the lackof appropriate theory and proper research methods required whenEthnographic Research in Nepal | 213

collecting data and interpreting ethnographic facts. The otherserious problem in conducting research in anthropology vis-à-vis
ethnography is not methodological, but also ethical. The questionof responsibility to “Human Subjects” is gradually becoming aserious concern in Nepal. The concept of social inclusion/exclusion
is also under-theorized in Nepal. The SIA-EP project is expected
to produce excellent monographs on 42 marginalized communities
of Nepal by applying sound theory and methods of anthropology.
Based on the latest data available on the subject (a social inclusion
survey of 14, 709 households of 98 ethnic/caste groups of Nepal),the SIA-EP Project would further sharpen the theory of social
inclusion/exclusion in general and Nepal in particular.

Annex : 1
Highly Marginalized Groups (Studied by Bennett and Parajuli)
1.

Hill Janajati (9 groups)
1. Chepang (52237; 0. 23%)
2. Kusunda (164)
3. Majhi (72614; 0. 32%)
4. Pahari (11505; 0. 05%)
5. Raji (2399)
6. Raute (658)
7. Sunuwar (95254; 0. 42%)
8. Tamang (1282304; 5. 64%)
9. Thangmi/Thami (22999; 0. 10%)2.

Tarai Janjati (8 groups)
Bote (7969)
Jhagad (41764; 0. 18%)
Kisan (2876)
Koche (1429)
Kusbadiya (579)
Meche (3763)
Munda (660)
Santal (42698; 0. 19%)

3.

Hill Dalit (5 groups)
Badi (4442)
Damai/Dholi (390305; 1. 72%)214 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

4.

5.

Gaine (5887)
Kami (895954; 3. 94%)
Sarki (318989; 1. 40%)Madhesi Dalit (10 groups)
Baantar (35839; 0. 16%)
Chamar (269661; 1. 19%)
Chidimar (12290; 0. 05%)
Dom (8931)
Dhobi (73413; 0. 32%)
Dusadh/Paswan (158525; 0. 70%)
Halkhor (3621)
Khatawe (74972; 0. 33%)
Musahar (172434; 0. 76%)
Tatma (76512; 0. 34%)
Madhesi Other Caste (10 groups)
Bing/Binda (18720; 0. 08%)
Dhuniya (1231)
Kahar (34531; 0. 15%)
Kamar (8761)
Lodha (24738; 0. 11%)Lohar (82637; 0. 36%)
Mali (11390)
Mallah (115986; 0. 51%)
Nuniya (66873; 0. 29%)
Rajbhar (24263; 0. 11%)

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218 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

The Inclusive State: A Philosophy andSociology of Social Inclusion
Gérard Toffin“My view of social science, certainly of sociology, isthat it has very little to contribute in the form of social
engineering, but much to contribute by way of criticalunderstanding”
André Béteille, 1991: 35

Introduction
I am deeply honored to be invited to comment on the papers
edited by Om Gurung, Mukta S. Tamang and Mark Turin inthis volume on inclusion and exclusion. My remarks are first andforemost a way of strengthening my links with sociologists andanthropologists from Nepal, as well as with their respective
institutions. Although we hail from different cultural worlds, webelong to the same international community of social scientists. We
are all sailing together in one direction, even if some of us are more
drawn to theory than to empirical issues, or vice versa. A common
sense of belonging has to be preserved and reinforced, not only tomake our voices louder but also to direct the course and developmentof our research. The future of sociology and anthropology lies not
only in the West—as some Euro-American anthropologists still
strangely believe—but depends upon our collaboration and mutual
understanding. As we know, post-colonial and subaltern studies
have mounted a serious challenge to an exclusive Western approachthat ignored political issues and local forms of knowledge, to notejust two of its failings. These critics themselves may sometimes be
criticized, and I would strongly argue that science cannot—andshould not—be provincialized. Yet, in our fast-changing world, we
simply can no longer practice anthropology and sociology the waythat we did in the past.
This epilogue is also a platform for me to express my own ideason the current state of Nepal and reflect on the conceptual toolsthat are used to understand the social realities of this country.

The Inclusive State: A Philosophy and Sociology of Social Inclusion | 219

Among these tools, those of inclusion/exclusion are of the utmost
importance since they are implemented, in Nepal just as in othercountries, by government and civil society bodies alike to definesocial policies. In addition, they are part of a long-term reform
agenda that has been adopted throughout the world. Matters ofinclusion and exclusion in fact lie at the very core of the politicaland moral discourse. And the concepts have a political dimension:
they are entangled with numerous contentious issues (reservation,
language policy for instance) and are more difficult to grasp thanabstract notions. This is a difficulty with which we have to cometo terms. How is it possible to demarcate the respective realms ofscience and politics, of research and journalism? The answer is
far from clear. I have encountered a large number of rising MA
graduates in sociology and anthropology from Nepal who view theirdisciplines as a mere variant of social work. It is also tempting fora number of them to defend their own communities or promote
their own cultures through their studies, rather than conceiving of
their collected findings as but one inflection of a diverse range ofcultures that exist in the world, or as an instance of more generalrules that regulate society.
More often than not, we find ourselves working in a field thatconsists not only of theoretical issues and the advancement ofscientific research, but also one of practical action. Inclusion isboth a concept and a toolbox that can be used and mobilized. At
worst, it risks becoming an ideology that serves specific interests,
functioning as a source of politicking. Despite this, social scientists
need to discuss social policies from their own perspective as muchas possible—independent of current politics—and challenge
simplistic, common knowledge. Scientific premises always requirea certain detachment from society and one’s cultural values, andsocio-anthropological analyses must be kept distinct from social
demands.

What Does Social Inclusion Cover?
In these concluding thoughts, I will focus principally on inclusion,a topic that covers a number of subjects and can be viewed frommany angles and intellectual vantage points, as this collection
clearly demonstrates. More generally, I contend that the notionof inclusion—which emerged only recently—occupies a key rolein the history of political ideas and therefore warrants careful220 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

study. The genealogy and trajectory of inclusion therefore has
to be reconstructed, and one of my aims in this epilogue is todemonstrate that social inclusion functions as an overarching andbroad notion, with powerful gearing, that at once covers economic
and cultural registers. Inclusion is a multidimensional narrativethat immediately refers to every form of injustice and remedy,
without distinction or analysis. While the project of inclusionaims at creating a more equitable society, at alleviating poverty andrecognizing and even rewarding difference, one of its hallmarks is
a wide variation in use and application.
Inclusion does not in fact have precisely the same meaning inEurope as it does in South Asia. As I will demonstrate, inclusion
in Europe refers primarily to a decline in social solidarity and to
failings in integrative institutions. The concept addresses the risein endemic unemployment from the end of the 1970s onwards
and increasing religious and cultural diversity. In Europe then,inclusion is a way of reforming the capitalist and liberal democraticsystem from the inside, with occasional help from socio-democratic
political forces. In India and Nepal, on the other hand, social
inclusion has become an all-encompassing instrument, a corevalue to remedy society’s ills and to restructure the state. Basedoriginally on a political device of modest ambition and limited
scope, it has become a project of overarching importance that
affects the structure of society and its primary social ties.
Many questions remain unanswered. Social inclusion policies may
aim at reforming society, but on what scale and to what extent? Is
reform occurring at the heart of society or only on the edges? Does
inclusion imply systemic or only marginal change? The answers
vary according to the context and the countries in which it is used.
As a matter of fact, social inclusion today encompasses a polyvalent
portfolio of social policy thematics and methods that are often
difficult to delineate. There is a demonstrated lack of theorizationand of scientific background in these matters, as well as in theanalysis of the phenomenal rise of this new concept. Likewise,
consistency and rigor are lacking in attempts to understand howsocial exclusion comes about. What is, for instance, the ultimate
reference point for ranking groups in some hierarchical order?
Despite such variation in definitions, the repertoire of social
inclusion has a common feature the world over and extends

The Inclusive State: A Philosophy and Sociology of Social Inclusion | 221

beyond formal conceptions of democracy and political institutions.
Inclusion does not target modes of political functioning, such as
the respective roles of parliamentary and executive power, forinstance, nor does it address the electoral procedure. Rather,inclusion addresses social problems, substantive inequalities,
disadvantages and social issues, similar to the approach taken
by Karl Marx in his works at the end of the nineteenth century.
Yet the final analysis and conclusions offered by inclusion differ
profoundly from those of the great German thinker. Social
inclusion does not rest on a theoretical analysis along the lines
of Das Kapital as it does not view conflicts between social classes
as the source of historical development and of changing politicalregimes. Rather, in inclusion thinking, diversity, minority rights,
democracy, recognition of gender and social upliftment replace older
Marxist models of revolution, strike, rebellion and dictatorshipof the proletariat. By recognizing diversity and by stigmatizing
exclusion, social inclusion aims to restore cohesion in both thesocial structure and the political body. Inclusion aims at providing
new reasons for changing society and for believing in progress, andencourages models of mobilization based more on consensus thanon conflict.
This paper aims to explore and clarify these issues in threemain stages. First, I deal with the emergence and the particularitinerary of the concept of social inclusion in European countries
and how it moved on to developing countries, in particular to
Nepal. I argue that the trajectory from Europe to South Asia
involved an important transformation in the shape of the concept.
Simply put, collective inherited disadvantages have become more
important than individually achieved inequalities. Second, I
stress the theoretical content of this politically-loaded concept
and its epistemological uncertainties. In my view, the repertoire ofinclusion marks a move towards a more holistic mindset in South
Asia. At the same time, Europe is dealing with increasing cultural
diversity and increasingly tending towards giving social inclusiona similar ethnic meaning to that found in India and Nepal. Thirdand finally, I discuss the different categorizations at work when
speaking of discriminated groups. Here, we are forced to deal
with the pitfalls, social pathology, and difficulties in applying theconcept of inclusion; issues that at first sight appear to be wholly
positive.

222 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

On the whole, I hope to demonstrate that social inclusion is
directly linked to central concerns in socio-anthropologicalresearch, namely the link between individuals and society, and thenature of social bonds. In this contribution, these key issues are
addressed from a sociological, if not philosophical, perspective.
While some of the topics are referenced in the previous chaptersof this book, in my opinion they form a logical and interlinked
chain, an ensemble that needs to be considered globally. I hopethat this contribution will be useful for the Social Inclusion Atlas(SIA) and Ethnographic Profiles (EP) project funded by the Royal
Norwegian Embassy through Social Inclusion Research Fund
(SIRF) of SNV/Nepal and implemented by the Central Department
of Sociology/Anthropology (CDSA) of Tribhuvan University. My
paper may also be seen as a contribution towards broader questions
and epistemologies, particularly in the interconnected fields ofpolitical anthropology, analyses of inequalities, and the sociology
of developing countries. A backdrop to this is my ongoing effort
to develop a theory of democracy (the most common definition ofthis term is “power to the people”) based on a comparison between
Europe and Asia. Before measuring social exclusion, then, it isworth clarifying the definitions and meanings of the terms thatare used.

Social Inclusion: The Birth of a Concept
The concept of social exclusion emerged in France in 1965 withthe publication of Jean Klanfer’s L’exclusion sociale. Étude de lamarginalité dans les sociétés occidentales, which may be described
as an anthropology of poverty. However, the concept only became
more prominent and a major theme of political rhetoric with the1974 publication of René Lenoir’s book, Les exclus (The excluded),
whose title is not very different in meaning from the term
“outcaste. ” Lenoir was a high-ranking civil servant and future
Secretary of State for the disabled in France, and his work met
with great success. The scope of the term was suddenly broadened
to a diverse group of marginalized persons who felt like strangers,
disconnected from mainstream French society. Les exclus was wide
ranging in application: the mentally and physically disabled,
young unmarried mothers, asocial persons who fell outside theemployment-based social security system, various marginalized
individuals, the desperately poor, drug addicts, the homeless,elderly isolated persons, and others. Objectively speaking, all of

The Inclusive State: A Philosophy and Sociology of Social Inclusion | 223

these people, with their prevailing social handicaps, were excluded
from society and deprived of the common social rights of citizens.
They were also united in being frowned upon by the majority
and treated with great disdain—a contempt sometimes fuelled byxenophobic prejudices. René Lenoir estimated that the number ofpeople living on the margins of French society totaled around 10%.
Experts have since calculated that the figure had nearly doubled
twenty years later, by the end of the 1990s.
Within a relatively short time period, social inclusion (rendered in
French by the terms intégration and, more recently, insertion) has
become a commonplace term and dominant policy paradigm whenaddressing poverty, exclusion of the disadvantaged, marginality,
and maladaptation to the social environment. The concept—inthe sense of exclusion from normal exchanges, practices and rights
in modern society—was rapidly adopted throughout Europe forthe simple reason that all European countries were confronted
with related problems and faced the same economic crisis. The
dissemination process for the concept of social inclusion began in
the mid-1980s when Jacques Delors, then president of the European
Commission, stressed the need for a strong social dimension to theEuropean project. Social inclusion became a major policymaking
device to restore social cohesion and make up for the failures of
the welfare state in an increasingly complex international context.
For instance, social inclusion was one of the first policy platforms
launched by the newly elected Blair government in the United
Kingdom in 1997. Though almost unheard of in the 1980s, social
inclusion has now become a cornerstone of European Union social
policy and a foundational basis for the reform of some nation statesin Europe.
In 2000, the meeting of the European Council in Lisbon formally
adopted the related concepts of inclusion and exclusion, andintroduced common guidelines for their understanding andimplementation. These were meant to reconcile economic andsocial issues, and restore the social link that had been broken
by the slowing down of the economy. Social inclusion is thus in
keeping with the legal tradition of social protection (État social
in French) that prevailed in developed European countries since
the nineteenth century, associated with workers’ living conditions
and the organization of the labor market. Like the notion of the“welfare state, ” policies of inclusion aim at complementing the224 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

formal equality that a democratic regime pledges to guaranteewith real forms of equality in social conditions linked to a person’s
basic economic and social needs. Such concepts therefore tend to
reintroduce particularistic values into the universalistic ideologyof the first republicans of post-revolutionary France.
It is important to underscore at the outset that “social inclusion”
was not originally a sociological concept, but rather that its locus
resides in the borderlands between academia and policy. Whileit has subsequently been reformulated by various governments
to adjust to differing political ends and specific contexts, for thelarge majority of European nation-states, social inclusion is stillfundamentally a concept that legitimizes social policies. There is
general consensus that social inclusion is a “good thing, ” whereassocial exclusion is “bad” because it is unfair and jeopardizes
social cohesion. In others words, social inclusion has become
the expected norm. As rightly stressed by sociologist Mary Dalyfrom Queen’s University in Belfast, this notion is deeply rooted
in European culture and echoes older forms of common action
and solidarity towards the poor. Furthermore, social inclusion is
ideologically embedded in European social Catholicism and in thesocial democratic tradition.

The Trajectory of Social Inclusion in South Asia
(India and Nepal)
Social inclusion rapidly developed beyond its birthplace in Europe,
spreading first to other developed countries in the Pacific, in Northand South America, and then to Asia and Africa. In Australia,
it first emerged in South Australian government policy in 2002,
and then rose to prominence at the federal level during the 2007
election campaign and in the subsequent Labour government.
In both cases, it drew on the British model. The United States,
for its part, fell further behind the European Union in theconceptualization of poverty and the understanding of those living
at society’s edge. American governments still understood poverty
in stricter terms as insufficient income for basic necessities.
In this collection, Mukta Tamang recalls how social inclusion has
been adopted by the United Nations and several international stateagencies, such as the ILO (International Labour Organization),in their respective programs. It has since become a policymaking

The Inclusive State: A Philosophy and Sociology of Social Inclusion | 225

mantra around the world. Several private and public European
organizations, such as the Norway Social Inclusion Research Fund
(SIRF) and the SNV Netherlands Development Organization,
have started exporting the concept to fund research and carry out
programs classed as “inclusive development” in poor countries
across the South. The emphasis in such programs is on fostering
the resourcefulness of development actors and developing local
capacity. Limiting ourselves to Nepal, we may say that impact ofsuch interventions on small-scale projects and research training
has proved to be extremely positive.
In India, exclusion/inclusion themes were adopted in the 1980s.
They were applied to social categories such as the disabled, Scheduled
Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), denotified [i. e. ex-criminal](vimukta jati in Hindi) & Nomadic tribes (DNSNTs), minority
religious groups, and other marginal and excluded sections ofsociety. Some arenas in which these themes were experimented withinclude empowerment projects, access to basic services including
water, sanitation and hygiene, education, reservations and quotas,
mechanisms of social protection, preservation of cultural diversity
while promoting communal harmony, and many other so-called“good practices” relevant to a particular time and space. In India,
affirmative action was legally adopted in the early 1950s, andeven before in some regions. Multicultural values are perceived
to be as central to the Indian Constitution as equalitarian values,
despite persistent Islamophobia and high-caste consciousness insome sections of the Hindu population. The Indian Constitution
has granted linguistic minorities the right to establish separate
institutions to promote their cultures and languages, and the
National Commission adopted inclusion in its 12th Plan (20122017).
The philosophy behind such action in India is to construct a more
inclusive society by countering discrimination and providing better
economic facilities, better schooling, improved social protection,
and wider political representation for the underprivileged. In
other words, inclusion aims at ensuring that everyone benefits
from equal opportunities and fundamental human rights.
Nevertheless, some societal issues have been violently contested,such as the extension of affirmative action to OBCs (Other
Backward Classes) and the process of detribalizing ethnic groups
to integrate them fully into mainstream society. In this respect, it226 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

is worth remembering that Prime Minister V. P. Singh’s decision
to implement the recommendations of the Mandal Commission,
which largely extended the caste reservation policy from scheduled
castes to OBCs, brought about a number of self-immolations in1990. That year, 159 young people attempted to commit suicide
by setting fire to themselves in protest against the new policy; 63of them succeeded (Dirks 2001). Young people with upper-caste
backgrounds saw in this decision the prospect of losing their own
employment opportunities in various state administrations. In
some cases, self-assertiveness, revivalism, and identity preservation
can run counter to the dynamic of inclusion.
The repertoire of inclusion has met with similar success in Nepal.
It was rapidly adopted by the authorities and became part of thepolitical agenda (Nep. samajik samabeshikaran for “social inclusion,” samaveshiyata or samaveshita for “inclusiveness” and samabeshi
loktantra for “inclusive democracy”). Even before the ending ofmonarchy in Nepal (2008), the concept of inclusion had been
adopted as one of the four pillars of the 10th Five-Year Plan in2003 (Rawal 2008: 175). Inclusion was subsequently endorsed in2006 within the framing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
between political parties united in their opposition to themonarchy. The first Constituent Assembly (2008-2013) similarly
laid emphasis on social inclusion and asserted its commitment torespecting the social, economic, cultural, and political rights of
excluded communities. A consensus seemed to have been reached
between the major political parties on the topic, even if some aspects
remain contentious. As a case in point, from now on, Constituent
Assembly members have the right to use their mother tongue inthe swearing-in ceremony at the beginning of their mandate (The
Kathmandu Post, 18 February 2014). This is remarkable in acountry where 123 distinct languages (2011 Census) have been
officially recognized and where only half of the population uses
Nepali as their native language. Likewise, the Interim Constitutionof Nepal (2007) grants each community the right to both basic
education in their native language and provisions to promote andpreserve their spoken tradition, scripts, and cultural heritage.
Furthermore, a policy of recognizing janajatis, dalits, muslims,
and madhesis—to mention only a few disadvantaged groups—has
now been implemented. The Constituent Assembly also stipulated
that at least one third of its members should be women.

The Inclusive State: A Philosophy and Sociology of Social Inclusion | 227

The notion of an inclusive state has thus become an essential
instrument for building a republican democracy in Nepal. It aims
at rectifying the inequalities associated with caste and helps to
rally government agencies behind issues of equity. Mechanisms ofinclusion are based on an assumption that society is unable to
make up for its own failings. As in Europe, intervention by thestate is deemed to be necessary to satisfy the social, cultural, andeconomic needs of individuals. Historically, such an orientation,
sensitive to political ideologies and national discourses, has
gradually supplanted the earlier policy of Hinduizing Nepali
society that had been enforced by the Ranas/Shahs for most of
Nepal’s recent history. Inclusion also fits within the wider
multicultural and multiethnic policy forwarded by successive postmonarchy governments, and is accompanied by measures thatfavor affirmative action and federalism. The state itself is openly
participating in the construction of collective identities and thecreation of internal boundaries. These guiding principles are in
explicit opposition to the exclusionary and divisive dynamics ofcaste-based society. They are also in response against uncontrolled
Anglo-American liberalism.
In all of this, there exists a striking contrast between Europe andSouth Asia. Historically, the inclusionary policies adopted by
European countries first targeted individuals who were in difficulty.
By contrast, the Indian and Nepali fight against exclusion has
rapidly and principally taken on a collective dimension. In SouthAsia, a number of measures concern “low” castes and tribes. Thesesocial and/or occupational groups are considered collectively andare granted privileges or facilities accordingly. In other words,
inclusion in South Asia has been articulated as the right to bedifferent. By taking the form of a policy of recognition, it has
acquired a very different meaning from its European origins.

Europe and South Asia: Differing Social Horizons
The main cause of the difference between Europe and South Asia
lies in the contrast between the structures of the two civilizations.
In South Asia, social textures are highly differentiated and are based
primarily on hierarchies. Societies are fragmented and divided
into castes, sub-castes, and ethnic groups, sometimes each of them
speaking their own language. These groups play a considerable
role in social life, even if the sociological realities are slowly

228 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepalchanging, especially in larger cities (Pfaff-Czarnecka and Toffin2011). In such contexts, Man’s presence is largely determinedby the past history of the group. The production of subjectivities
exists everywhere, including in the Himalayas, but so far Nepal
has not abolished the subordination of individuals to existing basic
groups. To take just one example, albeit one that is decisive in myeyes, religious conversion in modern Nepal still takes a collective
form (e. g. Tamangs converting to Christianity) as opposed to thepersonal individual processes that can be observed more often inmodern Western societies. Moreover, in Europe, nation-states aremuch more homogenized. Lines of cleavage operate according toother principles, many of which are economic, but which are also
crossed by considerably more upward and downward individual
social mobility.
In a multi-caste, multi-lingual, and multi-ethnic country like
Nepal, where self-identity is still mainly determined by kinship,
caste groups, ethnicity, and locality, any strictly individualistic
approach is likely to fail. At a more primitive stage, individuals
exist and often clash with each other, yet individual values—andthe emphasis on personal issues—are frowned upon and remain
heavily dependent on collective groups. The common bond andloyalty towards one’s inner circle of relatives and close friends (Nep.
aphno manche or chineko manche) are much more developed thanthose that individuals exhibit towards the national community.
Admittedly, a distinction has to be made between urban zones
and rural districts, but by and large, as Dor Bahadur Bista said:“Nepal is an ascriptive rather than an achievement orientatedsociety” (1992: 99).
In point of fact, the shift towards a more inclusive approach ingovernment policymaking over the last three decades in Nepal
is a major sociological phenomenon that needs to be thoroughly
analysed. I argue that it involves a paradigmatic shift. In my view,
the success of the concept marks the failure of the strictly exclusive
equality model in developing countries in South Asia. In India andin Nepal in particular, the original Western inclusive paradigm
that was more individualistic has been domesticated, translated(“internalized” might be another appropriate word) into communal
terms. In such an approach, inclusion is more linked to diversity
than it is to equality.

The Inclusive State: A Philosophy and Sociology of Social Inclusion | 229

The crisis concerning the very notion of equality is increasingly
also affecting the Eurozone, a failure that is partly due to theeconomic crisis and the consequent breakdown of internal social
cohesion. The term “equality” which was, and still is (at least
theoretically), the basis for the ideals of many European countries,
is on the decline. While the concept of equality was without
doubt a noble model, it proved to be rather difficult to achieve in
concrete terms. These days, it has been supplanted by a concept ofequity which does not have the same meaning (Schnapper 2006).
The global economic downturn in the early twenty-first century
has heightened this ideological crisis. The world economic andfinancial crisis during the period 2007-2008, and the ensuing
global recession, has significantly impacted the world economy.
This slowdown has affected Western countries in particular, which
since then have suffered several chronic imbalances (with emerging
developing countries maintaining high rates of growth). Moreover,
the rise in petrol prices over previous decades (1980s and 1990s)
has seriously crippled aspirations towards full employment andeconomic growth.

The Shifting Lines Between Individualism and Holism
In my view, the success of the repertoire of social inclusion
marks a reactivation of the “holistic” ideology to the expenseof the pure individualist and formal egalitarian approach that
gradually appeared in the West during the eighteenth century.
We may recall here Louis Dumont’s assumption that “holism” isopposed to “individualism” as two different structuring principles
and antithetical forms of social organization. Similarly, theFrench anthropologist argued that hierarchy and egalitarianism
are symmetrically opposed to each other. According to Dumont,
contrary to modern Western societies that valorize the individual,
most other societies remain fundamentally holistic and hierarchical.
From a holistic viewpoint, the whole dominates to the detriment of
its constituent parts: the different realms of society are structurallyintertwined around specific non-modern values, contrary to moreindividualistic modern societies where the different components
have been detotalized and segmented between different domains(i. e. politics, economics, private religion, and so forth) over at
least the last two centuries. In South Asia, on the other hand,society is first and foremost made up of social groups. Individuals
are entrenched in ascribed groups such as clans, lineages, ethnic

230 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

groups, and castes. Similarly, before the modern age, Europeans
lived in a holistic society. This was the case, for instance, during
the medieval period with its inherited social orders.
Dumont’s overarching and somewhat schematic opposition has
rightly been criticized by a number of sociologists. André Béteille(1992), for instance, stressed the weakness of the material collected
by Louis Dumont relating to equality in his comparison between
traditional and modern societies. In fact, the parallel between
the two sociological sets of values looks awkward. Similarly, theFrench anthropologist Michel Panoff contested the symmetry
between the holism/individualism opposition and the dichotomy
between hierarchy/equality (1978). Holism is not synonymouswith hierarchy, and individualism does not always lead to equality.
To take but one example, some traditional segmentary societies arebasically egalitarian, whereas individualist societies, such as North
Italian towns during the Renaissance, were highly hierarchical.
Yet, in my opinion, such a duality should not be rejected entirely.
Individual/holist concepts are still useful in the comparative
analysis of societies, especially if they are understood as idealtypes (in the Weberian sense) rather than concrete scenarios.
They need to be imagined as two extreme modes of relationshipbetween an individual and society that can coexist in the same
lived community.
The return of holistic values to the forefront of the agenda mustnot be seen in a negative light. This alternate model is more intune with societies that are heavily bound by tradition or thatface new forms of ethnic hybridity. Radical criticism of Western
universalistic individualism and egalitarianism often accompanies
a defense of such inclusive models. Mahendra Lawoti, for instance,
argues that individual rights and the formal equality of “classicalliberalism” are not enough to protect the freedom and equality ofdifferent socio-cultural groups in multicultural societies (2005:
161). “When groups are not equal, members of the unequal groups
cannot become equal” (ibid. : 120). Canadian official texts takeexactly the same position in favor of their own communitarianpolicy (Schnapper 2006). In addition, Lawoti writes: “Rights
guaranteed by the Constitution based on universal individualism
are based on the values and norms of the dominant groups” (ibid.
: 120). The argument in favor of a group-based particularistic
approach to social inclusion is thus highly disputed. The aim is

The Inclusive State: A Philosophy and Sociology of Social Inclusion | 231

to achieve more substantive equality in a way that is distinct fromthe Western social welfare state by granting new rights to social
communities and no longer only to individuals.
Philosophically speaking, this reoccurrence of holism is allimportant and needs to be situated in a broader context in order
to be properly understood. In my view, the mindset according towhich individual formal equality gives precedence to collective
social inclusion is a wider general trend, as we will see below. It
can be associated with other streams of thought: for example, thetendency to underestimate the original division of humans between
the sexes and to stress the social identities that are constituted byeach sex over a lifetime. The universal division between the sexes
as well as Man’s fundamental identity (equality) on a planetaryscale are particularized here for the sake of substantive gender or
substantive equality (versus inequalities constructed by society).
This significant shift leads to a de-universalized world where
everything varies depending on the country, the cultural model orthe social forces. The universalistic ideas of the eighteenth-century
European Enlightenment are thus challenged by particularistic
values, and relativistic perspectives prevail.

Facing Ethnic Diversity in the WestIn Europe, the concept of social inclusion rapidly came to referto other social categories, especially to migrants belonging tocommunities other than white European Christians. Part of thisnew migrant population does not want to assimilate to Western
norms. Instead, they insist on remaining distinct and on adheringto their own non-Christian culture and values. Ethnic riots that
erupted over the years in French and British urban suburbs haveincreasingly forced governments to address issues pertaining
to cultural diversity. Therefore, as far as its actual meaning isconcerned, a policy of social inclusion in Europe does not only
target poverty and underprivileged persons facing economic
difficulties, but also has a cultural component that increasingly
embraces non-monetary aspects of deprivation. Such an orientationquestions the very basis of pure liberal democratic doxa and entails
the need to accommodate cultural diversity. Yet, issues regarding
reservation and quotas are still highly controversial. In France,
for instance, a recent report presented to the French Prime
Minister by a group of experts in favor of multiculturalism in232 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

November 2013 led to a heated debate about its merits throughout
the country. Questions of poverty and cultural assimilation are
increasingly and revealingly intertwined since migrants, who often
work illegally, make up an important section of the poor and are
victims of residential segregation. Cumulative disadvantages haveheightened marginality. At present, asylum seekers and sans papiers(Fr. “illegal immigrant workers without documents”) are some of
the most vulnerable groups, because access to employment, healthcare, housing, and suffrage is entirely dependent on their legal
status.
As a consequence, European countries are now more open to
multicultural models than in the past. This shift is of great
importance because, since the French Revolution in 1789,
European norms of equality have prevailed over plurality. In fact,
the conventional Western European notion of democracy is built
on national homogeneity with no cultural cleavages, the latter seen
as potentially jeopardizing a citizen’s social and political equality.
Assimilation to the mainstream was traditionally expected to be apanacea. Democracy was a means of destroying cultural diversity
rather than of maintaining it. French Republicanism, which
identified with universalism, originally rejected difference. Byturning towards a more global recognition of diversity, politicalauthorities are currently challenging the founding universalistic
and individualistic principles of these democracies which aresupposedly free of any communal identity other than citizenship.
The contrast between the two sociological orientations of holism
and individualism is thus slowly vanishing. The collective
component of public policies is progressing in Europe, although it
often takes on a more territorial dimension than an overtly ethnic
one. This group-based dimension was not accounted for in theoriginal universalistic ideological agenda—which is consistent
with the importance of individuality in these countries—nor instate welfare policies implemented in Western Europe since theend of the nineteenth century. Needless to say, the individual
dimension has also not to be overlooked in South Asia. At a timeof mass democracies, the politics of the self is everywhere on therise, including in Nepal and India. The possibility of initiating
individual friendships and of deciding who is a friend and who
is an enemy has become gradually more significant in these twocountries, especially in urban areas.

The Inclusive State: A Philosophy and Sociology of Social Inclusion | 233

The world is witnessing a shift in social realities. Holistic values
are increasingly at work in the West, despite a basic outlook thatremains individualistic. Pluriculturalist dispositions were, forinstance, officially adopted in Canada and Australia in 1971 and1982 respectively. These rearrangements have changed the natureof the state. All over the globe, the focus is progressively more on
real, substantial equality in the place of simple formal equality.
Such developments are coterminous with the rise of what can becalled the inclusive state. The sociologist Dominique Schnapper(2002) speaks of a gradual “ethnicization” of social life in several
Western countries. Respective governments are becoming morecognizant of cultural and social differences. Social inclusion alongholistic lines is therefore becoming a common trend worldwide.
Everywhere, multiculturalism and hybridity are on the rise.
Obviously, the link between democracy and society needs to be
reframed along more pluralistic lines. This contribution makes aplea in this direction.

Categorizing Marginalized Social Groups
Let us return to South Asia. Most of the papers in this volume
deal with the methodology of the SIA-EP (Social Inclusion Atlasand Ethnographical Profile) Project launched by CDSA in Nepal,
and the indexing of social inequalities among the concerned
communities. Forty-two marginalized social groups were selected,
mainly on the basis of previous research undertaken by the World
Bank. They belonged either to the dalits (former untouchable
castes), small endangered adivasi janajati groups (except Tamang),
and what in India are called OBCs (Other Backward Classes). The
scope covers the Madhesh (Tarai) and the Hills. Thanks to thedecennial censuses that have been carried out since 1990, a large
corpus of statistical data on caste and ethnic groups is—at least
theoretically—at our disposal.
Sociologically speaking, dalit and adivasi janajati are local sociocultural categories that first emerged in India. They have recently
been integrated into the Nepali anthropological and political
vocabulary. This perhaps explains why they are less used outside
the Kathmandu Valley and the country’s main towns, even by
persons belonging to the groups concerned. By contrast, the two
expressions have been widely acknowledged today by politicalactors and by researchers. In addition, each of the two categories

234 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal(dalit and janajati) can at present lay claim to their own nationalorganizations in Nepal that are recognized by government
authorities. Importantly, the term dalit refers to a caste system,
while adivasi janajati refers to ethnicities and to ethnic socialorganization. The two words consequently refer to two crucial anddistinct components of the Nepali (and Indian) social structure.
Dalits and adivasi janajatis are among the most marginalizedgroups (Nep. simantakrit samuha) in present-day Nepal. Dalits,
for instance, are traditionally denied any control over their own
means of production and access to land ownership, and are among
the poorest in the country. Likewise, the small ethnic groups thatfigure among the forty-two SIA-EPs listed still remain on the edgeof Nepali society. Exclusion affects many fields of life: education,
health, standard of living, poverty, participation in public life, andso forth. Of course, some differences must be recognized withinthese two large categories. The level of exclusion for dalits, forinstance, is more extreme in the Tarai than in the Hills. The Nepal
Federation for Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN) has further
broken down their list of 54 adivasi janajati into five categories
based on their level of development: advanced, disadvantaged,
marginalized, highly marginalized and endangered. This subclassification implies that not all indigenous groups should be
ranked at the same level.
It is important to consider and work with these categories andsubgroups. They embody local divisions and rely on verifiable,
observable facts. What is more, they engender an extremely strong
sense of belonging and attachment. These communities are not
only social and cultural constructions based on particular values
and models, but they are also experienced and viewed by people asquasi-biological groupings. A person belongs to a particular groupthrough their father, mother and ancestors. A person is a Tamang
or dalit by birth, not by a personal decision in the course of theirlife. What is more, these groups outlive their individual members
and they have a distinct physical identity. They are in someways “naturalized”, as conveyed by their generic name in Indiclanguages—jat/jati “birth, natural species, ” as well as “caste. ”
However, the adoption of such modes of classification in thepolitical sphere and in the government agenda can have perverse
effects. The risk consists in formalizing group borders and in

The Inclusive State: A Philosophy and Sociology of Social Inclusion | 235

imprisoning individuals within them. As a matter of fact, thesecategorizations prevent a person from belonging to two different
castes or ethnic groups, and can ossify and atomize the populationin closed groupings. The underlying assumption is that the
Other must remain the Other in order to be granted social andcultural rights. There is a danger in locking people withinarchaic or imagined boundaries—particularly when these are infact very fluid—denying them the freedom to revise or to reject
their inherited cultural identity. When an individual is recognized
as being a member of a particular group, s/he may be castigatedor demonized simply for that very same reason, i. e. for being amember of the group. Attributing quotas and differential rights(Nep. agradhikar) to individuals who belong to these groups canrisk freezing identities in terms of caste and tribe.
In addition, a scheduled and recognized group can easily beconverted into an interest group. Such categorization runs therisk of promoting identity politics and of contributing to theghettoization of separate communities. The exclusive discourse
on identity in fact heightens divisions, inter-communal tensions,petitions, subnational conflicts, violence, and mutual distrust
to the detriment of shared values and common citizenship. This
very rapidly reifies castes and turns into frenetic bio-politics.
In India, the politics of quotas have exacerbated caste tension,
provoking serious anti-reservation riots and attacks on harijans(ex-untouchables) in several cities. In some states, politics is today
being driven by the competition for backwardness. The Gujjar ofRajasthan, who have enjoyed the benefits of inclusion among theOBCs, have been agitating for being reclassified as a scheduled tribe
to obtain more advantages. Prominent Indian social scientists (i.
e. G. S. Ghurye, M. N. Srinivas, A. M. Shah, B. S. Bavaskar) haveexpressed their opposition to the use of caste for reservations. They
have protested against Ambedkar’s theories in which caste has tobe fostered in order to combat centuries of oppression. Moreover,
it is often said that the category of OBC (Other Backward Classes)
covers mainly castes and not classes. In Nepal, the problem forthe time being is principally with its multiculturalist policy. How
is it possible to reconcile the necessary unity of the state withthe assertive demands made by such diverse groups, demands
which are furthermore in total dissonance with current needsfor development? Holistic social inclusion precepts in Nepal andIndia may therefore engender long-lasting social disorder and236 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

various social pathologies. Aspirations to autonomous homelands
and other anachronistic devices may undermine the principles of
democracy itself and engender a crisis in citizenship.

Conclusion
All in all, social inclusion is a composite and highly flexible
concept. It describes a wide range of phenomena and processes.
It has social and cultural content, as well as an individual and acollective dimension. Moreover, the repertoire of social inclusion has
undergone massive changes over time and space. New definitions
have periodically been added to the concept. For instance, Nobel
Prize winner and Indian economist, Amartya Sen (2000: 6),
defines social exclusion as the “deprivation of basic capabilities”
rather than merely as low income. In Sen’s view, the two conceptsof capability failure and social inclusion must be linked.
On spreading to South Asia and to Nepal, the notion of social
inclusion has shifted from a modern liberal episteme to alternative
forms of action that bear the mark of holism. In Nepal (and other
South Asian countries) social inclusion at present pertains moreto the cultural and ideological basis of society, whereas in Europe
special emphasis has historically been placed on socio-economic
aspects. In India, this policy has been reinforced by affirmative
action measures concretely implemented since the beginning of
the twentieth century. Whatever the case, there is an overall needto reform society. Yet different philosophical paradigms exist.
Significantly, the expression “inclusive democracy” is rarely usedin Europe, unlike in South Asia.
Pitfalls obviously exist in such matters. Minority rights may clash
with principles of individual liberty, freedom, and social justice.
New forms of exclusion and formal inequalities may emerge. More
importantly, the cost of achieving a proper acknowledgement ofdiversity and cultural rights must not exceed state expendituresin matters of health insurance, unemployment benefits, andretirement pensions. Social inclusion will otherwise be a simple
masquerade. Nevertheless, actions based on group rights canyield positive results. More importantly, collective alleviation
measures in most cases supplement individual rights rather thannegate them. Obviously, a balance has to be found between the twotrends. The time has come to go beyond the rigid dichotomies ofThe Inclusive State: A Philosophy and Sociology of Social Inclusion | 237

individualism/holism and to overcome our intellectual dilemmain this area of thought. Social inclusion must be recognized
as a means of achieving empowerment of the people and of
attaining full citizenship, beyond any individualist premise. In
Nepal, multiculturalist policies could help to build the trust andsolidarity needed to establish an equitable state. The SIA-EP
project currently carried out by sociologists and anthropologists in
Nepal will be of great help in this enterprise.
Social inclusion is a component of democracy—a word that mostcountries throughout the world have currently made claims on,even if its principles (i. e. freedom, equality, separation of powers,
fair elections, rule of law, etc. ) are not respected, or only partially.
Incidentally, democracy has become a concept that is just asvague as social inclusion. It covers a wide range of things andcan take many forms. The term concedes a plurality of pathways
and encompasses various experiences in time and space. History
teaches us that ancient Greek city-states were called democratic
regimes even if a large part of their population (slaves, outsiders,
and women) were in fact denied the rights of citizenship. The
etymology of the word “democracy” comes from these ancient
times: demos in Greek means “people” and kratos, “power. ” In
France, the division between “active citizen” and “passive citizen”(only the former were allowed to vote) established during the
French Revolution in 1789 persisted in different forms over a long
period of time (Schnapper 2006). It was only after World War IIthat this system was abolished and replaced by direct universal
suffrage. Similarly, French women were only granted voting rights
in 1944 (it may be noted, only three years before Nepal).
I would like to address one final point that concerns a particularsituation that affects Nepal but which is of more generalsignificance. It is rather difficult to discuss matters of inclusion
or exclusion in a country like Nepal without raising the discussion
to an altogether higher level and addressing transnational issues.
Today, more than four million Nepali citizens live outside thecountry, including those who reside in India. A large number (themajority, no doubt) of these migrants lack any qualifications andare employed in low-paid, unskilled jobs. The Nepali community
in Qatar — about 400, 000 to 500, 000 persons— (20% of
Qatar’s migrant workforce) belong to this category of migrants,
and are known to live in extremely poor physical conditions. Four238 | Perspectives on Social Inclusion and Exclusion in Nepal

hundred deaths within the Nepalis of Qatar alone have reportedly
taken place at Qatar’s World Cup sites since the bid was won (The
Guardian, 15 February 2014). The media regularly reports on
cases of workers in Gulf countries who are victims of harassment.
We must also recall that Nepali migrants abroad have no right tovote and are denied many of the rights of citizens of Nepal.
How can a nation-state like Nepal launch programs of social
inclusion and boast about this policy when at the very same timea large part of its population, either out of economic necessity or
because people no longer trust their political representatives, flee
the country every year to live in miserable conditions, deprived of
all fundamental rights, with a dubious legal status? Large massmigration no doubt must be taken into account. Given the different
movements brought about by the tidal forces of globalization, andthe various responses to it, the construction of a more inclusive
state calls for sustained and deep reflection. The crux of myargument is that, without adopting such a global viewpoint, theconcept of social inclusion remains far from perfect and indeed
ignores numerous forms of segregation.

Acknowledgement
I would like to thank Om Gurung and Mark Turin for helpfulcomments on an earlier draft of this paper, and Mark Turin inparticular for his editorial assistance and suggestions.

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