Newa: Who, Where, How Many and When? Gleaming through the statistics on Newars

Talk program on the book Newa: Who, Where, How Many and When?

Nepa Rastriya Party is organizing a talk program on its above mentioned book on Friday April 22 at 2pm at Chamber Bhawan, Jamal. Below is a synopsis of the book:

Narayan Manandhar

Gleaming through the statistics on Newars

Once, the Kathmandu Valley used to be Nepal. Literally, the Valley was called Nepa, a term derived from its original inhabitants – Newars. With the passage of time, particularly, after Kathmandu-centric unitary mode of governance, Nepal became Kathmandu. It should have been a matter of pride to its original inhabitants for Kathmandu representing Nepal and Nepal being represented by Kathmandu. However, Newars had to pay a price - the price of being turned into an excluded minority at their own place of origin. Newars no more represent the majority population within the Kathmandu Valley.

In mid 1990s when this scribe was with the National Planning Commission, Mr. Narayan Man Bijukchhe was heard pleading, in one of the ritual meetings of National Development Council, that non-residents coming outside the Valley should not be entitled to buy land here. At that time, this scribe thought the idea to be so absurd. Now, almost twelve years down the line, he was so true.

In his recent work Newa: Who, Where, How Many and When? Prof. Mrigendra Lal Singh, a statistician and a demographer, takes a meticulous effort to sieve through the statistics on Newar population. The document is published by Nepa Rastriya Party (NRP) – a party formed at the wake of CA elections representing Newar Community. This must be the first document using census data sought to analyse the status on Newar population.

Writes Dr. Keshav Man Shakya, President of NRP, “Newa(r) is a complex ethnic entity”. There are more than two dozen communities representing Newars. And within each community there are many groups and sub-groups. There are Hindu Newars, Buddhists Newars and Newars in between. There are ethnic groups, caste groups and hierarchy within Newars. Interestingly, they do not conform to Hindu caste system. Unlike in Hindu caste system, Dyolas and Jogis, considered to be at the lowest stratum, are given a prestigious job to take care of temples, pujas and goddesses. Similarly, Sunars (goldsmiths) are regarded as untouchables in Hindu caste system but in a Newar community, goldsmiths are placed at the upper stratum of the society. Even if one takes Newari language as a common binding thread, Newari language spoken by the Newars in Kathmandu city differs from the one spoken in Bhaktapur – a city situated hardly 20 km away. The deep division and fragmentation seems to be the basic feature of a Newar community. And this has successively helped the Shah rulers from Gorkha to conquer the inhabitants, implement a policy of “divide and rule” and subjugate them for two centuries.

Yet Newars are the rich and privileged community on its own.  Due to inter-pot trade between India and Tibet, the Kathmandu Valley became a thriving city. They are at the top of UNDP’s Human Development Index in Nepal. The best judgement on Newars should be based not on where they stand today vis-a-vis other communities of Nepal, but on how they have been gradually marginalized, excluded and exploited by the successive rulers.  

With the debate on federalism, there is a resurgence of Newar community demanding for a Newa autonomous region. A broad Nepa Mandala comprising of three core districts of the Kathmandu Valley along with nine adjoining districts has been proposed to form a Newa autonomous region.

Now, Newars are expressing their assertiveness over their marginalization and exclusion from the government services, from the politics, from their age-old business profession and now from their own place of residence. The report does not shed information on social political and economic dynamics of Newar community. But it does speak on spatial distribution of Newar populace. Here are some findings in a nutshell:

·         Newars constitute from 5 to 6 percent of Nepal’s population, as at present, the expected population is 1.5 million. In 2001, nearly 47 percent of Newars live inside the Kathmandu Valley while remaining 53 percent lives outside the Kathmandu Valley.

·         Even within the Kathmandu Valley, in 2001, the share of Newar population is about 35 percent. In 1952/54, it was as high as 67 percent.  In 2001, the Newari speaking community in the Kathmandu Valley is 92 percent. The figure was 96 percent in 1952/54.  The proportion of Newari speaking community living outside the Kathmandu Valley is 42.39 percent only.

·         The proportion of Newars speaking Newari language is estimated to be 61 percent in 2011. The figure was as high as 72 percent in 1951. With reduced population growth rate of Newars (1.84%pa) compared to national average population growth rate (2.36% pa)and general practice among the children of Newar to give up speaking Newari language, there is an apparent threat to Newar identity.

·         In spite of Newar community being a diverse and a heterogeneous community, the top six communities, namely, Jyapu (41%), Shrestha (15%), Bare (14%), Naya (10%), Sayami (7%) and Kuma (7%) account for 94 percent of Newar population. Within Jyapu community alone one will end up finding more than a dozen groups.

·         In spite of heavy concentration of Newars inside the Kathmandu Valley, they are also a dispersed community. As per 2001 Census, Humla is the only district without having Newars. Out of 3961 VDCs, 2245 or 57 percent have Newar population. Even the proposed Nepa Mandala does not capture more than 65 percent of Newar population.

·         Newars are basically an urban community. The average share of urban population in Nepal is 14 percent. Within Newar community the share of urban population is 46 percent. Within total urban population of Nepal, the share of Newar community is 18 percent.

US Department of State 2010 Human Rights Report: Nepal

BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR
April 8, 2011

Nepal, with a population of approximately 29 million, is a federal democratic republic. The political system is based on the Interim Constitution of Nepal 2063 (of 2007), with a prime minister as the chief executive, and the 601-member Constituent Assembly (CA), which is responsible for drafting a new constitution. After failing to deliver a new constitution on May 28, as required by the interim constitution, the CA extended its deadline for one additional year. Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, of the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (UML), tendered his resignation on June 30, but after numerous rounds of voting the parliament had not elected a new prime minister by year's end. Domestic and international observers generally characterized the 2008 election results as credible, although there were reports of political violence, intimidation, and voting irregularities. Security forces reported to civilian authorities, but there were frequent instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently of civilian control.

Members of the security forces committed human rights abuses. Members of the Nepal Police (NP) and Armed Police Force (APF) committed extrajudicial killings and tortured numerous persons. Security forces used arbitrary arrest and detention. Impunity for human rights violators continued. The government continued to restrict the freedoms of Tibetans. Societal discrimination against women, persons of lower castes, some ethnic groups, and persons with disabilities remained a problem. Violence against women and children continued.

The Sanyukta Jatiya Mukti Morcha (SJMM), an armed group, used threats to force the en masse resignations of Village Development Committee secretaries (VDCs) from various parts of the country. Members of the Maoist militias, the Maoist-affiliated Young Communist League (YCL), and members of other small, ethnically-based armed groups engaged in arbitrary and unlawful use of lethal force. Numerous armed groups, largely in the Terai region in the lowland area near the Indian border, attacked civilians, government officials, members of particular ethnic groups, each other, or Maoist militias. Armed groups, criminals, and political parties used threats of violence to intimidate journalists throughout the country.

Elections and Political Participation
In 2008 citizens elected members for the Constituent Assembly (CA) to serve as both a legislature and constitution drafting body. Domestic and international observers found the election results credible, although there were reports of political violence, intimidation, and voting irregularities. The most recent local elections, held in 2006, were not considered free and fair.
The CA consists of 601 members, with 240 elected by a first-past-the-post system; 335 by proportional representation; quotas for Dalits, oppressed caste/indigenous ethnic groups, Madhesis, women, and other underrepresented groups; and 26 nominated by the cabinet. CA members classified as oppressed or members of minority ethnic groups constituted 35 percent of the total, and 33 percent were women. The president and vice president belong to the historically disadvantaged Madhesi ethnic community.
Political parties generally operated without restriction or outside interference, although there were some allegations that activists from the UCPN-M do not allow other political parties to organize and campaign freely in certain districts.
There are no specific laws that restrict women, indigenous people, or minorities from voting or participating in government or in political parties, but tradition limited the roles of women and some castes and ethnicities in the political process. Members of certain castes traditionally held more power than others. There are 195 women out of a total of 596 currently serving as members of the CA. Of the 44-member cabinet, seven members were from ethnic minority communities, five were women, and four were Dalits. Most of the larger political parties had associated youth wings, trade unions, and social organizations.


National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The law provides that each community shall have the right "to preserve and promote its language, script, and culture" and to operate schools at the primary level in its native language. In practice the government generally upheld these provisions.
There were more than 75 ethnic groups in the country who spoke 50 different languages. In remote areas, school lessons and radio broadcasts often were in the local language. In urban areas, education was almost exclusively offered in Nepali or English.
Discrimination against lower castes and some ethnic groups, particularly Madhesis and ethnic minorities, was especially common in the Terai and in rural areas in the western part of the country, even though the government outlawed the public shunning of Dalits and made an effort to protect the rights of disadvantaged castes. Better education and higher levels of prosperity, especially in the Kathmandu valley, were slowly reducing caste distinctions and increasing opportunities for lower socioeconomic groups. Better educated, urban-oriented castes continued to dominate politics and senior administrative and military positions and to control a disproportionate share of natural resources.
Caste-based discrimination is illegal; however, Dalits occasionally were barred from entering temples and sharing water sources. Progress in reducing discrimination was more successful in urban areas.
In March a group of persons in Darchula District physically mistreated a Dalit man because of his caste. After filing a complaint of caste-based discrimination at the DPO, the court issued its first-ever verdict in a caste-based discrimination case and imposed a fine of 2,000 rupees ($28) against the main perpetrator.
On June 21, 12 villagers in Kailali District beat a Dalit woman and forced her and her daughters to leave the village. The Dalit woman, who is a human rights defender, filed an FIR under the Public Offenses Act. The National Women’s Commission investigated the case, and a fact-finding mission report was made public.
In a March court ruling in Baitadi District, a man was fined and sentenced to two years' imprisonment for a caste-based discrimination offense in July 2009; he did not serve the sentence and was believed to have fled the country.
Resistance to intercaste marriage (upper and lower caste) remained high and in some cases resulted in forced expulsion from the community. Dalits who participated in wedding ceremonies traditionally reserved for non-Dalits, such as riding a horse, were sometimes assaulted; however, the courts have shown a willingness to prosecute such cases of discrimination.

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/sca/154484.htm