Let us note that this happened in the early 1950s when we Nepalis, by all measures, were much more inwardly-looking people with little exposure to cosmopolitanism. So what happened over the last sixty years? Why are most of us, including those with scholarly claims to fame, busy theorizing how we are all so inherently different peoples, and how could we avenge the oppression meted out to us by the other all these years? Why so much hatred in the air? Why?[break]
It is true that ours has been an unjust society since time immemorial with kings, queens and their regents doing crazy things to fulfill their lust of all kinds in the name of justice, order, religion, revenge and what not. The collection of stories of lust, battles, acrimony, betrayals, successes and failures of these largely ordinary people born to royal lineage is what we call History today. Guided by an established dogma of defined nation-states with GPS-enabled accurate borders, in the 21st century, we tend to romanticize the kings of yesteryears fighting for the country and for the pride of the nation. The reality is almost all of those kings and regents were fighting for their estates and palaces and wealth and women just like today we, the common people, would fight for our piece of land in a court of law if our neighbor encroaches on it.
Let’s make no mistake about it that the story of emptying state coffers and expending precious lives of commoners for personal vendetta was not just true only for the Gorkhali or Shah kings as generally pointed out by those of us who prefer selective use of history for political gains. The medieval ages that lasted roughly till the 15th century in Europe, but the remnants of which continued in feudal Asia till almost as late as the 1950s, are replete with cases of domination of the victor kings’ clans, religion, language, and creed over the ones vanquished.
The phenomenon was as true in the third century BC when the great emperor Ashoka became a Buddhist, thereby effecting a massive spread of Buddhism in northern India. This was as true when Constantine, the Roman Emperor, adopted Christianity in the early fourth century AD, opening the doors for the proliferation of his acquired religion. This was true also when the Moghul emperors captured the heart of India and forced Hindus to convert to Islam en masse.
Even the gods within the same religion were not spared from the royal favors. The Licchavis in Nepal were Vaishnavite (followers of Vishnu), and therefore the temples of Lord Vishnu, like Changu Narayan and Budhanilkanth found more prominence during their times than that of Lord Shiva. The Shahs declared themselves to be the incarnations of Vishnu, and therefore rendered themselves unable to visit the shrines of Lord Vishnu, resulting in the significance of Lord Shiva’s temples – the most prominent of them being Pashupatinath.
Unfortunately, in the case of Nepal, the medieval era and the crazy acts of kings and their cronies, continued even beyond the 1950s, almost until we got rid of the last royal in 2008.
Both the major races that inhabit Nepal and its lands have ruled this country for long periods. The Tibeto-Burman Kirants were the first ones by historical account to have ruled the country for some 800 years, beginning as early as 700 BC. The Indo-Aryan Licchavis, Thakuris, Mallas and Shahs ruled the country for the rest of its entire history while the Tibeto-Burmans (Kirants) continued to rule various pockets of the country for substantive period/s. There are no other dominant races than the Tibeto-Burmans and Indo-Aryans in Nepal.
The Licchavis, by many historical accounts, originated from Vaishali that sits in the northern part of the modern-day Indian state of Bihar close to the India-Nepal border. The Thakuris were clearly linked with Rajput clans from modern India, and so were the Mallas. The Mallas tried to trace their ancestry to Nanyadeva and Harisimhadeva, the rulers of Tirhut that falls in the heart of the modern-day Madhesh. The Shahs were descendants of Hindu Rajputs and Brahmins of northern India who entered Nepal from the west. The Ranas are Hindu Rajputs whose marital relationships with Indian princely states continue even today.
These historical accounts and many more stories establish two things. One, we as Nepalis of varied ethnicities and mother tongues should stop swearing at each other as we all are cousins with very similar, if not common, ancestry. We can establish this pretty easily if we care to go back in history and read it for ourselves. Two, we all (races) have had a chance to rule this country, or parts of it, in the past, one after another.
True, that during those medieval times, up until the present days, there continued to be a lack of social equity and fair play. But let us also admit that these negatives were the hallmark of traditional societies of yesteryears anywhere in the world. There is no point making a person, caste, community or religion culprit for something that was a norm rather than an exception in an era. We all would have done the same had we got absolute power with no accountability. Given unfettered power, we all would have made attempts to crush rival societies and cultures, as is evident even today in some pockets of modern world. China/Tibet, India/Kashmir, Israel/Palestine, Singhalese/Tamils are but a few examples of the continuity of this human tendency to be repressive when in supreme command.
Agreed, that Nepal has had an unjust past. It is also agreed that Nepalis from many ethnicities – Madhesis, Rais, Limbus, Dalits and many other minorities – were systematically discriminated against by the state. Agreed, too, that those of us who had to go through discrimination are angry. A long repression robbed many ethnicities in Nepal even of their history with Nepal’s history literally becoming the history of Kathmandu only, with some minor aberrations. These indeed are sad things to have happened to anyone. The recent political debates have opened many long-burn wounds that needed and still need healing. The diagnosis is all right. It must be accepted by us in all honesty whether or not we belong to the oppressor or oppressed class.
The prescriptions, though, of perpetuating the hatred and compounding the differences are absolutely wrong. The history may be revisited – or at times restored. Yet the history must be put where it belongs – in the history books – so that our children could learn from them, to pick from them both inspiration and caution. Nepal and Nepalis have already suffered more than their fair share of pains owing to ethnic divisions and rivalries. It is time, therefore, to move ahead by burying our past and building our tomorrows.
No matter how good or accurate our diagnosis is, we will do no good to the patient – in this case, our beloved country, our societies and our children – until we make good prescriptions.
prashaantsingh@gmail.com
Related story
Selena Gomez shares bipolar diagnosis
