SINHAS Vol 29 No 2 Krishna Hachhethu

The State of the Tharu in Sudur Pashchim Province: A Variety of Tharuhuts on the Menu but a Limited Choice to Eat

Krishna Hachhethu

Abstract
Restructuring the Nepali state with its transformation from a unitary to federal structure—a national project of the post Jana ândolan II period, backed up by the Maoist insurgency, Janajàti upsurge and Madhesh uprising—generated a hope among the Tharu to place themselves as a constituency of federal Nepal. To achieve this mission, the Tharu had been mobilized strongly and persistently at critical time of constitution making. Besides, there was an assurance, from non-Tharu platforms, to set up a Tharuhat province in federal Nepal. However, it was not realized in the 2015 Constitution. An Autonomous Region—degraded from an ethno-political space at time of the origin of this idea to a mere cultural space now as per the law—could be somehow an alternative venue to acknowledge ethnic identity at level below than the province. Neither the state is sincere about it nor the Tharu are interested about this toothless structure. Nevertheless, the Tharu’s aspiration of territorial inclusion with political power has continued to manifest in different forms. It somehow found success at the local level in Tharu cluster areas including in Kailali District of Sudur Pashchim Province (SPP). Predominant by tradition of working on physical development, the Tharu-dominated local governments have not yet been able to pay proper attention to identity-related agendas. Despite the adverse situation at hand, the Tharu still have a dream to achieve a Tharuhat Pradesh in the future.

Keywords: Constitution, federalism, local governments, Nagarik Unmukti Party, provincial governments, Sudur Pashchim Province, Tharu