Religious Minorities in Nepal

Religious minorities is a daring exposure of the disturbing issues central to the projection of Nepal as a land of ethnic harmony. Analysing the power structure of Nepal in the context of age old Chettri-Brahmin domination, Dastider profiles the neglected religious minorities in a multi-lingual multi-ethnic, multi-religious but predominently Hindu Society of Nepal. There has been in Nepal, argues Dastider, a tendency of assimilating the followers of non-Hindu faith into Hinduism for religious and cultural homogeneity. Projecting the process of religious syncretisation, she exposes how closed political system under the all powerful monarchy, symbolising the fusion of the state with the nation, did not let inter-ethnic conflicts to surface on the ground. But with the advent of multi-party democracy, different Janajati parties, the Mongoloid communities are demanding recognition of their respective languages and religious rights. They are challenging the domination of the Brahmins, Chetris and Newars in the socio-economic power structure of the Nepalese society. Against this background, Dastider raises crucial questions regarding Sanskritization of ethnic groups, state policies and religious minorities, caste, education and land reforms, and above all, the question of religious minorities and process of nation building.