Indigenous People Trails

Indigenous People have a historical tie to a particular territory which is why they have a specific right in the national legislation. The Indigenous people in Nepal often called AdivasiJanajati make up to 35.81 percent of Nepal’s total population which is why they have a huge claim in the legislation of the nation. 

The AdivasiJanajatihas special characteristic according to their specific communities like their own mother tongue, written and unwritten histories, traditional culture, their own homeland or geographical areas and a specific social structure that binds them. 

According to the government formed task force in 1996, there are a total of 61 different ethnic groups which have been classified as the indigenous nationality of Nepal. Later in 2002, a draft bill for the establishment of National Foundation for the Development of Indigenous Nationalities (NFDIN) listed 59 indigenous nationalities. 

The AdivasiJanjati is gazetted officially by the Government of Nepal. The indigenous people of Nepal are classified into 4 categories that are Mountain, Hill, Inner Terai and Teraiaccording to the geographical areas. The Mountain region consists of a total of 18 indigenous groups like Lhopa, Thakali, Dolpo, Larke, Siyar, Sherpa, Wallung, and more. 

The Hill region has the most number of indigenous groups, a total of 24, including Hayu, Newar, Hyolmo,Rai, Sunuwar, Chepang, Kusunda, Tamang, Gurung, hepang, and more. The Inner Terai consists of Bote, Majhi, Raji, Danuwar, and more making altogether 7 indigenous groups. 

The Terai region consists of 10 indigenous groups like Dhanuk, Meche, Gangai, Satar, KisanSanthal and more. It is noted that the nationally protected areas like national parks and wildlife reserves fall in the 65 % of the ancestral lands of indigenous people. 

Some of the endangered indigenous groups of Nepal are Hayu, Lepcha, Meche, Raute, and more. There are altogether 10 endangered, 12 Highly Marginalized and 20 marginalized indigenous groups in Nepal. For most part of the history the indigenous people have been politically, economically, and socially oppressed. 

The 2015 constitution of Nepal was disowned by the indigenous people claiming it to have denied identity-based federalism and the right of their people. Nepal became one of the 20 countries to have sanctioned the primary international legal instrument the Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the International Labor Organization. 

The Indigenous People’s Day is observed every year on 9 August. The groups organize programs, rallies, and processions in Kathmandu and in various territories of the country occupied by them.