ABSTRACT
This book is a collection of essays on the changing nature of cultural identity in Nepal with the focus on ethnicity and politics. It is dedicated to the late Richard Burghart whose seminal paper on the formation of Nepal as a nation-state (1984) is quoted by nine of the authors. All the contributors are foreigners who have researched in Nepal for considerable periods of time. The editors have asked me to provide reactions to the papers as a Nepalese. My response below, with some supplementary material, begins with comments on perspectives in Nepalese social research. This is followed by a short note on the formation of the Nepalese state. The third section deals with Hinduization and Nepal’s reliance on Indic symbols for national identity. The main section, the fourth, reviews adaptation and resistance by the ethnic groups included as examples in the book. In conclusion, there are sections on the present social composition of Nepal and the political expression of ethnic issues.
