ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a discussion of how the Tarai's common lands have been politicized both by the state and the landless masses. It provides a short discourse on the question of whether the agrarian revolution is likely to occur in a country like Nepal, especially given the ongoing trend of increasing nearlandlessness and spontaneous settlement. Land in Nepal has been assigned to individuals, certain tribal groups, and religious institutions, but the ultimate property rights have been always vested in the state. Implementation of the land resettlement policy later attracted an increasing number of hill migrants. Field observations and discussions with migrant residents in the Tarai reveal that the Sukumbasi or landless movement has periodically experienced spurts of large-scale involvements by hill migrants. The patrimonial state remained keenly concerned about the growing restlessness among hill migrants in the Tarai and their revolutionary potential as mirrored by their landless movement.
