Culture and Internal Security of Nepal
Abstract
Does the reluctance of Nepalese society to change its culture (especially with respect to caste, gender, and ethnicity) affect its internal peace and security? To arrive at a viable response to this question, three secondary questions are proposed: (1) How were cultural values supported through different governments?; (2) What major incidents and issues highlight the reluctance of Nepalese society to change its culture?; and (3) What are the impacts of the events with regards to Nepal's cultural values and the potential for conflict in the future? The Nepalese culture, despite undergoing some changes, still exhibits discriminatory practices with respect to caste, gender, and ethnicity. The series of political changes the country has experienced have not brought about changes in culture, and various regimes even seemed to support the discriminatory practices. The history of Nepal shows that violence is a means of obtaining power. Each one of the major political parties of today practiced violence at some point in time. The study primarily focuses on the traditions of continued discrimination and oppression of people on the basis of gender, caste, and ethnicity. The study also discusses cultural practices such as wish for a jagir (salaried job), chakari (unhealthy service), afno manchhe (our people), and karma (belief in fatalism, or belief that things are pre-designed by a supernatural power). The study will cover the time period from the unification of Nepal in 1770, to the present time, 2012. Because of the lack of change in Nepal's discriminatory culture, some elites could initiate yet another deadly conflict.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 08, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA562879
Entities
People
- Bhumi B. Baral
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College