The Madheshi (Madhesī, Devnagri: मधेशी) people of Nepal those reside in the southern, plains region, the Outer Terai. In geographical term, Terai means a flatland stretching from the foothill of the Himalayan region in the north to the Vindhyachal Parbat (Vindyachal Mountain) in the south situated in central India and Nepal. The term Madhesh itself is derived from Sanskrit word ‘Madhyadesh’ that implies to the Gangetic plain and the Vitri Madhesh area bordering India on the southern side and spreading north up to the foothill of Siwalik range. The Terai region, which is mostly a flatland, is geographically and culturally distinct from the hills. According to the population census in 2001, it occupies 23 per cent of total area and 48.5 per cent of the population of Nepal. Most of the Terai inhabitants are plains (?) people or Madheshi whose religious traditions, language, caste system, food, style of clothing and other social customs and manners are similar to the people of Indo-Gangetic plains in the south. Fridrich Gaige (1975) used the terms ‘hill people’ and ‘plains people’ living in Terai districts, and defined a) “plains people are those who speak any one of the plains languages as their mother tongues or first language, whether they were born or lived in the plains or hills” the plains languages being Maithili, Bjojpuri, Awadhi, Urdu, Hindi and Bengali, and dialects of these languages used by Janjati groups, and b) “hill people whose mother tongue or first language is one that predominates in the hill region of Nepal such as Nepali, Newari, Magar, Gurung, Rai and others. Madhesh has a long historiography dating back to the kingdom of Vaideha or Mithila established in eastern to central Madhesh and a part of the present day north Bihar, India (Malangia, 1997). In the mid western Madhesh, Shakya kings ruled in 600 BC, the Buddha belonging to the Shakya dynasty was born in 563 BC. Similarly, kingdoms were established in Simraungarh in the present day Bara district. In Madhesh, several kingdoms were established and ruled by many dynasties (Thakur, 1956). These states perished with time and were abandoned and the land converted into forests. Gaige (1975) concluded: “the ancient and medieval history of this region is a cyclic one in which men and forests have dominated in turns”. The archeological studies through ancient arts, artifacts and monuments and excavation of historic sites (as in the case of Lumbini) of Madhesh, have not been done so far. Such studies would tell the ancient history of this region. Unlike the detailed historical study and research of Kathmandu Valley and other hilly regions, the Pahadi scholars and historians have never given any importance to the history of Madhesh and completely ignored the region. A few Madheshi historians and scholars who, due to lack of resources, have not yet studied the complex ancient history of Madhesh. In recent decades, Kapilvastu, the birth place of Lord Buddh, received worldwide recognition and support for meaningful excavation and detailed study and renovation of key sites. After the unification of Madhesh in Nepal by Prithivi Narayan Shah in 1769, its border was again re-drawn by the Sugauli Treaty concluded between British India and Nepal in 1816. The treaty scattered the people in Madhesh across the boarder that divides India and Nepal internationally. The Madheshis have ever since been divided till this day. (Singh, Amresh 2004, Restructuring of Nepali State: A Madheshi Perspective) Area and Population The total land area in the 20 Terai districts is 34,109 sq km which accounts for 23.1% of the country’s total area (Table 1). In 2001, 48.4% of the country’s total population of 23.2 million lived in Terai districts with a density of 329 persons/sq km. Terai plain and Vitri Madhesh together cover 15.6% of the country’s total area. Etymology The word madhesi or madheshi is the adjectival form of madhesh, which usually refers to the Terai region. Madhesh (मधेश) derives from the Sanskrit words madhya desh (मध्य देश), meaning "middle country."[3] Religion While the majority of Madhesis are caste-observant Hindu, there is great cultural and religious diversity in the Madhesh. Four distinct religious groups — Hindus, Buddhists,[citation needed] Muslims and Jains[citation needed] — live there. The social structure of Madheshi caste Hindus is somewhat similar to that of Pahadi Hindus from the hills.[4][5][6] Language Madhesi people speak various local languages as their mother tongue. These include Maithili – 10%, Bhojpuri – 10%, and Tharu – 20%. The rest speak Nepali, Santhal, and other minor languages.[7] The above mentioned languages or dialects are regional, except Hindi. Maithili and Northern Bengali are spoken in the east of the Terai; Bhojpuri in the central areas; and Awadhi in the west. However, there are no hard boundaries separating these languages. Instead, these languages or dialects flow into one another and the dialects lying at the edges of their influence region can be categorized as either of the neighboring dialects; for example, the local language of Rautahat can be classified as Bhojpuri as well as Maithili; the Lumbini dialect can be referred to as Awadhi as well as Bhojpuri.[7] The regional languages spoken by Madhesi people are primarily Maithili,Bhojpuri,Awadhi,Tharu and Hindi, and Urdu. English is understood by educated classes, while Marwadi, Punjabi, Newari, and others are spoken by the non-native communities living in the Terai.[7] Madheshis have always been forced by state to speak Nepali.The citizenship act in Nepal was so biased until recently that one had to speak and understand Nepali to get Citizenship, Millions of Madheshis never comfortable accepting Nepali as their language were devoid of citizenship, hence devoid of all the facilities.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 11:04:53 +0000
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