Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Scholarly contribution of Dr.Harka bahadur Gurung

"Scholarly contribution of Dr.Harka bahadur Gurung"

Dr. Harka Gurung has published several books and articles and given hundreds of interviews to many renowned newspapers in Nepal. Before his death in September 2006, there are a total of 697 publications to his credit: 15 books, 7 small monographs and 675 articles and reports. This long list of his publications will appear in some other volume in the future, Tables 1, 2 and 3 below provide a summary of his writings according to thematic contributions and chronological order, including the most important books with major themes.

His important books organised by theme are given in Table 3 below.

Nepal, 1983, co-author). On the other hand, he was a good observer and traveller. As a geographer and mountain chronicler, he travelled different parts of Nepal, and he recollected many of his memories in his book, Vignettes of Nepal (1980).

Considering his vast number of books, monographs and articles, if I were to compile a list of the most important and significant books and articles by Dr. Gurung, the job would be immensely difficult. This is because when I start reading them, I find that each of his publications was based on data (both primary and secondary) with sound logic, reasoning and methodology. Below, I briefly highlight some of his important writings (books and reports) and how he presented his ideas as a great scholar in various social sciences.

The book Vignettes of Nepal (Sajha Prakashan 1980) is divided into 20 chapters with a bibliography, a glossary and an index. The book has 19 maps, 44 colour plates and 58 black and white photographs. The book is essentially a travelogue and introduces the readers to his journey across different parts of Nepal: the snowy mountains, the hilly regions, criss-crossed by a maze of streams and rivers and adorned with beautiful lakes and delightful valleys. In addition to the description of varying landscape, there are rich anecdotes on local history and lore, the economy and cultures of diverse ethnic groups. There are vivid descriptions of geology, flora, fauna, festivals and subtle observations on the changes that are taking place in rural Nepal. However, he is also clever to note his biases towards his discipline and use of such words throughout the text. He writes, "the profusion of words like ridge, valley, ascend, descend, climb, steep and traverse are a reflection both of my geographical bias and the rugged terrain of the country" (p. vii). This book was written during a difficult time in his life when he was implicated in a court case of a political nature (Carpet scandal).

The Monograph/Report Internal and International Migration in Nepal (Main Report, National Commission on Population, Singh Durbar, Kathmandu, 1983) was jointly prepared by the 9- member of the study team (four geographers, two sociologists and three economists) and Dr. Gurung coordinated the overall study and the writing. The study focused on the Kathmandu valley (Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts) and the Tarai districts (Jhapa, Morang, Siraha, Parsa, Dahnusa, Mahottari, Nawalparasi, Rupendehi, Banke and Kanchanpur). The field study was completed in about three months. The main topics included not only basic data on national and international migration but also a study of the international border, internal migration, labour and citizenship. The interesting findings of this study are:

1. According to interviews with the heads of households conducted in the Tarai districts, 6.9 per cent were immigrants. In this calculation it was observed that over the last 25 years (between 1958-1983), the annual growth rate of immigrants in Nepal was 4.2 per cent.

2. Interviews conducted with the heads of households in the Kathamndu valley showed that 2.9 per cent were immigrants.

Of the many recommendations made in the report, two recommendations were most important.

1. Border regulation between Nepal and India; and

2. Foreign workers working in Nepal should obtain a "work permit" to work in Nepal

Because of this report, many "Madhesi people" of the Tarai were not happy with Dr. Harka Gurung and some even proposed to hang him when the report was publicly released. Today, everybody realizes that he was a "true nationalist" as he was very careful to note the illegal entry of Indian nationals into Nepal under the guise of local Madhesi people of the Tarai.

The book, Nepal: Dimensions of Development (Kathmandu, 1984 & 1989, pp 322 pages with 20 figures and 58 tables), has 22 chapters, and is a collection of writings spread over the last 15 years published in various journals such as Vasudha, Industrial Digest, Population and Development, and so on. In totality, the volume deals with various aspects of development in Nepal. The articles include journalistic forays, conference papers and inaugural addresses and many seminar presentations and articles focused on population, spatial planning and the ecological problems of Nepal.

In the book, Nature and Culture, Random Reflections (Kathmandu, 1989) the author wants to bridge the gap between the social sciences and natural sciences from the perspective of a "holistic view of things". The book is a collection of 25 articles published in various journals over the last three decades as a student (1960-64), teacher (1964-65), planner (1968-78), politician (1975-78) and the freelance consultant (1980-1989). The book is divided into four major themes: Himalaya (6 articles), Landscape (7 articles), Society (8 articles) and Political Culture (4 articles). The book is indeed a great contribution to those who are interested in understanding the different social and natural dimensions of Nepal and their interrelationships.

The book, Nepal: Social Demography and Expressions, published by NEW ERA (1998) is a pioneering book about the sociology and demography of Nepal. As the title of the book suggests, there are two major parts: Social Demography and Expressions. Part I--Demography has five chapters that deal with population, migration, ethnicity, language and religion based on the 1991 census data. In Part II--Expressions, another five chapters deal with topics such as education and elitism, ethnicity/caste and politics, regionalism and elections, and development and ideology based on the data of the 1991 census and various other sources such as the Election Commission, the World Bank. Chapter Ten of this section "State and Society" is a reprint of his previous article published in Nationalism and Ethnicity in the Hindu Kingdom: The Politics of Culture in Contemporary Nepal (1997) edited by David Gellner et. al. This book is very useful for students of sociology, anthropology, population and political science as it furnishes good comparative data on the situation of various ethnic/caste groups in Nepal, a demographic account of growth and the redistribution of population and the political representation of various ethnic/caste groups in relation to other groups and their level of development in Nepal. Numerous tables and appendices provide the reader with a good source of material. Throughout the book, Dr. Gurung attempts to show that Adivasi/Janajti groups in Nepal are socially, economically and politically backward compared to groups like the Brahmin, Chhetri and Newar. He thus feels that the demands of Adivasi/Janajajti for equal participation and representation in various socioeconomic and political sectors of Nepal is well justified. In his preface, he aptly remarks that "Ethnic politics in today's Nepal is both an expression of primordial aspiration and a process of people's transition from subjects to citizens. What is now being contested in the socio-political arena will determine the formation of the nation." In other words, inclusion of various groups (such as the Adibasi/Janaajti and Dalit) is a must for the overall development processes of Nepal. In the latter stage of his life, he expressed these ideas in several forums and published a couple of articles on these themes.

The book, Janajati Serophero (In the world of Nationalities) (Kathmandu: Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities, 2004), is restricted to issues dealing with the indigenous nationalities of Nepal. There are 21 provocative articles in the Nepali language on different themes. Most of the articles published in the book relate to Nepal's post-1990 democratic revolutions. Though the book claims to deal with the world of Adivasi/Janajati, there are at least four articles which exclusively focus on Gurungs only such as "Gurung Jati Bare" (About the Gurungs), "Tamujati: Auta Manthan" (Tamu Jati: Some Discussions), "Tamu Sankritiko Jagerna" (Protection of Tamu Culture) and "Gurung Bare Auta Thakali Katha" (A Thakali story about the Gurung). Other articles include "Gorkhali-ko Chinari" (Introduction to the Gorkhali people), "Kuro Sanskrit Karkapko" (Sanskrit talk used under pressure), and so on. One of the major arguments raised by Gurung in this book is about the origin of the Gurung themselves. He feels that that there is a lack of scientific evidence about how the Gurungs were divided into the "Char Jate" (four groups) and "Sora Jate" (sixteen groups) Gurungs. He neither believes in the Brahmanical model which relates to the origin of Gurung as having Hindu blood nor the Western version which suggests that the community have Tibetan blood. He feels that more in-depth research is required to understand the origin of the Gurungs in the context of Nepal. This clearly suggests that the history and origin of many Adibasi/Janaajti groups of Nepal is blurred.

The booklet, Trident and Thunderbolt: Cultural Dynamics in Nepalese Politics is based on a lecturer delivered by Dr. Gurung, which was an inangural lecture is the Mahesh Chandra Regmi lecture organised by Social Science Baha, 24 April 2003 on "The Agenda of Transformation: Inclusion in Nepali Democracy". He argues that the monopolistic policies of the Hindu state over the last 235 years have marginalized various groups in different ways. The three major groups of contenders who are marginalized by the state are : (i) Janajajti (ethnic peoples) on the basis of culture, (ii) Dalit (untouchables) on the basis of caste and (iii) Madhesis (Tarai) on the basis of geography. He offers ethnic/cultural events from 1770 to 1964 from various Janajati groups who contested for space within the state. Finally, Gurung suggests some areas for intervention for the upliftment of groups such as the Janajati, Madhesi and Dalit.

The last book before his death was From Exclusion to Inclusion: Socio-Political Agenda for Nepal (Kathmandu: Social Inclusion Research Fund, 2006, pp. 50). In this book he considers social inclusion/exclusion as the socio-political agenda of various groups of people in Nepal. He argues that there is educational and political inequality and economic deprivation among various groups and that there thus needs to be an agenda of social inclusion for these communities. He notes that Nepal, with its high-caste patrimony, has always remained averse to progressive measures on equality (p. 47). That is why the social inclusion of groups like the Adibasi/Janajati is mandatory for any kind of development model in Nepal.

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