NepalMigration
Namche Bazar, the gateway to Khumbu, on the route to Mount Everest
Courtesy Janet MacDonald
Nepal was once a sanctuary for waves of migrants from
north and
south of its borders. The early migration from the north
was
largely of nomadic Mongoloid people from Tibet (the Bhote
groups),
followed by waves of Indo-Aryans from India. Some of the
migrants
from the south, especially the Brahmans and Rajputs, were
fleeing
the religious crusades of invading Mughals (or Indian
Muslims) and
their suppression of Hindus; others (especially those from
Bihar
and West Bengal), were lured by the possibilities of the
Tarai
land. As of 1991, a large number of Indians from Bihar and
other
neighboring areas still crossed the border into Nepal.
Most of
those recent migrants were found in towns and cities,
where they
were engaged in semiskilled labor and mercantile
activities.
Since at least the late nineteenth century, the
migration trend
has reversed its course. In the early 1990s, there was a
massive
and persistent outflow of people from the hills, the areas
that
once served as a refuge for migrants. In addition, the
volume of
migration has been increasing over time. There have been
two major
types of migration. Permanent or lifetime migration
occurred
primarily within the national boundary, particularly from
the
highlands to the Tarai Region; it was motivated by the
search for
land. Circular migration included seasonal migrants, who
moved to
wage-labor sites, such as urban centers and construction
areas,
during the agricultural slack season (November to
February). These
circular or absentee migrants included long-term (but not
permanent) migrants, who moved in search of long-term
salaried
employment, such as army, government, chaukidar
(doorman or
guard) services, or factory jobs. Once these migrants
succeeded in
landing a relatively permanent job, they normally visited
their
families and villages once every two to three years; if
they did
not secure such a job, they might return in a few months.
Unlike
permanent migration, circular migration was both internal
(within
the country) as well as external (outside the country).
Although
internal circular migrants ultimately might become
permanent
migrants, the vast majority of external circular migrants,
most of
whom went to India, returned to Nepal upon their
retirement and
discharge from service. Increasing numbers of these
external
migrants settled in the Indian states of West Bengal and
Assam, and
they have been filtering into Bhutan since the late
nineteenth
century
(see Population
, ch. 6).
Data as of September 1991
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