Minority Language Politics in Nepal and the Himalayas

While Nepal is constitutionally recognised as a ‘multilingual’ nation, scholars, citizens and the government still disagree about the number of languages spoken within its borders. Some argue that this lack of accord is an indication of a profound institutional ignorance concerning the ethnolinguistic tapestry of the country, and go on to criticise the government for the perceived dearth of linguistic planning. This is only part of the picture, however, and I suggest that dissenting positions regarding the status of languages are natural and even positive signs in multilingual nation states such as Nepal. In fact, the fragmented nature of scholarship on Nepal’s linguistic communities provides a fertile ground for scholars, ethnic activists and the national government to meet, discuss and formulate a progressive course of action for the coming years. In short, languages are always in flux and linguistic identities are anything but rigid. Linguistic policy, therefore, should remain equally flexible. While many of Nepal’s minority languages are endangered, with diminishing fluency and compromised linguistic ability among younger speakers, the speech forms are still dynamic organisms. The Thangmi language, for example, spoken by an ethnic group of the same name, has recently evolved words for ‘aeroplane’, ‘video camera’ and ‘Maoist’, while at the same time losing indigenous names for plants and places. Language death remains a complicated issue, and many of its causes, which include increased literacy, education and the dominance of the national language, are actually developments which have positive sides when viewed from the perspective of an emergent modern nation-state. Linguistic rights are emotive and political issues in all multilingual nations, and Nepal is by no means an exception. For example, the Maoist demand for an end to Sanskrit teaching in government schools relates much more to the negative symbolism that Sanskrit embodies and invokes than it does to any attributes of the language itself. In sum, Nepali linguistic policy must move beyond the banning or promotion of individual languages according to political pressure groups to an informed approach which both takes account of, and incorporates, local needs and indigenous ethnolinguistic perspectives.