Gaurav KC

MIGRATION has been an inevitable phenomenon throughout human history. And the same is true for the history of Nepal. Nepali migratory movements, like all such movements, can be analysed under two categories: inward migration and outward migration. According to historical accounts of inward migration patterns, Nepal has been a destination for large numbers of migrants from surrounding territories over a period of many centuries. This fact has naturally led to the question of which group was the first to settle in Nepal, a query often reflected in the current discourse on adivasis.But equally interesting are the patterns of migration out of Nepal. Most literature on migration in Nepal confines the trend’s history within the lahure culture—centring itself around the 200 years of Nepali men serving in foreign armies. But the history of migration out of Nepal can be stretched much farther back in time.

Even ignoring the wonders of the earliest Buddhist pilgrimages, historical accounts provide us with ample evidence of emigration when tracing the footsteps of the earliest Nepali merchants. The fact that unique woolen blankets, musk, gold, silver, elephants, and horses have been mentioned as items traded from Nepal in Kautilya’s Arthashastra (written between 250-350 BC) reinforces this argument. Capitalism spread throughout Europe during the 15th century, but trans-Himalayan trade precedes European capitalism. During the reign of the Licchavi dynasty, the Kathmandu Valley was a major trade hub between Tibet, India, China and Central Asia. At this time, members of the Nepali mercantile community travelled across borders to trade their wares. Based on historical records, and in stark contrast to Nepal’s current over-reliance on India for trade, Nepali trade used to be much more Tibet oriented. As historian Ludwig Stiller writes in The Rise of the House of Gorkha, “The trade of the valley was largely Tibet-oriented, dealing with Lhasa and points along the Kathmandu Valley-Lhasa trade route. It was in this northern trade that the major profits were to be found.” Newari mercantilists were the primary business agents in the Trans-Himalayan trade. An account by anthropologist Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf tells that people of the Uray caste held a trading monopoly with Tibet.

The account also mentions of a small Newar colony in Lhasa. Though northern trade and migratory settlements have been highlighted in texts, southern migration, though little-researched, could have also existed at this time. Apart from trade, some literature mentions the presence of Nepali communities in Myanmar during the period of unification by Prithivi Narayan Shah. This indicates the continuation of outward migration from Nepal to surrounding destinations including parts of Bhutan, Myanmar, Sikkim, Darjeeling, Simla, Dehradun, Kumau, Garhwal and Nainital. These fronts of migration are another little-studied aspect of Nepal’s historical migratory movements. One of the most well know narratives of Nepali migration comes from the men who served in the army of Sikh ruler, Ranjit Singh, from Lahore (in what is today Pakistan). These were the first Nepali migrants to be given the label of lahure.Even later, Nepali soldiers fighting as Gurkhas in British and Indian regiments still carried the nickname lahure. From the time of the Anglo-Nepal war, the governments of India and Britain eagerly sought Gurkha recruits. In addition, the development of tea estates in northeast India (Assam and Darjeeling in particular) stimulated a demand for labour.

Both these events acted as stimulus to the growth of expatriate Nepali communities in neighbouring states. Nepali labour migration to India has been documented since 1950s. In 1950, China barred the entry of Nepalis into its territory, but India remained open. Since then, there has been a high rate of Nepali labour migrants, especially unskilled workers, towards industrialising areas like Delhi, Mumbai and Banglore in search of employment. India is still considered one of the prime destinations for Nepali migrants. The Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), which began in the 1980s, increased the role of the market in Nepal and many migration opportunities opened up. Nepali out-migration was augmented as an unprecedented number of Nepalis—labourers, students, emigrants (under the Diversity Visa programme in the US as well as the skilled manpower immigration programme in the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia), people working in diplomatic missions and NGOs—found themselves outside the country. This trend has increased since 1990. In fact, a new era of migration began in Nepal after 1990 when the demand for Nepali labourers in South East Asia and the Gulf began to rise. Now, just a decade later, the Gulf has become the second largest destination for Nepali labour migrants, behind India. Easy access to travel documents, passports and thriving manpower companies has stimulated this process. Whatever the reasons, the fact is migration out of Nepal is on the rise, something that will not change anytime soon. KC teaches sociology and anthropology at Orbit International College and researches migration issues GAURAV KC [email protected]

Published on: 14 April 2011 | The Kathmandu Post