Ethnicity and Democracy in the Eastern Himalayan Borderland : Constructing Democracy.

Cover -- Contents -- List of Acronyms -- Glossary of Local Terms -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Why Study the Eastern Himalayan Borderland? -- Studying the Eastern Himalayan Borderland: Same Same but Different -- Facilitating Ethnic Politics in the Eastern Himalaya -- Organisation of this Book -- 1. Locating the 'Nepali' in the Eastern Himalayan Borderland -- Becoming Nepali: Colonial History and Ethnic Group Formation -- Going to Muglan: Emigration from the Kingdom of Gorkha to India -- Language and Ethnic Group Formation -- Homogenisation of the Nepalis and its Impact on Identity Formation -- Gorkhaland: A Homeland for the Indian-Nepalis -- De-Constructing the Nepali in Sikkim -- Re-claiming Limbuwan -- Conclusion -- 2. The Ethnic Worldview: Framing Existential Grievances -- Limbus of Eastern Nepal and the Politics of 'jati and nose' -- Discriminating against the Sons of the Soil - the Gorkhas of Darjeeling -- Fostering the Culture of Dependency in Sikkim -- Conclusion -- 3. Ethnic Identity as Political Identity -- The Political Resilience of the Brave Gorkha -- Neither Mongol nor Kirat: Asserting the Limbu Identity -- Claiming exclusive identities in Sikkim -- Conclusion -- 4. Manifestations of Ethnic Politics -- The Dress Code: Looking like a Gorkha -- Becoming a Tribe in Sikkim -- Limbus as the Embodiment of the Indigenous Discourse -- Conclusion -- 5. Constructing Democracy -- Emergence of a New Patronage Structure -- The New Elites -- Political Elites -- Expressing Agency through Ethnic Politics -- Regional Interpretation of Democracy -- Conclusion -- Conclusion -- Being Nepali Across Borders -- Of Ethnic Politics and Democratic Cultures -- Ethnic Politics as People's Politics -- Bibliography -- Index -- List of Illustrations -- Figure 1 Map of Sikkim, Darjeeling and east Nepal -- Figure 2 The only solution - Gorkhaland.

Figure 3 Madhesh ko chacha's shop in Soreng, West Sikkim -- Figure 4 Khukuri for sale in a local market in Darjeeling -- Figure 5 Writing on the wall:Bhutia, Lepcha or Nepali we are all Gorkhali -- Figure 6 Limboo artifacts on display at the Namchi Mahautsav, Sikkim -- Figure 7 Raakay-Julus: fire-torch procession in Ilam, organised by NEFIN -- Figure 8 Offices of 'Limbuwan Parties', Ilam.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.